Thursday, May 21, 2009

Our own Venetian canals, flooding and gray skies

What is one to do when it rains every day? I know many of our friends in other countries, and in a beautiful city such as Seattle, Washington, can go on and on with long lists of dozens of rainy day activities. They deal with it nearly year-round. Me? It's Tampa. Florida. The Sunshine State. Where bright blue skies and oppressive heat are the daily norm. But the rain? I can well remember a morning in Venice, trying to cross the bridge and visit Peggy Guggenheim's house, and enjoy her incredible collection of modern art. The rain soaked walkways and passageways from St. Mark's were so under water that ankle deep puddles, torn umbrellas and pants soaked to the knee were the result. But, here's the kicker, my photos as we crossed the Ponte dell' Accademia over the canal to the buildings, boats and people were outstanding. The clarity. The colors. So unbelievable and memorable. Some of my best ever. Now, the equipment (and I) were soaked but the results that day from the bridge work because of the weather. Rainy gray skies are often the perfect measurable neutral gray which result in excellent color fidelity. The brilliance of the colors isn't affected by the color of the sky. Now please understand, I am not complaining about our rain. We need it so bad. But the lack of sunshine, constant drizzling and thunderstorms do get to your mood. Is it blue, melancholy, depressing? Or contemplative and good for the mind and soul to not be ravished to a crisp by the heat and sun every minute of the day. The constant downpours over the past several days mean a light jacket and umbrella are at hand, and in use. This evening I met a friend for drinks at a terrific restaurant on the water. I darted in and out parking the car and was clearly reminded of making my way to Peggy's house in Venice and the fun of not quite dodging or escaping the deluge that frequently consumes that magnificent city. Tampa is not Venice. But from time to time it's nice to be reminded of the colors that surround us and the comforting nature of a good, hard rain.

8 comments:

Don and Krise said...

Living about an hour south of Seattle, which you mentioned, we are well familiar with the rain. I hope it doesn't upset you that today it was about 70 degrees and beautiful here today.

Hilda said...

Well, you're right about the clarity and the brightness of the colors — this photo's fantastic!

Our weather's half rain, half hot sun and full humidity!

B SQUARED said...

Allow me to put it more succinctly, Enough is enough.

Frank said...

Do love the rain. But, tired of the daily rain. Go without?? Can't. Seattle seems to being doing pretty well. (The gray skies do wonders for color photography. I'll try to concentrate on that.)

Lois said...

We are probably in for a wet holiday weekend up here, but I don't mind. I like the cooler temps. The colors in this picture are quite beautiful!

Lowell said...

Very nice, Frank. We're going to have to spend some time in Tampa, I can see that. I've been through the airport and some meetings and wandered around the edges, but have never taken a comprehensive look at the city.

penny said...

Nice post, Frank. your photo is wonderful.
We were so dry last week and now it won't stop raining!
Thanks for the visit, enjoy your weekend...

VP said...

Love clouds, like rain, but not so much of it.