Florence - Photo ideas please

[lunarbo]

We are off to Florence for a long weekend in a month's time, my birthday present from my lovely husband.

I will be taking the 70d, my travel lens Canon 18-200, and my cool MeFoTo tripod.

Everyone I meet says that Florence is wonderful and I'm sure we will be seeing the more famous churches and statues.

But having been inspired by seeing Alex's Duomo ceiling I wonder if he/ other members could share tips....
* unmissable sites
* interesting markets/squares
* anything else I should know?

Many thanks folks ....................

[willw]

Re: Florence - Photo ideas please

We've been there a few years ago, and a long weekend .... is too short to see it all
The whole ancient centre is a photographers paradise, inside and outside buildings, churches etc. But inside it is/was not everywhere allowed to use a tripod!
Keep in mind that the alleys and streets are very narrow (and crowded most of the time).
In my experience, 18mm at the wide side of your lens on a 70D is going to be a challenge in a lot of situations (I used 17-40L on a 60D)

But, have a lot of fun

[antoeknee]

Re: Florence - Photo ideas please

Same for me, quite a few years ago when I last visited. Was using a Panasonic bridge camera at the time.

Would agree with the comments, narrow streets and normally lots of people though 'might' be a bit quieter when you're going.

Just had a quick look at the images I shot then and I'd say most were shot at the widest the camera could go which wasn't that wide. eqiv to 35mm.

Lots to see just with the usual places and probably enough for a long weekend. Hopefully some more recent visitors can add some info.

[AlexR!]

Re: Florence - Photo ideas please

Bo, Sorry, missed this and only noticed it as I am about to post up my images from my visit there last week.
We were there for 4 nights which was about right for me - we took it easy and didn't want to get sucked into spending all day traipsing round galleries, but to enjoy it. Must see visits are the Uffizi and Accademia, I went partly because I just couldn't go there and admit to not seeing them, and Renaissance art isn't really my thing, but I loved them both. We booked small guided tours to each, which we don't normally do, but they were both good and did take us to the main things in each (you need a few days to do everything in the Uffizi) and gave us details about the artworks that we would have missed on our own. The tours are 'miss the line' but still be expected to queue.
For me, going up the Duomo and Giotto's Bell Tower are also must-do, but I accept not for everyone at 436 and 410 steps respectively). The Duomo was definitely worth booking a timed ticket - the unticketed queue was 1.5 hours and we just walked straight in and up. You might not want to do both on the same day as we did, though. The Bell Tower was the easier to climb with wider steps and breaks at platforms on the way, the Duomo was quite constricted and with two-way traffic at the top. But great view of the fresco though, as you saw. One point on that fresco shot, though. At that point the walkway is only really one person wide, and I had my 24-105 on the camera but really wanted my 10-22, but stopping would have held everyone behind me up, so you might want to be prepared. You are also photographing over a grubby plastic screen.
Ponte Vecchio was nice, and you will want to do Piazza Michelangelo across the river.
You will want a wide angle lens in a few places as you often can't get away from the (huge) buildings. I struggled in places with my 10-22 on 7D. The front door of the Duomo is a case in point - they very inconveniently built the Baptistry right in front. I have an image from a restaurant we ate in to demonstrate.
Also, do go to the Basilica Santa Croce, again see my internal pic, but also because so many greats are buried there.

[lunarbo]

Re: Florence - Photo ideas please

Thank you folks for replying. I'm obviously in for a treat in this lovely city.

There's a clear message from you to take my Sigma 10-20, and also that the tripod may be a no-no inside some buildings. However I can use it as a monopole which may not give rise to too much angst - after all, these days avoiding jutting selfie sticks is the new hazard!

Alex- thank you so much for replying in such detail. I was kind of hoping you would! Most useful information regarding the tours... a guide to the main parts sounds good as long as it is kept succinct. All the steps sound daunting for the knees but I-d really like to get up to the Duomo
Dome so a decision must be made !

I was told photographing David was not allowed, you seem to have managed it.

Thank you so much guys this has been a great help