The Path of the Gods [explored on 2023/12/10]]

I was in Messina, Sicily, for a convention - Messina, the city of the Strait. The city of the two seas, the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian - not two whichever seas, but the very stuff of myths and epics. Scylla and Charybdis haunted these narrow, deep, perilous waters.

As you would expect, I had tried to leave my camera at home (it was work, after all...), but it nevertheless jumped into my backpack, along with my Samyang wide angle lens and my tripod. Unfortunately neither of them told the remote shutter, so it stayed safe and cozy within my gear bag at home. Oh my gosh! What was the use of having a tripod while lacking a remote shutter? I just hoped that enabling the Delay exposure Mode would be sufficient to compensate for my awkward finger actually pressing the shutter release button.
So I began my Sicilian days with just as many sunrise sessions. Wow.
The weather was consistently unstable - an ever changing sky enlivened by an endless turmoil of clouds (sometimes benign, sometimes threatening and ominous), sudden showers followed by warm sun, and then again. There was at first a peculiar ambiance - a stormy mood, I would say - an epic character reminiscent of remote ages, when the gods and Cyclops trod these lands and monsters haunted these waters. I could understand the sense of awe the ancient dwellers of these places felt while contemplating such views. I could feel the presence of the gods of old just before me. Just all around me.

My last Sicilian sunrise was the tipping point of the experience, since I ventured as far as Capo Peloro, where the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas swirl into each other. Directly above the beach stands the mammoth electricity pylon of Messina, that was one of the tallest in the world. It is disused now, but it still stands proudly like a sentinel on the very northeasternmost tip of the island - a modern giant guarding the place once haunted by the monstruous Charybdis. The dolphins and swordfish that frequent these waters in Summer were gone, but the magic of the place was fully there. It was a windy, almost but not quite cloudless morning and the blooming light at the horizon, pouring from the rugged coastline of Calabria glowed fiercely, announcing the fiery chariot of Apollo. I have been tryng to tame this kicking bracketing for more than one month. The processing of the sky has been very challenging, due to the fast motion of the clouds, that was very noticeable in every shot of the bracketing, and their changing shape. And the light was harsh on the clouds, making them translucent in a way I do not love at all. Maybe the gods were trying to forbid a mere mortal to show their private path to the world. The myth of Prometheus stealing the fire from the gods to give it to the mankind should have taught them that they simply cannot stop mortals to get what they want to know. I am hoping that my own punishment for my blaspheme deed is somehow smaller that Prometheus'.

Explored on 2023/12/10, nr. 42.

I have processed this picture by blending an exposure bracketing [-2.0/-1.0/0/+1.0/+2.0 EV] by luminosity masks with the Gimp (EXIF data, as usual, refer to the "normal" exposure shot).
As usual, I gave the finishing touches with Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Raw files processed with Darktable.

Taken in: Italy / Sicily / Messina / Torre di Faro (show map)

Taken on: September 30, 2022

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Italia

Italy

Sicily

Messina

Strait of Messina

Stretto di Messina

Greek myths

mythology

epics

myths

miti

mitologia

sea

water

clouds

morning

early morning

dawn

sunrise

daybreak

Apollo

Helios

chariot

pink

rosy

sun

sky

seascape

mountains

hills

Calabria

mainland

alba

mattina

gods

ancient gods

Olympian gods

Nikon

D750

luminosity masks

Samyang

14 mm

Darktable

the Gimp

wideangle

Nik Color Efex Pro 4

beach

spiaggia

dark

Prometheus

Prometeo

challenge

sfida

glow

glowing

fiery

leading lines

wind

windy « less

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Camera: Nikon D750, f/14.0, 1/25 sec, 14mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D750
Aperture:	f/14.0
Exposure Time:	0.04 sec (1/25)
Focal Length:	14mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	GIMP 2.10.34
Show full info

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