Picture Postcard

 This really could be a picture postcard from days gone by and as I saw the gondola approach with a young couple on board I thought it would be the perfect capture of a romantic scene from Venice. And with just a quick glance you might think that too.

But take a closer look, the romance has clearly evaporated as the couple are not sat together, while the guy is sat in the cushioned seats his partner is sat up front checking the photo she just took on her mobile phone looks right. I know that is what she did because I watched her taking pictures of the Bridge of Sighs and the Doges Palace as they passed by, she was not sat there photographing the guy.

Now I know that St Marks Square looks great from the lagoon and lit up in the evening it would have been a special view. But it costs 100 Euros for a 30 minute ride in a gondola during the evening so if your reason for going aboard is to photograph the sights from the water it would be a heck of a lot cheaper to do it from a vaporetto.

However although romance had clearly died on this occasion I still think this makes for a great image.

I have only posted one picture today but I will put a few on  Instagram (chipster_63)

The Gondoliers

Here's a question for you; when you are in Venice what counts as street photography?

I figure that since the "streets" are mostly waterways then anything on land or water can count...

Today's offering are two shots from Venice at twilight, the first looking across the lagoon towards San Giorgio Maggiore and the second of a Gondolier about to set off onto the Grand Canal near San Marco and with a view of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute in the background.

I didn't realise at the time I took the first shot that the woman in the gondola is sat up front taking pictures while her partner is sat back on the comfy seats. Now I never want to miss a good shot and anyone who has gone anywhere with me when I have my camera will know that I am always on the lookout and I often get left behind as I stop to take a photo (or two, or three) and I am always grateful for the patience of my companions who allow me to indulge my passion with few complaints. However, I think that if I had shelled out a handsome sum of money for a romantic twilight ride in a Gondola around one of Europe's finest cities and my partner was more interested in the view than in me I would feel like pushing them overboard.