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Vicenza I
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Vicenza I



Most of the times I went to Italy, I went on my own because I’d always wanted to see for myself what all the raving was about.

When I went to Vicenza in 1994, it was to do a calendar for Bank of Vicenza. 

I was very excited about it because they picked one photographer each year and I was told they gave the photographer a free hand.

I was to do two shoots, six months apart so we could have different seasons.

Now, Palladio was a very famous Renaissance architect in Vicenza and the surrounding areas. They we’re very proud of him.

I shot the first shoot, went home to edit the pictures. I didn’t send them anything but told them I’d bring them myself the next time I came back to Italy to shoot. (I don’t trust the mail and I’d heard particularly bad horror stories about the Italian mail.)

When I returned six months later and made my tightly edited presentation, there was quiet in the room.

Finally Mr. Big in the group explained (very gently) that all the pictures were excellent but there were no Palladio buildings in there anywhere.

Time for me to explain (very gently) that they were know to give their photographers a free hand and I found that the whole area of Vicenza was exciting to me. It was a vibrant area full of life, not a historical repository of Palladio buildings, but a living, breathing place and anyway you’ve had Palladio buildings in your previous calendars and this would break new ground.

I sat down. He got up and said, "Va bene", which basically means alright, it’s OK.

I breathed again.

I did the second part of the shoot. I photographed people, landscapes, details, farmland, churches, whatever I felt like shooting.

At some point I was photographing a house reflected in a river with water weeds as an integral element. Alberto Gasparotti, who was accompanying me on some of the shoots was watching me. I stopped and asked him, “Is it OK to shoot this or is there any problem ecologically with my showing all the reeds in the water?”

He looked at me and said, “You like it, you think it’s beautiful, so you shoot it. Va bene.”

At that point I realized that for all my protests of independence, all my commercial work had so socialized me that I was worried about things that I should not have worried about.

This experience did have a big part in influencing me to stop doing commercial work soon after that.

The calendar worked out well and they liked it so much I made a third trip for the exhibition of the photographs in a museum.

Man Peering Through Screen, Vicenza
Man Peering Through Screen, Vicenza
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Cemetery Grid, Vicenza
Cemetery Grid, Vicenza
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Man on Bench, Eating, Vicenza
Man on Bench, Eating, Vicenza
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Window, Water Drops, Vicenza
Window, Water Drops, Vicenza
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Big Group Posing in Front of Steps, Vicenza
Big Group Posing in Front of Steps, Vicenza
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Room Interior, Vicenza
Room Interior, Vicenza
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Girl in Bus, Graffiti on Window, Vicenza
Girl in Bus, Graffiti on Window, Vicenza
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Two Men Talking, One on Bike, Vicenza
Two Men Talking, One on Bike, Vicenza
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Looking up Staircase at Vaulted Ceiling, Vicenza
Looking up Staircase at Vaulted Ceiling, Vicenza
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Blonde Woman with Bag, Smiling, Vicenza
Blonde Woman with Bag, Smiling, Vicenza
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Three Hands Waving, Vicenza
Three Hands Waving, Vicenza
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Vineyard with One Flowering Tree, Vicenza
Vineyard with One Flowering Tree, Vicenza
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Man with Control Box Looking Up, Vicenza
Man with Control Box Looking Up, Vicenza
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Truck and "Relaxed" Statue, Vicenza
Truck and "Relaxed" Statue, Vicenza
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Overhead of Rider with Cigarette, Vicenza
Overhead of Rider with Cigarette, Vicenza
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Crowded Square, Vicenza
Crowded Square, Vicenza
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Man Doing Push-ups in Square, Vicenza
Man Doing Push-ups in Square, Vicenza
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Blurred Man on Bike, Woman Walking, Vicenza
Blurred Man on Bike, Woman Walking, Vicenza
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View of Painted Ceiling, Vicenza
View of Painted Ceiling, Vicenza
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Street with Lights at Night, Vicenza
Street with Lights at Night, Vicenza
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Courtyard with Arches, Vicenza
Courtyard with Arches, Vicenza
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Road, Trees, House, Vicenza
Road, Trees, House, Vicenza
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Building with Plastic on Windows Reflecting Sunset, Vicenza
Building with Plastic on Windows Reflecting Sunset, Vicenza
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Airplane in Front Yard, Vicenza
Airplane in Front Yard, Vicenza
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Farm, Two Men Carrying with House in Background, Vicenza
Farm, Two Men Carrying with House in Background, Vicenza
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Two Waiting on Cart, RR Station, Vicenza
Two Waiting on Cart, RR Station, Vicenza
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Man in Blue on Ladder, Vicenza
Man in Blue on Ladder, Vicenza
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Conductor in Train Corridor, Vicenza
Conductor in Train Corridor, Vicenza
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Overhead Two Men, One with Hands to Nose, Vicenza
Overhead Two Men, One with Hands to Nose, Vicenza
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Man with Child, Truck Right Behind Them, Vicenza
Man with Child, Truck Right Behind Them, Vicenza
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Backlit Group in Church, Vicenza
Backlit Group in Church, Vicenza
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Alberto Gasperotti Against Yellow Wall, Vicenza
Alberto Gasperotti Against Yellow Wall, Vicenza
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Embracing in RR Station, Vicenza
Embracing in RR Station, Vicenza
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Two Men Talking, Looking Away from Second Man, Vicenza
Two Men Talking, Looking Away from Second Man, Vicenza
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Two Women Talking, One Gesturing, Vicenza
Two Women Talking, One Gesturing, Vicenza
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Man with Umbrella, Second Man Making Face, Vicenza
Man with Umbrella, Second Man Making Face, Vicenza
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Man on Bike with Child, Vicenza
Man on Bike with Child, Vicenza
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Two Men Talking, Other Listening, Vicenza
Two Men Talking, Other Listening, Vicenza
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Two Men with Umbrellas, One Making Circle with Fingers, Vicenza
Two Men with Umbrellas, One Making Circle with Fingers, Vicenza
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Two Women with Children in Carriages, Vicenza
Two Women with Children in Carriages, Vicenza
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Silhouette Man in Black in Square, Vicenza
Silhouette Man in Black in Square, Vicenza
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Adult and Child in Road, Vicenza
Adult and Child in Road, Vicenza
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Old Door with Ivy Growing, Vicenza
Old Door with Ivy Growing, Vicenza
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Flag In Front of Building, Vicenza
Flag In Front of Building, Vicenza
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Overhead of Windows and Red Tile Roofs, Vicenza
Overhead of Windows and Red Tile Roofs, Vicenza
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Night, Lights, Street, Yellow, Vicenza
Night, Lights, Street, Yellow, Vicenza
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Cop Gesturing at Bus, Vicenza
Cop Gesturing at Bus, Vicenza
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Stockings at Market, Vicenza
Stockings at Market, Vicenza
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End of Vicenza I_vicenza27Overhead8at8Market8Flowers8Vicenza
End of Vicenza I_vicenza27Overhead8at8Market8Flowers8Vicenza
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