Venice Part II on Film

Hi Film Friends! Sorry for not posting last week. I was busy attending an intensive two week photography workshop which took up most of my time. I will write more about that in a future post. Meanwhile, we’re back in Venice, more specifically, the sleepy fishing village of Burano, famous for their brightly coloured houses. Apparently, it was believed the houses were painted this way to help fishermen navigate their way back home.

Burano was quite different from Murano and Venice. It felt more light and happy. Must have been the vibrant colours of the house. The spaces between the houses were also much bigger too, making the village feel less crowed than the other towns of Venice. We spent the rest of the day just exploring every nook and cranny of the village. Wandering into alleys and getting lost in the process. Ahhh… The joys of travel.

Walking through Venice, Qi Xuan and I wondered if the Venetians were airing their laundry out in the public on purpose. Like don’t they have laundry dryers? But one can’t deny the amount of charm it adds to the village.

Burano is served by a main canal cutting across the village.

Seriously!? Do they only wear light coloured clothing?

After hours of exploring, the sun started to set and the light became much softer. It was only then that the little village really started to shine. Old grannies gathered in public areas to sew lace and probably gossip. The tourists started to return to Venice and we practically had the whole island to ourselves and the residents for a short while.

Sometimes a great relationship means being able to sit next to each other without feeling a need to talk to each other. Just a couple enjoying each other’s company.

At about 6:30pm, we decided to take the ferry back to the main island of Venice. Along the way, we managed to witness the sun setting into the horizon, something I’ve only seen in movies. This kind of sunset doesn’t typically happen in Singapore probably because we’re surrounded by tall buildings most of the time. It was a truly magical moment. The journey back was also significantly colder than the journey there. Without the sun to heat up the air around us, all we had to protect ourselves from the cold was the fats on our bodies. So remember to bring a jacket or sweater to keep yourselves warm if you’re thinking to visit Burano in October!

When we arrived in the main island of Venice, we were famished and tired, so we had a quick dinner before turning in for the night!

Sunset from the ferry. It looked way more amazing in person!

Waking up in the morning of our last full day in Venice, something felt different. The streets were quieter and the city looked physically different. Venice was covered by fog! Apparently it happens quite frequently but I’ve never seen photos of Venice looking like that. So I’m glad we got to experience something different during our time there.

After realising the weather conditions, I hurriedly went to Piazza San Marco, Ponte dell’Accademia and Rialto Bridge to capture these iconic Venetian places covered in fog. Arriving at each venue, I would take photos and just spend a good 20 minutes just admiring the landscape interacting with the fogged up conditions. It was so enchanting to me. The only other time I’ve seen something like this was when Singapore was covered by the haze caused by the deforestation in Indonesia.

This is what Silent Hill would look like if it were set in Venice.

Photos up till now were shot on the Contax T2 with Fuji Pro 400H. Developed and scanned by Photocity Lab in Bangkok, Thailand.

One thing I really enjoy doing while in a new city is to visit their local market. I feel that markets are the ultimate tourist experience. You get an insight on what locals eat, how locals sound like bargaining and interacting with each other, what their produce smells like and maybe even get a taste of what locals eat. It’s really an all in one experience for the tourist. A treat for all the senses. However, one should also take note that a market’s primary purpose is that of a place of commerce and if tourists get into the way of business, the vendors wouldn’t hesitate to reprimand them.

That said, Qi Xuan and I decided to visit Mercato di Rialto, a fruit, vegetable and fish market by the Grand Canal to take a look at a slice of daily Venetian life.

A stall vendor and customer bargaining. Love the expressions in mid-action shots like these.

The OCD in me is low key happy that the fishes are so neatly arranged. Haha.

Some of the stores were housed in sheltered areas.

Seeing and smelling all the fresh produce made us really hungry so naturally we went looking for lunch. While looking for lunch, I received a Instagram DM from one of my online friends, Sean. He brought to my attention a park on the east side of Venice where locals go and chill. It was in the residential neighbourhood of Castello. This really intrigued me because throughout my days in Venice, I realised there wasn’t a lot of large green spaces around. I was curious to see what a park in Venice would look like so I plotted my next location, the park near to where the Venice Biennale is held.

If you guys don’t know what the Venice Biennale is, in the simplest terms I can put it, it’s a contemporary visual arts exhibition held every two years in Venice.

It was quite a walk there but walking from Piazza San Marco, you could slowly observe a transition between the touristic part of Venice and the residential part. The streets become quieter and it’s a much slower pace of life.

The much quieter neighbourhood of Castello where one can actually read without being disturbed by the constant stream of tourists walking in and out of alleys.

The park itself was an interesting experience as well as it’s a very different landscape from that of the typical Venice one would see on google images. Large green spaces with kids running around and playing games while the adults sit on benches reading or napping, not having a worry in the world.

This was definitely something I’m glad I did as it showed me another side of Venice that wasn’t always showed on social media and modern media. Thanks Sean! Check out the place if you have some time to spare and I assure you that you’ll experience a Venice that not many people have experienced.

While researching interesting places to check out in Venice, I came across a little bookshop called Liberia Acqua Alta. Venice sometimes floods and as you might imagine, water and books don’t go very well together. So this bookshop has come up with an ingenious solution to deal with this problem. They keep stacks of books in waterproof basins like bathtubs and in one case, a full sized gondola. This has in turn provided a whimsical feel to the bookshop. You’ll feel like you’ve been transported into a whole new universe, the same feeling you get when picking up a book and reading it.

Another place that caught my interest was a place called Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo which is known for its external spiral staircase known as Scala Contarini del Bovolo. The staircase kind of looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and at the top of the staircase, you get an unparalleled view of the whole of Venice. Entrance to the compound costs €7 and I feel it’s worth the money as the only other vantage point in Venice is the overcrowded and overpriced Campanile di San Marco. It is definitely a hidden gem.

Views from the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo. You can see the domes and the Campanile di San Marco, the Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo, and even the Teatro la Fenice.

After visiting those two sites, we decided to take a slow stroll along the Grand Canal. Gelato in our hands, we soaked in the ambience and atmosphere of romantic Venice. A perfect end to our visit to Venice.

Many people have asked why I decided to stay for so long in Venice (4 nights). But to me, Venice is a place where you can get lost in its alleys and canals. There’s just so much to explore. Beyond the touristic sites and main squares. I’m glad we had the time to visit Castello and see another side of Venice.

Photos up till now were shot on the Contax T2 with Agfa Vista 400. Developed and scanned by Photocity Lab in Bangkok, Thailand.

The next morning, Qi Xuan and I boarded the train to Florence. This concludes our visit to Venice! Hope you guys have enjoyed looking at the photos and reading about what we did. The next city we would be exploring is Florence, birthplace of renaissance and truffle heaven! As always, I’m always open to suggestions on how to better my blogposts and leave a comment if you enjoyed the posts! See you guys in the next blogpost! Till then, keep shooting film friends!