On my Youtube site is a list of the most popular shows. Show # 4: Civita di Bagnoregio has been # 1 on the list for a long time, but today it was surpassed by Show # 28: The Roman Forum with Professor Eve D'Ambra. That show nudged ahead after a steady increase in viewers. It nows stands at Show # 28: 838 views and # 4: 836. Eve also did Show # 32 with 200 views, so that the Professor from Vassar College now has over one thousand views in the past 1 1/2 years!
Meanwhile, Riffman 42, one of my viewers indicates to me that two of my photos from Show # 90 were misidentified. One photo which I indicate as the city of Positano is really Amalfi, and another which I identify as Mt. Vesuvius is really Mt. Etna. I checked back with the book I used for the photos and he is exactly correct. What makes me feel badly is not that I made the mistake, but that I failed to go back and review my notes, because in the book I used it is very clearly labeled as he indicates. My apologies to him and to my audience. It is clear that I am too busy. Teaching at the college, writing a book, working out at the YMCA, writing this blog, and also doing this TV show appears to be too much. I have just finished my book, so things should ease up a bit. Another problem here is that when I stray too far from what I am most acquainted, I tend to "wing it" a bit too much. When I do a Florence show or one related to Venice, Lake Como, Tuscany, Rome, and Umbria, I am in my milieu. However, in trying to show pictures of the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento, I have strayed a bit too far afield from my main expertise. I have only been to the Amalfi Coast once in my life for 4 days back in 2006. Once to Sorrento as well back in 1998, and never to Sicily where I would have been able to identify Mt Etna. I apologize, but you can well imagine trying to produce a show of this type every week or even, as now is broadcast, once a month can be very difficult. Nonetheless, without offering too many excuses, I certainly do apologize for the mislabeling.
This is one of the reasons we will be returning to Italy to gather more information focusing on Cinque Terre again, Western Tuscany, Florence, and Lake Como. This 12 day trip should gather together, I hope, about 15 - 20 new shows for your viewing pleasure. Meanwhile my next two shows concentrate on first My Favorite Streets in Florence (of which I am well acquainted), and Photos of Italy taken from above, from towers, hills, etc. I call that show, Italy, Top to Bottom. Then there will be a month long hiatus, and when I return in mid-June I will spend an entire show talking about the trip we just will have taken. I will start with the planning stage, how I created this trip from scratch, the process of planning, and then a brief synopsis and preview of what will be coming during the next 12 months of broadcasts with special emphasis on what I consider to be have been the highlights, yet unknown. Part of the plan will be to document the as yet undetermined drive from the autostrade to the town of Monterosso. Despite my already anxiety over this ride, I will ask Laura, my photographer and videographer, to videotape the ride, which should be spectacular. I will also try to do some interviews with hoteliers and restauranteurs. Those have always been very popular. Lidia has promised to drive us to some beautiful towns near her home in Western Tuscany, and Luca will be taking us to Medici Villas, such as Villa Artimino, Poggio ai Caiano, etc. We will also photograph a villa on Lake Como we have yet to see, Villa Melzi just south of Bellagio. I will then spend the summer getting everything together, that's 2 months to download, edit the photos, and create shows to last the year. I return to the college on August 28, so I will have over 2 months to plan.
That's the news. Congratulations to Prof D'Ambra, apologies and thanks to Riffman42, and a renewed dedication to my wonderful and dedicated audience.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
The Then and Now Series Comes to a Close
I saved the best for last. After three shows featuring 19th century photos of Italy, I saved perhaps the most interesting for this last broadcast featuring material from Rome, Milan, Venice, Pompeii, Mt Vesuvius, Bologna, Bergamo, and Verona. This pretty much consumes my supply of photos from the several books I bought while in Florence at the bookstore which used to be the Alinari Brother's workshop and studio. When I return to Florence in a few weeks, I will once again visit this amazing store, but right now, I would like to discover other interesting off-beat locations for further shows. For that I would need Luca, a native Florentine, to assist me.
Meanwhile, I felt that I needed to begin tonight's broadcast by explaining to my audience why we are only producing a show a month instead of my promised twice a month or my four times a month that we did for the first two years. I indicated that my material has gone down in size and needs to be replenished by what I anticipate to be as many as 20 new show from our next trip to Italy in May and June. These new shows will focus on small towns in Cinque Terre, Western Tuscany, and larger cities such as Florence. We will also feature our favorite restaurant in the Lake Como village of Varenna.
Tonight Ellen struggled with several problems related to the live broadcast causing dark frames, sometimes poor quality images, sound issues, and who knows what else. As more and more people use the public access studio, there materialize more and more problems. Amateurs are switching things around for seemingly no reason causing Ellen, a pro, to experience all kinds of issues. Some of these problems are manifest on the Youtube video, but the lion's share, a 70 second strange screen has been edited out by me after the upload to my channel. I hope there are are not too many distractions because the actual 56 minutes broadcast was fascinating. I was quite relaxed and meandered through 19th century Italy making my usual comparisons to the 20th and 21st century versions. The photos of scenes with a mother and her children were to me the most beautiful.
I told Ellen that I would attempt to get back on a semi-monthly format of shows if I could get into the process of creation of shows during the next two weeks. I have pretty much finished my book, and my college teaching is in a two week lull right for spring recess. I do have some ideas, but need to take the time to develop shows around them. That will occupy my time for the next few weeks, but when I return from Italy, that is when I should have a large number of photos which will form the basis for a year's worth of new shows.
Meanwhile, I felt that I needed to begin tonight's broadcast by explaining to my audience why we are only producing a show a month instead of my promised twice a month or my four times a month that we did for the first two years. I indicated that my material has gone down in size and needs to be replenished by what I anticipate to be as many as 20 new show from our next trip to Italy in May and June. These new shows will focus on small towns in Cinque Terre, Western Tuscany, and larger cities such as Florence. We will also feature our favorite restaurant in the Lake Como village of Varenna.
Tonight Ellen struggled with several problems related to the live broadcast causing dark frames, sometimes poor quality images, sound issues, and who knows what else. As more and more people use the public access studio, there materialize more and more problems. Amateurs are switching things around for seemingly no reason causing Ellen, a pro, to experience all kinds of issues. Some of these problems are manifest on the Youtube video, but the lion's share, a 70 second strange screen has been edited out by me after the upload to my channel. I hope there are are not too many distractions because the actual 56 minutes broadcast was fascinating. I was quite relaxed and meandered through 19th century Italy making my usual comparisons to the 20th and 21st century versions. The photos of scenes with a mother and her children were to me the most beautiful.
I told Ellen that I would attempt to get back on a semi-monthly format of shows if I could get into the process of creation of shows during the next two weeks. I have pretty much finished my book, and my college teaching is in a two week lull right for spring recess. I do have some ideas, but need to take the time to develop shows around them. That will occupy my time for the next few weeks, but when I return from Italy, that is when I should have a large number of photos which will form the basis for a year's worth of new shows.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Happy Birthday to Me
Yes indeed. I was born at 4 PM, on April 4, 1948. 4/4/48. I have led a privileged life of good health and great friends and family. I have traveled to Italy 21 times and brought back thousands of pictures and many, many fond recollections. I have produced a cable access TV show which helps me to express my passion for Italy, and I have this blog as yet another outlet for my profound feelings about Italy. Yes, I am a lucky guy.
I am thinking about our next trip in May/June and even begun thinking about the one after that in 2015. When I get back from Italy in June, I will really put my mind to preparing TV shows for the next year with perhaps as many as 15 - 20 new projects. Once a month is not enough, and I will set my goal to return to an every other week format. I have already begun planning, but much of that has to wait until I get to Italy to see where that takes me. I will report back sometime in June.
In the meantime I have Italy, Then and Now planned for Friday, April 18, my next live broadcast. This will be the final chapter of the four part series on the 19th century photos of Italy. I am planning to go to the bookstore again with Luca in Florence and find more material, something different perhaps from just places of interest, nut sure yet. All up in the air, but tune in to Youtube on April 19 to see the show.
Thank you for reading my blog for the past two and a half years.
Best wishes,
Alan Greenhalgh
I am thinking about our next trip in May/June and even begun thinking about the one after that in 2015. When I get back from Italy in June, I will really put my mind to preparing TV shows for the next year with perhaps as many as 15 - 20 new projects. Once a month is not enough, and I will set my goal to return to an every other week format. I have already begun planning, but much of that has to wait until I get to Italy to see where that takes me. I will report back sometime in June.
In the meantime I have Italy, Then and Now planned for Friday, April 18, my next live broadcast. This will be the final chapter of the four part series on the 19th century photos of Italy. I am planning to go to the bookstore again with Luca in Florence and find more material, something different perhaps from just places of interest, nut sure yet. All up in the air, but tune in to Youtube on April 19 to see the show.
Thank you for reading my blog for the past two and a half years.
Best wishes,
Alan Greenhalgh
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