Get lost in Rome with a camera; Part 1

I always prefer to group my photographs together asetically rather than chronologically whenever I can but for a change I thought I'd put together this two part blog a little differently.

I've spent a lot of time photographing in Rome in the last few months and fancied just getting lost with the camera this time and seeing what passed the lens. I had a free morning in Rome this week before I met I client so I picked a metro stop and gave myself three hours to meander and find my way back to the metro. 

Maybe if you've not seen a lot of Rome this will give you an idea of the beauty and diversity you can find here without keeping to the main tourist routes. As we retrace my steps as best as I can remember them I'll give you some pointers as to the locations. Oh, and you don't need to be carrying tons of photography kit either to get some great shots, all I was carrying was one camera and lens.

I surfaced from the metro at the Circo Massimo, home to Rome's largest venue for Ludi (public games) back in the days of the Roman Republic. Not exactly a photographers dream since most of it has long disspeared but it's a great place to walk and imagine how it would've felt to be here 2000 years ago.

From here I walked north and in a few minutes was crossing the Tiber into Trastevere. It's a beautiful district and mid morning is a great time to wander though the real life hustle and bustle. 

For me Rome is about colours, textures and vibrancy and along each street you can find examples everywhere.

To me the next few shots sum up wandering in Rome in the space of a couple of humdred metres I came across this rather tired looking mini outside a mechanics garage, a stunning church and this fantastic artdeco apartment block. All wedged into the thin streets of Trastevere.

The mini was the only shot of the day I really wanted to get once I'd seen it and it took a few minutes of waiting to get a clear shot whithout anyone else in the frame.

The church is very typical of Rome, unassuming on the outside but breathtaking on the inside. As for getting a decent shot of it that's the hard bit if you arn't carrying a tripod or some weighty lenses. The curator of the church was actually really accomadating though and actually let me use a chair to pop the camera on so I could get a nice slow shot to get lots of light in. For anyone that's interested the church is the Santa Maria Dell'Orto in Trastevere.

The apartment block is just a few steps from the church, maybe not of interest to all but it's a style that really appeals to me.

So far I've been on the south side of Viale di Trastevere, for the second half of this blog I continue on the north side and beyond Trastevere.