Share Your View: Breaking the Rule of Thirds

What have you discovered in the last week since the Exploring with a Camera: Breaking the Rule of Thirds post? Do you follow or break the rule of thirds most often? Link in below and let's take a look! I saved this image from Via dell'Amore for today because it was a perfect illustration of the rule of thirds along with the love-lock tradition I talked about in yesterday's post.

When you link in your examples of following and breaking the rule of thirds in the link below, and you have two chances to win. I'm giving away the "C is for Camera" notebook below and Tammy Lee Bradley of Bliss and Folly has joined in to giveaway a Vintage Camera trio - head over to her blog here to see how to enter for her fabulous giveaway. Thanks so much Tammy for sharing the love with us!

So, without further ado, please share your view! Link in below or click the thumbnails to see the other great examples shared so far. Thanks so much for participating! You can find the code for the Exploring with a Camera button here, if you want to share the love on your blog too.

Via dell'Amore

Via dell'Amore is a nice little walk along the Mediterranean Sea from the towns of Riomaggiore and Manarola in the Cinque Terre. The story goes that the trail was built between the two towns as the railway was being built in the region, and it became a place for young lovers to meet to get away from the watching eyes of the townspeople. Now it is an enjoyable walkway along the sea, with benches to sit and enjoy the view.

The pathway is lined with love graffiti and covered with locks on every possible surface, including this little nook celebrating the famous walkway. The locks seem to be a tradition in Italy - near any body of water you will find locks hooked to bridge railings with little messages symbolizing the love of a couple. We first noticed this in Florence and have seen it many places in our travels, but no where are there more locks than along Via dell'Amore. They even sell locks if you want to participate in the tradition.

I was tempted to buy a lock for a keepsake but managed to resist and just capture a few images instead. I'm curious though - is the lock tradition something that is only found in Italy or does it happen in other parts of Europe? What are the traditions to celebrate young love in your country?

Ti Amo

Ti amo means "I love you" in Italian. Where there is graffiti in Italy, you often find this phrase mixed in. What is it about love that makes people want to declare it to the world in this fashion? It's as if it somehow makes it more permanent, less subject to the whims of life and human nature, if it is written down. Not just written down on a piece of paper either, but on a permanent structure, something that will be around a while.

I have to admit that my personal suspicion is that many of the romances with declarations of love in graffiti don't last. Call me unromantic, but grand declarations of love in spray paint are not what makes a relationship. To me, love is trust and honesty and acceptance, not words on a wall. It is support day in and day out, not flowers or candy on a specific day that calls for it.

While I love to capture these little message of love I find left about, I also wonder about the stories behind them. What brought someone to this point, and what happens after the ink dries and fades away? I hope the couples have found something more lasting than ink on a wall. I truly do.

Sharing the Love

This week is "Sharing the Love" week on Mortal Muses, have you caught it yet? Each muse has selected a guest to take her place and share the love - it's been great fun! Come by and see all of our guests musing on the theme "Evidence of Love." My special guest is Jennifée, a wonderful photographer from Norway. I love her images! You can find her post here.

My wonderful muse friend, Tammy Lee Bradley of Bliss and Folly, is also sharing the love with me and with you too! She is offering a giveaway of a vintage camera trio on her blog when you link in to Exploring with a Camera: Breaking the Rule of Thirds. So there are two giveaways if you link in this time! Visit Tammy's blog to see the details of the giveaway, and then come link in here. Thanks so much to Tammy for sharing the love with us all!

In the last week, I've had three wonderful bloggers give the Stylish Blogger Award to me. I would like to thank them so much for sharing the love with The Kat Eye View of the World and Exploring with a Camera. Please stop by and leave them some love in the form of comments too!
Christine at Blue Elephant Photography
Beth at Rainbows'n'Frogs Photography
Karen at Out in the Fields

Today's "evidence of love" is from Via dell'Amore in Cinque Terre. If you ever wanted to find love-themed graffiti, this is the place. Enjoy your weekend!

A Beautiful End

I take a break from my regular blog topics to say a few words in memory of our dear, sweet golden retriever Tasha who left this world yesterday in the arms of her second family in Colorado.

This was not a surprise, she was almost 14 years old and was having more and more physical problems. One of the hardest things we had to do when we came to Italy was leave her behind, knowing that she might not be there when we got back. We were all so very blessed that Patrick's sister and her family wanted her to come live with them and be part of their family in Colorado.

Let me tell you a little bit about Tasha... Everyone loved Tasha. She was the most gentle soul you would ever meet. Always happy to be there for love and support, never demanding. Never once hurt or threatened another creature, even when annoyed by a toddler or a kitten or an alpha dog. She would just look at us with those big brown eyes that seemed to say "Seriously?" and stoically bear whatever life threw at her. Tasha patiently taught me to like dogs, and she was the first dog I ever truly loved. She was our first baby, coming to us as a 6 weeks old puppy in 1996, 5 years before our son Brandon was born.

Sometimes we might think that we are doing a favor to the animals in our life, by taking them in and loving and caring for them. That we are giving them a home. But really, they are the ones who are doing us the favor. They become part of our hearts, they make our home a home. Our animal companions are the ones who show us what unconditional love truly is. They teach us compassion. And they teach us how to grieve when they go, since their lives are so much shorter than ours.

So, Tasha I just want to thank you. For all that you gave to me, all that you taught me.

And Heather, Rob and Dylan, thank you so much for bringing Tasha into your home and loving her as much as we did for the last year and a half. For so amazingly dealing with the difficult end of her days when we weren't there. You got the hardest part. Tasha was so lucky to have had two families in her life that loved her so much. We will be forever grateful to you.

Today I created this photo story to honor Tasha's life. I wish I had her puppy photos, our canoe dog photos, more photos from her time in Colorado... but this is what I have today and now is when I need to do this. For me. For her. For anyone who knew her.

"It's a beautiful end to a beautiful life..."

Locks of Love

No, I'm not talking about hair! One final "love themed" post for this Valentine's Day week. You find these locks on bridges, ocean overlooks, anywhere near water. The couples right their names on the lock, lock it to something permanent (railing, lamp post, whatever) and throw the key into the water. It must be quite the European love tradition because we've seen them everywhere, once we started noticing them. I had never heard of this or seen this in the US. These are from Florence, on the Ponte Vecchio.

Love at the Sea

This heart art was found at an overlook of the Mediterranean sea, it Boccadassee (a little fishing village that is part of Genova). These little overlooks or benches in public parks are often places that young lovers will meet for a bit of privacy. It's not really private exactly, but when so many people live in such close contact it's all relative I guess. You will often find "love" graffiti in little spots like this.