Rome at the end of March 2017 (safely passed the Ides, of course), was a city entering into the height of the tourist season. Most places are still in the off season at this time of year, but thanks to the climate and its enduring popularity I'm not sure Rome really has an off season. Keeping with tradition, we accidentally booked our trip to coincide with the city's marathon (lessons learned in Prague are soon forgotten) and American Spring break (half the US's high school population was there, it seems). The entirety of central Rome was PACKED. It had all the components of a frustrating photo trip. However, we have a secret about dealing with overcrowded locations so we weren't too concerned. The trip ended up being a mad dash, a brutal workout, luxurious, relaxing, uplifting, and frustrating all at the same time. Most of the plans went better than expected. Failures were made up for. It was a trip of incredibly lofty highs and incredibly low lows. But, that's Rome for you. Anything less would be a disappointment.
What's our secret for dealing with crowded locations? It's really not rocket science so I'll tell you. First, we plan ahead and, second, we get up crazy early. In Rome this is really the only way to get the kinds of shots I want and see the sights without being trampled by the hordes. We take this approach in every city we visit, but Rome is one of those cities that you simply cannot shoot properly unless you get up early. There's no way you can just work with evening blue hour or sunset. There are just too many people.
For example:
That's the Trevi Fountain just after sunset. Normally, I wouldn't even bother shooting a long exposure with this many people around, but in this case I felt the crowd was part of the fountain's story so I decided to attempt it with a precariously positioned tripod. It worked out really well, and my camera was only nearly knocked over once. Oh, yes, I did add another exposure of the moon back into the shot in post, but it appears the way it did and where it did that night. We had a beautiful Moon in the early evenings of the entire visit.
The Trevi Fountain was the only location that I wanted a crowd in. All the other places on my list I wanted as people free as possible. Why? These places have been photographed for generations so I wasn't likely to get a unique composition, but at least by photographing when many people do not I could create an image of these locations that people don't see as often. Secondly, the more people around, the harder to get the right composition. Thirdly, where there are tourists there are people who feed off of them. The more tourists around, the likelier of getting my gear stolen (unfortunately, Rome has a higher petty crime rate than many other cities in Western Europe). Finally, I find people distracting in scenic photos since our eyes are naturally drawn to the human form. For example, in the picture above, what do you notice first? The fountain, The Moon, or that nearly perfectly still couple embracing in the foreground? My guess is that if they weren't the first thing you noticed they were the second. Since the Trevi Fountain is one of the most romantic spots in the city, I wanted them there and this shot, while not being typical for me, is one of my favorites from the trip.
But, I didn't want selfie sticks, NorthFace jackets, fluorescent baseball hats, and street peddlers in photographs of the other locations. So, that means getting up around 4:30am. We'd be out the door around 5, and it would only be us and the folks catching the bus to work and opening up shops moving around in the city at that time. And really, even if you're not interested in photography, I'd recommend doing this a couple of times when you have an extended stay in a large city like Rome. You will get to see a completely different side of the place and it's pure magic. Our first day in Rome started out pretty rough. We turned in late the night before and then were wakened not long after to the news that my husband's grandfather had passed away. The sadness of his passing would linger in the background for the rest of the trip. After a few hours of sleep we had to get up early to walk from our apartment by the Pantheon to Vatican City. We had booked an early entrance to the Vatican Museums and we wanted to get into St. Peter's when it was opened at 7:30am before our appointment at the museum. So, we got into St. Peter's Square just as the run was rising, striking the grand cathedral in glowing light. I mean, geez, could that be more perfect?
But, more about the Vatican some other time. My point is that if your willing, for a few hours every day you have the chance to not only see something, but the chance to take it in. It has a chance to move you. That really is worth the lost sleep. And if you're getting up that early every day in Rome, you're definitely going to be losing sleep. Those dinners, oh those incredible dinners, run late into the night.
On the plus side, at this time of year the soft light ends earlier in the day, but the tourists are still in their hotels. So, we had some time to enjoy Italian breakfasts properly with the locals when the pastries (and the baristas) were fresh.
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| Best post shoot breakfast while in Rome? I recommend sfogliatella and cappucino. Don Nino does a good rendition of both and opens just as the light is leaving. |
If we didn't head straight to an attraction after breakfast we'd amble back to our apartment and go back to sleep. These trips are also a vacation for a us, and we don't want to be total zombies. After lunch we'd just roam around the city seeing what we can find before it would be time to head to the evening shooting spot. Sometimes our wanderings take us to some really interesting locations, like the Aventine Keyhole. If you look through the keyhole to the Knights of Malta priory (which is closed to the public) on Aventine Hill you can see the dome of St. Peter's perfectly framed within. In the afternoon the line is slow and long, but it is a pretty cool sight and worth the wait.
Shooting at sunset and blue hour in cities as popular as Rome requires a lot of patience, planning, and more patience. During our afternoon wanderings we'd usually scope out the area I wanted to shoot from later to find the place I wanted to set up the tripod. Then, more often than not, we'd return an hour early to hold the spot before I'd start photographing. I know, that sounds crazy. But, some places are so popular it's shoulder to shoulder when the sun goes down. If I miss a shot because I was late and didn't get a place to set up, I have only myself to blame. In most cases, I only have one chance to visit a location so I don't want to blow it by being lazy.
One of the most popular views of Rome is of the Sant' Angelo Bridge and St. Peter's as seen from the bridge of Umberto I. On a warm night in a city as crowded with tourists as Rome, I knew I'd have to get the right spot early. We hung out in the same few feet on the bridge for about two hours, an hour ahead of sunset to hold the place and then another hour to shoot from sunset through blue hour. It did end up being shoulder to shoulder and it took two of us to protect the tripod from being jostled and knocked into the Tiber below. Low stress location it was not, but at least there was a snack stand nearby so we were well provisioned during the siege.
This sort of thing may sound like a pain in the neck just for a handful of photographs. However, we really enjoy it. How many people get to stand and soak in a view like this for hours?
When the shooting is done for the day, that's when it's time to get to the best part of a trip to Rome- the dinners. I can't recall having a bad meal in Italy, but I don't recall ever having a great dinner every night no matter where we ate in any city in any country. Look, I'm just going to say it, the Italians have cornered the market on eating, the rest of us will never measure up. Eating dinner in Italy is an event, and so don't take it for granted. Eat out every night, order the pasta, and for heaven's sake get a glass of wine. Restaurants are open late, so if you have another engagement earlier (say standing on a bridge for two hours), you should't have a problem booking a place for a 8:30-9 dinner. Yes, that's much later than most Americans eat, but like getting up early in Rome, eating late in Rome is worth it too. By then the tourists are all snug in their beds in front of the TV, but real Rome is very much still awake. You can have dinner to the sounds of Italian being spoken around you, and if you're lucky there's still a street performer outside with his cello. But, make sure you make reservations if you're going anywhere off the main streets and classier than a pizzeria, especially during a busy time like a marathon weekend.
Speaking of marathon, that was the only real hurdle to manage during our visit. For the most part we managed to shoot the spots the race would block before the day of the event, but not the Spanish Steps. So, we needed another morning to return to that location once the red race barriers were removed.
Our backup plan if the steps were blocked was a crowd free shot of the Trevi Fountain since it's nearby and was bypassed by the marathon. That was scrapped thanks to some amateur photographers shooting some sort of haphazard engagement session in front of the fountain at 6:00am. They didn't seem to know what they were doing (they couldn't figure out why their photos in the dark were so blurry) making their refusal to move incredibly angering. I did take some tight shots of fountain details, but the fountain's lights go out at 6:30am, blowing a chance for softer natural light. We packed it in when they went out, never getting that people free photo I was after. Plan C was the grandiose Monument to the Forefathers, but race prep trucks and forklifts were all over the square. I never got a wide shot that morning, and I have to say I was not in a good mood at all. Thankfully for the sake of our sanities, it rained and stormed all day so it was a good chance to catch up on much needed rest until the race ended. We stepped out to watch the runners do their thing, grabbed some pizza, napped, and waited until the event finished and when the forecast said the rain would end. The rain never stopped, but that was ok since we bought a souvenir umbrella and so we were able to shoot around the Pantheon without getting too much water on the lens. 
Despite the grief of losing a loved one while we were on the trip and the little hiccup on marathon day morning, all in all the trip went very well. The visit proved the importance of planning ahead to visit attractions, photograph, and get a good meal. Because of the heavy crowds and logistical issues, Rome was more of a challenge to photograph than other cities we've been to. We had to hold locations longer and eat later than usual, but because it's Rome we were still having a good time. Even when things didn't work out the way we hoped, we still got to spend our time in one of of the greatest cities on earth.
Rome is a city of chaos. All roads may lead to it, but once you get there the roads fall into disrepair and the traffic is wild at all hours. In a city where you can't always count on things being open or the bus to come on time, there's always something beautiful to see, a story to hear, and more than likely something delicious to eat or drink just around the corner. There's really no other city quite like it. It is a city of ruins and modernity. It crumbles and rises again. Its history is filled with war and blood, but it is considered one of the most romantic places on earth. It's a city where the formula for and pattern of modern civilization was first perfected, but it's a city that cannot be controlled. It's a place of jumbled contradictions, even some of its most hallowed monuments are just a pile of rocks. Here is where so much began, but it seems it has always been just slightly out of step ever since. It's beautiful and ugly at the same time. It is trapped in the patina of its most glorious era, but remains in other ways youthfully eternal. If you can see Rome at at silent dawn, in the clamor filled afternoon, in the music filled nights, then somewhere in there you will see what makes it so special.
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| We managed to get back to the Spanish Steps and shoot the morning before we flew back to Germany. |
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