Hello Steemians!
Today I would like to share with you a photo series from my little travel to Castelnuovo Magra, a town located in the province of La Spezia, on the first hills of Liguria (Italy).
I will utilize this post to join a particular contest. Behind the Photo is a competition launched by @nelyp and @johan.norberg for the beginner, amateur and professional photographer where you can illustrate all the things about your method: the motives, the ideas, the photos, where and why you take a photo, the story of the moment...what you want. If you would like to know more, visit their blog or the Official Launch Post of the 4th Edition.
My travel began last week, a simple afternoon. I took my bike and I ride along the Aurelia Road. The distance to the town from my home is about 15 kilometers. I slowly biked there and I faced a short roughness that cyclists call La Carlotta, to rejoin the main road and arrive in the town after less than two kilometers of climb.
As I said, Castelnuovo Magra is a little town on the first hills of Liguria, coming from the seaside zone of Tuscany. It is located above the top of a short slope. Precisely for this reason, in the past, it was used as a strategic point and fortified in a workmanlike manner.
The origins as an inhabited center date back to Roman times, even if the actual village seems to be born a little later than the year one thousand. It was the stay of the famous poet Dante Alighieri, here guest as procurator for the stipulation of the Peace of Castelnuovo signed after the wars between the great feudal lords of the area, the Malaspina, and the duke-bishops of Luni.
The Bishop's Palace-Castle
Today the remains of the ancient Bishop's Palace-Castle and the annexed towers are visible from afar. Entering deeper into the center, a work of great value is the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena, guardian of an ancient painting entitled The Crucifixion which was involved in an attempted theft by third parties no later than a year ago.
Here a shot from the way to the Palace-Castle
Here a tower of the Palace-Castle
I took each photo with my smartphone: yes, I don't use a professional camera. When I ride my bike to reach the different locations it's too impractical. I take with me my smartphone, I reach the location, I leave my bike and I take photos. The process is simple.
Why not explain the subjects? I wanted to photograph the green surroundings. The hills provide that feeling that can be felt in all the villages, especially here in Tuscany and in the surrounding areas. Being Castelnuovo so in the foreground on the sea, the sun touches the town almost throughout the day, from morning to evening.
At home, as usual, I opened my smartphone and chose the best photos. I choose them not only for aesthetic criteria but above all because they give the idea of a detail that can be attributed to the location where I have been: perfumes, environments, buildings, history, religion or everything that can be a distinctive point that characterizes them.
An arched entrance on the way to the Palace-Castle
A little crib immediately before the square of the old Palace-Castle
Then, open the pc and post-process the photos. I rebalance the whites, add vignetting, add shadow and lights, sometimes I create a different tone or add saturation: all this also this time, with the photos taken in Castelnuovo Magra.
A lateral view of the entrance of the Saint Maria Maddalena Church
I hope you enjoy the post.
To the next!
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