This summer my family and I went to Italy. We’ve chosen “Il bel paese” for the third time in the last five years to go on our yearly vacation trip. We’ve never been disappointed. Contrary to most other Germans we discovered the South for ourselves: Campania, Calabria, Basilicata and Apulia. All southern parts of the country are a festival for the senses. Especially if you are a northerner, someone who lives north of the alps. Irresistable turqouise colored water, cliffs to dive in from, white sand, black sand, lonely beaches (as well as many overpopulated ones), picturesque little villages, towns that are tightly angled winding mazes, cragged white rock formations rising up from the sea. And this is not even mentioning the food. I don’t think I need to elaborate on Italian food. You can tell. I loved it.
Having to go by plane, I allowed myself only three lenses to view the world through with my Sony A7. I must admit, mostly to myself, that 80% of my images were taken with a modern lens and a zoom lens no less. For me, owning about a hundred pieces of prime Altglas this is a sacrilege. But it was worth it. I’m overwhelmed by the quality of the images the Sony lens gave me. At first I didn’t think I would take it off at all. But then I realized: I needed to compartmentalize. The Sony FE 4/16-35 for capturing the beauty of the country, the Tokina 2.8/60-120 for catching my children with the full frame sensor (these won’t be displayed here) and the Porst 1.2/50 UMC X-M for transporting feeling via some bokeh.
I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
First off are some images of the beautiful coast between Ótranto and Lecce. They were taken at two different locations: Sant’ Andrea, just north of the Laghi Alimini (Alimini lakes) and about 3 km south of that at Brughiera Specchiulla. I was so lucky that we chose a hotel at jogging distance to these fantastic places. This enabled me to go there at night and early in the morning for the right kind of light.
Equally fascinating as the adorable scenery are the villages and towns we’ve been to: Alberobello, Ótranto, Lecce, Nardo, Loco Rotondo, Martina Franca, Ostuni, Gallipoli, Matera (not in Puglia) and some more.
It is astounding how well tight space is used in these towns. If you find yourself at in an ugly alley, just around the corner might be a beautiful little restaurant, crammed in a small place with just two tables outside.
Also you will find yourself in awe, when you visit castels, churches and other examples of old but masterful architecture.
Now some bokeh images that I would usually call my style. These are all taken with the Porst 1.2/50 UMC X-M for Fujica (that is not to be confused with the 1.2/55).
Finally there is the Italian lifestyle. One thing the Italians have over us is that they can shield themselves from ugliness, they can mask circumstances that would bother me, like being surrounded by countless strangers on the beach or other beautiful places, marrying in the middle of a million tourists, having candle light dinner while hundreds of people pass by every hour. This enables them to be happy whith what’s there, with what they have. That’s a character trait that we can all learn from and this is what it looks like:
I hope you enjoyed the trip I took you on and that I was able to give you a taste of what impressions Puglia can give you when you choose to go there.
The other side of Bokeh 
Hallo,
ich habe es sehr genossen mir Deine Fotos anzusehen, wobei mir Deine Architekturfotos am meisten zugesagt haben, die sind eine Klasse für sich.
nur weiter so, zeig noch mehr
Dieter
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Vielen Dank Dieter, das freut mich sehr. Diesen Artikel betrachte ich allerdings als abgeschlossen. Aber ich werde mal sehen, ob ich noch ein paar mehr Aufnahmen finde, die ich dann im DCC zeige.
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