The Mystery and Intrigue of Italian Alleys

From the first time I visited Italy, I was drawn to the unique alleys and passageways that exist in every city that I photographed. The dark black shadows of the alleys sharing the space with the dancing bright sunlight offered me an opportunity to create, through the use of a filter on the B/W images, a story for the viewer that is blanketed with a sense of mystery and intrigue and sometimes a feeling of romantic attachment with the alley environment. The series presented here documents my journeys through these unique spaces that are often found apart from the tourist lanes that exist and are frequented in the cities of Italy. It is a journey that captures reality of the Italian culture but is also influenced by my own emotional connection to the surroundings where people live and work and play. My goal in the presentation of this series is to present the viewer with my interpretation of these Italian alleys and passageways with photos unified by technique, aesthetics, and theme. I offer several different views of the alleys creating a narrative of their mystery and intrigue and atmospheric anomalies. The series begins with images of alley entrances that introduce the viewer to the journey that is about to occur, then moves on through images that display the interior elements and architecture of the heart of the alleys, and finally it presents images that display how the alleys end, sometimes more uneventful but also sometimes very dramatic. My hope is that a visual path is created for the viewer that facilitates their emotive connection to these alley stories and surroundings that display the distinctive culture of Italy.