Final Powerpoint

I hope everyone has enjoyed this photo blog, flawed as it may be. I intend to further pursue photography, hopefully with a better camera. I enjoyed the challenge of capturing the many different faces of Italy in snapshots, and I hope you enjoyed them as well!

Dichotomy

I really love the way that nature and man interact in Italian architecture. The buildings and structures are always gorgeous, but when nature is added in, the two mix and create something much more perfect.

Wrap Up

As you have probably noticed, my pictures are not grouped by category or date. These last photos are of all different aspects of Italian culture, a miscellaneous collection of photos.

By Boat, By Plane, By Train...

I think that we used almsot every form of transportation, both public and private, in our efforts to explore as much of Europe as possible. Here are some pictures from traveling. Anote on the picture with the Eiffel tower in the background, I know this picture is not the best, but I absolutely loved the concept of seeing the tower from the metro train.

 This is what an Italian bus station looks like. Not too shabby.

 Maggie and the Eiffel Tower, on our way "home"

 plane, leaving Italy

 There's nothing quite like coming home, no matter where you've been.

 This is what an airport in Rome looks like at 3 a.m. I wouldn't recommend spending the night in it.

Finally, this is what comfort and familiarity looks like. I was so happy to find a Starbucks in the Heathrow airport on my way home.

Pretty People

These are four more pictures that are of people from this trip. The first one was taken in Paris, and it is probably in the top five favorite pictures I have taken on this trip. The second was during our first week in Italy, you can tell because we were still getting ready in the mornings! The third photo is of Dana and her daughter Seraphine, two people I was very privileged to meet and spend time with on our trip. Finally, the last photo is of children eating their lunch at a museum. Precious!

Fleeting Night

One of the things I had a great deal of difficulty with on this trip was capturing nighttime shots. My camera only goes up to an eight second exposure, and even then the shot comes out blurry if the ISO setting is turned up decently, as you can see in the black and white beach scene. Still, I had a lot of fun messing with my camera and figuring out the best ways to capture events and scenes without light.

 The Pantheon was my favorite "hang out" spot in Rome. It was sucgh a unique experience to be able to spend time relaxing and laughing with friends on the steps of such a colossal, historic and impressive structure.

 This shot is the one previously mentioned. It was taken in Sardinia during a storm that rolled in during the night. I wish that my camera had more advanced settings, but I like the way this shot turned out none the less.

 This cactusplant inhabits the apartment that one of the students on the trip rented for her children. The sunset views from the porch were beautiful every night.

Finally, this is the student, Dana, with her son Dominic, walking through the streets of Corciano back to their apartment. 

The Rocky Difference

These are a few of my promotional pictures for Rocky Mountain College and the semester abroad in Italy. The rest are scattered throughout the photo blog. There is nothing better than experiencing great things with great people. :)

Delectable, Delightful...Devoured

Olive trees are abundant in every part of Italy that I traveled to. Much of the olive oil is made locally, so there is a great deal of variety among different areas, and personal care put into each bottle.

Another food item that we consumed in large quantities was chocolate, in all forms: Nutella, kebabs, liquid, cake, etc. We were fortunate enough to attend the Euro Chocolate Festival in PErugia. These are a few shots from that trip.



Finally, last but certainly not least, we were exposed to a wide variety of beverages on our trip, from Italian coffe to Grappa and Limoncello, two alcohols that I would  recommend never trying!

 

Student Art

At the end of our program, we had a gala to celebrate our work and to thank everyone at the villa for being so hospitable and wonderful. These are a few of the pieces that were made by student from Rocky Mountain College. The first pictures shows some of Ellen Moak's works, drawn in various mediums on paper, as well as the works of Dana Lomas (from UGF), done in watercolor on paper. The second image is  a shot of Shane McClurg's linoleum print, done in water based inks. The third shot is a charcoal inure drawing that I did, and the fourth photo shows some of Meg Thees' linoleum prints, down in inks and watercolors. I think that we all did great work, and surprised ourselves with our accomplishments.

An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have.

Buildings, Blossoms.

Perugia: gorgeous, intricate, sprawling, new growth, old growth, evolving, bustling. These are just a few words I would use to describe Perugia. It is the perfect mix of a large city and a small town. There are both local shops that have been family run for centuries, and there are large department stores and designer boutiques framing the city piazza. 

This is a stone blossom from the museum in Florence that houses the statues and pieces from the Duomo.  I like the contrast between the soft, delicate nature of a flower and the cold, hard, medium which is used. These flowers are very common in Roman architecture, and are amazingly preserved in many areas around the city.

"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into."  ~Henry Beecher

"Faces" of Italy

There are so many wonderful people that we have meet and seen along our journey. I am regretful that I have not captured as many faces as I could have; however, I have gotten some shots that I really love, and these are a few. The second shot is from a Roman house that we visited. Some of the original paint in the house survived, and this face was one of the best preserved images. It is over 2,000 years old. AWESOME! I only wish that my camera had better focus :( The last image, obviously, is a cat. Now, before coming to Italy I was definitely a dog person. However, Italy has cats everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I mean there is a cat sanctuary in the middle of Roman Ruins, also in the middle of the city. They seem to be a great deal more agreeable than American felines. This big guy was so fluffy and cute, he purred and rolled over the whole time I was playing with him. Italy, you'll make me a cat lady yet.

"No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens." -Abraham Lincoln

These next few photos wrap up my "faces" photography of my time abroad. We met many interesting characters, and some of the most wonderful people on Earth.

Happiness

These photos are just a few of my personal favorites. They may not necessarily be considered good photographs, but they are a few that I just really enjoy looking at, and make me really happy. The first one is from our break on the island of Sardinia, and the second one is at our villa.

"Joy is not in things. It is in us." -Richard Wagner