Bill Emmott the former director of The Economist and long term thorn in Berlusconi’s side since he was unsuccessfully sued for libel after the magazine’s front cover said he was unfit to lead in Italy back in 2001, has made a film. The documentary about Italy and its ailing economy and woeful politics is called […]
St Patrick’s Well, Orvieto
St Patrick’s well is one of the sights of Orvieto. And one of the places we always visit. It’s dark so a tripod is handy. The life of an Italian prince in Renaissance Italy was pretty dangerous and no less so for the clerical prince known as the pope. In 1527 after Rome had been […]
Orvieto, sangallo, St Patrick wellBarabbata Festival

The Barabbata Festival is held every year on 14 May on the shores of Lake Bolsena in the fishing village of Marta near Viterbo. The festival is a catholicised re-enaction of pagan rites of spring and consists of parading a portrait of the Virgin through the town and up to the church at the top of […]
barabbata, festival, Italy, lake Bolsena, Marta, paganFlooded Orvieto

Most people only know Orvieto in the summer and this summer was exceptionally hot and dry. And then the rains came….. This was the scene of devastation seen from Albernoz Castle on Monday 12 Nov, 2012. Scores of cars lie submerged in the station carpark. Businesses and homes are devastated – the damage is estimated […]
Etruscan city, Italy, Orvieto, UmbriaShowing off! Photo books and framing

Showing off photos is a must! It always astonishes me how few photographers actually show their work. I mentioned in a previous blog how to make a photo book with Blurb now I want to suggest a few tips on getting your work out where people will see it. The most immediate way is to […]
Making photo books

The idea of making an illustrated book just a few years ago would have seemed absurd, but now making photo books is inexpensive and anyone can make a book for as little as €14. I use Blurb but there are others on the market: Qoop, Lulu and WeBook. For a comparison Overview. You can find out everything […]
blurb, book making, Lightroom 4, photo booksWhat digital camera is best for photo treks?

‘…..what digital camera should I buy?’ is one of the most frequent questions I’m asked before starting a photo trek. To be frank it’s a bit like asking someone ‘what car should I buy?’ or ‘how long is a piece of string?’ As a general rule I suggest that if you already have (or can borrow) […]
DSLR, hybrid cameras, pointandshoot, sensor cleaning, what digital cameraIs film dead?

Is film dead ? No, it’s alive and well in medium format photography. If you want my opinion I think 35mm film is a waste of time, but as I used to teach film and old processes until last year I still think there’s a roll, sorry role, for film, namely medium format. I never […]
film medium format, i20 fim, Mamiya rb 67, medium format film cameras, noblex, Polaroid 665, Polaroid negative