Blog Archives
color study (sicily)
The entire day was joyous in every way you can imagine, so it wasn’t necessarily a surprise to look up this narrow passageway and see so much color dabbed about.
Bivona, Sicily
photographed 9.4.2022
santa rosalia moves on
On my previous visit to Sicily, we were fortunate to be able to share in the procession of the town’s patron saint. It was an extremely moving experience…here’s what I wrote about it soon after it happened:
***
“How weird that my eyes are so sweaty.” -actual thought I had, standing on that church balcony.
Our group was in Bivona, Sicily, on the feast day for the their patron saint, Santa Rosalia. Following Mass, the church members prepared to move the saint from her niche in the front of the church. Later that day, men of the town would carry her on their shoulders as they processed through the narrow streets. It was the first time they’d been able to hold the Mass and procession since 2019. It was clearly an emotional event.
Through our outstanding tour leader, Allison Scola, from Experience Sicily, we had remarkable access to the day’s events, including getting to watch the process of moving Santa Rosalia from a vantage point that gave us a unique view.
And this is the part I cannot explain – and I’ve been trying to understand it every day since it happened. The faith shown by the townspeople seemed so pure, so real, so honest, so truthful, so much a part of their lives. It was the most honest expression of faith (and maybe even of Faith, since that’s two different things, perhaps) that I have ever witnessed. I didn’t understand what anyone was saying. I don’t have any particular knowledge of Catholic traditions. I am generally a skeptical person. But this: it wasn’t so much that my eyes were sweating. It was in fact tears, tears I couldn’t stop, tears I was surprised to be shedding, tears at the beauty, the faith that I was witnessing.
I still don’t understand it in ways that I can write down. But, I know what I saw. I know how it impacted me. I know I will never be the same.
And that’s a lot.
***
And this was my last look at the saint as she moved slowly along the street and our group moved slowly in the other direction, our thoughts surely heavy with all we’d seen that day.
Bivona, Sicily
photographed 9.4.2022
19: friendly woman, bivona
28 Faces, day 19
What I do in all my portraits is to try to stay out of it. I try to catch people the way they are.
-Mark Carder
Bivona, Sicily
photographed 9.4.2022
1: girl, bivona
Hello and welcome to a project I am calling 28 Faces.
My photographic journey has gone places (literally and figuratively) that I never even imagined when I decided on a whim to start a photo blog in 2009. I’ve been so fortunate to have meet other photographers who’ve supported and encouraged me, who’ve led me further along the path as it evolves and meanders, who’ve seen potential that I was missing. It’s a fascinating journey.
Anyway, today begins a whole month of portraits. And here’s a quote to get things started:
The most difficult thing for me is a portrait.
-Henri Cartier-Bresson
Bivona, Sicily
photographed 9.4.2022
the committee, at rest
The men who are entrusted to carry the saint on her procession are all members of a family that’s been doing this important task for centuries. When we asked how that family was originally chosen, our guide said it was so long ago that no one knows. That sort of dedication to a saint, to personal beliefs, to a community is admirable. And is something that I do not believe I’ve witnessed before.
Thank you for your patience as I presented all these photos of Sicily. It took me several months to commit to making the trip; finally making the commitment to go was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. So, here’s my Big Important Advice: don’t put off doing that thing that you think you want to do but aren’t sure about it because this might not be the best time or your schedule might be too tight to make it work or what about that other thing that you’ll miss at home (or at the office) if you go. If you CAN, you should.
Bivona, Sicily
photographed 9.4.2022
One Day | One Image 