Kathleen McGivney

Sandal weather!

See, I told you I couldn't stop buying shoes.

The family that shoots together, stays together

My husband and I are very much into photography (in case you couldn't tell already). He is a professional photographer who has just returned to freelancing after working for a pro rental house. I'm a hobbyist, but a pretty serious one. We share cameras and lenses, made easier by the fact that we both use the same SLR system (Canon). So, when we go on vacation, we don't just hit up the typical tourist spots and take posed photos - we walk around, soak in the beauty of wherever we happen to be, and take photos of whatever catches our eye.

And of course, sometimes we take photos of each other. Taking photos. Observe:

We took these of each other in the elevator inside the Duomo Museum in Florence. Atom is using a Sigma DP-1, a fixed-lens, wide-angle compact camera that uses the Foveon X3 sensor. (It doesn't normally have a viewfinder on the top; he attached a 28mm Voigtlander viewfinder to the hotshoe.) I am using a Canon EOS 5D SLR with a Lensbaby, which is a hybrid of a tilt-shift and a bellows lens that allows the photographer to create a selective focus effect. I use Lensbabies to create images like the creepy statue, and of course, the one of Atom above.
 

Creepy statue wants to eat you

Statue, Florence, originally uploaded by kmcgivney.

As anyone who has been to Europe knows, the place is full of statues. Lots of them have broken penises and noses and stuff, which is all well and good, but my favorites tend to be the really creepy ones. I am always drawn to them, and if you let me, I would sit and photograph them for hours. Fortunately, my husband usually drags me away before security does.

So, to honor my love of creepy statues, I created a Flickr set just for them! Enjoy Adam and Eve as well as Mary Magdalene (more on this one later) and this yelling guy with no irises. Tell me which one is your favorite and/or which one gives you the worst nightmares.

Ferragamo Museum

Ferragamo Museum, originally uploaded by Atom Moore.

While we were in Italy, we saw many great museums. Beautiful art, precious frescoes, gorgeously gilded church facades, amazing architecture. But what's really the most important thing to see in Italy? Shoes, of course! Beautiful, precious, gorgeous, amazing Italian shoes. Mmmm.

The Ferragamo Museum in Florence is housed inside Palazzo Spini Feroni, which is the Ferragamo family's palazzo and also houses the company and its flagship store. The museum contains a history of Salvatore Ferragamo and his shoemaking legacy. On display are shoes from the '20s through the '60s, original models of celebrity foot casts that were used to create shoes for Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, and others, and original sketches and models for shoes. And right above the museum is a subset of the shop called Ferragamo Creations.

Ferragamo Creations is a line of handmade, limited-edition Ferragamo shoes made using the original models and materials of shoes that were first made in the '40s and '50s. Each shoe model is made in an edition of 500 and is not sold again after the edition runs out, but they come out with additional models each year. After seeing the museum and admiring the craftsmanship and beauty of the shoes, I had to have a pair. I chose a pair of ballerina flats called the "Ghillie" (because its lacing pattern is modeled after the Scottish ghillie dancing shoe). It was originally made in 1940 and the reproduction is handmade in suede with a leather sole. They are gorgeous and very comfortable!

So now I just need a tshirt that says "I went to Italy for my honeymoon and all I got was a pair of limited-edition, handmade Ferragamos... and this tshirt".

Photos of the shoes after the jump.

The Pirate of Pisa

Floor of Baptistery, Pisa, originally uploaded by kmcgivney.

I found this on a crypt inside the baptistery in Pisa. Who knew there were pirates buried in the Piazza dei Miracoli?

The baptistery itself is really neat. It's not filled with tons of precious art or gilded ceilings or anything - it's just a pure, round chamber with musical qualities. Its acoustics are astounding. Every half hour, one of the employees does a little performance where he sings out a few notes, which echo and ring through the entire chamber, creating beautiful music.

Lots more photos from both me and my husband on Flickr, under the kandahoneymoon tag.

Everything but the Girl

Everything but the Girl, originally uploaded by kmcgivney.

We're back from our honeymoon, and I'm getting reacquainted with actually working for a living. Of course, we still have lots of photos to post, so I'm working on that in my spare time as well.

This image was taken outside a shop in Orvieto called Il Mago di Oz (the Wizard of Oz in Italian). The shop is owned by an artisan who creates wonderful little toys and decorative objects that move and light up and do all sorts of fantastic things. He had little models of fairs and carnivals for many cities - when we told him we were from New York, he showed us his working model for Coney Island, with a mini working rollercoaster! Check out the packed shop (including his collection of Betty Boop) in his site's gallery.

Honeymoons are awesome

We're in the home stretch of the honeymoon after spending almost 3 weeks in Italy. I can't remember the last time I had three weeks in a row off, and it's very nice and relaxing, but as you can tell, I can't quite keep myself from working on something, even when I'm on vacation. I haven't spent that much time online, of course - creating this blog took all of 10 minutes - but we brought the MacBook for a reason: uploading photos. And we've done a pretty good job of that so far. My husband (!) will be uploading some photos to his brand-new Flickr account soon too.

We had a lazy day yesterday because it was May 1, a national holiday, so all of the museums, sights, and shops were closed. We just lounged, ordered some room service, and took in the beauty of Florence without having to endure being jostled by tourists ogling a Botticelli in the Uffizi. Of course, there is a Botticelli (and a Ghirlandaio) in the church across the square from our hotel, which we can view for as long as we want without getting jostled as it's not on most tourists' radar. Anyway, I felt we deserved one lazy day, since we've been to Rome, Bologna (sort of), Rimini, San Marino (which is, of course, a separate country), Ravenna, Asolo, Venice, Orvieto, Civita di Bagnoregio, Assisi, and Florence on this trip, and are going to Pisa today and back to Rome tomorrow.

Anyway, in a little while we're heading off for our day trip to Pisa. I hear they have a tower that leans or something. Before that, though, I'm making a pilgrimage to a holy shrine of shoes: the Ferragamo museum. It conveniently happens to be only a few blocks from our hotel. Coincidence? Happenstance? We'll never know.

Wedding photos are up!

Our photographer just posted a sneak peek of some of our wedding photos to his blog. There are some really great images there. Lots of them capture how fun the reception was, which is exactly how we wanted it to be - a big party with everyone we love. I have a long, multi-part post planned to talk about the wedding, because it was totally freakin' awesome! But for now, the pictures (and cupcakes) will have to speak for me.

Wait - they have castles in Europe?

Castle, San Marino, originally uploaded by kmcgivney.

Taken on top of one of the three towers at the top of San Marino. San Marino is its own small country - a European microstate - and is completely surrounded by Italy. The history of the country is pretty fascinating and the view from the top of the mountain is unbelievable. More on San Marino at Wikipedia.

A tree in Ravenna

Tree, Ravenna, originally uploaded by kmcgivney.

A favorite image from our day trip to Ravenna. The tree caught my eye as we stood outside the cathedral after marveling at the detailed mosaics inside. I really like how the sun was shining only on that tree for just that brief moment.