March 18, 2025

Back to a hillside vineyard

The alarm went off before dawn, and by six I was already at a hillside vineyard. A light drizzle started around ten. I sheltered under a bus stop roof and photographed people hurrying past.

I sat on a bench for almost an hour, just watching fog change as the clouds moved. The path was muddy and longer than the map suggested, but the view at the end made up for it.

Walking back, I found a side street I had never noticed before, lined with tiny workshops. I tried a few long exposures, but the wind had other ideas. The handheld shots turned out better anyway.

I kept a paper notebook this time, writing down the time and the light for every roll. Working with a 50mm lens forces you to slow down. You think twice before pressing the shutter, and that changes the pictures.

An elderly couple asked me to take their picture. I used their phone, then made one frame of them on mine. The café near a hillside vineyard still serves the same cinnamon buns; I had two and pretended it was research.

The full set of photos will go into the archive once the film comes back from the lab.