Sunsets

«Se le ore del giorno fossero luoghi, prenderei casa in un tramonto» – Gabriela Pannia

Sunset from Mt. Quarin. Cormons (GO), Italy.

Michele Marcolin © 2018. Em1 + ZUIKO M.12-40mm F2.8

Odaiba

“The Metropolis should have been aborted long before it became New York, London or Tokyo” — John Kenneth Galbraith

18 frs. panorama of Tokyo from Odaiba. Tokyo, Japan. Michele Marcolin ©

E-M1 + Olympus M.12-40mm F2.8 | A ƒ7.1 1/125 ISO 320

It has almost become my new masterpiece, both for composition and quality. But my previous 29 frs. pano from Yokohama Marine Tower still remain unmatched, in my opinion. The day was clearer and the vintage point was better. But I fell in love with those stones on the shore paired by the two towers on the right! You can check it on Flickr for better detail (https://www.flickr.com/photos/liveactionhero/19759792089/), if interested. I had to shrink down the file as the original is more than 6 meter wide on native format.

I have taken this picture last week during an improvised exit to Odaiba, the newly (not so much anymore) built island in front of Tokyo. It is quite an impressive place for architecture and modernity lovers. But personally it gives me rather strange feelings: mismanagement of space, desire to emulate other and far better realized modern international architectural spaces, a touristic-commercial attraction with not much or original to offer. Honestly speaking, I really have the feeling of being in Tokyo Disney over there: everything is so artificial and fake, with the only really grotesque difference lying in the fact that to Tokyo Disney I can have fun because I know it is fake and imperfection, incoherence, absurdity is part of it; in Odaiba it is for real! Fake international restaurants, fake lungomare walks, fake attractions, foreign music… Imagine to be in a recreated Kyoto on the shore of Muscle Beach in L.A. Something like that. But there are no kakuremicky to search for in intersections of tiles or decorative patterns, and no daily night fireworks show, as in Disney Sea. lol

Only one thing it is unquestionable: it makes an outstanding point to get a view on the Tokyo metropolis from outside. And what a glance! A ride down there in late afternoon is a must if you are in Tokyo and you have some bills to invest in a fancy dinner on a terrace restaurant. But watch out for your shoe when you rush back before midnight, when trains stop and leave you in the middle of the bay… lol

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky”

—Rabindranath Tagore

Friuli’s countriside from Mount San Michele | D3s + Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD, ƒ/9.0 1/80 ISO 640

According to Catherine Opie the biggest cliché in photography is sunrise and sunset. I agree. Actually against landscape photography itself already Ansel Adams had something to sentence about. Nonetheless without challenge there is no improvement. So, sunrise, sunset as well as any landscape are very welcome to me to test the unlimited possibilities of interpretations. I recovered this one over the past few days, going through my library to identify forgotten or left-aside shots. – the more I go through my imagery, the more I notice I am led by clouds – besides my beloved lines.

It was taken a couple of winters ago, the last time I brought that anvil of my Nikon D3s back to Italy. The hills around San Martin del Carso, beyond Isonzo river, right in front of my town, Gradisca d’Isonzo, were the theater of harsh and deadly fights during WW1. Leftover of trenches and fortifications have been made into museum and memorabilia. So much you can dominate with your camera, as much these places were considered necessary for artillery. We still shot indeed, although with different tools. And right behind me – behind the spot this shot has been taken – lots of things stand as memento of a deadly experience, where the only red was that of the blood spilled by the hundred thousands that died slaughtered for us to enjoy here today these colors.