Florence Cathedral is beautiful at any time of the year and at any time of the day. Both inside and outside. I was not very lucky with the weather during the two and a half days of my stay in Florence: cloudy, fog, lingering rain from the gray sky... All the delights of not too photogenic weather were evident, with minimal moments of improvement :)
Nevertheless, today I want to share a few shots of the Florence Cathedral, more precisely, even its upper parts — the dome and the bell tower. I shot them time and again, and I got a few shots that seem nice to me.
At the same time, these photos can demonstrate how the lack of good lighting makes picture worse than it could be. For example, in this picture (and in the previous): a greyish sky and dim light through dense clouds make this beautiful red dome with interesting architectural details a little bit boring, agree?
It is worth noting that the weather and the sky are not too different from those in the very first picture in the post (I put three daytime shots side by side for comparison), but in that picture the sun briefly peeked through the clouds and illuminated the building a little better. And the lit building immediately looks more beautiful, especially in contrast with darker buildings in the shadow. Even with an inexpressive sky.
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And now you can look at the next photo. Night is already falling, there are still clouds in the sky and, moreover, fog after the rain. But the "blue hour" — twilight — makes the sky blue and more beautiful, and the bright illumination of two domes makes the buildings in the photo more interesting, draws attention to them. This way we can shoot landscapes, including urban ones, in any weather — the blue twilight sky and long exposure make the pictures much prettier!
And another shot from a different angle. It's already late, but the whole city glows with bright lights and the clearing sky turns a little blue itself. If it were completely clear and blue, it would be absolutely wonderful, but it turned out not bad anyway.
There could have been a beautiful sunrise... but it didn't happen. This is the terrace in the apartment we rented through Airbnb. It was from there that the view of the Florence Cathedral opened up. And although, as I said, the weather let us down, it was still nice to admire the city from there.
I managed to take some nice shots with the Cathedral from there, at dusk. Well, you won’t be able to control the weather, the main thing is not to get upset and still look for opportunities :) And remember about the "blue" twilight hour.
It's better to watch the photo in high resolution.
Camera: OLYMPUS E-M1 Mark II
You can also see my photos in my blog LJ and in my profile on NatGeo. You can read a short interview with me here.
These are some gorgeous shots!
Thank you! It would be sad to leave Florence without photos at all, so I tried my best :))
Oh Beautiful. I adore Florence and the cathedral. Blue hour is great. That view from the terrace is awesome.
Oh yes, Florence is a wonderful city. As for the terrace, we just fell in love with it :) It's so cool when the climate allows you to use rooftops and terraces all year round, that's why there are always so many flowers in such cities, I love it.
I often shoot during blue hour in cities, really like the results. Thank you!
Estuve en Florencia, es increíble la cantidad de catedrales e Iglesias presentes en esa ciudad. Una más bella de la otra.
Oh yes :) Monuments of civilization and culture, cathedrals are sometimes truly masterpieces.
Your photos are gorgeous. Even when the photos weren't taken in the best condition, they are still charming. Btw, I love Italy but I only visited Rome. I will definitely visit Florence next time.
Thanks a lot!
This is all the charm of the city :) Definitely worth a visit to Florence.
Florence Cathedral is beautiful. I hope I could see it one day. I like the spot where you are staying. You got a great view of the cathedral. Awesome shots.
I totally agree, this is one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen. Hope you get to visit there!
Thank you very much :)