The story behind the image:
On our Capture Italy tours we visit a wonderful pasticceria - La Zagara - in Positano. They make the most delicious pastries.
As a photographer, it's second-nature to want to capture the food and produce of the country you're visiting. Two of the easiest ways to add authenticity to your Italian travel photos are to ensure that
1. what you're capturing is distinctly Italian or, even better, distinctly regional - in this instance the sfogliatelle pastry is considered a Neopolitan specialty, but legend has it that the sfogliatelle recipe now used throughout the whole Campania region originated from nuns in a convent on the Amalfi Coast.
2. any signs/tags/labels are in Italian (not English for the tourist's benefit) - in this instance "coda di aragosta" - which as an fyi translates to lobster tail - given the shape of the pastry.
The same applies for shop windows. Again, make sure the signs and labels are in Italian and also ensure that the products you are photographing are distinctly Italian (and not something you can pick up from the local supermarket at home).
And if you love flowers (or whatever else has caught your eye) and there's no label in Italian, at least make sure the price is in euro.
As a photographer I rememer being disappointed that the euro was coming in to replace the lire (the lire virtually screamed "italy") - and to me, the euro was one more indicator that the world was becoming more and more homogenised. Anyway, that's enough of the philosophical stuff for today...
Equipment and settings used for top image:
Camera - Canon EOS 400D
Settings - f5.6, 1/100s, ISO 800, auto white balance, neutral picture style, shot in jpeg
Lens - Tamron AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) LENS
Focal length: 77mm
Happy shooting, from Lisa and Dianne at Capture Italy http://www.captureitaly.com/
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