Town square, San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy
Fujifilm GFX100S II, GF20-35mm F4 R WR, f4 @ 1/30 second, ISO 12,800

Photography is a form of communication and, like writers, there are certain devices that most people find appealing. For instance, when we look at a photograph, we're looking at its contents within the confines of the picture frame - the edges of the image. So, if we find a location with a naturally occurring frame, like a doorway, an arch or a window, we're doubling up our framing as we look into the scene. It is generally an easy way to create a little extra interest.

Even more interest is added by shooting at night and including the silhouetted figure of a seated Italian gentleman, watching the evening go by. Earlier in the day, four gentlemen sat under the arch on those old kitchen chairs, holding court for throngs of tourists who walked past. And they were very happy to be photographed - how tourism has changed the world! I didn't engage with the lone gentleman, liking his solitary pose while the street lighting leads the eyes around the shadows and the orange light creates a warmth of feeling. 

This photo was taken after a wonderful dinner in town. And rather than using a tripod, David Oliver would be delighted to learn I pushed the ISO up high so I could hand-hold the exposure. I have to confess I'm pretty amazed at how noise-free this file is - modern cameras really are amazing devices and you can remove even more noise with a program like Topaz. However, I don't think a little noise for a night image is a bad thing, but then again, maybe this is my generation showing through because we're used to night photos being coarse and grainy!

There's so much that can be done to interpret our photos in post-production, even if it's just a simple exposure adjustment or cropping the image square. If you're interested, I've just released a new series of tutorial movies where I run through 10 travel photos, showing step by step how they were processed in Lightroom. If you're interested, you can see more on the Better Photography Education website. 

And Tony Hewitt and I have just announced our Italian road trip in October this year, which you can also find on the Better Photography website under the Photo Tours menu.