WHERE DO THESE PICTURES COME FROM?

Good photos seem natural and effortless.

Inevitable even— especially when they are not.

As demonstrated by the numerous out-takes from the laborious assemblage you see here (above and below).

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Realized with the help of a convex traffic mirror in Via Bolognese on the northern heights above Florence, at a juncture of narrow lanes channeled by rustic stone walls.

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For obvious reasons, my brother and I almost never appear in the same photo, unless there are special circumstances.

These usually involve a fellow traveler asking us to take their picture, then politely appending, "Why don't I do yours too?"

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Over the years, photographic equipment came and went...

I remember my brother's long succession of increasingly specialized (and heavy and expensive) lenses and scopes.

Once upon a time, I even remember him buying rolls of "film", whatever that might have been.

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Above, with cell phone engaged and digital camera at rest...

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I nibble around the edge of photographic documentation myself, from time to time.

In the picture above, note the lurking shadow in the lower right corner.

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Here a writhing shadow grips a hunk of metal high overhead, framing the shot.

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Here the shadow takes on an intricate life of its own, while the photographer grasps a pottery shard in one hand and his device in the other.

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As for shadows...above and below.

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