“Trogir Building” — Bicycles are parked in front of a Trogir building in morning light.
A friend and I arrived in Trogir very early in the morning. Our plan was to photograph the city before the daytime tourist crowds arrived. We had already been photographing for some time when I made this photograph in reflected morning light. Much of the city is connected by very narrow passageways, which means things are often in the shadows. But here the city was open enough to allow reflected light to illuminate this building.
This photograph is largely about the beautiful, warm, soft reflected light. But other things play into it as well. To my eye, there is a lot of interesting geometry here — from the triangular shapes of the roof structure to the big rectangles of the windows and doors, and then the finer patterns of the stones in the building and the sidewalk. Yet all of the geometry is broken up by other elements — the curving wire on the roof, the metal cylinder near the right door, and the bicycles.
“Old Bridge and Water” — An old and very dilapidated wooden bridge across the Valbona River, Albania.
This is one more (and perhaps the last) of my photographs from our brief foray into the Albanian Alps and the Valbona Valley during the summer of 2023. To recap, we were staying in Kosovo for several days, and one day our family member from Kosovo took us all on a trip into these remarkable mountains. I made the photograph on our drive back to Kosovo.
We stopped along a curve in the river where a small mosque stood on the opposite bank, backed by the distant peaks far up the valley. We got out and walked around a bit, eventually venturing onto a bridge across the river. From that bridge we could look down on what I assume is a much older bridge, the one in this photograph. It looked like you probably still could cross it… but you probably would not want to try! The bridge fascinated me, but so did the perfectly clear mountain water flowing over the stones on the riverbed.
“Monastery of São Vicente de Fora” — The Monastery of São Vicente de Fora rises above Alfama, Lisbon.
Unfortunately we did not actually get to the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora during our Lisbon visit — we were merely tempted by the sight of the impressive architecture on this ridge above Alfama in Lisbon. As is our practice, we headed out for a walk on this day, a walk that followed only the most general plan. We knew we wanted to get to visit Alfama, but beyond that we would just wander. Eventually — and, I suppose, inevitably — we arrived at Portas do Solwhich presented this view.
The buildings of Alfama are tightly packed and separated by very narrow streets, many of which would not accommodate vehicle traffic. A small section of such buildings is in the foreground in this photograph, temporarily shaded by the passing clouds. The Monastery dominates the view, as it sits on the hilltop above the district — and at this moment it was in the sunshine.
“Arch, Stairs, and Plants” — Plants line stairs leading to a doorway above an arch, Trogir, Croatia.
Trogir is an intense and fascinating place. The historic old town is on an island that sits in a narrow passage between the Croatian mainland and a much larger island. It was quite crowded during the days and evenings when we visited, not only with those of us who drove (or walked) in but also those who anchored their boats right next the town.
It seems like the whole place is built of stone. The sidewalks/streets are cobblestone, walls are made of stone, and it is by far the most common construction material for buildings. I made this photograph on one of the occasions where we were able to escape the crowds (hint: go in the very early morning) and photograph with fewer distractions.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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