After a long week at disney world with my family my wife and I are taking off to Paris (3 days) and Rome (5 days) at the end of the month for our honeymoon. I will be talking along my 5D, tripod. 17-40 and 70-200. (my wife want's lots of pics to put in the house) yeah! I am looking for suggestions away from the obvious places to go and shoot, also times of the day that work best for those locations too. Also, I am of the understanding that there is no photography inside the vatican chapels and museums, however can I bring a tripod and shoot outside in st. peters square? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
As a side note: taking seven kids under the age of 9 (blended family) to disneyworld for a week can drive a parent mad even with help from other family memebers! I need a vacation from my last vacation!
My personal preference is to take as little as possible in cities - I would take the 17-40 plus a small prime like a 28 f1.8 or 35 f2. Then depending where you are you have a small inconspicious kit you can use quickly. These are busy busy cities and I wouldn't even consider a tripod unless I was doing commercial work there. Otherwise the gear choices and fumbling around gets in the way of your eyes! Oh, and your other half will be impressed at your restraint and feel she's not also an accessory!
Paris - don't remember well enough, but I have some suggestions for Italy.
Vatican & St. Peters - Take your camera. There are some instances (chiefly the Sistine Chapel) where you can't take pictures, but take your camera. You can't not have a camera for St. Peter's - both the Cathedral and Square, nor can you prepare for it. It's absolutely stunning. I don't know about setting up a tripod indoors, I didn't try. I just used higher ISO and fast lenses.
Day Trips - as many of the truly obvious places are within the city (The Tiber, Pantheon - especially if you can catch light coming through the oculus, Plaza Navona, etc, etc.) A lot of people skip some of these.
Pompeii and/or Herculaneum - amazing ancient sites. Really and truly spectacular with plenty of photographic opportunities.
Ostia - Rome's Ancient Port
The Appian Way - the main road leading into Rome. You can now rent bikes and ride along it.
The most special place to me was the Villa Hadriana at Tivoli, a shot excursion from Rome. I don't have any pics to share but if you can get there early its wonderfully atmospheric and I often think of that place and its magic and beauty.
Mike Lambert wrote:
The most special place to me was the Villa Hadriana at Tivoli, a shot excursion from Rome. I don't have any pics to share but if you can get there early its wonderfully atmospheric and I often think of that place and its magic and beauty.
I never made it there, but next time I go back I will be stopping for sure.
When in Rome, watch your equipment. I was mugged on a bus and had some equipment stolen. The police just shrugged their shoulders and walked off when I tried to report it. If someone tries to engage you in conversation and you feel another person closing in on you, get out of that situation.
It is a beautiful city and rich in photo opportunities but something like that can ruin your trip.
I like longer exposures at night in Paris. Across the river from the Eiffel tower is a good place. Might have to fight a little for position though. Or getting the boats on the seine at night for the foreground looks good IMO.
