Tharp_040509-510

It always amazes me when you’re out there photographing and you think you’ve made a picture that is your personal vision only to see it similarly composed by someone else. HA – how did they know that spot/location, you might ask yourself? But in the case of Venice, well what spot hasn’t been photographed – again and again? And so it is with a sense of humor and amazement that I post the pictures of Venice here, because a colleague has just published a wonderful little e-book on Venice and a similar image is his cover. I’m on David du Chemin’s email list because I purchased his Inspired Eye Vol 1 – after I was intrigued with the idea of e-books.  The fact that I had reserved that name as a website domain – but not used it yet – was also uncanny. I won’t go into the two other parallels I’ve discovered.

And then today, he posted a give-away canvas print on his blog that is very similar to the image of the Gondolas you see here, at dusk. OK, there are tripod holes in the pavers, just about, for as many pics that have been made along this stretch of St. Mark’s, but I still find it very interesting how similar the pictures are – and neither his nor mine had been published anywhere yet! He was just in Venice in May 2010, about the time I was, apparently. Amazing.  Neither of us saw the other person’s image of the lamps and storm light, so how did that happen?

Gondolas and San Giorgio di Maggiore Island, Venice. Tharp_060516-5853

I think these occurrences show that there are like minds, in this world, that no matter how individual you might be, you just might have a similar eye to someone else out there. And that scenes like these abound in our world, and when the photographer is open to what’s there, they’ll ‘discover’ them. Reading what I have of David’s philosophy and approach to photography, I can see we are kindred spirits. If you haven’t bought his book Within the Frame: A Journey of Photographic Vision, I would highly recommend it. And his e-books! I’ll have my own out within the next few months, hopefully, but meanwhile you’ll learn a lot from his. And, just to be different, 🙂  I’m posting this image of a trio of Gondolas reflected in the lagoon that I hope David doesn’t have!

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