Oh Venice, where do I start? I loved every single second of our time here. What a beautiful, magical place. I could barely stop looking around long enough to catch my breath. We just had one short day to explore this enchanting island, and we spent our time just wandering up and down the canals with me snapping a photo at just about every step. I could not put down my camera! I could’ve easily spent several more days here just walking these streets and taking in the beauty of Venice.
Here’s a peek at what we saw.
Boats looking across the Grand Canal.
Colorful rainbow buildings.
If you click on the photos, you can see the camera, lens, and settings I used to take the photo. I had my Canon 7D and 24-70mm f/2.8 lens with me this day. Oh how I wished for my tripod and wide angle lens though! Especially later for sunset at the Rialto Bridge. There’s also a map to see the GPS location where I was when I snapped the photo, if you’re into that sort of thing. :)
Gondolas on the Grand Canal.
Stopped to snap a picture in front of this beautiful canal.
We had three scoops of gelato every single day while we were in Italy, from a different place each time. Some of the best gelato we had in all of Italy was here in Venice, at La Boutique del Gelato. I am still dreaming about just their plain, simple vanilla and their creamy, dreamy Nutella. How it is possible to be this much in love with vanilla??
Is this a door? So neat. The building next door is a boat repair shop for Venetian vehicles. There’s a crane to lift boats from the water and take them inside for repairs.
Laundry Day in Venice.
Washing whites.
Did I mention Kevin lost two pounds while we were in Italy? I did mention the whole three scoops of gelato a day thing, right?
I, on the other hand, am refusing to comment.
Boats and ladder.
Colorful canal.
View from the Rialto Bridge over Venice’s Grand Canal.
Looking the other way.
Another view from the Rialto Bridge.
Walking down the canal.
Boats on the Grand Canal.
A shady canal in Venice.
A gondola ride through colorful Venice.
Boat ride.
View from the Academia Bridge on the Grand Canal.
Directions to Saint Mark’s Square. (S.M. and arrow)
Afternoon in Venice.
My favorite, favorite canal we stumbled upon in Venice.
On the street.
Sunset at Ponte San Barnaba.
We made our way back to the Rialto Bridge to watch the sunset.
Gondola ride at sunset, anyone?
Loved these colorful buildings at the golden hour.
Fiery colors in Venice.
Dusk over the Grand Canal.
I edited the photos in Adobe Lightroom 3 (<< my tutorial on how I use Lightroom is here) and Photoshop CS5 — another tutorial here :) — or see my reply in the comments for more info. :)
Nightlife on the Grand Canal.
Here’s a photo map of where all we went in Venice. It’s easier to see in the larger map, but from there you can zoom in and see where each picture was taken across Venice. :)
I hope you guys enjoyed Venice!! I wish I could take you all back there with me. How fun would it be to do a photo tour of Venice?? :)
Thanks so much to Michael Angelo’s for this wonderful opportunity!
Hey Kevin & Amanda these images are just out of the world. I will be going to Venice in July, but your blog makes my days till then filled with excitement. I am going to Venice just for one day and this is my first time in the city. I want to make the most of my trip so after much search. After watching these images I can’t wait to go there.
Your photos are gorgeous! My husband and I are going for the first time in the Fall. I’m a little nervous about going but very excited! Oh and your pictures of Yachats caught my attention too. We moved from Portland and that is our favorite place on the Oregon coast. We’ve been going there for over 30 years. Love fishing off the rocks for sea bass. We normally stay at the Adobe Inn. My father and uncle are the two who first introduced us to Yachats… LOVE it!! Thank you so much for all the information and inspiration on your trip to Venice and your scenic routes through Tuscany!! I cannot wait!!
It’s nice to read about and see how much you enjoyed Venice, but as someone who has lived in that city for the last 2 1/2 years with my wife and our young son I feel I should warn your readers who enjoyed your photos that the colors they themselves may encounter in person when they visit here aren’t likely to be exactly those in the pictures above. I enjoyed the colors as a conscious artistic choice of yours, more expressive than simply literal and I don’t want people to walk out of the train station, look at the Grand Canal and say to themselves, “What happened to this place? It seemed to be more vibrant in pictures I saw!” And wonder if they’ve made the mistake of coming at the wrong time of year or something. I’ve tried to capture the colors more literally on my blog, and I hope the images won’t seem dull or flat; for example, one post on clouds:
http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2013/02/tiepolo-clouds-this-evening.html
I look forward to catching up on your other travel posts now, as Venice was the first one I came upon.
Wonderful pictures of a wonderful trip! Just wondering what camera equipment you took to Italy?
Loved looking through these, so reminded me of our trip in 2010 and we can’t wait to return! Beautiful!
Stunning! These photographs are pure art!! Several of them I would love to see blown up and put on canvas or framed. You do realize that these are gallery worthy? Is this something that you are going to be selling, possibly? Or will you be giving permission to readers, or others, to download your photos and have them enlarged? You certainly could have a wonderful photo shop. I think it would be so cool to give one of them to some friends who grew up in Italy. I know just where it would be perfect on their wall.
Thanks for the fabulous travel log, Amanda!
Thank you so much for sharing all these pictures! My husband and I went to Italy on our honeymoon. I instantly fell in love with Venice and seriously considered not coming back home…. I miss is very much and your pictures are absolutely beautiful. I love the effects that you added. Absolutely breathtaking :) Again, thank you so much for taking me back there!
Are these pictures artwork? WONDERFUL!
Amanda,
I can’t even imagine the time it took you to get all of this on your site!! These places are amazing!
I, too, thought that the photos were paintings. In one of the beach pictures the people don’t even look real.
i’m very new to photography and am wondering if doing so much “photoshopping” to a photo takes away from the actual art of your own photography? Is it the goal for a photo to be edited so much that it doesn’t even look real?
Or is editing photos actually another art form that goes along with photograph??
I’m just curious as I’m just staring out. I’m certain you’re much more aware than I am. ;)
sorry about asking duplicate questions–mea culpa! ;) I commented on the page with the photo details, not the web version of the blog post.
Dear Amanda, I am not sure how I came upon your blog, but I have tears in my eyes after viewing your incredibly beautiful pictures of Venice, a place that is so near and dear to my heart. Some people don’t get Venice, which puzzles me. Just wander, as you said…that is the best part of this unique place! A place of such intense beauty! These pics belong in a book…I would open it and look upon it over and over again! Thank you for bringing such lovely memories. I look forward to Cinque Terre!
Awesome!! I have no words the photos are amazing!! can I ask you how you did the GPS thing?… did you add something to your camera because is really precise….
Most of the time I took the same picture with my phone as well — I have the iPhone 4S and somehow it adds the GPS location to my photos , lol! :) I was able to match up the phone pictures with the photos I took with my real camera and add the link to the map from my phone. :)
Isn’t Venice so beautiful?? The city was so amazing. Your pictures are stunning (as always)!!
excellent shots. i love the colour in every photos.
So glad to hear that you enjoyed Venice so much. We have just returned from this magical city. This was our third time and could return there today.
Please let us know what post photo editing you did on your photos. They are beautiful.
Gorgeous photos!! Can I please ask what action you used to make them so vibrant?
Wow! Beautiful photos, beautiful place.
The “colorful canal” picture is really like a painting. Really gorgeous, Amanda!
OH.MY.GOSH. Every single picture is truly, absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful…. so highly detailed it feels as if I was right along with you! Truly remarkable photos, Amanda. What a fabulous, fun trip you guy had. A dream come true.
You sure captured the magic of Venezia. :) We have been there many times, but never with a camera, such a pity.
Glad you had a blast in our beloved home-country. :)
This is a brilliant post — in every way possible! Venice is definitely on the ol’ bucket list and I’m more inspired than ever to get there — thanks!
Hi Amanda,
What GORGEOUS pictures! I have followed your blog for quite some time now, and love all the things you share with us. I always enjoy your photography, travels, and your sweet dogs.
Just wanted to tell you, and you may already know, but there is a Katherine Hepburn movie that was filmed entirely in Venice, and surrounding areas. It is called ‘Summertime’, and I thought you might want to check it out sometime. I thought the scenery in it was gorgeous, until this post!
Thanks so much for sharing your life with us.
Blessings to you.
Lynne ☺
I could get used to a life like that. Yup.
Wow…your photos are amazing. It looks like an oil painting. Makes you want to jump right in and soak up the colors. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Becky
Looks absolutely beautiful! It was fun to follow along on Instagram as you traveled. Bet it was a fantastic adventure :)
So beautiful! I can’t wait until we have the opportunity to travel to Europe.
Hi, Amanda, it’s been 20 years since I’ve been to Venice and it is still as beautiful as I remember. Your pics are just amazing and gorgeous. This city is just made for photography. How fun to get to be there. I would go back to Italy in a minute!! Hope you are doing well. xo
Hi Amanda! I was so excited to see your pictures from Venice. My husband & I are going in 2 days on our belated honeymoon & now I am that much more excited to go & take a ton of pictures! We’re actually staying at Hotel Marconi, which I saw in a few of your pics from the Rialto Bridge! Thanks for your post, you made my day :)
Did you enhance your pics with lightroom? I love them!
As usual, wonderful pictures. Love your work. Thanks for sharing so much. I’m getting ready to dig into your archives to get those recommendations for camera lenses. I’m interested in the best lens for low light situations as in Auditoriums or Churches where no flash can be used. Places with high ceilings.
Oh, I bought the Michael Angelo’s lasagna. Loved it! Thanks for the tip.
Yvette
First off…I’m so happy for you that you and Kevin got to experience beautiful Venice and so much more of Italy. Forever memories for your Romance Chest~ It’s definitely on my bucket list…fingers crossed! And lastly…I wanted to say how much I enjoyed your pix and the cool editing treatment you used for that color popping portrait effect….great job Girl!!!
Wow! Beautiful photos. Looks like a fabulous trip!
Your photos are stunning! I’ll be in venice for almost 2 days in October… 2pm until 7pm the next day. We were thinking of taking a day trip to Verona; however, I’m thinking maybe we should just get lost in the streets of Venice!
These colors are just incredible!
Oh Amandaaaa! Your photography is amazing, for instance I though it was paintings that I was looking at! Stunning!!!!
Oh my gosh! Those pics don’t even look real! They look like beautiful paintings!
A photographers paradise!!!!! Now I need to add Venice to my list of where I want to travel. Thanks for sharing your trip through pictures!
Please tell me that you boosted the color saturation on these photos during post processing… please! If not, it should be illegal for any real place to look like a painting… I’m just saying.
Totally mesmerized by your photo tour. And, yes, like others leaving comments, Venice is officially on my bucket list of places to visit.
Thanks so much for sharing <3
These pictures are amazing. They don’t even look real, they look like paintings! Simply amazing!!!
These are the most beautiful pictures I have seen in a very long time. Love, love, love all of them.
WOW, WOW, WOW!
Your colors are amazing. Love it. Are you using any filters on your lens?
and I was lucky enough to do just that!! in 2005, I went on a photography seminar to tuscany and venice with 9 other shooters!!! Talk about a wonderful time and what better place to learn about “light” than in Italy?!!! and I get to go back this coming Sept!!! gonna spend a month or two this time…making sure I get to see and photograph every town!!
Loving reading about your trip!
Beautiful, beautiful pictures, Amanda! Thanks so much for sharing them. It looks like an awesome vacation!
Amazing photos, Amanda — so beautiful and colorful. Added Venice to my bucket list now!
Every single photo is gorgeous!!!
Absolutely gorgeous! I love how vibrant all of the colors are…looks like paintings!
These Photos, all of them are Lovely. I’ve enjoyed Your trip to Italy through all the beautiful Photos .Thanks for sharing.
It’s amazing how colorful everything is! Doesn’t even look real, what a wonderful experience for you and Kevin! Love seeing all of your travel posts!! xoxo
Venice is such a magical city, isn’t it? When we visited, we loved to grab a gelato and sit on the side of the Grand Canal watching the boats and other tourists. After being there for a few days, we kept saying, “those tourists” even though we were the most “touristy” there!
WOW! Those pictures are beautiful! They look like watercolor paintings! You are an amazing photographer! Thank you for sharing! Makes me want to go right away! :)
Wow! I haven’t been to Venice yet but this has definitely convinced me to go. Such pretty pictures! And you’re awesome for putting up the GPS location of each picture. Thank you! And funny about Kevin losing weight. We had the same experience last summer. Three scoops of gelato every day and I gained something like 7 pounds in two weeks and my husband lost weight. Not fair. :(
Stunning pictures! What a wonderful trip & so thrilled you’re sharing it all with us.
Amanda, you’ve outdone yourself this time! Wow, these photos are outstanding. I love how you edited them…they all look like oil paintings…so surreal. You did an excellent job. Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip in photos!
Wow – beautiful photographs – I felt like I was there with you. Thanks so much for sharing.
You make us feel as if we were there with you! My what a wonderful place! Venice is where I would love to go! Thanks so much for sharing!
The photo’s are amazing! Did the photo editing add to the color? It is hard to imagine the city being this colorful! Stunning, really!
Thanks!
Beautiful photos. Did you boost the colors in Lightroom? Would you share your post processing?
Hi Jan!
If you look at the Peacock photo in my Lightroom tutorial, that’s pretty much exactly what I did here too, since my lighting was pretty uneven here as well (bright sky, shady buildings) I adjusted for:
Recovery
Fill Light
Vibrance
Saturation
In that order. Then I was able to use the Batch Editing process I mention at the end of the tutorial to quickly apply the correction to all the photos. Finally I opened them in Photoshop and used the Batch Editing process to add my favorite action before resizing and saving for web.
Hope this helps! :)
A) I am totally jealous. B) These photos are fabulous! I love the editing that you put on them. C) I’m so glad you had a good time! I love the photo of you and Kevin! :D
Would you share info on the photo treatment? HDR?
I love Venice too. Funny thing, my husband and I used to loose at least 5 pounds walking and eating our way through Europe! Having kids, it is hard to be so mobile, last time we didn’t loose a pound.
He LOST weight? How is that even possible?! How do men DO that??
Gorgeous pictures, btw!
Right there. That’s exactly why I want to visit Venice one day. Those colors and canals just make my heart go pitter patter. Thanks for sharing it!
Wow, how gorgeous!
Amazing photos!!!! They look like paintings!
Nika
You really capture the beauty of Venice. The sunset pictures look like beautiful paintings. Beautiful.
your camera is so awesome!!! you used 1/4th shutter speed without a tripod??? mine didn’t capture the colors :(
So beautiful that each one looks like a painting! Thanks for sharing, it is a place I hope to be able to visit one day.
Exactly what I was going to say- they look like paintings! Gorgeous!!
It’s so beautiful there are no words! And how you made these images come to life and edit them and post them, I know it took you just a wee bit of time to do…and thank you :)
D: wow, this will now be added onto the list of places i want to go visit! everything looks so breathtaking and amazing!