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This is the blog of Steve Burkett of Italy, Our Italy

Transforming a Lubriano Door

This transformation is dedicated to my dear friend Diana Armstrong. She and her husband David were adventurous souls who followed a dream that many of us have…they bought a place in Italy! And not just any place.

They have a beautifully charming home in Lubriano, Italy, where she spends time looking out at this view of the hilltop town of Civita di Bagnoregio. Here, she writes her beautiful books about Italian life, her father’s war, and cooking. If you are a late comer to my articles of Italy, please take a moment to see more about her life and accomplishments in my 2016 article titled, “Covering for Friends”.

Much of the charm of the Armstrong’s compound comes from the fact that their residence is part of a converted, 400-year-old monastery. In her first book, "Somewhere South of Tuscany: 5 Years in a Four-Cat Town" (2010), Diana tells the story of how they came upon, purchased, and renovated their home. In her second book, “A Winding Path to Umbria: The Silent Bridge of Time” (2016), we learn that her father was within that very same view, as he was part of the allied forces who fought to take that town.

The Door in Lubriano

Diana, you most likely know this door well…but as you will see, it is in better shape in my version, than in reality.

You pass by this door as you turn right out of your house toward Piazza Col di Lana…it’s just down a bit on the left. Specifically, it is number 2 Via Roma.

Here we see number 2 in all of it’s faded glory. Time, the weather, and neglect have left this once-proud door in very poor shape. In just moments, I plan to rectify that situation.

What do I need to do? Well, as is usual, I want to get rid of the more modern elements in this snapshot. For instance, the address plaque needs to go, as does the chain and padlock. How about that stopgap measure in the form of cardboard? That most definitely has to go bye-bye.

Stage One: Misplaced Artifacts Removed

Now…no cardboard, no chain and lock, and no address plaque.

Step 2: A Bit of Contrast and Saturation

Step 3: A Bit of Red Paint

The door is definitely old, so it will remain in a weathered condition, but I just don’t like that yellow-orange. Let’s go with a bit of red.

Step 4: Mood and Patina

Now were getting somewhere.

The Final Step

I like to put my transformed door and window photos into an 8x10 aspect ratio. The previous photos were too tall and skinny. To fit the photo into my desired 8x10, I had to add a bit to each side of the door to make the photo wider. So, I did just that.

Now, here is the final photo. It seems to be in the twilight hours, as it looks to be getting dark on Via Roma. Things seem to be much better now…maybe the owners would like me to come over to sand away that old paint and then paint the door anew. All they have to do is ask.

There you have it readers. And Diana, as you pass by, I’m sure that you won’t see that door in the same light, again.

Until next time…

Ciao for now,

Steve

Transforming for Light Within

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Kind of a mysterious title, isn’t it?

“Even with my iPhone, I crop the ‘keepers’ by clicking on that ‘Edit’ text”

It’s not some sort of Zen thingie, but one of my photo transformations…this one taking a daylight scene, converting it to night, but adding a bit of light spilling out into the night.

Enough said…let’s get started.

The Original Snapshot

As always, we start with the raw snapshot that I captured “in the field’…this ‘field’ being the charming Piemonte town of Barolo.

As I often do, I captured my subject as a panorama…this one being composed of these 3 shots.

And alas, the three photos combined into a panorama…but a very small panorama, I must admit.

Oh my, why did I bother?! But, I had something in mind at the time. So, trust me…and stick with me for just a couple of minutes to see where this is going.

Mailbox Removal, Please

Let’s remove that large, ugly mailbox from the door.

Done…no mailbox.

Crop It

Now I’ve cropped in to my satisfaction. I recommend cropping almost any photo one takes. It is not often that when we snap we get a desirable composition. Even with my iPhone, I crop the ‘keepers’ by clicking on that ‘Edit’ text to work on the crop of the photo. There is most always a significant improvement.

Saturate It

Now it’s time to work on the color, contrast, and such. So, just below, you see a more colorful scene.

Day to Night and Cast the Light

For the finished image, I wanted to darken the photo into an early evening timeframe. That means that I added a bit of blue to any part of the photo that would not be lit from within. And there is that mysterious light within that I mentioned earlier. And that light had to spill out in a warm way onto the brick pavers just outside the doors.

So, here you have the finished photo…going from that ugly panorama to today’s completed transformation.

So that’s it for today. I took a blah scene and transformed it into the way that I would have wanted to find it in the quaint town of Barolo…and yes, that’s from whence ‘The King of Wines’ (Barolo) hails.

We’ll add this to the list of completed transformations that you saw just last week collected into one place.

Until next time…

Ciao for now,

Steve

Transformation at the Church of San Vidal

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A couple of weeks ago, we took A Typical Quiet Walk in Venice…you were there, right? We walked a bit, talked a bit, and saw some very pleasant sights along the way…some friendly people…a wedding-dress photo shoot…a sleepy gondolier. Ok, now you remember.

The Setting

Our walk started at our Hotel Flora, traveled along Calle Largo XXII Marzo, then through Campo Santo Stefano, over the Accademia Bridge, and into the quiet Dorsoduro sestiere of Venice. You may not have noticed it at the time, but we passed right by the Church of San Vidal just between Campo Santo Stefano and the Accademia Bridge. You can see our route in this photo…and I’ve circle the church in red.

Here is the door that I’ll be transforming for you today. This is from Google ‘Street View’, which covers most all of Venice, by the way.

I don’t like the location of this door, and I’ll tell you why.

There is a tower to the left of the door. That’s a bummer for me, as I wanted the door to sit in the midst of a solid wall…what we have here is kind of an asymmetrical mess.

In this aerial view, you can see the door and its location near the base of the tower.

The Blah Door

From past transformations, you know that I want your photo-memories of Venice (and all of Italy, actually), to be memories without modern yucky things like electrical and water conduits, manhole covers, and fire alarms, like the one in the original snapshot that you see just below.

The Transformation

It’s rather obvious that those electrical appurtenances have to go…we can all agree on that…right? OK, what else?

As I mentioned above, I don’t like the fact that there is no continuous wall to the left of the door…that’s our left, not the door’s left. For the door to be properly framed within the photo, we need more wall to the left of the door. I’ll work on that. And, that brick work to the right of the door will be super difficult to place all around the door, though the texture of the plaster to the upper left and right of the door ought to work ok.

I’ll get to work…

Voila, or should I say ecco, since we are in Italy and not in France!. At any rate, here we have it…a door centered on a wall of continuous texture.

The Final Product

All that’s left is the application of that traditional (at least on my part) Venetian patina. And here we have the finished product.

So, next time that we walk together in a quiet part of Venice, if I don’t see the potential within a door or window, please point such out and say, “Hey Steve, take a picture of that so you can transform it when we get back home”. I’d appreciate your help.

Oh, before we depart San Vidal, let’s talk about who he was. According to my research, he was either an 18th-century hermit from the region of Retz, Brittany, or he was Saint Vidal Luis Gómara, a Dominican priest who was martyred during the Spanish Civil War. Either way, I really like his medallion above the door…the dove-in-flight makes it look like he’s holding a cross, don’t you agree?

Ciao for now,

Steve

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A Promised Transformation

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Last week, we ran across a blah Venetian door whilst we walked through the quiet Dorsoduro district of Venice. Today, I fulfill my promise to transform it before your very eyes! So, let’s get started…

Here is the snapshot that we captured on our walk. I don’t like it. I’m going to do something about that.

As always in my Italy transformations, I want to give you an Italy of centuries ago, before electrical conduits and water pipes and doorbell buzzers and such were placed on the buildings. So, I’ll remove the distracting elements.

Distracting elements removed, but I don’t like the way the iron-embellished window throws off the balance of the photo. And the iron pipe to the right needs to go.

Window removed? Check. Iron pipe removed? Check.

It’s ancient-patina time, so I give the photo a rich mellow color.

Now to remove the house number and brighten up the colors of the door. But, I’m not liking the distracting stonework along the right edge of the photograph.

For my final version, I crop in a good bit to remove the distracting stone work along the right edge. Then, I’m not exactly liking the composition, as the window area on the left seems to compositionally weigh the photo down on that side. I’m going to add the iron water pipe back in to the upper right, where it belongs, as well as remove a bit of the plaster that surrounded the original. And, since I tightened the crop, I need to move the stonework at the top of the photo down a bit, so I’ll take care of that now.

So, here is the final image. A far sight better sight than the original snapshot captured while we were on our walk last week, don’t you think?

That’s it for today’s transformation from blah to ahhh. Hope you enjoyed the results, and the walk last week. Until next time, I say…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Transformation x 2

Just a couple of transformations today, as I’ve bene busy shoveling snow! Someone has to do it…right?

Trasformazione Uno

For this first transformation we go from a really blah snapshot of a door on a slightly inclined street, to something much more appealing. So, let’s get started.

Here’s that blah snapshot. I wasn’t wrong about the blahness, was I? I’m glad you agree.

As usual, I want to get rid of modern distractions, like the plumbing and its tarnishment, the address plaque, and that vestige of graffiti to the right of the door.

Now that it’s cleaned up a bit, it’s time to work on the color. I’ll work on the plaster by giving it a bit of old-world patina.

And as you know, I just have to do something with that humdrum door. So, here is the final image. Better, huh?

Trasformazione Due

Ouch! Why did I even bother to capture this image?! I guess that I thought I could do something with it back home, so I might as well give it a try.

Such a clutter of ‘stuff’ to resolve, like the address plaques, mail slots, doorbell ringers, chotskies, etc. So, here goes.

Here I am back after a bit of clutter removal. I’ll give the door a bit of color while I’m at it…I’m not happy with that dark green. Now that reflection behind the iron work has to go.

Reflection done and gone.

I’m ready to give the plaster some of that patina that I like so much.

And, for the final product, I’m going to brighten up that door so that the photo will look better on our wall.

There you have it. Two quick transformations in one sitting. Now I’m going out to shovel a bit more snow. I’ll be back next week with more on our favorite place…Italy, Our Italy.

Ciao for now,

Steve