Album Black and white from Annalia S.

stornelli fiorentini

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 13:11:37 +0000

Sant'Ambrogio square is on my route home from work and a coveted spot for street musicians (see www.ipernity.com/doc/2518356/50885646).

This time it was the turn of a trio singing/playing the typical Florentine "stornelli" - folk tunes featuring often humorous tales of the life of the common folk: love, betrayal, rotten luck, mischievous youngsters, nasty bosses, sassy women and not so holy clergymen. While not quite as popular as other groups, they did have an appreciative audience, who giggled and laughed out loud at some of the (sometimes heavy-handed) humor. The singer took a break to go get some cool water for himself and his partners, so he only appears in the PIP, where he's singing the woes of a husband coming home to find his wife closeted in the barn with the next-door farmer.

lonely heart bench - HBM!

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 08:27:41 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

Have a lovely week, everyone!

For Andy: light and dark

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 11:52:35 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

Like many here, I think about you often, Andy, and check on Isabel's news on your progress first thing after I log in. Today, I went through my images to find one that would help me show what goes on in my thoughts when I think of what you, and your family along with you, are going through.

As photographers, we know full well that darkness has its uses, and its lures. But we also know that, just as light needs darkness to define its contours, so too darkness is nothing without light to show its edges. And light is waiting for you, Andy, just beyond the rim of your closed lids: you have been resting in darkness for a long time now and it’s time to remember, as a much better photographer than I will ever be once told me, that “it’s all about the light”.

Let the light in, let it give you back your days, your loves and your loved ones, your zest for life that we miss so much. Your body took a beating, and perhaps a bit more rest might still be needed to build back its strength after the terrible battle it fought, but now you must try to put the memory of that terror behind you and let light do its magic, just like it does in so many of the pictures we all love.

We are all waiting, along with you, Andy, for that moment when the first light breaks through and brings the world back out of the shadows.

the ramp - HFF! (PIP)

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Fri, 21 May 2021 15:06:07 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

One of the ramps that lead to Florence's satellite villages from the path on the right bank of the Arno River.
In the PIP: at the top of the ramp looking across the river to one of the villages on the left bank.

Wishing everyone a sunny, pleasant HFF!

Most of all, sending out to Andy Rodker light-filled thoughts and positive feelings to help him fight off the infection that is wearing him down.

HBM!

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Sun, 23 May 2021 21:52:40 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

Happy Bench Monday, everybody!

Have a nice week!

the water mill (PIPS)

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 10:04:48 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

Sometimes on one bank, sometimes on both, structures that were once water mills punctuate the course of the Arno River. Over the years, they have often gone through various transformations (factories, granaries etc) and this one has more recently been repurposed to become a hotel, called - what else? - Il Mulino di Firenze. I took this shot just before the wind picked up and ruffled the water surface of the pool created by the milldam.
In the pips a different format in color of the same site, the "twin" mill on the opposite bank (now a residential complex) and a closer view of the milldam.

Spring gardens in black and white (PIP)

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 11:00:59 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

In the main image, gardens in bloom along the left bank of the Arno River.
In the Pip, light at play among the plants in my garden.

light at play in the garden

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 11:02:05 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

Does better on black, I think.

new life, silver bright

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 07:39:16 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

Dappled sunlight on the unfolding rosettes of hydrangea leaves in my garden.

evening comes

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 18:34:00 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

garden abstract

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 09:20:12 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

Light and shadow on the iris leaves.
Can you pick the "odd man" out? I left it in the frame because I liked the notion that Nature can never be made to completely fit our standards.:)

Have a good Sunday, everyone!

courtyard guardian (PIP)

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 09:12:33 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

A black and white kitty was the only presence in the courtyard of this agriturismo a short bike ride from Florence. Agriturismos are a sort of combination guesthouse-farm. By law, a high percentage of the food they serve must be of their own production. This one had a thriving vegetable garden just across the country lane I was travelling on and a very pleasant (if nearly deserted in the mid afternoon) courtyard next to beautiful olive groves and an orchard. In the pip: a glimpse of a shady corner of the inner court, with a collection of old farm implements.

HFF again, from the Tuscan countryside!

through and through balcony (PIP)

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 12:03:25 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

I was intrigued by this stairway balcony that opened up onto what seems to be another balcony on the other side.

HFF everyone!

in the garden

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 13:54:20 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

A delicate rosette of new leaves on one of my hydrangeas. I rescued this particular plant from a neighbouring garden when the owner died suddenly and her beloved plants were left to fend for themselves in the summer heat. It took me a while to locate the heirs and secure their permission to take care of her plants, so at that point many were beyond saving. This one was so far gone, I almost didn't take it, but now I am glad I tried anyways. It made a nice come back and, while it still suffers from chlorosis (hence the light color that works well in black and white), we are working on it :)

at the park

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Sat, 29 Feb 2020 15:04:11 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

Several generations enjoy the last of the sunlight at Villa Vogel park, with a clump of trees in the center bearing spring blooms and a nearby platanus tree still bearing its round seed heads from last fall.

trapped

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 11:21:11 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

One more HFF for you today. Hope everyone is having a good Friday!
Dried up leaves caught between a chainlink fence and the corrugated fibreglass privacy screen.

Florence Duomo: detail

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 10:43:53 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

Detail of the side of Florence's Duomo on an overcast morning with almost no shadows. While the polychromous marble is beautiful in color too, the black and white seemed to work better with this abstract.

family of oyster mushrooms

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 17:37:36 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

A thriving bunch of oyster mushrooms on a park tree.

holiday lights and the FIAT 500

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Sat, 30 Nov 2019 15:15:57 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

A sleek Fiat 500 catches the reflections of Christmas decorations in the high-end shopping district in Via Tornabuoni.

fall in black & white

nobody@ipernity.com (Annalia S.) — Sun, 03 Nov 2019 13:55:49 +0000

Annalia S. has posted:

An autumn leaf on a stone step. I liked the branching veins of the leaf and how they stood out against the soft wavy patterns of the stone.