I’m back after a couple of weeks in Italy. Crowds were intense, but we saw lots of iconic scenes, churches, and artwork. I noticed a number of “Instagram poses and shots” (a number of people doing the same things). I hope mine are just a bit different.
Comments and constructive criticism are welcome. I shot quickly to avoid annoying my wife, and I have a number of shots where I wished I’d taken just a bit more time. These are a few of my favorites.
Camera: Lumix DC-G9, mostly using a 12-35mm f/2.8 zoom. Image stabilization in the camera is fantastic.
Editing: DT 5.2.1, using Sigmoid.
Nice work! You ha e a great mix of street, tourist, and architecture, it gives a nice feeling of Italy. My favorite is the one looking up the staircase, I like the grittiness of it, and the angle and lines are really pleasing.
You do have some interesting angles in almost all of them, and you’ve done a good job at framing up some original looks at some over photographed things.
That stairway leads from one street to another. Perugia is hilly, and a beautiful place.
I think my favorite is the memorial. It had photos of those who died, and a reflection showing where they were from. It was the only good reflection shot from the trip.
I try to get inspiration from some of the great artists of the past. As you may have guessed, I’m a big fan of Caravaggio and those who were inspired by him. It was wonderful seeing so much great artwork in Italy.
Two of the shots you mentioned were taken with a 25 mm f/1.7; which I know is also a favorite of yours. I carried the camera with just that lens in the evening when I had the opportunity. The two photos were the restaurant scenes.
The 12-35 f/2.8 zoom is a very sharp lens, and I got a number of photos in darker places (churches etc.). With the camera’s excellent IBIS I captured some very nice images even at low shutter speeds such as 1/5 s. So generally noise was not a major issue. When it was an issue, it was my fault as the photographer, not the camera’s.
As an example of low-light performance of the 12-35 mm: The empty street in Florence (pre-dawn) was shot at f/3.5 and 1/15 s at 15 mm and 1250 ISO. With both IBIS and lens stabilization, I think the image is acceptably sharp. BTW I have my own presets for denoising that I mention here: Denoising in a PlayRaw
With the default denoising, I find that some details can look “blotchy” especially with low exposure.
Also, FYI I’ve just learned of an issue called “focus shift” that occurs with many lenses as you stop them down, due to aberration effects I think. Focus is with the aperture wide-open, and exposure is stopped down where the focus point shifts. Focus shift impacts the 50mm f/1.7.
The work-around for the G9 is to a) set constant preview (menu “c-spanner wrench” > i Monitor/Display> Constant Preview) and b) set manual exposure and use area autofocus. This forces the camera to stop down the lens for focusing. For the 25 mm f/1.7, this is best for focus at f/2.8 and f/4, when the subject is close. Also, FYI I use back-button focus, with AFS for still subjects.
Nice collection of images. I can copy much of what was said before. Just some hints what I would have done differently:
show less images (I think 6 to 8 would be perfect)
focus on images which are unique to what you experienced (I think there is a gazillion of images of the Colloseum and your image is good but does not stand out so much compared to some other of your images)
some images could be cropped more to focus more on the subject (Piazzale Michaelangelo for example - which I really like - but the dark foreground distracts a bit from the beautiful sky and the statue)
Most of all I like that you did this type of showcase! Much appreciated. Btw, Caravaggio is also one of my favorites.
Daniel
Thanks for mentioning that denoising preset again! I will experiment with it. FWIW, I think that micro 4/3 is fine up to 1600 ISO, and acceptable up to 6400, so I no longer feel constrained. Especially these days when I prefer less light for motion blur, so I have to carry ND filters. I rely heavily on IBIS for my current shooting style, but to blur our crowds in touristy places, I still use a mini-tripod, an ND1000 filter, and whatever aperture gives me around 1s shutter. (I would have done this eg for your Piazza del Duomo image, but don’t take this as criticism, it is fine as it is; it’s just what I like doing these days).
As for focus shift, I did a couple of test images with my Panasonic 25mm f/1.7, up to f/8, and sorry, I cannot see it. I understand the theory, but don’t see it as a practical problem, especially since I don’t shoot very close subjects, and at f/4–f/5.6 almost everything is sharp anyway; and again, most importantly, that I cannot reproduce the effect.
The other day I was walking around shooting, and just set manual focus at hyperfocal using f/5.6 and everything is super-sharp. But keep in mind that I am the kind of person whose eyes glaze over when shown more than, say, 5 100% crop images for pixel peeping.
I appreciate your recommendations. My goal is to keep improving!
I admit I struggled to get the collection down to a manageable number. I took around 1100 photos on the trip! But your point is well-made.
I could have checked Colosseum photos online before posting. I happen to like the backlight glow; but as you say there are probably millions of such photos. There is no point doing the same thing as everyone else.
Thanks for the good suggestions, Tamas! And the feedback on the lens too.
I traveled with a very small camera pack and without a proper backpack. Weight matters when you get older!
I had thought to label the Piazza photo “Ants.” My thinking was to put the crowd in context with some framing. But there are different ways to see the same frame. Thank you.
