A photo trip to Rome - Day 1, or something of the sort

It’s currently a quarter to 8 in the morning and I’m sitting in front of my computer getting ready to write whatever random thoughts pop out of my brain. Yes, I apparently am that excited about this little vacation I am on.

This thing didn’t actually start out that well. Yesterday, our flight to Rome was delayed by 1 and a half hours, which threw a spanner in the works and it was compounded by a massive spanner who didn’t really do any meaningful research when it comes to public transport tickets and shuttle buses from the airport to the city. But, in the end, everything worked out without too much hassle, and we checked into our Airbnb for the week. Pro tip, apparently you can just pay the fare with your card here, you don’t necessarily need to buy a ticket. Or, if you’re not really feeling very trusting, you can always find a Metro station and use a ticket machine.

But what’s the deal, what’s the plan with this vacation? And where are the photos? You’re two paragraphs in already and nothing yet, not even a crummy touristy shot of the Colosseum. Don’t worry, they’re coming. Consider this the hypeing (if that’s even a verb) yellow block of text at the beginning of every Star Wars movie. I’m just setting the stage for this adventure.

Once again, a couple of concerts, about a week apart, spiral into a longer escape from my usual responsibilities. This time however, I don’t really want to haul heavy photography gear, in what can only be described as Venusian weather while probably averaging about 30km per day. So, inspired by my recent trips to Budapest, I’ve packed light… ish. I’m here in Rome, with just my Fuji X-E4, the 35 F2 and a 23 F 1.4… and my Insta360 Go3, my Insta360 One X3, a wireless mic, 20k mAh power bank, laptop, chargers, 2 tripods and a few other random trinkets. Like I said, I packed light… (Note to self: When you get back, get your head checked because you have issues.)

I generally love using prime lenses in my travel and street photography and I love using the X-E4 and how that camera is really small and inconspicuous, so why not stick to this theory for this trip? I mean, it’s a good idea, is it not? I’ll probably end up roaming the streets of the city, photographing in relatively tight environments, and with a lot of the city of Rome getting ready for next year’s Catholic Jubilee, many of the landmarks and monuments in the city are undergoing restoration work (I’m not counting the Colosseum here, that thing has been under some sort restoration probably for the past 2000 years), and I really want to focus more on trying to capture the atmosphere of the city and it’s people, be they locals or tourists.

So that sounds like a plan! And that’s what will be coming up in the next few posts, both here on the website, and on my Instagram page.

All that being said, and it feels like a lot (even though it might not be), stay tuned and, if you like this type of content, check back and see what I managed to capture in my images of Rome!