A Little Bit Of Postcard

I have had both the privilege and the pleasure of being able to travel quite extensively over the last 10 years or so. Much of that travel has occurred here in the United States and perhaps equally as much in Italy and other parts of Europe. Many of the ideas about mindful photography and creative writing have come to me while on some type of adventurous wandering about in some of the many places we have visited. What I like to refer to as a postcard kind of memory.

For example, I have developed this inner need to always be glancing down alley ways, looking for the kind of shot you would never expect in a world class city rich in history and overflowing with tourism. Another of my favorites is to observe and study the animated behavior of the locals in their natural setting, or gazing into the windows of the local shops as they showcase their wares. Often if not always when I am traveling, I try to morph into an immersive state which allows me to become emotionally connected to my surroundings.

With camera in hand, I am able to look at various subject matter with a slightly different perspective. I’m not always going to remember all of the details in the subject matter I’m shooting of a known object, person, or place. For this reason I try to capture elements that will help me piece together a story I want to tell at a later date. I like to write stories with my camera, as much as I like to paint pictures with my pen.

So what is in a photograph you might be thinking? The picture above is a stone wall covered in poppies on the road leading up to a home which is the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci. The house is located just outside of Florence in Anchiano, just outside the town of Vinci. We visted this site a few years ago not long after it was renovated with some new additions showcasing some of his genius.

This photograph tells a story to me personally, it talks to me in such a way that ignites the feeling I had on that visit. We have poppies growing in our own backyard. They bloom each year at the same time, perhaps a few weeks later than they do at this historic site. I can never look at the poppies in my yard anymore without being brought back to this picture which is now embedded in my own memory.

When you enter the museum there is a life size hologram of Leonardo as an old man recounting his life story to all of the visitors. On this trip in the actual town of Vinci is the place Leonardo was baptized. They still have the original Baptismal font he was baptized in which I also have a photograph of.

There are so many stories involved in the memories that we allow to live inside of us. Things are not always as they appear. Why do they become our memories to begin with? How can you piece together different elements that will help you tell your story? Learn to live beyond your field of view. Stand back and take the time to watch what everyones is doing, and then do something different. Write with your camera, paint with your pen! Be the storyteller!

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” - Leonardo da Vinci

”Learning never exhausts the mind” - Leonardo da Vinci

Talk soon…

G