Today’s Shooting Agenda
- Dawn views of Val d’Orcia & the abandoned house
- Poppies on Strada Panoramica
- Village of Monticchiello
- Winding road at Monticchiello
Dawn Views of Val d’Orica & The Abandoned House
As in other mornings, our group met at 5:15AM by the van in the parking lot This morning our dawn shoot will be an abandoned house and the surrounding hills on the Val d’Orcia.
I’ve always been fascinated by abandoned houses and love to photograph them. To me, abandoned houses are mysterious and beg so many questions: Who lived here? What kind of lives did they lead? Were they happy… unhappy? Why did they leave and why does so much remain behind?:
As the dawn continued its gentle breaking, I shifted my camera to another section of the Val d’Orcia:
Finishing our dawn shoot, we arrived back at the hotel for a 7:45 breakfast.
Poppies on Strada Panoramico
Setting out again in the van, we ventured into the countryside outside of Monticchiello where we found a beautiful poppy field on the Strada Panoramico. Setting up our tripods and cameras, we captured the impressive sight:
Monticchiello
Arriving in Monticchiello, I first took a few shots of the surrounding countryside from the village’s walls:
For lunch, we ventured further into the beautiful medieval village of Monticchiello:
There, we ate at an utterly charming restaurant called Ristorante Daria. I opted for the pasta dish (unfortunately, I can’t recall the name of the dish), and a slightly decadent plate of chocolate for dessert:
After lunch we set up a group shot of our gang in a courtyard across from the restaurant:
After which, we toured the charming little village of Monticchiello. This is yet another Italian village I fell totally in love with:
On our way out of the village, Ted and I discovered the rustic church Pieve dei Santi Leonardo e Cristoforo:
…. And, not to forget the village cat:
Winding Road at Monticchiello
Leaving Monticchiello, we found the famous “winding road” outside the village, and stopped a while for a photo shoot. This is the road which leads to Montepulciano.
It was late afternoon at this point so we returned to the hotel for some rest and free time. At 6:00PM we met in the hotel bar to have a talk/conference on photography exposure techniques.
Evening Meal
At 8:00 we walked into the village (San Quirico d’Oricia) for another delicious Italian meal at Trattoria al Vecchio Forno. We had eaten here on Monday, but the food, service and ambience was so good we had to return for more. Tonight we were seated indoors as it was a little cool for patio dining.
We returned to the hotel around 10:30 and went off to bed, closing out another relaxing and rewarding day in beautiful Tuscany.
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