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November 4th through November
24th.
Seewald's Abruzzo, Italy Daybook entries-
11.6.'09
Ok, this is my 'daybook of sorts'. I will keep folks updated
on my trails and tribulations while I'm working over here. I decided to do this
now that modern technology allows me to do so. How's that? Well, with a laptop
computer (finally) and a WiFi connection. Today has been trying. We-
the wife and I, are trying to keep expenses down as to not go further in debt.
Of course, sales everywhere have been down lately, and we have had it tough too.
We usually have 4 to 6 sponsors for a trip like this BEFORE I
depart, but this one only had one, and he cancelled a few days before I left,
leaving me high and dry on financing. Photo classes have been keeping me going,
income wise. But enough of that, here is what's happened since I've left San
Diego three days ago.
Took Delta Air ($800 round trip) to Atlanta at 7:25 am on Tuesday morning on
the 3rd, transferred planes and after an hour and a half wait was off to Rome.
Arrived 1.5 hours earlier than supposed to (tailwinds of 250 MPH) and the
captain said we were so early the ground crew was not prepared to unload us, so
it took a while (got in at 6:15 instead of 7:30 a.m.). Cleared customs
after half an hour due to only two agents for a whole plane of us. Many other
agents stood around doing nothing, and the four for the 'EU Citizens' only line
did not have much to do and waited around too, as there were not many in that
category.
Got my bag and found the rental agency- Hertz- $716 for three weeks, all
insurance paid, unlimited mileage (8pm- time for diner, taking a break here for
dinner at the Villa Penna Agriturismo- story follows. 11 pm, back, it was
'excelente'). Drove to the city of L'Aquila but it was in unbelievable
condition. Like a scene out of a movie. Many of the streets were closed,
entire blocks fenced off with police at the ends to keep folks out. Why?
Terremoto in Italian, earthquake in English. A lot of the giant apartment
buildings had chunks of it missing, or cracks all over them, or some just
rubble. Found out that last April they had a 7.3 or so, and almost three hundred lost
there lives- (link here:
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.3676460333 )-but too tired to continue- to be continued.
Egidio, Manuel, Silvia. Egidio & Silvia Agriturismo. Manuel, 19,
said his parents were born in Milano. He wants to get a Camero, 79 or so, from
the USA. He's a self-taught computer wiz, quitting high school early and went to
work.
11.10.09 Tuesday night- well, got quite a few nice images lately, the fall colors,
especially on the vineyards, are jaw dropping beautiful. Staying in Roseto since
last Saturday night, at an Albergo/Restaurant Al Focolare di Bacco, owned
by semi-English speaker, bike enthusiast and advanced photographic artist Gianni
(pron. Johnny). A few
L'Aquila residents are still here, about 9. I've had dinner with them two nights
of four that I'm here. Pasqualino, head of a department in a satellite firm,
helped me get this laptop up and running here and speaks great English, as does
Fabio, whom is a journalist. He's staying here with his brother Stephano and his
girlfriend. Roberta helps out at breakfast and speaks some English too (makes it
easier to communicate as my Italian is poor).
While trying to find a B&B to do a trade in Notaresco I met the vice-mayor, and owner of Osteria dei Sani,
and he
treated me to a dinner there tonight. Awesome. Also, at 3:30 pm, he took me to a spot he
said would be great to create at. After we got their I told him I'd just found
it the day before, and made a good shot as the light had been perfect (soft-
this day it was now overcast/drizzling).
The folks thought I was Mario, one of the
displaced
L'Aquila residents also
at the hotel, and I could see why. Here we are in the dining hall
after dinner.
He is a master marron (chestnut) roaster.
Valerie got the discount phone rate established so she can call me for
pennies a minute. Time for breakfast (cappuccino and pastries). Still have
not found an establishment to trade art for a room. Hard to explain to folks the
value of photographic art.
11.11.09 5 pm.
Great light today and got two great images right off the bat headed towards
Notaresco. Backlit scenes, one with a castle off to the left, with the
Gran Sasso's way in the back. Noticed when I changed film on the second shot
that the negative's I thought I was using was actually slide film. That
meant the past few days I'd exposed off because I overexpose film, and
underexpose slide. I went and re-shot the first scene (which was only 1/2
block away, but my clouds dried up and could not get the other two I made two
days ago. Lord willing I'll get them in the next day or two, I know were they
are.
After a late lunch (about 2 pm, salami, cheese, bread and a Peroni beer)
while overlooking the valley from Notaresco I spied a nice back lit scene and
captured it. The light pretty much closed up by 4 (behind clouds on horizon) and
so I made my way back to the Albergo to write this. I called the Egido &
Silvia Agriturismo and talked to son Manuel about a different offer for a room
and meals. He relayed the details to his parents and they went for it, YEAH.
This will help on the budget as a big chuck of it will be paid in art- TUL!
(Thank-U-Lord).
Gianni also blessed me as when I paid for the room tonight - he comped me on
the meals. What a country! Tonight we had meats and cheeses with toast,
then sausage covered polenta with tomato sauce, very tasty, then sausages and
fruit, and maroons (chestnuts). It's San Martine day, (celebration of the new
wine), and also known as 'betrayal day'. Interesting, sounds quite pagan!
Ladies keep one eye open tonight on that husband.
Click photo to enlarge.
Michael and friends.
(Above, Pasqualino Trionfi and Stefano Dascoli, below Stefano's
brother Fabio and Michael) at the dining hall in
Focolare di Bacco Restaurant and Albergo.
11.13.'09 11 p.m. Well, after having another great breakfast (my
usual- chocolate muffins and 2 cappuccinos and an orange juice) I checked
out of the Focolare and started my search to try to find the images I'd
exposed improperly the few days earlier. Clear skies ruined that idea, I
needed soft light. So I worked my way to the small city of Teramo
yesterday and parked in pay parking. I tried to pre-pay the lady that
waked around with the receipts but I found out she only collects when you
leave, she marks you car when you arrive. Cool. It was 10:30 and I figured
I be back in two hours.
Well, pretty much worked out that way. Worked a lot of the old city
center, lots of old giant church's and Roman ruins. Found an especially
nice cafe right in the main square and bought a cafe and then set up shop
(camera on tripod). Nobody seemed bothered (you never know) and I slowly
worked my way around the cafe. It had chandeliers and a lot of mirrors, my
cup of tea. One worker, they were all dressed in a 5 star hotel
uniform type of way, was especially interesting as her eyes were very
attractive. I posed here right in front of one of the compositions. I must
of had four or five, the place was really conducive to a look I try to
get. Lots of interest and depth. Light was tough as the sun hit certain
areas in certain places, something to deal with.
Got back to the car at 1 pm and paid my 4.20 Euro and drove off to
check into the Agriturismo I'd reserved. Had a hard time getting out of
the city per map as the one exit was blocked off, so it took longer than
I'd planned, but still got there at 2. Left my bag and drove off to find
another photo. Went back to Teremo just to find my way around
better, and then back to the Agriturismo area. Went a little past and
after figuring there was not enough light left found a very nice old
farmhouse, abandoned and covered in ivy. Was not too dark but it was
about 5:30, so darn close.
Hit the room and took a nap before the 8 pm dinner, which was a pasta
dish with a mushroom spaghetti type noodle but flat and about 6 times
wider. Second dish (always meat) was pork slices in a tomato sauce and a
large side of spinach, as in too much to finish. Red wine and water
w/ gas accompanied the meal, as well as an after dinner drink of Ouzo.
Slept well and breakfasted and out by 9. Was shooting by 9:20, a
nice old farmhouse backlit just right. Had to break a few weeds down in
front of the camera to get it. Went to the S. Lucia area to get my backlit
vineyard shot but the clouds cleared up. Bummer. Went to Penne and fished
the lake for 3.5 hours, all for nada. Some guy got a lot of carp though.
Drove back and worked Teremo at dark, and got a good shot of a magazine
stand with a Pharmacy in the background. 80mm with f/16 at 15 - 20
seconds. Shot a roll and a half. Think I nailed it.
Got back in time for dinner, which was spaghetti and meatballs and
'bisteack', Italian for steak. Met Simonetta (she said it was Simon
in English, but I said forget it, Simonetta is so much prettier) whom
works for Sylvia in the kitchen with her tonight as I had to pay my bill,
the AMEX card did not work (son Manuel said they took it, but he was
wrong, they weren't set up for it and it was declined last night when I
tried to pre-pay for 5 nights) and she translated my Italian as she spoke
pretty good English... but most importantly Spanish, my second language.
We worked it out, I paid in dollars and Euros, $111 equaled 75 E. and
an additional 25 euro for a total four days stay, advance on two nights
(balance of pay of $30 US per night in trade for art). I also told them
some of the folks at Focolare might want to come over and have a dinner
one night with me. We'll see. Time for bed, tired as heck. Oh,
weather report: bummer, sunny skies for next two day= bad light.
Nov. 16th
Wow, killed 'em for the last two days, especially today. Gianni told
me that a place called Castelli, up at the base of the Gran Sasso's, was
not to be missed. Well, I missed it on Saturday by missing the turnoff off
of the 'autostada' (freeway, but it's not free), and I went 10 km under
the mountains and then another few km's and ended up in L'Aquila again!
So I drove back OVER the mountains AGAIN, this time over the right side on
that big mountain, which I found out is called 'Cone Alta', which might
mean 'big cone'. Did not find any photos (art) that I remember, but the
next day I made sure to not miss the turnoff. I worked some great
landscapes as the light was spectacular. Then, I decided to get
there even earlier and headed there direct at 9 a.m. this morning. (The
family told me to make sure I was breakfasted and out by 9 a.m. as they
had to take care of police/paperwork as a woman was killed on their
property cutting down a tree on Saturday. Found out from the son
that she was on the property with her boyfriend and it fell on her head,
what a tragedy). So I made the shot of Castelli at
sunset (which for that spot, was 3:10 p.m. as it's on the shadowed side of
the mountains). But before that, I found a spectacular shot of an Italian
pony in a fall tree surrounded valley, backlit with the mountains behind
the whole scene. But before that I found two shots of backlit hills
and trees with snowcapped mountains in the distance. Superb all.
Just finished dinner, risotto with bits of sausage, fried veggies and
cheese as a second plate. Off to bed. Dreams of award winners- this
place, this time of year, is absolutely incredible. 11.22.09 Wow,
leave Abruzzo day after tomorrow, time flies. Then again, miss the
wife and I'll be glad to be home to see her. Lots have happened the
last few days. Made some great art too, but for the last four days
straight it has been overcast- sometimes misty/ almost sprinkling, so it's
been a lot of 'flat light', not the best for the most part. Dealt
with it and made some striking images. Worked a northern town/city
called Civitella d. Tronto that has a well maintained stone fort atop the
mountain above the town, like it did hundreds of years ago. It very
steep in many of these type of towns, making it hard for me as I walk the
little streets in depth, many seeming straight up, but more like 45
degrees, that way they were more able to defend them. Here is a shot
of the place, courtesy of Wikipedia.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Panorama_di_Civitella_del_Tronto.jpg
Got a couple of nice images, one of a courtyard in the town with the
rolling hills disappearing into the haze in the background. Another
was more of a puzzle type of shot, and a bit of an abstract, with a
winding walkway of stone sandwiched in between walls of stone, and house
tops below the scene of tile, kinda 'Escheresque'. The place got so foggy
that only the tops of a few mountains tops could be seen from this town,
it too above the fog. I then drove down into it, making it tough to
get around. Looked, but did not find, something to shoot in it. Worked
more around Notaresco and went and found Lucca there and he suggested I go
to a 'country residence', a sort of hotel in the hills effect called
Vitaria, and I met Cesare Bruni, the owner (speaks great English as he
lived and owned/owns a series of restaurants in New York). He was
very amenable to doing a trade for art for one of his 4 star rooms.
I mistakenly told him I'd need it for four days, but it turned out that it
was Friday, not Thursday (lost track of time) and then I learned from him
that it would be wise to stay in Rome for departure night, traffic around
there is a nightmare, so I'm staying only two nights. (Actually typing
this from his dinning room, a spacious glass walled space with modern art
and a view of the old town Morro d'Oro out the window). He also would like
to do a show of my art next year, things are shaping up for possibilities.
Here is the website for the 'country residence' as it's called:
www.vitaria.it
Speaking of Morro d'Oro, I worked there yesterday (third times a charm,
first two times nada) and found a nice corner of old teal doors, stairways
and plants, with very old brick textured walls, a winner. Checked into
Vitaria first, and had a wonderful lunch with Caesar. Afterwards I
hit Notaresco and worked in a pub on the computer on some of my images
while waiting for Lucca to open so I could thank him. Quite a few folks
drew in to see the art, and soon I had friends that took my e-mail address
and website address and wanted to come to any shows I may have in Abruzzo.
Last night had an exceptional dinner here, worked on the computer in the
dining hall till past midnight (it's normal for very late dinners, in fact
it's 11:30 pm already and many folks are around me now still chatting and
having deserts and espresso's, and got to bed at 1:30. Today, Sunday,
took off and went bass fishing at a local pond. Had my pole (closes up
into itself and fits into my suitcase) and caught them- 6 in all and all
no bigger than 8", on a homemade lure - wine cork with a plastic bait that
kinda looked like a frog trailing behind it, fishing topwater (most folks
fish for carp here, bass fishing is foreign in that bass are not native to
the country, or Europe, as they were imported from America decades ago).
I then went to Roseto and said my goodbyes to my L'Aquila 'family',
Pasqualino was sick with the flu, as were two others. I'll miss
them. Gianni offered my dinner, but I had it already paid for at the
hotel. Then he said maybe they would exhibit one of my series next
year too, and Stefano volunteered to line things up. Had a great dinner
here tonight, lamb and greens. Got a lot of work done on the computer too.
Wish I could have stayed here that four days I thought I was going to,
darn. Tomorrow I'll work L'Aquila probably on the way to Rome, even
though a lot of the place is being repaired, and or closed. 11.23.09 DBD
Day (Day Before Departure Day). Up late and out to drive in nice light,
TUL. Drove to Atri and just got a great shot of the rugged terrain
with a red barn on top, city further back almost in the clouds (looked
like it due to soft light). This was the quintessential shot I'd
been looking for to show what a lot of the place looks like. Downside was
I had to head downhill and into the very muddy, newly tilled hills, that
is basically the Modus operandi daily. Ended the day in Popoli shooting a
scene at dusk from the main church. Took the autostrada back to the
Vitaria and ate with Caesar, ravioli's stuffed with ricotta cheese and
spinach, toped with a meat sauce, followed by a medium rare bisteack of
large size. Reserved a hotel on the beach for tonight, near the
airport. It's 8:30 pm and I need to leave for the two hour drive at
8:30 pm, that means I've got to go. Ciao all. |
