Dec 10

Dec 10 Photo Journal Palermo Sicily

Located in the center of the Mediterranean, Sicily is a hub of cultural infusions where history and modernity intersect. Over centuries, many cultures have converged in Sicily, the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, and Spanish each left behind a trace of their cultural that wove together a fascinating tapestry of architecture, cuisine, and traditions.

Our visit to the bustling capital city of Palermo felt like an urban photo safari. While I am usually captivated by nature and botanical scenery, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the whirling business of Palermo. Eventually, I found my groove, watching colorful scenery unfold around me, and felt inspired to capture some of the slice-of-life scenes.

We ventured along broad avenues with epic historic architecture and into hidden narrow alleys known as caruggi that took us back in time. Lively streets filled with shops, cafes, and tall historic buildings with laundry drying out of the window, locals wandered through their day, speaking in their rapid dialect with enthusiastic hand gestures while paused at a coffee kiosk, and shoppers sampling goods at the street markets.

Illuminated by bold light, the sun itself played a starring role in Sicily's scenery. The sun took many different forms throughout the day — rising quickly in the morning, turning bright and blazing hot just before lunchtime, and lingering overhead for most of the day, casting drastic shadows on the city below before drifting into a soft golden glow and fading behind the horizon and turning into a warm, breezy evening.

Strolling through the streets of Palermo offered a fully sensorial experience — colors, textures, sweet and spicy aromas, the sound of lively locals and vendors haggling with shoppers. Images in this journal include black-and-white photographs, portraits, and scenes of everyday life, plus black-and-white photographs.

BLACK AND WHITE

Sicily is known for its vibrant colorful scenery, so I wanted to experiment with black and white to capture a contrasting look of organic shapes, bold shadows, and the raw texture of stone and metal.