Calli’s Photo Feature 19.01.2014

If you haven’t already heard the news, Travis and I are heading back home February 13th. Aside from the mix of feelings this has brought up, we have found ourselves treading into ‘reflection’ territory – looking back over the past months of travel, remembering the good times, and wishing we could experience it all over again.

At one such point of reflection I realized we shared our fifteenth photo feature just last week; it feels like just yesterday I was nervously committing to stepping out of my photography comfort zone and introducing the new weekly feature. Of everything I have done to learn more about photography, I think this simple concept has had the biggest impact. In just looking at our photographs from this trip compared to last fall I see a vast improvement, as well as a lot more photographs of people – my biggest photography fear!

Although there is still so far to go, the progress I can see is empowering and excites me to keep challenging myself. There is something incredibly empowering about making a commitment to the entire internet and I know that this commitment has forced me to try new things I would not have had the courage to do on my own. To everyone out there following along on this journey, real or a figment of my imagination, thank-you! It’s only going to continue from here…

For this week’s photo feature, we decided to share a shot from our time in Modica. Not only was it was one of our favorite Sicilian cities, but its layout – built up along the hillside around a small central core in the valley bottom – provided a wonderful opportunity to play around photographing the city at night.

Night photography is still a relatively new concept to me and aside from some luck in Budapest and Piran it’s not an area that we focus on very much. Hopefully that will change once we get home.

In this shot of Modica, I’m really pleased with the lighting on the Cathedral. Being the city’s most important structure I wanted it to be the primary focus of the photograph which I think was achieved. However my favorite aspect of the shot might actually be the lighting of the building facades that line the main streets. Although the  streets themselves are far too narrow to see from this vantage point, the light highlights their presence which I think adds more interest to the shot.

Have a great Monday!