Friday, April 12, 2013

Parco degli Acquedotti

...or Aqueduct Park - is a short subway ride outside of the city center in Rome - and it is an amazing place. The main sight is the longest section of standing, ancient aqueduct near Rome - the Aqua Claudia ruins - and there is also the 1500's Acqua Felice running through the park. I happened to visit on a beautiful, weekend afternoon(which after days of rain was very welcomed) and people were out everywhere enjoying the weather. As the sun lowered in the sky I clicked off two rolls of Fuji Neopan with my Minolta X-700 and also snapped some shots with my Canon 7D to capture the 'magic hour' colors(and for insurance in case something happened to my film). Aqueduct Park 1 
These shots are some of my favorite from my trip to Italy - I absolutely loved this place and spent at least 3 hours walking around the ruins and shooting. To anyone spending more than just a couple days in Rome I would definitely recommend finding your way here - its was awesome to see the ancient, engineering genius of the Romans in a peaceful setting without the hustle and bustle of central Rome.  I found it hard to wrap my mind around the age of the ruins - I was starting to think of things like the Acqua Felice as "new" even though it was built at the same time as the oldest standing European structures in the U.S.  Also how can you relate to 2000 year old structures when you're used to thinking of a barn from the 1840's as old?!
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Photographically I liked the more ruined sections of the Aqua Claudia. Aqueduct Park 5
"The Path" - you can see the longer stretches of the aqueduct farther down - that is where most of the people are - I enjoyed walking along the less crowded areas on the other side of the 'ducts. Aqueduct Park 2
People lay about and play in the shadows of the 2000 year old structures - the tree tops pines and the mountains beyond make a great backdrop too. Aqueduct Park 11
"This Big!"
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"Contrast"
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The light strikes the Aqua Claudia as it stretches to its source in the distant hills. I added some color toning in Photoshop.
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Everyone is a photographer. Aqueduct Park 14
Old Meets New.
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I already can't believe I was ever here - if it wasn't for these photos it would all seem like a dream...

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