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The Results Are In - Part 23

Publication in the prestigious Black & White Magazine is once again the subject of this tooting of my horn. And, the volume of my horn playing has risen above the normal level because I was published in the magazine twice this year…once in a portfolio competition, and once again in a single image competition.

“The category that my Poeple’s Choice award was featured is the “PATTERN/TEXTURE/ABSTRACT” category”

And, though I am playing at a higher decibel level today, the tune is not as sweet as the recognition I passed on to you on June 10th of this year…that being my recognition as Photographer of the Year in the coveted 17th Annual International Color Awards. If you have not seen that article, please check it out HERE.

February 2025 Black & White Magazine Publication - Single Image Winners

This February issue is to announce the winners of the 2024 Single Image Contest. Two of my images were published in that issue. And, as a bonus for my Italy fans, both of those photos were taken in Italy during our 2023 trip with friends!

Here is cover of the February 2025 issue…

Though it was published in February, it seems to me that based on the cover photo, it would be a great image for an issue to be published around Halloween.

Note that the issue includes winners from the “People’s Choice Winners” category and “Single Image Winners” category. My photos were recognized in both of those categories.

Though I did not have a winner in the “Spotlight Winners” category, I did have a photo receive that recognition back in 2022, complete with a head-shot photo of yours truly. If you missed that article, you can see it HERE.

The People’s Choice Award - Feb 2025

So, what is a “People’s Choice Award”? It refers to the public being offered the opportunity to select their own favorite photos. The public can vote on nominated images to help choose winners in different categories. The category that my Poeple’s Choice award was featured is the “PATTERN/TEXTURE/ABSTRACT” category.

Here is the People’s Choice Award winner in that “PATTERN/TEXTURE/ABSTRACT” category, which I titled “Stoned”.

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT VIEWING THE PHOTOS ON YOUR IPHONE

On a Computer when you click on one of my photos, it gives you a full screen view. This means it can go from small to very large to see details. This is not always the case on an iPhone.
I noticed something on my iPhone. If you want to see a zoomed in view of any of my photos on an iPhone, rather than tapping on the photo just use your fingers by spreading them apart to zoom in on the photo.
Give it a try, especially with the butterfly photos so you can see their eyes and their straw-like proboscis.

I have no idea whether this works on other than iPhones

B&W Magazine People’s Choice Award Winner

This photo was taken in bella Bellagio, on the shores of Lake Como. Just recently, I published an article on eating dinner in Bellagio at Mistral Restaurant in the Grand Hotel Serbelloni, which you can see HERE.

To learn more about the wonderful lakeside village of Bellagio, you can see an article from the past that I’ve updated based on our 2023 trip by clicking HERE. You will see just what all of those stones are about!

Single Image Award Winner - Feb 2025

This Single Image Winner was featured in the “ARCHITECTURE/INTERIORS” Category. Being a church, It is obviously “architecture” related. And since it is inside the church, the “interior” term applies, also.

This interior photo was taken during our 2023 trip with friends. We are in Venice. We are in the lengthily named “Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari”, or in short “The Frari”. I place this church in the Don’t Miss category for your Venice visit. You can see the wonderful interior of this beatutiful church in this previous article here…Venice’s Frari…which incidentally features a shot of brother-in-law Craig striking a pose just outside the church’s secondary entrance.

Here is the Single Image Award Winner in the ARCHITECTURE/INTERIORS Category, which I titled “God Ray at the Frari”.

August 2025 Black & White Magazine Publication - Portfolio Winners

In the August issue, the photos submitted are submitted as a portfolio of images…that being images that have some relationship to each other in subject. My submittal for this contest consisted of images of butterflies. Yes, they are butterfly photos, and they were not taken in Italy. They were taken in Gainesville, Florida at the Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History. This wonderful building is full of those little flutterbys. These photos were taken in March, 2022, during a photo workshop with my dear friend Jackie Kramer, of “Jackie Kramer Fine Art”, also known as “LuvBlooms”.

I will give you both the as-published black and white photos, as well as the color versions.

Here is the magazine cover, which is a good bit less creepy than the Single Image cover.

As this was a portfolio competition, there were more than one of my flutterby images published…there were three, and here they are in the Merit Award category, which has no particular subject category. Just below you can see the three images that were recognized.

As promised, here are the color versions of those three photographs.

Don’t you just love their eyes!!! And, since we are on the subject of butterflies, here are just a few more from that same Florida trip.

And finally, since you are a somewhat captive audience, here are photos that I took last week on Bald Head Island, NC…which is a lovely place to be. These were taken with my iPhone.

Thank you dear reader for making it this far into my article where I tooted my horn a bit. You were able to see both God’s places, as well as God’s creatures as they were published in Black & White Magazine during 2025.

I hope you have a blessed day, and until next time, I say…

Ciao for Now,

Steve

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The Ignominious Past of Venice

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“The Jewish ghetto originated right there in Venice”

Ignominious? Yes, ignominious. I’m sorry to say that I have to use that word here today. When was the last time you used the word ignominious? I hope it was waaaay in the past. But for me today, I have no choice.

Here is the ignominious, disgraceful thing that marred the Venetian past: the first Jewish ghetto originated right there in Venice.

It turns out that our English word “ghetto” or “getto” is from a Venetian word “gheto” which stemmed from the specific location of that first ghetto.

Though it was ultimately disbanded, there is still the site and the memory of the ghetto in Venice. Just how did that dissolution come about, and who do you think caused that to happen? Hmmm…read on dear reader.

The Jewish Community

First, we need to understand that the Jewish identify in Venice was very complicated. Ferdinand and Isabella expelled the Muslims from Spain in 1492, freeing them from Muslim rule after nearly 800 years. Shortly thereafter, they issued the Alhambra Decree, mandating that all Jews be expelled from the country. To stay in Spain and to avoid punishment by the Inquisition, some Jews were baptized by force, or they feigned baptism. But many of the Jews of Spain moved to Venice. And because Venice was the worldwide (I have to use the word ‘worldwide’ very loosely here, as Columbus was just starting to head west from Spain) capital of commerce and economy, many Jewish sects were attracted to Venice, like the German Jews, the Italian Jews, the Portuguese Jews, the Levantine Sephardi Jews, and others.

Because of their importance to the Venetian economy, some Jewish groups were more accepted than others, and they were allowed certain freedoms that other Jewish inhabitants didn’t have. Though the Jewish sects tended to keep to themselves, they had not been forced to do so in segregated areas.

Unfortunately, outside pressures regarding the Jewish freedoms were put on the Venetian government by trade partners. For example, the newly formed government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul (formerly the eastern hub of the Catholic church known as Byzantium and then Constantinople until it was taken over by the Turks on May 29, 1453) insisted that to maintain their trade partnership, the Venetians must sequester the Jewish population of Venice. As Venice was more of a religion of empire than a God-centered one, they bowed to the pressures of other governments by segregating the Jews of Venice.

So, it was in 1516 that Doge Loredan and the Venetian Senate compelled the Jews to live in a segregated area of the city. However, it couldn’t be just any area within the city. It had to be an area where the Jewish population could be forcibly contained. After all, Franciscan preachers at the Frari denounced the corruption of Venice by “heretics, schismatics, witches, wizards, and Christian women who have amorous filtrations and sexual congress with Jews”.

Where to Put Them?

The ‘island’ known as the Ghetto Nuovo , or New Ghetto

The goal was to put the Jews somewhere so that they couldn’t mingle with the Christian population. Islands in the lagoon were considered, but the easy access to boats for those amorous flirtations nixed this idea.

There was one unique area of the city proper that fit the bill. It was an “island” in the Cannaregio sestieri which was surrounded by canals (remember that there are over 100 islands that make up the city of Venice, with over 400 bridges connecting them) with only two bridges to the island. As an added bonus, there was no parish church there that would complicate things. Perfetto! This photo shows this unique island and the two bridges that were available at the time are shown in the red circles.

So, the Christian residents were forced out of the apartment buildings of the island while the Jews were forced in. Since the buildings that were there had windows that overlooked the canals surrounding the island, those had to be bricked in to avoid the inhabitants climbing out into boats and mixing with the non-Jewish population. Any opening onto a canal was walled off. Christian guards (paid for by the Jewish community of the island) were placed on the bridges to assure that they didn’t mingle by foot. Each morning when the great bell of the Campanile known as the “Marangona” rang to start the workday, the Jews were allowed to leave their island for work, but they had to be back on their island by nightfall. There were strict penalties if one was caught out after nightfall…unless you were a doctor of the Jewish faith. I mean, the Venetians needed to maintain their health didn’t they…and those Jewish doctors were the best.

Here are a few photos of the Venetian ghetto of today. These photos were not taken by me, but were harvested from the depths of the internet.

The Name “Getto” or “Ghetto”, or Even “Gheto”

That island just discussed was slated to be the site of a new metal foundry. This foundry was to replace an older foundry on an adjacent island. The new foundry was to be used to make canons of brass for the Venetian empire. The forced movement of Jews onto the island put a kink in that plan, so the foundry was moved to the Arsenale, a military section of Venice where the naval shipyard was located.

A metal-working foundry needs a gas jet to melt the brass for casting into the canons. The Venetian word for this gas jet is ‘getto’ or ‘ghetto’. Thus, a foundry had become to be known as a getto. And, the forced habitation by Jews in a small area anywhere in the world became known universally as a getto, or ghetto or gheto…your choice on the spelling.

When Was The Ghetto Disbanded?

In the late 18th century, the French invaded Italy…and a lot of other places it seems. The French Army of Italy was commanded by a 28-year-old general by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte. When his army occupied Venice in 1797, the Venetian Republic was finally dissolved. And then, on July 11th of that year Napoleon abolished the separation of the Jews and the forced habitation on the island ghetto. Gone, but not forgotten.

The Ghetto Today

How about today? The Ghetto Nuovo island is still a center for Jewish worship and living. Synagogues there still conduct their services. And like most of the Christian churches of Venice, these synagogues are beautifully appointed, as these internet-captured photos attest.

So, that’s the ignominious past of Venice. Isolation of a non-Christian faith to satisfy the wants of commerce. And of course, to avoid those amorous flirtations.

If the Venetians had spent more time reading their Bible than their ledgers and budget sheets, they would have known that they were not only to love their God, but they were to “love your neighbor as yourself”. Oh, what a better world we could have with such obedience and that change of heart. It’s said that people can change, and though you can’t change others, you can certainly change yourself. I work on that day-by-day, and I will continue to do so. Join me?

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Transforming a Door with Garden Above

Index of Articles

Let’s take a break from eating Italian style for a quick photo transformation. Working to transform a blah snapshot into a fine art image is where I find myself in my happy place. I like being happy, and I hope that you do, too.

The Starting Snapshot

“That lock now raises an interesting dilemma”

Today’s starting snapshot comes from Venice. I had visited the Rialto Market early this morning, as one must do in order to see all of the fresh seafood produce displayed. The Rialto Market is in the San Polo sestierie of Venice. Now, I am venturing into new territory to the northwest of the Rialto, and here I came across a rather unusual façade, as you can see in this snapshot.

As usual, things are a bit wonky before the photo editing begins. First of all, the photo has been saved as a RAW image by my camera, rather than the ubiquitous JPEG format of 99.9% of cameras, like the one on your telefonino (mobile phone). If you want to know more about RAW vs JPEG, my previous article here will explain all.

[If you click on an image, you will get a full-screen view]

So, this first image has no contrast, saturation, or sharpening applied before it is saved…so it looks rather flat…not to mention distorted. A JPEG would look a lot better, initially. Using my digital darkroom tools of Adobe’s Lightroom and Photoshop, I can fix all to my satisfaction. So, let’s get started on that.

Step 1 - Distortion

My first action is to get rid of the distortion caused by a wide-angle lens as it is aimed up just a bit.

The distortion has now be resolved.

Step 2 - New-World Distractions

I don’t want to present to you an Italy of today, with its modern distractions, like the electrical conduits and house numbers you see above. I explain more about this in my previous, almost ancient, article titled ‘The Venice That Isn’t There’. I want you to see the old Italy…the Italy of 600 years ago. I’m going to get rid of these modern distractions.

Done. No more electrical conduit or house number.

Step 3 - Saturation, Contrast & Sharpening

Now I will do what your camera does when it saves your images…I’ll add just a bit of saturation, contrast and sharpening.

Saturation, contrast and sharpening is done

Mission accomplished.

Step 4 - That New-World Security Grating

The metal grating to the right of the photo is grating on me…it doesn’t elicit the old-world charm that I am working toward. It has to go.

Gone. It took awhile because there is a shortage of ancient-looking brick in Venice at the moment. They said it has something to do with Covid. After keeping at it, I was able to find the materials and laborers (me, by the way), to get the job done.

Step 5 - Let’s Work on the Door

That door is just a tad too old world…Or just battered and faded. I’m going to give it a quick paint job.

Ouch! It looks more psychedelic than old, like it is from the 70s (the 1970s, not the 1470s). Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I’ll have to tone it down a whole lot. Now, what color do I want to end up with? Hmmm…

Step 6 - A More Subtle Door Painting

Mi dispiace (I’m sorry). That paint job was horrible. I’ve removed that garishness and I’ve decided to spruce it up with a nice red…not too jazzy…but just right…like the color of a nice glass of Banfi Brunello.

OK, I know…you’re saying, ‘Hey Steve, you left a modern convenience on the door’. You saw that lock, didn’t you? It’s dead-center in the photo to the right. I didn’t see it until I was putting on that horrible paint. I’ve now removed it.

That lock now raises an interesting dilemma. It looks as though the door is in two parts…basically a double door. So, what is the lock doing over to the side of one of those doors, rather than at the middle, to secure the two doors together. A mystery what we won’t be able to unravel at this time. A great excuse for going back to Venice, right? But that’s nothing folks. Some of you may remember a door that had at least six locking mechanisms on it. Refresh your memory, or create a new memory, by checking out this very, very secure entrance door.

Enough talk, I need to get painting.

The painting has been resolved.

Step 7 - The Patina

Those of you who have been around for a bit know that I always like to finish with the nice patina of old Italy. So, that’s what I’m going to apply, now.

I hope that you have enjoyed the after-my-journey-in-Venice digital-journey-of-transformation that I’ve produced for you today. We’ve taken a very blah snapshot of an unusual façade, and we’ve transformed it into a fine-art photo.

It was a pleasure to have you beside me on this journey. But, better still, let’s do this…rather than a digital journey into the vast intrigue of Venice, let’s do it together…in person. Oh, I do hope we can do that together some day. But until then, I say…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Transforming to a Foggy Night

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Who doesn’t enjoy a romantic gondola ride? Probably no one, right. We always work in a gondola ride whilst we are in Venice, and you can read more about these adventures in the previous article titled appropriately, Your Romantic Gondola Ride.

But today is not about riding in a gondola, but a gondola-ride-captured snapshot and its transform it into a more fine-art photo. The transformed photo was published in the 2014 Black & White Magazine as an award winner. Here’s how I did it…and it will be short and sweet.

Click on an image to see it full-screen

First Sighting

We had just turned a bend in the Rio di San Moise canal when something up ahead caught my eye, that being the small calle up ahead that terminated right into our canal. You see it there on the left.

The Snapshot

As we approached the right turn of our route, I took this photo. I had a vision.

Funny thing about this photo. Do you see it? The blue and white sign says ‘Senso Unico’, or one-way street (or canal in this case). But we are turning right, against the sign. We’ve turned right every time we’ve taken a gondola ride. Go figure.

The Crop

Here I’ve cropped the photo to a 1:1, or square, format.

Black & White Conversion

As I was submitting this photo to a magazine that publishes in black and white, I converted the image to…you guessed…black and white.

Let There Be Dark!

I don’t want it to be day time. I want night time. So, I made it darker. I think it’s much more moody this way.

The Final Image

I like the night-time look, but let’s give it just a bit more drama by making it not just night, but a night with a bit of fog. That’s what I did to get this final photo.

As promised, short and sweet.

A Dangerous Calle

I’ve mentioned acqua alta (high water) in the past. This is an occurrence primarily in the late fall when tides and winds push up water from the Adriatic Sea and Venetians get their feet wet as they go about their day…and their calves, and sometimes their knees and thighs.

There are several places in the labyrinth of Venice where a calle will suddenly stop at a canal, like this one. If one were to be trudging through water and turn to this short calle, and if one were not familiar with this particular situation, a swim might be in one’s future, as you would not realize that the water in front of you is a canal, rather than another flooded calle.

I see the stone post in the photo. I’m guessing that this is a clue as to the fate of this calle, though I don’t remember seeing them at other dead-end calle. At any rate, if caught in the acqua alta situation, be mindful of your route.

I hope you enjoyed today’s transformation from blah, to ahh. Until next time, I say…

Ciao or now,

Steve

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Transforming a Blah Green Door to Evening Blue

For the benefit of the several new readers, I don’t just write about things Italian…I also have a ‘Print Store’ on this website. In that shop are many photos of doors and windows of Italy. The time that I take to process the snapshots that I’ve taken in Italy into fine-art photos for you is my ‘happy time’.

“Yesterday a friend asked, ‘When was the last time you were in Italy?’ I replied, ‘I’m in Italy every day.’ ”

— Steve Burkett

The centuries-old buildings of Italy are a fabulous testament to the Italian craftsmen of old. However, because of the buildings’ ancient stone and plaster construction, adding modern conveniences like water and electricity often blemish the otherwise beautiful and charming façades. I want you to see these marvelous palazzos and common buildings in their pre-modernized state. So, what I do is remove blemishes through the magic of Photoshop to bring you the Italy of yesteryear.

Today, I give you a simple example of my digital architectural restoration. The door and façade to be transformed was photographed in Venice.

Where I Start

As always, I start with the original photo. My photos will always appear as blah when downloaded to my computer. When using a professional digital camera, one has the obligation to save photos in what is known as a “RAW” format. Saving photos in RAW format allows a much greater range of subsequent digital processing than a JPEG image from a typical camera, like your smartphone. But the tradeoff is that the JPEG format looks much better initially than an unedited RAW photo.

Enough said…and if you are interested, you can see more in a previous article of JPEG versus RAW which goes into more depth here.

Now, the Transformation

This original snapshot is all wonky, isn’t it? Because I had to capture the façade in the tight quarters of a narrow Venetian calle, I took the photo using a 14mm lens, which is an extremely wide-angle lens. A wide-angle lens will create distortion. So, I’ll have to get to work by straightening up this scene a good bit.

The original image, with significant distortion

In this second version, much, but not all, of the distortion has been resolved.

Just a bit more work puts things in proper perspective. And that note about mail delivery that’s been taped to the door? It had to go.

Here is where the restoration begins. I don’t like that dull green door. I’ve decided in my own volition that the door should be blue. So, I’ve made it blue.

The surface of the walkway in front of the door needs to be constructed, so I’ve done enough of that to satisfy my vision for the final photo.

And the plinth on which the pseudo-column to the right sits has to be constructed in this renovation…so, I’m on it.

Well, in my final crop of the image, it turns out that I didn’t need all of that pavement after all, but the plinth work was essential.

The Final Image

In the final photo, I wanted it to look like the palazzo is occupied and that someone is at home, waiting for you and me to drop by for an apertivo…and from last week’s article, you should now know what that is, right? So, I borrowed backlit lights above the door from another photo of Venice.

So, now you’ve seen behind the curtain in the transformation of a blah green door, to evening blue.

That’s it for today’s rather simple restoration of an ancient Venetian doorway. If you are interested in seeing more magical door and window transformations, check out my Index of Articles and scroll way down on the right-hand list to find, “Italy-Photo Transformations”.

I’ll see you next week to find out what the antipasto course is all about in Italian dining. Until then, I say…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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