Ancient Rome in Black & White

When In Rome

Rome was one of the most incredible places I have ever photographed. The history, art, architecture, food and so much more make it one of the most interesting cities in the world. In just over two weeks I’ll be back in Rome but just for a quick stop before heading on to Umbria for the upcoming Travel Bloggers Unite conference. Obviously, Italy has been on my mind as I prepare to spend a couple of weeks exploring places like Spoleto, Todi and Orvieto in Umbria as well as Florence and the Tuscan countryside.

I’m looking for some suggestions of places near Florence to visit and photograph, so please leave a comment with your suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I’ve been to Florence but not out into the heart of Tuscany. I’ll be renting a car to get around for a few days and would like to see some of those iconic typical Tuscan settings. Where should I go?

When I say that I’ll be in Rome, it’s really just the airport before getting a ride to Umbria. Since I’ve already been to Rome it’s not that tragic to not be spending any time there but I am a little sad to be missing out on such a great location to take photos in.

As I was fondly remembering Rome, I decided to take a look through some of my older Roman photos and it dawned on me that so many of them would look very cool in a nice black and white sepia toned tint. In today’s digital darkroom all photographers use Photoshop, but even though it is a great piece of software there are things that it does not do as elegantly as some third party plugins.

Want Great Black & White Images?

When converting digital photos to black and white, there is no better way to do it than to use Silver Efex pro by Nik Software.

All of these photos were converted to the sepia toned black and white that you see here by using Silver Efex pro. It’s the industry standard and once you try it, you’ll be hooked. Trust me! I’ll be writing a full review on this and other great software tools by Nik later this year but if you want to try it out for yourself for free, just head over to the download page to get your free trial version.

If – or should I say when –  you see that this is the best way to convert your photos to black and white and you want to pick up a full copy, just use the code KENK to save 15% off the price.

 

“All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.”

~Friedrich Nietzsche

Rome is made for walking. It is the perfect setting to use that great pair of walking shoes that you own and make them earn their title of “walking” shoe. If you choose to go around by taxi or public transportation, you will miss so many amazing views that will take your breath away. Walk! Seriously, it is far better to see this magnificent city slowly. This way you’ll have time to absorb the sights, sounds, and tastes the way they should be appreciated; in a leisurely and unhurried fashion.

Walking is good for the soul and for the mind. It also helps build up an appetite and Rome is most certainly a great place to have one delicious meal after another. This way you can have those mouth-watering Italian meals guilt free, since you’ll be burning them off with all that walking you’ll be doing.

The one thing that you absolutely do not want to do do in Rome is drive. I have no idea how come there are not thousands of accidents each day in the Italian capital… They drive like maniacs! Consider yourselves warned. :D

Taking the time this week end to work on these photos and write this post makes me wish that I was already in Italy. Not sure that it gets much better than being in Italy in the spring time, but to know for sure, you can ask me in a month when I’ll be back home and looking forward to my next trip – to Iceland!

“Take care of all your memories. For you cannot relive them.”

~Bob Dylan

The memories all come flooding back as I look at these images. The 5 am shoot at the Pantheon; remembering being puzzled by the kids on the Ponte Sant’Angelo eating horrible McDonald’s food when great eateries abound everywhere you look; being chased by a rather obese (and obtuse) police officer on the Spanish Steps for using my tripod; and being totally and completely in awe of the historic ruins at the Roman Forum for a whole afternoon.

I wonder what memories I’ll have of Italy after this upcoming trip. I can’t wait!

Thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me on this post. It’s been a fun way for me to get psyched about this upcoming trip. With so much to see in Italy, I know that this is not the last time that I’ll be planning a trip there. I’ve yet to see the Amalfi coast, Cinque Terre, the Dolomites, Lake Como, Sardinia, and Venice.

Venice is the top city in the world that I want to photograph right now and I hope to be able to do it very soon. For now, I’m thrilled to be going anywhere in this incredible country. To be getting the chance to spend time with a lot of friends while in such beautiful surroundings is the perfect setting to create a whole lot of new wonderful memories.

I’m looking forward to sharing those memories with you in the months ahead.

 

 You may enjoy some other posts from my time in Rome: