Danielle Woodall with Professor Cinzia Noble, Italian Department
In partnership with the Kennedy Center of Brigham Young University and Dr. Cinzia Noble, I worked on publishing ‘Siena Walks,’ a travel guide with specific walks in Siena Italy. As a photography major, I provided the necessary images for the publication.
In May 2011, I traveled to Siena Italy and photographed the monuments and locations needed for all the different walks in Siena. It was a great experience to visit and photograph this stunning city. I prepared extensively for the trip, but while in Siena I did find several unforeseen difficulties that I had to adapt to. There also were things that at first seemed like difficulties, but turned out to be successes.
Preparing for the trip, I researched each location that I would be photographing and this was very helpful when traveling around the city. I was able to find all locations on my list, and was also able to understand their importance. The streets of Siena are very narrow and this made it difficult to photograph some of the buildings. I was glad I brought a telephoto lens which made it easier to get tight shots with the small distance I was given. I also got several photographs from above the city, which gave interesting angles and perspectives to the images. We only had a week in Siena and I needed to take many photographs each day. One day it started raining and I got worried that this would ruin my chance to photograph anything that day. Luckily, the rain quickly cleared up and the overcast lighting from the storm was beautiful. Although at first I was frustrated, it turned out to be an advantage. That is how I was able to capture the beautiful lighting and sky in the image below.
If I were able to travel to Siena again there is one thing that I would do differently. While in Siena in May I was pressed for time and needed to photograph many locations, and because of this, I didn’t get very many photographs of the people of Siena. Instead, I focused on the buildings, and churches, which although are beautiful, they don’t perfectly show Siena as a whole. If I traveled again to Siena, I would take more time to document the everyday aspects of life in Siena that make this city unique. The people of this city are just as if not more interesting as the beautiful orange brick buildings.
When I came home from Italy, I edited all the photographs and gave them to the Kennedy Center. The publication of ‘Siena Walks’ is still being worked on and is to be completed in the near future.
I currently have a photography exhibit on display in the Harold B. Lee Library of the city of Siena. This was another great outcome of my ORCA project. The exhibit turned out splendid and I was happy to be able to share the beauty of Siena with others. I have received a lot of positive feedback from the exhibit and am hoping to display it at other locations after it is finished at the HBLL.
I am grateful for the opportunity to work on this project and travel to an amazing place. Without the funding provided by ORCA I would not have been able to do any of this.