Planning Ahead

As my wife will attest, when I'm on a photo shoot, I'm oblivious to time and schedules. I stop even more frequently and resist anything but the most loosely formed itinerary. On several occasions in Tuscany, I would literally drive a hundred yards, stop, set up, and shoot. After breaking down all my equipment, I would drive another hundred yards and stop again. My peripheral vision was always glimpsing something that I had to investigate or explore further. Dragging anyone else along, even another artist or photographer, would have driven us both crazy.

As a result, with my Disney extortion paid and my family safe and secure with a sans-Dad, Ohio-based itinerary of their own, I set out in late August to experience and document the region around Florence and Siena.

The planning for the trip actually began in the spring. After researching points of interest as well as areas to avoid, I settled on an itinerary with an initial focus on the region of Siena and its northern hill towns. From there, I would travel south towards Pienza, Montepulciano, and the Orcia Valley.

I could have stayed in one place and taken day trips to all these sites pretty easily. Siena is no more than an hour's drive from Florence, and my southern destinations were less than an hour from Siena. Thus, staying in Siena could have given me access to all these areas. On the other hand, as I studied my hotel options, it seemed like there was a stark delineation between authentic city-based hotels that gave immediate access to an entire town, and resorts in the country that provided panoramic views of rolling Tuscan landscapes. Because much of my photographic work centers around landscapes and urban textures, it seemed natural for me to spend part of my time in the city and part in the country. In retrospect, it was a good decision and it worked out well.