Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Thematic Photographic - Grey

Carmi at the blog Written, Inc. posts a weekly photo challenge. This week, the theme is "GREY."

As Carmi puts it, grey is more like the absence of color. "Or," as he says, "an in-between kind of color, as grey is one of those colors that always seems to be wavering between one optical state and another."

A cherub on the facade of the Chiesa San Stae in San Polo
 Here are a handful of Venetian Greys.

You think of Venice as a rosy city, but as a city made of ancient stone, there is a grey tone beneath the rosy plaster. Its baroque buildings are often faced with elaborate grey stone carvings, like the Chiesa di S. Eustachio, or in Venetian dialect, San Stae. Centuries of rain, dust, and soot have streaked and mottled the stone a darker grey, making it look as though the cherub's cheeks are damp with blackened tears.

Click all photos to "embiggen"
These traces of pollution mark even newer structures - newness is relative, however. This stone capital crowns a column at the 19th century Pescheria, or covered fish market. The capitals are carved with fishy themes, like this gape-mouthed fish, twisting its scaley sides among the broad leaves of water lilies.


In narrow calles and passages, shrines of the Virgin appear in corners and nooks, put there to ward off bandits and thieves.


Some passages feature other, more modern greys - like this row of brushed-steel pay phones, with their bright orange-red hardware.


Silver is simply grey with gleam, and here silvery sardines glimmer in the Pescheria.


Grey appears on the plate, too - the dark charcoal of squid-ink gnocchi. Smile in the mirror - your teeth are grey, too!


This enscribed drawing of a cow appears on the polished marble storefront of a butcher's shop near the Mercado Rialto.


One of the many resident cats of Venice gives us a grey that's softer and warmer than stone.

13 comments:

  1. I love grey...just read it is the new color in nail polish for fall) not nearly as interesting as your photos)!

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  2. Great pictures! My husband is a huge fan of gray, most of his shirts are that color. I've worked long and hard to get him to wear other colors as well, to convince him he looks good in bold colors.

    Also, for some reason I have always spelled gray with an "a" rather than an "e" -- not sure it matters, maybe it's just a preference.

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  3. Grey cat would appreciate some sardines if you please (also, if you don't)...
    ~

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  4. Interesting selections. I love the phones and the sardines (and the cat - I had a cat precisely this colour)

    Thanks for sharing these.

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  6. I especially like cat. This is the third cat now, I haven't looked at every entry yet. We missed her and the piles of Sardines.

    I have a grey cat at Jim's Thematic Photographic posts
    ..

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  7. What a purr-fect cute kitty! I do like those pay phones too!

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  8. Sardines - yes; Gnocci - no. Even the cat might turn up its nose at that.

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  9. I loved the sardines! Made me quite hungry! And another grey cat in this theme! I never see any grey cats - where did you all find them!

    Great Venetian shots!

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  10. Venetian Grey - sounds like a great paint name. Truly enjoyed your shots!

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  11. "Silver is simply grey with gleam" -- love this!
    You've captured a wonderful variety of grey/gray here, all with different tones and textures.
    Funny, I'd never thought of Venice as being colorful. Perhaps this is due to other friends' descriptions of their visits to the city.

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