Blog Archives
in the garden
A kind gentleman saw us photographing through the fence and invited us inside to look around.
If I am correct about our location, we’d found the Seminario de San Carlos y San Ambriosio*. But I could be mistaken. When I’m traveling, I like to keep up with my location on my phone: I am A Person Who Reads Maps. I like to know where I am, and I like to be able to see where I am compared to other landmarks. Cell service (through my provider) was non-existent in Cuba, which meant I was unaware of where I was. Sometimes, I can use my memory about landmarks that were nearby to roughly gauge where I was, and that’s how I *think* I know where this photo was made.
And here’s something maybe you don’t know: online maps do show Cuba, but street views are not available. In case you were wondering about that.
Havana, Cuba
photographed 11.7.2022
*The actual seminary is now located outside of Havana. This building currently houses (among other things, probably) a Catholic primary school.
a world behind the door
I can tell you right this minute that “faded beauty” is not always hyperbole: it is, in this case, exactly the right description.
Imagine if this place were freshly painted, if the stair railing were not half-way missing, if all those tiles on the wall matched. It wouldn’t be nearly as lovely, would it?
Havana, Cuba
photographed 11.6.2022
font angel
I love church statues. And if the statue is an angel, swooping down with a shell-shaped font? You know I’ll love that even more than a normal statue.
And then, when I get home, I have the pleasure of editing the image.
What a life!
Chiesa de San Giuseppe dei Padri Teatini
Palermo, Sicily
photographed 8.31.2022
madonna of the piazzetta
It is impossible to find the right words to convey how magical it was to walk the streets of these ancient towns, not really knowing where we were; new discoveries were at every turn. The light shifted. The narrow street widened into a piazza. Someone was feeding the stray cats. You could smell someone else’s lunch. Maybe there was a hint of a breeze. A motorbike went by, just inches away from walls, pedestrians. And, once, as the street turned into a piazzetta, a madonna observed all the happenings.
Caltabellotta, Sicily
photographed 9.5.2022
laundry minimalism
Over at the Valley of the Temples, I tried some minimalist shots, with mostly sky in the frame.
And then, a few days later, as we walked through the ancient mountain-top town of Caltabellotta*, I tried again, this time with laundry.
Caltabellotta, Sicily
photographed 9.5.2022
*It’s one of the oldest occupied towns in Sicily, with origins dating back 2000 years before Common Era. There’s evidence of Sicani, Greek, Arab, Norman, and Jewish heritage here.
