Retro//Reflection - Issue #2
When you find yourself on a country road somewhere in Tuscany ...
Retroreflection is a (give or take) monthly issue that contains a handful of (my) photographs and where I share a bit of insight on them. As an enthusiastic amateur photographer, anything goes.
Maybe you learn something?
Or perhaps it will spark some inspiration?
I’m still figuring out how Substack works, but in between the first issue and this second one, somehow a handful of people noticed the existence of Retroreflection and subscribed.
Thank you all for showing your interest! This means that I’m no longer screaming into the endless void :)
In this second issue I want to show you some images of Tuscany, Italy. Well known for its rolling green hills, with characteristic winding roads and cypress trees. Many photos you see online and in magazines have been taken at a specific time of the year, when the landscape is nice and green or when there is some nice cloud coverage. Or heavily edited to beyond belief.
But, when you’re only there on a holiday, you don’t get to choose - you get what you get :) Even at the end of August, when it’s 40+ degrees Celsius during the day, you can still come home with some nice images - if you care to get up early or wait until sunset.
There where a few things that caught my attention: a bus stop seemingly in the middle-of-nowhere, lots of broken telephone wires, a patch of cloud at the right spot above a line of trees, a tractor steaming down the hill.
The landscape itself was still nice and rolling (see above), but rather brown (probably from the scorching 2023 summer heatwave and plowing by farmers). However it did feel that it had some great character!
If you’re wondering, you can find these views on Strada Malarampa and Via della Bonifica near Villamanga (it’s about a 20 minutes drive north of Volterra). There was plenty to photograph, so I selected about 20 images and put them together on my website, click the button below to see the full album:
Each issue I would like end with a mentioning a photographer or photography-related website or publication each time, simply to shown my appreciation for what they do.
This time it’s (nomad) (street and travel) photographer Roman Fox. He has a Youtube channel, but I think it’s great that he also writes about photography. One that I think is particularly interesting is Reviewing My Best Photos 2019 - 2023 because here he shares a nice insight on his favorite photographs (something I strive to accomplish here on Substack as well).
That’s it for this second issue!
Feel free to leave a comment or response - it will be much appreciated.
Or share this with your friends!
Until the next one. Cheers,
Ronald
ronaldsmeets.info
I've always thought since visiting Tuscany that to make sense of Italian renaissance art, one should pay close attention to the light and landscapes in the area. Great photos!