One of the great thrills of my job is hosting photography workshops in great places like Venice, Italy. Add Carnival to the mix and it makes for an unforgettable adventure! The crowds were immense but if you knew where to go you could avoid them a lot of the time. It was great fun photographing the masked models at sunrise (see blog post) and all of the amazing costumes that people wore as we walked around the city.
The beauty of the city is legendary and it lived up to the hype. With canals cutting everywhere and little bridges arching over them as the many pedestrians made their way around, it was a photographers’ dream. We walked many miles each day and it was interesting how peaceful and quiet that was even though there were many people around. We went over the Grand Canal to near the bus terminal and it was disconcerting how the car traffic made us feel a bit uneasy. It is too bad more cities can’t be without vehicles.
I’ve said it many times after a workshop but it always holds true that it is interesting how a group of strangers can come from all over the U.S. and meld together so quickly around photography. Once again I had a great group of people and it was fun working with them to not only show them Venice but see how fast their photography improved. It was a great week!
