… or Tuscany in sepia tones. Thanks to Cee for this week’s Fun Foto Challenge – Black and White or Sepia – these shots have been waiting for such an opportunity to lure you away from the Cathedral squares and down deserted back streets, just to see.
Wandering the Back Streets
The Wanderlust Gene 
wow! LOVE these!!
Gorgeous Tuscany, eh?
yes!! and I love the colors, or lack thereof 😉 Makes the ancient all the more ancient.
These are spot on! Your choice of toning seems quite appropriate. I also like your approach to exclude as much sky as possible – when it’s white/grey it rarely adds any value and prevents slightly longer exposures to get into the shadow areas. Nice series.
Ah, Stephen, you’ve hit the nail right on the head! Thank you. Grey glary skies, narrow shadowed streets – seemed impossibel – on top of which, it was the claustrophobic deeply textured alleys that interested me, not the occasional glint of sky 🙂
🙂
I never take or process any picture in B/W or sepia. However looking at your photos in this post makes me think again. Maybe I should give it a try. 🙂
I began doing it when I was trying to save some of my badly degraded slides, Bama – and with some scenes it seemed to work a trick! It’s still a matter of experimentation – sometimes black and white works best, others the sepia. I liked the sepia for these because it highlighted the warmth of the stone. I hope you try some 🙂
Cee’s sepia challenge has made for some interesting posts this week! I’ve seen quite a few of them and like Bama think it may be worth trying!
I REALLY love “After Mass, Sunday Morning”: If you told someone this was an actual 19th century photo, they’d believe you! Stunning, timeless shot!
I do hope you give it a go – it’s fun to experiment with these monotones, to see how they change the picture, sometimes quite dramatically! 🙂
These are good… wonderful…
Those streets have been there forever, eh, Bulldog – the sepia seems to suit them.
The first one is a bar in Florence I think….near the Arno.
You’re right Dehra – it is Florence – close to the river, walking up to Piazza Michelangelo – taken in 1976.
It still looks the same.
Wonderful series M !
Thanks Angeline dear – the sepia seemed perfect for these simple scenes.
Dear M.
I like very much these serie of pics…I agree: sepia is the perfect colour…They bring old memories…They remember me the “Neorrealimo Italiano” films, from the late 40´s and 50´s…They got the atmosphere…(did I say I like them? 🙂 )
Bless you! Yes, the sepia seems to take them back another time – I’m so glad you thought so too 🙂
It is photos like these that have me yearning to return more than those grand vistas and well-known sights! What a wonderful collection ~ Kat
Me too, Kat – they’re the sort of discovered places that make our travel memories so vivid and personal.
Tuscany…, my love! Your beautiful b/w photos reminded me instantly of Henry James said, “There is nothing new to be said about her (Italy) certainty, but the old is better than any novelty.” 🙂 Thank you, twg!
Perfect quote Amy – Mr. James, always good with words and feelings, has it just right 🙂
Very nicely seen pictures.
Thank you – we’re in agreement about what’s interesting then, on our walk? 🙂
Such fabulous photos for this week!! I adored them all!!
Thanks Cee – it was a terrific challenge. I loved experimenting with the tones and am so pleased with the sepia for these timeless scenes.
I think black-and-white photos work perfectly with such old buildings. Somehow, it’s a more realistic image of them to me. 🙂
I agree, JM. On top of which I like the way the textures and shadows are enhanced.
These are so pretty. I really like the sepia look.
I was intent on doing black and white at first, but after a while gave the sepia a go and found it totally changed the images – it was fun )
Those sepia tones evoke a sense of nostalgia, like I am sifting through my own memories of the place! Beautiful series Meredith.
I was really thrilled with the way the sepia changed them Madhu – like a stack of old post cards found in a drawer, they made me want to relive many streets, many cities … 🙂
Lovely photos, sepia creates such a good atmosphere.
I’ve rarely tried it before LG – and was absolutely delighted by how it changed the mood, even the image itself, in a way.
Such atmosphere, Meredith. I must find time to post some B & W and have a look at the others. Meeting myself coming backwards atm.
Weddings and holidays will do that to you Jo! Hope you enjoy playing with the monotones – I’m sure you’ll have lots of images to play with. 🙂
Terrific street scenes!
I remember being excited about them when I took them, back in the mid-70s, but looking at them now the sepia seems to have taken them back to the 40s or 50s – I’m over the moon by the results!
“Lure” is the perfect word. I just want to follow the little paths.
Ah – that’s why I can never post wordlessly, Michelle! Thanks for dropping by – hope everything’s ok and you’re enjoying your winter wonderland at home in Niagara?
We would get along just fine on a trip. Florence is my absolutely favorite city in the world. Taking a walk on her backstreets, away from the tourist throngs, makes for a great afternoon — or series of them. Displaying your photos as you did gives them that Old Country feel. Mi piace. 🙂
Just wandering, getting lost in the little lanes, ferreting amongst the jumble of stuff in dusty shops and looking through almost closed doors and gates, stopping off for a coffee or late lunch, that’s my idea of bliss John. In fact, these days, I have to force myself into the museums and galleries, make appointments with myself to visit the great ‘sights’.
Beautiful set of photos.
Well, of course you’d enjoy them – especially the cafe in Florence … sorry about the nostalgia trip 🙂
haha no I’d love to see more. I missed out on Sienna this time. Next time for sure. 🙂
A fantastic collection and perfect in sepia! I love the old-world look and feel.
That’s great that you agree with my choice of sepia to enhance the timelessness of these old streets – it’s good to know when one’s been successful. 🙂
I love the back roads / streets, they can be unsafe -yes-, but they are so lovely in their rustic fashion.
I suppose you’re right, but I never think about them being unsafe Scott … 🙂
absolutely marvellous …. sepia works perfectly!
Doesn’t it? I was thrilled with the results.
Lovely. Siena? Lucca?
Glad you could wander with me Robin. A bit of a mixture – Florence, Sienna, Spoleto, San Gimignano – if you hover over each picture, you’ll see I’ve included the location.
Oh, I didn’t realize that.
Or it’s down on the bottom left of the screen when you tap the gallery into action! 🙂
Tuscany is such an amazing location for photography, I was planning of going there two years ago but never had the chance to visited it yet. I never knew about this secret locations there but now thanks to you I may finally go and get my self a ticket and head to Italy to explore these beautiful back streets of Tuscany 😉
Thank you Nikolay. Sorry your plans to visit were foiled in the past, but yes, you must try to get there if you can.
Beautiful photos!!
Thanks! Hard to go wrong, shooting the back streets of any of these charm filled towns 🙂
As good as being there, now or then!
Fascinating!
Full of stories, Margaret … 🙂
sensational shots Meredith