If you look like you know what you’re doing, a funny thing can happen when you setup an interesting shot. It’s almost like you become a tractor beam for other photographers. They look at you and say, “gee whiz, that guy must see something cool.” Ok, so maybe nobody actually says, “gee whiz,” anymore but you get the idea.

In this case, I set the tripod up really low to the ground with the camera angled slightly up. Within a few minutes I had a little photo entourage going on. There were even a few people framing the monastery in the same way using the arches. I quickly found myself explaining the HDR process to the eager onlookers. With the great lighting we had that day, I have a feeling that some people ended up with fantastic shots.

I’m an absolute nut job when it comes to texture. I go bananas over it and It’s one of the staples of my photography.

These types of shots are an joy to work on because of the vastness of enhancing options for color, grit, and grime. Using HDR processing you can bring all the details back in the shadows and highlights giving you more power to enhance and color the texture. And if it’s color and texture that you’re after, there isn’t a better place to find it than Venice.

When visiting Venice, it’s important to know some basic Italian. Here’s a very useful phrase no traveler should be without:

Dove posso comprare il vino alla spina?
(Where can I buy Wine on Tap)

The only thing that I’m unsure about with this photo is the sign in the bottom left window. Do you guys think I should clone it out?