Shameless…

I am currently on vacation with my family on a Disney cruise in the Mediterranean. The last two days were spent in Venice, which is one of my favorite places in the world. I have been to Venice three times prior to this trip: twice for photography and once on another family vacation.

Since 2006 I have seen a tourist boom Venice. With many cruise lines adding Venice to their itinerary, this has been especially noticeable in the last year or two. When I was here last year, the hoards of cruisers made me cringe as they invaded the city, making photography pretty difficult for any time of day other than early morning. And now, here I am, one of those cruisers. ☺

Burano is my favorite island to go to in Venice. It used to be just a small fishing village but now restaurants, snack bars, and lace shops have taken over the main strip of the island. Away from the main strip, there are rows and rows of beautifully colored, incredibly up kept houses. Let me clarify: jaw-dropping colors. Reflections of the houses in the canals are a photographer’s dream. The flowerpots framed in colorful, shuttered windows are simply a bonus.

I used to be able to go to Burano and photograph the older women as they went about their daily life. Now that task is not so easy. While I have not totally given up on people photography in Burano, I swear I can see them cringe when they notice you coming toward them with a camera. On this trip, I could not even bring myself to sniper shoot the women or ask for a photo. After living their entire life on the quaint, little island it is hard to imagine the changes that the locals have experienced in such a short period of time.

In lieu of people, I asked myself what I was going to shoot. The normal street scenes and details were a given, but then as a kitty friend started following my daughter and I around the island, I shamelessly started to seek out other felines to incorporate them into the scenes. Here are a couple of shots from the last couple of days. The next time I come here I will have to remember to bring some fish treats and most definitely some hand sanitizer. Some of the cats are immaculately up kept, quite like their owner’s houses. Others… not so much.

While this post will definitely satisfy my family, who all call me a “kitty snob”, I cannot help but think of the many beautiful people that I have captured here over the years. Those photos, now like gold to me, are beckoning for me to revisit them upon my return home.

Cleaning Kitty

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