Through the gap - a photo on Flickriver

Through the gap

We were visiting Spello, a medieval walled town of pre-Roman origins preserving three Roman gates and many other remains from the Roman age. Stone upon stone, in such ancient towns every inch is colonized and civilized. Houses, churches, palaces and towers are huddled together like male Emperor penguins in a colony during incubation. As you are strolling around, breathing with the breath of history, you should expect some suprise at every bending - a flight of steps running up towards the bright colours of a walled garden, an enticing alley carved out of the crowded buildings, a small curiosity shop or a brewery where you can eat some local food while tasting their (usually quite good) handmade beer...
Yet there is even more than this to Umbria - more than simply this flavourful cocktail of nature, history, and art. One of the things I love of Umbria is the Umbrian people. The Umbrians are generally friendly, even congenial, and they enjoy taking (or rather tasting) life at an easy pace - which is particularly refreshing for people like us, coming from antipodean places where every day is, well... just a new damn hectic day.

Here I have captured a typical view of Spello: you are strolling along a long street and lo, suddenly the succession of houses breaks open and you can see the beautiful plain below, bathed in the sunlight - much like the surprise effect at the end of Eugenio Montale’s poem The lemon trees (you can read it in English translation here).

I am not fully satisfied with this picture for a variety of reasons - the main one being that the sky is dull and uninteresting (if you have visited my photostream you should have realised that I love the sky in my photos). Nothing to be done: the best upgrade I have been able to get has been from ugly to a bit less ugly ;.) However this issue (and those I do not mention here) has not made me change my mind, so I am uploading it. Hope that you enjoy the view and that it can uplift a bit your spirits...

I have obtained this picture by blending a "fake" (i.e. from a single RAW file) exposure bracketing [-1.3/0/+1.3 EV] by luminosity masks in the Gimp (EXIF data, as usual, refer to the "normal exposure" shot). A bit of further editing with Nik Color Efex Pro 4. The RAW file has been processed with Darktable.

Taken in: Italy / Umbria / Spello / Spello (show map)

Taken on: August 18, 2018

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Camera: Nikon D5100, f/9.0, 1/160 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D5100
Aperture:	f/9.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	+1/3 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	GIMP 2.10.18
Show full info

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