When I was in Venice, I joined a photography walking tour with Arved Gintenreiter. This was my first time on a photo tour and I had a wonderful time. Sure, you can follow Arved around and get some great photos. But, the most worthwhile part of the adventure was learning from another photographer.

Every one has their own style and technique. And, seeing how someone else will approach the same scene was an eye opening experience. Arved challenged us with different assignments. So, instead of falling in the same rut where I will end up taking a similar photo time after time, I had to tackle different scenes which I would not ordinarily try, such as shooting into the light.

Here’s a photo taken shortly after sunset of Santa Maria della Salute.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm, ISO 100, 58mm, f/10, 30s

At the time, I was so focused on the water that every shot ended up about the same. Sitting in front of the computer, I now wish I had taken one with more sky and less water just for the sake of comparison. Don’t get locked in.

Around the corner from the Pantheon, I spotted this coffee shop located at the intersection of two quaint, Roman streets.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm, ISO 100, 32mm, f/2.8, 1.0s

Considering how ubiquitous Starbucks is in the United States, I was really surprised at the almost complete absence of American fast food shops in Italy. I did see a handful of McDonald’s, but that was it.

For the best view of Florence, head up to Piazzale Michelangelo. To save time, I took a taxi across the River Arno to Piazzale Michelangelo. The car route is not the most direct route, but if you are determined to be there by sunset, don’t know the exact route, and are a few minutes behind schedule, then riding a taxi is the way to go.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 44mm, f/2.8, 1.3s

After the sunset, I headed to San Miniato al Monte, a Romanesque basilica located a few minutes above Piazzale Michelangelo, to enjoy the Gregorian chants. I just love the acoustics of old churches.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 38mm, f/2.8, 1.6s

The walk back to Florence is easy and all downhill. Before I crossed the River Arno, I took a few photos of Ponte Vecchio.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 40mm, f/8, 8s

The Pantheon in Rome, Italy has a gorgeous facade. During the day, the former Roman temple is overrun with tourists. The real treat was returning to the Piazza della Rotonda after the crowds had cleared so that I could focus on the Pantheon without distraction.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 28mm, f/4, 1.6s

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 32mm, f/8, 3.0s

After the Full Moon on the Quad photos, I strolled down Serra Street to the fountain between Memorial Auditorium (Mem Aud) and Hoover Tower.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 14mm, f/5, 20.0

At night, the wide angle of the 14-24mm lens can pick up glare from off-image light sources. Avoiding the bright peripheral lights from street lamps prevents the appearance of UFOs hell bent on attacking Hoover Tower.

Mid-Autumn Festival or the Moon Festival at the Stanford Quad. I think I was testing ISO at this point. The image is pretty clean for ISO 5600.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 5600, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/25

At ISO 400 for 15 seconds, my first attempt ended up pitch black. However, Photoshop was able to recover some of the details. Quite grainy, but I like the colors.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 400, 24mm, f/2.8, 15.0s

At first, I was just focused on capturing the Milky Way. So, I spent some time adjusting the ISO and shutter speed settings. After I was confident in my settings, I turned to aligning the Milky Way with the various foreground shadows. In my case, I was surrounded by a ring of trees, so this shot ends up with the tip of the trees on three sides of the photo.

And, instead of the Milky Way streaking across the sky, in this shot, it appears almost flame-like. A bit hard to keep this all straight in the middle of the dark field, but take a lot of different photos and sort it all out later. From the comfort of home, I noticed that there’s a bit more color in the wide end of the Milky Way. Something to keep in mind next time.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 3200, 14mm, f/2.8, 30.0 sec

Before I headed out to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, I tried to photograph the Milky Way from a block away from my home. I could catch a faint glimpse of the Milky Way, but that was about it. I took some test shots for practice and reference, then packed up my gear.

Turns out, the settings for photographing the night sky from the suburbs were not particularly helpful for more remote locations. So, I ended up shooting at different ISOs and shutter speeds throughout the night.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 3200, 16mm, f/2.8, 30.0 sec