Browsing Tag

italy

Window or Aisle?

Window or aisle: Peter Zullo

May 30, 2012

Window or Aisle? is a new column on my Travel blog, in which I feature some of my colleagues and people I meet either on-line or off-line. People with whom I have at least one thing in common: The love of Traveling.

With some of them I was working in the past or collaborated on some projects, some I met through my travels and we were just shooting the breeze and shooting what was around us. With some, I know I would love to collaborate somehow somewhere in the near future.

My first guest is a good friend of mine, Peter Zullo, a photographer from Bologna, Italy. I first met Peter in a photography class we both took at ICP during the winter semester. As quiet and shy Peter was at first, his pictures really blew me away. Especially his on going project Bologna Specular Reflections which spread out to other cities in Italy and New York as well. I met Peter again when I traveled to Florence last October and we shot together in Venice. I was looking for Laundry shots and Peter was looking for Reflections (yep, that’s me in the picture above)

I’m really happy to introduce you to Peter’s work and have him answer some of my questions. Thanks Peter!

Where are you from? I’m italian. I live in Bologna.

Where did you study photography? I have studied photography for the last fifteen years and have attended courses and seminars with professional photographer both in Spazio Labò (Bologna) and in ICP (NYC).

What made you want to learn it?  I was very disappointed by the pictures I took during my first trip in the West of the USA. So I decided I should improve my skill. Since then, I continued studying and taking pictures of people and places while traveling.

If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be? A teacher

Where do you get your inspiration from? Famous photographers (like Steve McCurry), Italian photographers I met (like Giulio Di Meo www.giuliodimeo.it) and talented colleagues. But I think my greatest inspiration are people. I’m a great observer and  I try to shoot people and the places around them.

How do you usually approach a new project? I try to keep my mind open. Usually the result is really different from the first idea. My “Specular Reflections” series should have been a project about all kindS of reflections. After a few weeks of shoots I realized I could do something more specific and unusual.

What are you working on right now? I’m working on a couple of projects of social photography in Bologna. And I’m ready for my next trip: Berlin

Window or Aisle seat?  I can’t sleep on airplane flights. I spend my time organizing my pictures and admiring the landscape. The world seen from an airplane is so quiet and amazing. No doubt. Window.

Travel

Viva Italia

May 10, 2012

Here is a little confession: When I first saw Dalit Katzenellenbogen Viva Italia blog few months ago, all I wanted was to be her. Meanwhile I’ll do with being a guest blogger on Viva Italia. Here is a short interview with me and featuring some of my photos from my trip to Florence. Here is the link to read the full article. Sorry, but the text is only in Hebrew (but the photos are not)

Florence, Travel, Italy, Viva Italia

Travel

Happy New Year 2012

December 31, 2011

Some people measure their lives by the places they have been to, the food they have tasted, and the people they fell in love with. Wishing you a well travelled year, with the people you love

new year, travel, florence, italy

My Life in Polaroids

on the table: Pausa caffè a Venezia

October 20, 2011

My life in Polaroids, Venice, Italy, Coffee, On the Table

Surely, there is nothing better than a good Italian coffee, not to mention when you drink it in Italy. And from all cities in Italy, when you drink it in Venice. I was in Venice only for 8 and a half hours, but they were intensive photography hours, while I was walking among the narrow colorful streets and alleys with my Italian Photographer friend, Peter.

I was on a hunt for some good Laundry shots for an on going photography project I am doing “Intimacy under the Wires”  and Peter was on a hunt for a good coffee. We have just discovered a magical store that sells hand-made masks and right next to it there was a small cafe that serves short espresso. It was the perfect break for the day and the best ‘fuel’ (beside dark chocolate) to continue taking pictures.

My Life in Polaroids

8½ in Venice

September 26, 2011

One solo Espresso in the middle of the day, followed by a chocolate ice cream. crowded Piazza San Marco with thousands of tourists and thousands of doves. walking along the colorful streets and hopping the old balconies will not crumble and fall. St. Marks Basilica, watching the people going for a Sunday Mass, watching the people coming out of a Sunday Mass. Lunch outdoors, the sound of rattling plates and glasses. Ponte dei Sospiri, 4 hand made postcards printed on a fine art paper. Visiting a hand made mask store and having a hard time to leave. Cafe Florian, alla carrettiera Pasta, Formaggio di pecora o capra a pasta pressato, Provola Capizzi and Ricotta Romana. Taking the Gondola instead of a Subway, The Grand Canal instead of the Grand Central in New York. watching the preparations to the Venice Biennale and thinking about the Carnival on February. Walking a lot along the streets and never going back to the same place. Having a photographer friend as a private tour guide, taking so many colorful laundry shots in so many angles and directions, watching the sun goes down and the gold reflection on the water, just before we leave the city. doing all of this for only 81/2 hours in Venice…and still feel there is so much to do and see….Priceless!

venice, italy, tuscany, polaroids, travel

venice, italy, tuscany, polaroids, travel

venice, italy, tuscany, polaroids, travel

venice, italy, tuscany, polaroids, travel

venice, italy, tuscany, polaroids, travel

venice, italy, tuscany, polaroids, travel

venice, italy, tuscany, polaroids, travel

 

Intimacy Under the Wires

Laundry Heaven in Venice, Italy

September 25, 2011

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

Venice is a laundry Heaven. I haven’t been to Burano (yet) but 8 and a half hours in Venice were packed with sights of laundry’s clotheslines hanging out from almost every window. The warm weather at the end of September was perfect for the clothes to dry. Some people were peeping out the windows, looking at me suspiciously, some closed the windows or hid behind the shutters. Overall, I found myself looking up, searching for clotheslines and colorful clothes to dry.

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

Intimacy under the Wires, Laundry, Venice, Italy, Travel

 

Picture is worth a 1000 Words

A picture is worth a 1000 words

September 25, 2011

Venice, Italy, Carnival, Travel, masks

“…Life is a carnival, you need to go on all the rides..”

Venice, Italy September 2011

I’ve spent only few hours in Venice and yet, manage to shoot so much in such a short time.

It seems that almost every other store in Venice sells these special masks and costumes for the well known Carnival of Venice, but CaDel Sol is one of the biggest one with a great variety. Stepping into this store is like stepping into a candy shop when you are five years old and you don’t know what to look for at first, and you don’t know what to choose. It really made me curious more about the Carnival. I haven’t been yet to a Venetian Carnival but this is definitely something on my ‘to do’ list one day.

And yes, Life is a Carnival. Not necessarily a Venetian one. And if we do tend to see our Life that way, so be better need to go on all the rides and not forget to enjoy them.

 

Picture is worth a 1000 Words

A picture is worth a 1000 words

September 25, 2011

Florence, Italy, Travel, a Picture is worth a 1000 words, Love,

“Travel is like love, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end” 

Giardini di Boboli, Florence, September 2011

One of my weekend morning in Florence was spent by walking in Giardini di Boboli, a breathtaking garden located just a block away from the place I was staying in. This beautiful oasis labyrinth is one of many treasures Florence has to offer to its visitors and residents. There are so many hidden gems and hidden locations in the gardens that one morning or one stroll were definitely not enough.

If Love heightens our state of awareness, then the same goes for Photography. Same goes for Travel.

As a photographer I must keep ‘practicing’ awareness to what is around me, so I can keep capturing eye-opener shots. Same with Love and Travel…I must keep ‘practicing’ awareness to keep capturing eye-opener experiences.

 

 

Intimacy Under the Wires

Finding Laundry in Florence, Italy

September 24, 2011

Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Florence, Italy, Travel

It is not so hard to locate and find laundry in Florence. I was staying in Via del Campuccio street in Florence, a walking distance from all the places to see and visit in Florence. I must say that a friend of mine, who visited Florence a week before, told me he hardly if ever saw laundry hung outside the windows. Boy, he was wrong. Laundry is almost in every window. I didn’t come across clotheslines reached across buildings or hung over alleys, as I saw in Venice, but laundry could be easily seen. The combination of the yellow colored brick walls with the green shutters and the vivid colors of the clothes, made it all so unique and beautiful. A celebration to the eyes.

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel

Florence, Italy, Laundry, Intimacy under the Wires, Travel