Mar 202013
 

This is one of the last photos that I took with my old set of camera gear, before some bastardos stole it out of our car near Genoa. This is a pretty little town on top of a hill called Alice Bel Colle. They’ve built a mound in the middle of the town with a viewing platform on top providing panoramic views of the surrounding vineyards draped over the rolling hills. I liked the way the the haphazard placement of buildings and roofs matched the haphazard distribution of vineyards in the surrounding area.

Tiled roofs in front of vineyards on rolling hills in Alice Bel Colle, Italy

Aug 262012
 

Waking up early, we made our way to Alice Bel Colle to take advantage of the specially made mound in the middle of the town. Our guidebook stated that it offered a 360 degree view of the surrounding landscapes. It didn’t disappoint, climbing atop the mound, once we found it, we were met with an excellent view. The sunrise, on the other hand, wasn’t ideal. It was overcast and hazy. The haze added an eeriness to the landscape, so I set about making the best of it by taking photos focused tightly on a subject, while allowing the haze to emphasise the distance to the background.

We had planned on going back for a sunset, and there were some great ones, but as you know I was relieved of my camera equipment at a service station just outside Genoa… I’m still a little bitter.

Church on hill with bell tower overlooking the countryside on a hazy morning in Alice Bel Colle, Piedmont, Italy.

Aug 142012
 

Failed trip into the Alps!

It seems like wherever I go, my first attempt to really strike out and take some photos failed. In Iceland it was trying to get to the most westerly point in Iceland, to photograph puffins, in one night. Today, it was an attempt to drive up a valley in the alps to see some snow-capped mountains. We set out too late, despite our careful sunset calculations and barely made it into the mountains as the sun began to drop. A great opportunity presented itself, a castle atop a hill lit beautifully by golden light but we couldn’t get off the highway to get down to it. By the time we came to an exit we decided we were too far along. By the next exit we decided to hop off and drive on the smaller roads so if any opportunities presented themselves we could actually stop. This meant guessing which roads to take. I guessed wrong and we began winding our way up a mountain with no easy way to turn around. Eventually, we got turned around and back down into the valley. By now the sun was on the verge of disappointing and panic had set in. We dashed back to the original castle. Trying to find a vantage point we parked in a town. Just as we were headed to a good view it was like a light switch had been flicked and the castle was blanketed by the shadows of the mountain. It was still a great drive, it’s just a bit disappointing coming back without a single photo!

Today’s Photo: Alice Bel Colle

My morning was much more successful. The hotel has a handy guide with a brief summary of all the surrounding towns. Alice Bel Colle caught my eye for its purpose built mound with a 360 degree view of the surrounding landscape. We rose early and made our way there. Once atop the mound we weren’t disappointed by the view, though the heavy cloud cover wasn’t ideal.

I spotted a rift in the clouds with a bit of pink light coming through and realized I could frame it up just behind this church. I shot 3 exposures at -2, 0 and +2 which was plenty to cover the range in the scene as the clouds dampened the light considerably.

View of landscape from Alice Bel Colle, Piedmont, Italy from church with bell tower and tile roof showing rolling hills and vineyards with pink sky peeking through clouds at sunrise.