the cartmaker’s apprentice
I used to say I would “never” take pictures of people. I said that a lot. I believed it, too. In fact, I would actively avoid shooting scenes with people in them. There were a lot of reasons, but mostly (probably) I was just too nervous to try.
And then…well, then I met up with Don Toothaker and he spent a good bit of time over the past couple of years telling me that I needed to get over my damn self and take pictures of people already. (That’s paraphrasing. Possible.) Anyway, then he led a photography tour of Sicily and I started photographing people. You’ve seen some of those images here, maybe. I was pretty happy with myself for overcoming a barrier that I’d set for myself (which, honestly, is the way most of my barriers are: set by me, without any real reason for their establishment).
But then, pressing the point, Don pretty much told me to make a portrait of this man. Don had already made his photos, and all I had to do was stand where he did and press the shutter release.
And here we are. Sometimes, I barely recognize the photographer that I am becoming.
Ragusa Ibla, Sicily
photographed 9.7.2022
duomo
Here’s the back of the Duomo di San Giorgio; the building was completed in 1775 after a 37-year construction period.
If you’re a fan of Italian television*, you may recognize it from the opening credits of the series Inspector Maltalbano. Although you can’t tell by looking at this photo, the building is also featured in a recent image that I’ve posted.
Ragusa Ibla, Sicily
photographed 9.7.2022
*Or have Amazon Prime video.
behold: the goat
In late August of 2021, I was in Boston and had lunch with my friend Don Toothaker; he was very excited to tell me about a photo adventure to Sicily that he was planning. The thing that stuck with me (other than his unbridled enthusiasm) was when he said, “We’ll see goat cheese in the markets AND then GO SEE THE GOATS.” I was intrigued, even though it took me nearly a half a year to talk myself into taking the trip.
Don’s enthusiasm for the trip was not misplaced or exaggerated. Going on the trip was definitely one of the smarter decisions I’ve ever made.*
And look! Here’s the goat I’d been promised. The breed is Girgenti; they are indigenous to the Sicilian province of Agrigento. And they will be your best friend if you scratch their heads just behind their horns.
near San Biagio Platini, Sicily
photographed 6.6.2022
*Not that there is necessarily a lot of competition.
crown of stars
One of the things I valued from my time in Sicily was the way our tour operator, Allison Scola, of Experience Sicily tours, designed a trip for us that provided many opportunities to learn about Sicily’s long history and the variety of cultures that have played a role in that history. Allison would use our bus travel time to talk about not only history, but mythology, religions traditions, music, agriculture, and many other topics. And she got it that a bunch of photographers would want to spend approximately forever everywhere we went, making photographs.
And, of course, she followed up by scheduling us to see many of the things she’d talked about. And that’s how, late one Saturday afternoon, we heard the history of the famed Monreal Cathedral and then got to visit.
The cathedral was commissioned by the Norman King William III; it was built in just over ten year’s timed it was completed in 1267. The interior of the cathedral includes nearly 70,000 square feet of glass mosaics. Many of them are gold so the whole space has a sort of glow unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
According to our guide* the building show a combination of Norman, Byzantine, Italian, and Saracen styles. And some of the workers who build the cathedral were Muslim. It is an ecumenical sort of place.
And because I went against conventional wisdom to make black and white images of a place known for its colorful mosaics, here’s a photo from my phone, to give you an idea of what the place looked like.
Monreal Cathedral
Monreal, Sicily
photographed 9.3.2022
*Italian tourism guides are required to be licensed. They have to pass a rigorous exam that covers their knowledge of history, geography, art, architecture, museums and galleries, churches, and cultural features. It made all the difference to have guides with such broad knowledge about the things we saw and the places we visited. (Pictured is our Monreal guide, Chiara Sciortino.)
net repairs
In addition to selling fish from their boats, the fishermen use their afternoon at the docks to repair their nets. They’ll be heading out again in a few hours, and make good use of every minute.
I can get a giant tangle in thread just attempting to sew on a button. Watching these two doing something more complicated and much more fiscally important than fixing a button made me feel really quite inadequate in sweing-needle-based activities.
Sciacca, Sicily
photographed 9.5.2022
