Tuscany November 2011

[Hans Kruse]

Here are some pictures from my last workshop in Tuscany in November when the light was fantastic and the greenery from the fields was coming out really great. Weather was not dramatic like the year before and I missed that. The year before there was rain and dramatic clouds mixed with sunlight that made it really spectacular. It's an experience I have from coming to the same destinations multiple times per year and year after year for my workshops that every year provides new photo opportunities and sometimes (often) radically different light and weather. Rather than always going to new places, I will advocate for going to the same places and really get to know them well and enjoy the wonders of a new experience every time. Nothing wrong with new places, of course 

On this trip I had the new Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II which is really a fantastic lens. In Tuscany I use almost entirely the Canon 24-70 f/2.8L and the 70-200 all the time. A wider lens does not work well for my style of photography and the locations. Although it was dry this year which meant that it was possible to walk into the fields (absolutely not possible when it is wet from rain) it still is rather difficult to get a good composition with a lens wider than 24mm on 35mm full frame.

Anyway here are the pictures and all are taken using the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II.



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

[langier]

Nicely done!

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

It's a great set!

Eric

[rgs]

These are really nicely done. I've enjoyed them a great deal. Numbers 3, 6 and 8 are my favorites and number 8 is just superb. The contrast of the small full range bits with the mostly high key effect is really nice.

I, also, find wide angles hard to work with when shooting landscapes. I much prefer a longish lens.

[Hans Kruse]

Thanks for the responses. I didn't want to say that wide lenses are difficult, only that in Tuscany I didn't find much use for ultra wide angle lenses. It's just that some landscapes are not made for ultra wide angle and others are (in my opinion  ).

[francois]

…It's just that some landscapes are not made for ultra wide angle and others are (in my opinion  ).

Hans,
I think you're right and Tuscany is such an example (at least in Val d'Orcia and other similar regions).

Bravo for your photos, it's always a treat to discover them.

[Michael H. Cothran]

It's just that some landscapes are not made for ultra wide angle and others are (in my opinion  ).

Exquisite images. The rolling hills of Tuscany remind me very much of the Palouse area in SE Washington state. And even most images I see from the Palouse are made with lenses in the 70-300mm range.

[JohnBrew]

Ain't the "Golden Hour" just wonderful to photographers? Very nice images.

[Hans Kruse]

Thanks everyone. I just checked my Lightroom catalog and for the last 6 trips shooting landscape in Italy during 2011 the statistics are the following:

Total shots 7535

Focal length range between 14mm and 35mm (using Samyang 14mm f/2.8, Canon TS-E 17 f/4L or Canon 16-35 f/2.8L II) 9,7%
Focal length range between 24mm and 70mm (using Canon 24-70 f/2.8L II) 34,6%
Focal length range between 70mm and 280mm (using Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II with or without Canon 1.4x TC III) 54,8%

The locations were Tuscany, the Dolomites and Abruzzo.

So you can clearly see my preferences

[francois]

Thanks everyone. I just checked my Lightroom catalog and for the last 6 trips shooting landscape in Italy during 2011 the statistics are the following:

Total shots 7535

Focal length range between 14mm and 35mm (using Samyang 14mm f/2.8, Canon TS-E 17 f/4L or Canon 16-35 f/2.8L II) 9,7%
Focal length range between 24mm and 70mm (using Canon 24-70 f/2.8L II) 34,6%
Focal length range between 70mm and 280mm (using Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II with or without Canon 1.4x TC III) 54,8%

The locations were Tuscany, the Dolomites and Abruzzo.

So you can clearly see my preferences

My percentage for Tuscany is a bit different but reads like:

FL < 24 mm:	5 %
FL >=24 mm and <=70 mm:	40%
FL > 70 mm and <= 200 mm:	40 %
FL > 200:	15 %

[jimbo007be]

Hi Hans

Thanks for those great shots !
Would it be possible to tell us where you took those pictures ? (specially the last 2)
I'm going to Tuscany in a few days 
Thanks in advance

[hcubell]

Hi Hans

Thanks for those great shots !
Would it be possible to tell us where you took those pictures ? (specially the last 2)
I'm going to Tuscany in a few days  
Thanks in advance

Both are iconic and well known locations in an area of Southern Tuscany called the Val d'Orcia. The next to last is just beyond San Quirico on the road toward Pienza. Find the Casanova Hotel, go in back of the parking lot and look out on to the valley. The last photograph is of the Vitalleta. It is on the same road between San Quirico and Pienza, closer to Pienza on the right side of the road heading east. Try to get off the paved roads in this general area and take the unpaved roads. Be out early am and late afternoon. Have a great trip.

[jimbo007be]

Thanks a lot for your answer Howard !

[Hans Kruse]

I think Howard answered quite adequately. Really good advice is to go on the white roads as the traffic on the paved roads is very dense in some locations.
Btw. I'm going also to Tuscany in a few days.

[Hans Kruse]

Since I have been in Tuscany now for a week, I'd like to show some of the same spots as shown in this post from this trip. Basically how different it looks at this time of year. Not only are the fields very green and also yellow from rapseed but also the sun rises and sets in quite different parts of the sky (of course) and this makes some of the same spots quite different in the early and late hours of the day.









I also had some dramatic weather with some rain showers. Here is an early morning view of Montalcino

[Tony Jay]

Spectacular!

You really seem to see the light ... and capture it.

Congratulations

Tony Jay

[Thomas Krüger]

Hans, we passed last week at the same street (2. image) - but with heavy rain. The landscapes in Val'd Orcia are stunning!

[Hans Kruse]

Thanks Tony. Thomas, the little chapel in the fields is probably the most photographed subject in all of Tuscany

[dreed]

The 3rd image of the new set ... could you have moved into a position where the hills behind the one in the sunlight disappeared and you just had the nice green hills and the lone tree sticking up against a brackground of cloud? Or is that too cliche?

[Hans Kruse]

The 3rd image of the new set ... could you have moved into a position where the hills behind the one in the sunlight disappeared and you just had the nice green hills and the lone tree sticking up against a brackground of cloud? Or is that too cliche?

Probably and not a bad idea (and will try one day as I had not thought about it), but this year very impractical since it has rained so much that walking into the fields means that my boots gets 5 times as heavy with all the clay that sticks to them . The Tuscan soil is really sticky. When I was there in November it was dry and we could into the fields whch was fantastic since you could get many more viewpoints and really exploit the shapes much better than now. When it is wet one is really limited to the roads.