"Forty winks". One of several strange English expressions for a short sleep; a nap, a kip, a snooze; otherwise known as the 'siesta' in Spanish or 'pisolino' in Italian. Looking through the archive, I've noticed several images appear of people in a state of slumber.
So, here's a small selection of images taken between 2014 and 2025 of people grabbing their '40 winks' wherever and whenever they can, in and around Venice.
AP.
Especially in monochrome, Venice appears timeless. And although it is an over-expressed clichè, it is still something that attracts me about the city. Places change, people come and go, the fabric of society ever evolves, yet, in hidden corners of Venice, time appears to stand still. This is particularly true around the neighbour of Castello, where the tradition of hanging the washing (il bucato) across the streets provides a draw for tourists and photographers. The shot below exemplifies this.
Il Bucato, Castello, 2025
Taken in 2025, it could equally pass for 1925. We have a man (I like to think a local, who has grown up on these streets) strolling the calli whilst the white washing hangs out above him. Both elements providing their own little narrative of life in these apartments and how, despite the advances of technology, the traditional ways are very often the best.
To buy photographic prints from the complete Monochrome Venice archive, please send a request through my prints page...
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Thanks!
AP
Today's tour takes us around the famous Pescheria (Fish Market) located at Rialto. Set in a Neo-Gothic open-sided building that is adjacent to the Grand Canal, the Rialto Fish Market is undeniably a tourist hotspot, and photographed incessantly. Nevertheless it still makes an interesting subject, especially in monochrome, given the light, textures and characters one can find. Photographically it also provides opportunities for creating sequences and stories and to adopt a documentary or reportage approach.
As the market it's inevitably busy and difficult to stay in one place for very long, it's usually best to work fast with the camera in autofocus and aperture priority mode. To isolate individual elements, many of these following shots were taken wide open with the Fujifilm XT2 mirrorless with a 60mm f2.8 portrait lens which allows shooting fast in low light conditions for candid portraiture.
Rialto Fish Market (March 2022). Fujifilm XT2 60mm f2.8
Rialto Fish Market (March 2022). Fujifilm XT2 60mm f2.8
Rialto Fish Market (March 2022). Fujifilm XT2 60mm f2.8
A previous visit used a wide angle lens (Fujifilm 18mm f2) to capture an environmental portrait, including the impressive foreground swordfish and as much of the market as possible.
Rialto Fish Market (March 2013). Fujifilm XT1 18mm f2
The Fujifilm XT2 mirrorless 60mm f2.8 portrait lens also offers a macro function, to hone in on some of the textures.
Rialto Fish Market (March 2022). Fujifilm XT2 60mm f2.8
And then, after its all packed away, the clean up begins which offers a visual contrast to the hustle and bustle of the previous few hours. AP.
After the Fish (March 2014). Canon Powershot G15.
