What A Great Photo Walk We Had In Rome, Italy!!!

Good Morning Everybody,

It's been a whirlwind last couple days on our travels. We left Naples by train Saturday at 10:50 and arrived in Rome at about noon. We then made a quick trip to the beautiful Rome Cavalieri hotel and checked in.

DAZNOTE:  Just to let you know, I’m not made of money to be staying in this gorgeous hotel.  I just cashed in about a gazillion Hilton points to make it happen ;~)

LaDawn’s son Joshua and his wife Kristin were due to meet us at the hotel later in the day. You can imagine our complete surprise when still five blocks away from the hotel our taxi driver makes a right-hand turn slowly and we hear Josh and Kristin shout out our names. What an unbelievable coincidence – LaDawn’s son spotting us in the taxi as we were slowly making our turn to our hotel. 30 seconds earlier or later and the moment would have been missed!  That's like one of those once in the million, maybe even once in the billion chances of happening!

Anyway, we got settled in our hotel and Josh and Kristin joined us there shortly thereafter. We had a few hours before the Photowalk so we headed down to the Spanish Steps so that I could familiarize myself with the surrounds.  I think I picked about the busiest part in Rome to conduct the Photowalk.

There was one other minor problem as well  – It was raining. Fortunately we had brought a couple umbrellas with us. I'm thinking, here I am in Italy conducting the Photowalk for 50 people that signed up and it's raining – how many people are really going to show up.  Check out what the area looked like 45 minutes before we were to begin.

To my surprise over the next 45 minutes we gathered quite a crowd for the Photowalk. What was amazing to me is the fact that we had people that had driven down from Florence and many miles around just to be part of the walk. Our group included photographers from the Philippines, Switzerland, Italy, and a few other countries I can't even remember – it was truly an international Photowalk on Saturday evening.

Our group totaled about 32 by the time we begin the walk right at 6 o'clock.  Even though the crowds were quite heavy we still managed to keep mostly together for one of the most fantastic Photowalk's I've ever taken. Let me take the next few minutes to share with you some of my favorite images from our 2012 Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk.

1.  After taking only a few steps of our Photowalk we heard a loud commotion and quickly spotted a large number of protesters who were making it quite clear that they were not that happy with the political system in Italy.

It looked to me like a mini Occupy Wall Street, only in this case they were occupying Rome. Once we all pointed our cameras at the group the protests got even louder – I guess I thought we were working for the newspaper or something. Anyway, it gave a rousing start to our Photowalk.

2.  For an American walking through any European city it is quite special. And, walking through a city like Rome is even more special – the architecture, the history, and the sheer beauty of this city makes it a joyful experience for any photographer. The image below was taken right in front of this Spanish Embassy which happens to be located just a few hundred feet away from the Spanish Steps, our departure point for our Photowalk.

I brought a couple lenses with me but quickly decided on my super wide Sigma 12 – 24 MM lens for all of my photographs. I also made many images in HDR mode on my Canon 5D Mark III camera.

3 & 4.  These next two images were made as we wound our way through some very narrow streets walking towards our destination of the Trevi Fountain. Once again I use the wide-angle Sigma lens and made both images and HDR mode.  Oh, and good news, the rain stopped and we finished the walk under beautiful warm Roman skies.

5. This image was made at the very famous Trevi Fountain. By the time we arrived – about 6:30 in the evening – the place was packed. Even though this is a very famous landmark in Rome, the space in which to gather around the is quite compact making the conditions, at the very least, very challenging to keep our group together and for conducting a Photowalk. Still, it was cool to be walking past the very beautiful Trevi Fountain.

Yes, we even throw in some coins to guarantee our return to Rome.

6.  We continued our walk heading towards the Pantheon, the best preserved building from ancient Rome. The approach to this building at night was especially an amazing experience. The crowd was easily as heavy as it was at the Trevi Fountain but none of us really cared as we gazed upon the amazing beauty of this architectural wonder.

Next we headed inside and I made a few more images of the interior with my super wide Sigma lens. I love the result Ireceived got.

After soaking up the beauty for several minutes within the interior we made our exit and I grabbed one last photograph from the inside looking out. I sure was glad I did shoot the Canon 5D Mark III super high ISOs just to be able to get the images that I'm showing you in today's post.

7.  Next it was onto the Capitol Hill – the political center in Rome and in Italy. The architecture, much of it design by Michelangelo, what a joy to behold.

8.  After leaving Capitol Hill we passed the ruins of the Roman Forum and spent a few more minutes getting some great nighttime photos.

9.  Next it was on to the Coliseum – about 20 minutes away. I've been looking at the photographic Coliseum on my blog for the last several weeks but to see it up close and personal made for a spine tingling experience. There we were standing right next to one of the most famous architectural sites in the world.

So how is that for a set of Scott Kelby Photowalk images – pretty cool don’t you think?

One of the highlights of my Photowalk this year was the fact that many photographers who accompanied us were overwhelmingly helpful and informative in directing and finding a few shortcuts, so that the Photowalk would go smoothly. These guys were really enthusiastic about sharing the wonders of their city with us as we walked past these extraordinary sites. My heartfelt thanks to everyone that accompanied us on the Photowalk shared their expertise, enthusiasm, and generosity in striving to make my Rome Photowalk a wonderful experience for all those that participated. And, as I said before I was honored to have photographers from so many places around the world be part of our best Photowalk ever.

I'll probably be back in Cincinnati again next year for Scott’s Photowalk 2013 and I certainly invite all of our new Italian friends to make the trip to the USA. It won't be quite the same as Rome but it will still be fun!

Anyway gang, that's it for today. We're about to land in Santorini, Greece and make an entire day trip exploring this island. Getting online on the cruise ship – we boarded Monday afternoon – is quite a challenge.  Not only is it a challenge to connect but it also cost me $.75 a minute – ouch!

We've also been super busy since we boarded the ship on Monday and, as usual time is very short. I'll do my best to get another post up in the next day or two so stay tuned because I can't wait to show you some more images that we’ve captured on this trip.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today I'm signing off from Santorini, Greece. As I write this I can see that were getting even closer to the island and the captain is preparing to hit-the-brakes! The landscape looks amazing. .

Hope to see you soon, David