Top Photography And Instagram Spots In And Around Venice

Venice is not less than a beautiful maze lined with historic architecture. Venice is one of the most beautiful cities for photography and photo walk and walking tours that I have come across. In fact, when I was there, I could not keep my camera off.

If you are planning anytime soon to pay a visit to Venice, here are some stunning photography spots in Venice. Keep moving forward to know the secret spots for Instagram-worthy photos.

Rialto Bridge 

A great bridge for a walking tour along with a beautiful sight of the sunset. Here, not only can you take amazing photos of the sunset but stunning the Great Grand Canal photos with historic architecture buildings on either side. You can visit it almost anytime. However, I would suggest going to the bridge at night for witnessing the horizon over well-lit buildings.

Piazza San Marco 

It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Venice. It is also known as Saint Mark’s Square as it is similar to a huge square with Campanile on one end and Saint Mark’s Basilica on the other end. Fortunately, if there is High Water, the square may become a bit flooded and you could get the chance to capture amazing photos with reflections. Reflections in Photos can enhance your picture composition.

Bridge of Sighs

For the best view of Bridge of Sighs, head over to Ponte Della Paglia that is just along Riva Degli Schiavoni. If you are on a Photo Walk, I recommend going there in the day time so that you can get a better shot.

Burano

Burano is one of my favourite places in Venice because of its vibrancy. Its actually 30-40 minutes away from Venice you can use public transport or you may take a taxi boat.

The place is photogenic. Hence, best for photography. It’s a key sport for photography. I recommend going there in the afternoon. The colours you would see at Burano are exceptional and do justice to the buildings.

Fondamenta Cannaregio 

If you are on a walking tour, there is no way you would miss the pedestrian bridges of Fondamenta Cannaregio. You can do photography from both the bridges that run over the canal. It costs absolutely nothing to go there. Moreover, you could go at any time you like. Just make sure to click amazing pictures!

Ponte De I’Academia

This bridge is the second most popular bridge after Rialto for Photography. It gives you great views of canals that follow towards Santa Maria Della Church. If you happen to visit it at night time, make sure to capture photos with long exposure so that you could get boats’ light trails.

Murano

Murano is just 5min from Venice. You can go there by waterbus, the place is famous for its glass art. At this tourist destination, you would find several nice spots for photography along with bridges and canals. It’s not the same as Venice so, the camera eye would witness something different!

Full Moon. How-to

Another full moon event is right around the corner and you don't want to miss it.

A Snow Moon, of the second full moon of winter, will appear from Friday evening to Monday morning.

Before you head outside with your camera to capture that Instagram worthy image, here are some tips and tricks from an avid space photographer.

The equipment

OK, let's get down to business. First, you need the right equipment.

I use what is known as "micro four-thirds" cameras, as they are smaller, lighter and cheaper than the standard interchangeable cameras,

The reason I enjoy the smaller, lighter camera is because it's easier to move around, especially with all your gear. I also suggest having a number of different lenses, from extreme wide-angle to 400mm. The latter is in relative resolution, equals to 700mm telephoto lens on a regular camera.

Location, location, location

I suggest downloading a moon locator app on your phone.

Many of them can superimpose this information on a real-time camera image on our phones, We point the (cellphone) camera toward the horizon and the app will show us where the moon (or sun) will rise, its trajectory through the sky, where it will set and the times of these events.

This will help you to find the perfect location to set up your tripod.

The camera settings

Now on to those pesky camera settings, that "auto" setting is not your friend when taking images of the moon because the moon reflects a bunch of light from the sun.

If a camera is set to "AUTO" setting, it will "see" all of the darkness (black) of space and try to make it exposed to halfway between black and white -- therefore, increasing the exposure (by a lot!),

When using a lens with a focal length (or equivalent) of 600mm or longer:
ISO: 800
Aperture: 6.7 (or close)
Shutter speed: (somewhere between) 1/1250 -1/2500 second

But wait, there's more!
Shutter speeds hand-held shots are doable but I highly recommends a tripod. I even suggest a remote shutter release to ensure the elimination of almost all camera shake.

Editing

Now that you have your images, I suggest editing them to black and white. Here's why:

As the lunar soil (regolith) is a light, greyish-brown colour, it is not very photogenic, and it doesn't show much contrast between brightly lit areas and shadows. This then helps to tweak the contrast and brightness if needed.

Can I Get Verified?!?!

All my main Social Media Accounts Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have the “Verified” badge and I am often asked if is important and how to get it. So I decided to compile a brief post!

In a world of fake news and widespread media distrust, social media verification will be more important in 2020 than ever so getting verified on social media is one of the ways brands build trust with their customers.

Whether it’s your personal account, your business account getting that little “checkmark” next to the profile name is massively important. In fact, it provides instant social proof and credibility when anyone looks up you or your company online.

Verification can also help with networking or to push your company toward the forefront of your industry as a trusted option.

Getting verified can be pretty difficult to do, and it might take some time, but it is definitely possible. And it’s worth it.

But maybe you’ve already tried to become verified and you were rejected. Or perhaps you just don’t know where to start.

Unless you’ve got a huge following like Beyonce, becoming a verified account takes some commitment and trial and error.

It began as a way for the platform to identify which Twitter accounts belonged to celebrities.

But now, it’s evolved into a way to verify which accounts belong to brands, companies, and influencers as well.

Basically, it serves as an instant way to tell other users, “Hey, this account isn’t just your average Joe — pay attention to it!”

GENERAL SUGGESTION

To verify your personal account to become an influencer in your industry, begin by making sure that your  Social Media is updated

Add a recent profile picture and make sure your profile information is all filled out.

If you haven’t been posting regularly you’ll need to wait until you’ve regularly posted for a consistent amount of time before trying to verify it.

Post original and interesting contents on a regular basis

Build your following and post engaging images.

Add as much identity-supporting information as possible to your profile to make it appear, official, even though there’s no checkmark.

Bes sure you have a verified phone number and a confirmed email address

Do not forget is also important to have a bio, a profile photo a header photo and website

Your Posts must be set to Public

Have your ID ready you will need to send a copy to them

TWITTER

Twitter was the first social network to start issuing verifications. Verified accounts show a small blue checkmark next to their name, and the process for becoming verified is pretty easy: just make sure your account is completely filled out and send over examples of your web properties.

But I have some disappointing news for you. 

Twitter has paused all new account verifications 😢

Yeah, you read that right, the micro-blogging network decided to pause verifications for new accounts while it worked on a new verification program.

Since then, no further details have been released, so we'll have to sit tight and hope that 2020 brings the advent of a new Twitter verification program.

I'll keep you updated.

INSTAGRAM

It is extremely difficult to get verified on Instagram because the company focuses on verifying accounts that have a high probability of being impersonated and does not take requests. However, it is not impossible.

Because Instagram’s focus is on preventing impersonation, amassing a huge number of followers is not guaranteed to earn an account a blue checkmark.

Instagram suggests that those after verification prove their account is real in other ways, such as linking to an official website or a verified account on Facebook or Twitter. This is not a foolproof method but can help you position your brand as one that could be at risk of impersonation.

FACEBOOK

Facebook is the largest (and arguably most important) social networks for business. So naturally, it has a relatively straightforward verification process.

There are two types of Facebook verification: blue badges and grey badges.

Blue badges are only for the following categories of people:

• Journalists

• Popular Brand or Businesses

• Government Officials

• Celebrities

• Media

• Entertainment

• Sports Companies

If you have a compelling reason to be verified, high-quality content, and a large amount of press surrounding your brand, you can submit for verification. 

Once you're verified, your brand will have a small blue checkbox next to its name. Unfortunately, however, this doesn't carry over to its sister social network, Instagram.

To get verified, just do this:

1. Make sure your cover photo, logo, and profile info are completely up-to-date

2. Fill out this form and wait for a response from Facebook

Gray badges are only for business pages and were introduced in 2015 as a way for businesses to confirm they’re authentic. The approval process is much shorter (about 48 hours) and the requirements are a lot less stringent.

Note: Facebook is phasing out grey badges “based on user feedback,” so you can no longer apply for it. Instead, Facebook encourages businesses to authenticate their profiles by linking to them on official websites, updating profile imagery, and making sure contact information is accurate.

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

Getting verified on Google My Business is super important.

Once verified, your users will see a blue shield with a checkmark in it on your listing in Search and Maps. This is important because users will have no doubts that your hours, address, and other important info is up-to-date.

This will make them more likely to swing by and check out your establishment.

To verify your account, do the following:

1. Sign in to Google My Business and choose the business you'd like to verify

2. Click Verify now and follow the on-screen prompts to request your verification postcard

3. Once the card arrives, log back in and punch in the verification code on the postcard, and you're verified!

Budapest Camera Stores

Hungary’s photography history is full of prodigious visual artists as André Kertész, László Moholy-Nagy, Robert Capa, and Brassai – all of whom are immortalized in Budapest museums such as the Capa Center and the Mai Manó House, where various exhibitions and books popularize historic and fresh photography to this day. Budapest is also a stunning city with countless marvels, sights, faces, and places to capture.

Anyone with artistic or photojournalistic aspirations can find a gadget to their liking in the various camera stores found around downtown – whether they are old-fashioned film fanatics or digital devotees – along with photo-printing businesses offering everything from oversized high-definition prints to passport snapshots.

These are my fav. shops in Budapest:

OPTICAM

This small shop in Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street is not at all obvious at first glance, but stepping in, customers find themselves facing a small but impressive collection of mostly secondhand cameras, but occasionally a few brand-new pieces are mixed in. They have different cameras, lenses, cases, film, and flashes as well, all part of a vast assortment that turns over regularly, as, despite the small size of the shop, there are still a great number of customers due to the central location. The staff is helpful, and they also take repair orders to bring broken cameras back to life.

Address: Budapest 1051, Bajcsy-Zsilinkszky út 20
Facebook
More information on their website.

F8

Cool interior full of vintage cameras. Helpful and knowledgeable staff. They can develop and scan negatives for you professionally.
It's a dog-friendly place, which is also a plus. I can recommend them wholeheartedly.

Ó u. 9 (210.19 km) 1066 Budapest, Hungary

Facebook

CAFÉ ANALÓG - LOMOGRAPHY

The Budapest Embassy of Lomography, Café Analóg is a tiny coffee shop on chaotic Kazincy Street, with a clean interior enhanced with a huge and colourful lomo wall. The whitewashed shelves of the small shop are crammed with photo-related relics, such as cameras, films, canvas bags, t-shirts, tools, box camera keychains, smartphone photo accessories, and many other exciting items. Visitors can browse the shelves of the shop for real treasures while sipping on a nice cup of coffee or hot chocolate, having a slice of cake, or reading retro photography magazines. Fans of analogue photography will surely find something to their liking here, as besides Lomography equipment, they feature instant film for Polaroids, 135 and 120 mm film for analogue cameras, and they also take orders for photo developing. This café is more than just a regular shop, as the very helpful and friendly staff often organizes workshops and tours, where photo fans and amateurs alike can try out different cameras they might not have used before, take lomograhphs, and in case they enjoyed the experience, even get a brand-new Lomography camera in the shop.

Café Analóg - Lomography

1072 Budapest, Kazinczy utca 35.

SOOS Foto

Soós Fotó has been standing strong since the ’80s, enticing everyone into their store with an eye-catching secondhand camera collection in the shop window. The assortment is even more amazing inside, as the shelves are crammed with treasured antiques like working Rolleiflexes, Zorkis, FEDs, and occasionally even deluxe Leicas. Besides cameras, they also offer lenses, cases, functional enlargers, trays, light meters, photographs, postcards, telescopes, and random knickknacks, such as plates, silver trays, toys, and even occasional pieces of furniture. Their main profile is selling secondhand products, so this is a must-do visit for retro lovers in Budapest, whether or not they are into photography. The staff is friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, as they gladly show customers the different mechanisms, and they also take orders for photo developing and scanning. Soós is found on Wesselényi Street just steps away from the Dohány Street Synagogue, and it is open from Monday through Saturday.

Address: Budapest 1077, Wesselényi utca 10
Facebook
More information on their website.

LEICA Boutique Budapest

I shoot mainly with Leica cameras so it is always reassuring to know there is a Leica store in town, no matter if is to try a new camera, for an opinion or a friendly chat. The Leica Boutique in Budapest is small in a very positive way with lots of cameras including the latest and friendly staff ready to help and assist. Not to mention is super central and easy to find!

Address: Váci utca 61.
1056 Budapest, Hungary

PRINTS

Lab4art’s professional team makes analogue prints from the first steps of enlarging through developing and stop wash to fixing, scanning, and printing on quality paper – with all of that available from all formats, as well as digital photos fitted to the size and printed with a professional printer. These services are a bit pricier, but they always produce excellent-quality prints, keeping the customers’ wishes in mind at all times. Brave DIY devotees can even rent their labour with or without assistance for a friendly price, but in the course of their “Analog Saturday” workshops, they provide enthusiastic photographers with the know-how, tips, and tricks of developing.

Address: Budapest 1062, Aradi utca 11
Facebook
More information on their website.

GYÜMÖLCSLEVES - Cold Berries Soup

In Hungary, there are probably more types of soups than days in a year and you will get nicely used.

One of my favourite ones is GYÜMÖLCSLEVES (gyümölcs=fruit, leves=soup). It's served chilled as a starter but if you wish you can have it as desserts. or Cold Berry Soup

it’s very popular, easy to make even thou the recipe changes pretty much in every household. I don`t think I ever had one with the exact same ingredients, so here I`ll just give you a general guide and ideas to how to prepare the soup.

Yes we are talking about a sweet dish, but it’s not a dessert, well it can be, it’s up to you really, ones with the sweet tooth going to fall in love with that`s for sure.

Ingredients 4 people

0,5kg of fresh or frozen fruits, sour cherries, berries..

4 spoons of sugar

pinch of salt

2-3 cinnamon sticks

5 cloves

1 liter of fruit juice from canned fruits – especially from sour cherries

2-2 lemons and oranges cut in half

0,5 liter of dry red wine

0,5 liter of water

For thickening: 3 spoons of white flour, 2 dl of sour creme, of creme fraiche

Put the water, the juices, wine cinnamon, cloves, lemons, oranges, sugar, salt into a pot and bring it to boil. Taste, if you find it a bit tasteless or not sweet enough add some more sugar, or wine or juices. Mix the flour with the sour creme in a separate bowl, mix in a couple of spoons of the hot soup base, and whisk it in the boiling soup to thicken it. Bring it to boil again. Transfer trough a colander into a serving bowl, getting rod of the cinnamon, etc, add the fruits, and let it cool. Keep in fridge until serving!

Christmas in Ljubljana 2019

Feel the vibrancy and cheerful atmosphere of festive Ljubljana at the Christmas markets held in its historic city centre.

Event is part of the festival Festive December in Ljubljana

Warm yourself up with a cup of mulled wine or aromatic tea and browse the green stalls to find some gifts for your loved ones. The Christmas markets are accompanied by a programme of festive events held daily in the nearby streets and squares throughout December.

This year, the Christmas markets are held at six locations, namely at the Breg embankment, Gallusovo nabrežje embankment, Cankarjevo nabrežje embankment, Kongresni trg Square, Prešernov trg Square and at the Petkovškovo nabrežje embankment. They are offering fashion accessories, products by Slovenian designers, headwear, gloves, scarves and other things to keep us warm on cold winter days, arts and crafts items, various Slovenian culinary products, desserts, honey, schnapps and festive souvenirs.

They are accompanied by catering stalls, scattered all over the city centre, offering mulled wine, warm tea, liqueurs, sausages, various grilled dishes and other foods.

Gift program:

Breg and Petkovškovo embankment

10.00 - 22.00, Friday and Saturday until 23.00, 24. 12. 2019 and 31. 12. 2019 until 18.00

Catering stalls:

Breg embankment

Working hours of small stalls: 10.00 - 23.00 (24. 12. 2019 and 31. 12. 2019 until 18.00)

Working hours of big stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Cankarjevo nabrežje embankment

Working hours of small stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Working hours of big stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Prešernov trg Square

Working hours of big stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 untill 3.00)

Kongresni trg Square

Working hours of small stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Working hours of big stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Gallusovo nabrežje embankment

Working hours of big stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Copyright Infringement on Social Media - Protect and Act fast!

"Copyright exists once you have an original work of authorship fixed in any tangible medium," says Ruth Carter, an internet lawyer who is an authority on online copyright law involving blog posts, image usage and trademarks as well Social media like Instagram and Facebook.

I had a busy week dealing with an image of High Water in Venice that was circulating on the internet with about 100,000 likes in total.

Ryan Vacca a professor and a member of the school’s Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property said that the goal of copyright law is to protect original creative expression and that images easily fall under this protection.

"For most pieces of creative work, it easily satisfies the minimally creative standard in – assuming they didn't rip it off from somebody else – the original creator is going to have some copyright protection in that image," he said.

If you download an image and post it, whether it be on your site, in a blog post, or on social media, you're likely committing copyright infringement. Copying any images or user-generated content without the creator's permission can constitute infringement, even if you link back to their website or original post.

One of my images was circulating on Social Media with a different author name

1) I was tipped by one of my followers that one of my images was circulating on Social Media not with my name but a different one

2) I did several searches and posted for info on my channels and found more than 55 infringements.

3) I discovered it originated from a lady that saw the photograph on a UK newspaper, downloaded it, cropped, applied several filters and posted with her name. On her post she was already challenged by one of my followers asking if she was the photographer, she openly said no. She replied to my message straight away, and she apologised, told me she wanted to do something for Venice. I checked her profile, and she has no connection with photography, she had no photographs that could have been stolen. I decided to believe her and let her off the hook.

4) I wrote to all the perpetrators, with a formal Take Down Notice, giving them 4 hours to correct the situation and informing that an invoice was on its way.

5) Few owner or management of sites and channels contacted me promptly. With all of them I agreed to amend the original post, or rewrite it with the correct credits, These channels had in between 5000 to 35000 likes, and I demanded and obtained to do five posts during the year promoting some of my Venice activities. They all agreed. I did not charge any fee,

6) With some of the perpetrators, I decided for a reduced fee in exchange for a quick and prompt payment. I sent a total of 6 invoices, including two Italian celebrities that had used my image. I charged between 350 Euro and 1500 for a total of 3400 Euro. I gave them five days to send the payment before legal action and I have already received two payments.

7) I had no reply from one of them so I decided to file a Copyright complaint form on Instagram. It was easy and fast. After a few hours, I got a reply back, and as requested they removed my image.

If you are writing an email an idea of text can be

Your invoice should amount to your usual fees for such usage, plus a margin for ‘damages’. The latter is optional though, and remember that the more you charge, the less likely it is you’ll get the matter settled quickly. You can realistically add a margin of anything up to 50%. If you don’t know what the standard usage fee should be, head over to Alamy.com and search for any Rights Managed image. Click the calculator, and plug in the details of the use in question – you’ll then be given an industry standard price you can quote.

I tend to ask for the lowest fee and offer a 50% discount if paid promptly!

When all started, I knew that the nearly 50 cases I found were only the tip of the iceberg I did not want to waste my time or get too upset, I decided to see it as a commercial opportunity, so decided not to go after the private individuals, small groups etc but only celebs or companies. I opted for a robust approach and very fast action. I worked on hit 16h non stop.

For two days, I concentrated on this problem but overall, a positive experience that generated some extra cash!

NOTE The above image was taken from a website of a UK newspaper, and not from my site,. I am very careful on how I present and show my images

What to do to protect your images 5 STEPS I suggest

1 Add watermarks to your photos

This is the most obvious way to deter casual image theft. Adding a small section of text, or a logo, to the corner of a photo is a great way to stamp ownership onto your photos.

2. Never share a high-resolution file

Hopefully, you are already aware of this, but uploading high-resolution files online to display is a very bad idea. Should someone get hold of the high-resolution file, they can pretty much do what they want with it. It also makes it harder to prove you’re the original photographer, as they have the same file that you’d be using to prove you took the photo.

3. Compress photos you upload

Following on from the previous step, make sure that you compress photos you upload. Aside from the actual dimensions of the image, you can reduce the quality of the photo.

In Photoshop, head to the “File > Export” menu. You can select “Save for Web…” and comfortably export a photo at 60% JPEG quality. This still looks really good, and you can see in the preview that there’s not much difference between that and 90%. It creates smaller, more compressed files that further reduce what someone could do with your image should they get hold of it..

4. Add your copyright to the metadata

You can actually embed your copyright information straight into a JPEG file. You do this by modifying the metadata (some details and/or instructions that can be extracted from a file) using a photo-editing program.

You can do this in Photoshop by navigating to “File > File Info…” and adjusting it there.

5) Use Smartframe Technology

I use Smartframe technology and services to protect and share images. SmartFrame is the ultimate platform for optimizing, securing and presenting your online images, with enhanced tracking and monetization tools. Check here https://smartframe.io/

Acqua Alta (High Water) in Venice. A small collection.

There is a lot of talks these days about High Water in Venice after the dramatic events with exceptionally high tides and damages.

During my stay in Venice, I have witnessed several “Acqua Alta” none of them created (major) damages, few some disruptions mainly for residents, a couple for sure extra work and lot of worries for shop-owners, staff and residents living on ground floors.

“L'acqua alta era pittoresca, Ora è una maledizione” cit. Berengo Gardin

These are some of my favourites images I took.

Generally Venice only has high water in Autumn and Winter and even then it is not every day that the streets are flooded. However, when a higher than usual tide is expected in the city, sirens blare to warn the population so that they can prepare themselves. Maps, as posted at the boat stops, showing alternative pedestrian routes around the city that are equipped with special footbridges to avoid the high water and to reach the main parts of Venice.

Level of tide and % of Venice that is flooded less than 80 cm o0.

Normal tide at 100 cm 4%

at 110 cm 12%

An emergency sound alert the Venetian at 120 cm 35%

at 130 cm 70%

at 140 cm 90%

The causes of the tides are the following: - astronomic: the attraction of the sun and the moon cause the regular rise and fall of the water: "6 hours rise and 6 hours fall". You, therefore, have two maximums and two minimums a day. - meteorological: a strong south-east wind ("scirocco") may cause the tide to increase by as much as 1 meter. - geographical: the seiche is a sort of long wave that runs through the whole of the Adriatic Sea with a period of approximately 22 hours.

UPDATED 30th Oct. My Experience with Monese

I work as a freelance photographer. I'm fairly well-respected in my field and have won numerous awards for my work. All my social media are verified and I also have a Wikipedia page, so it's fair to say that is easy for an institution like a Bank to know who I am - what I do; also that this is a trustworthy account of my experiences.

I opened my personal bank account with Monese in 2016. At the time, I was more than satisfied with the overall experience. The bank offered good saving opportunities and excellent services. For three years, everything was positive. At one point, I was even toying with the idea of closing my main account with HSBC and doing all of my banking with Monese, but thankfully I never did.

Fast forward to 2018 when with some colleagues I set up a UK ltd company that provides photography workshops in a number of destinations throughout Europe. For this, of course, we needed a business bank account. It wasn't long before this that I had received an invitation to join Monese Business Banking.

Our business is successful, we're the number one ranked photography workshop provider on TripAdvisor in a number of cities. One of these cities is Venice, a highly competitive market where we have over 800 'excellent' ratings.

Our turnover was in excess of 100,000 Euro in less than one calendar year, and all this went through Monese. Also, all of our five full-time photographers hold personal accounts with Monese. Our credit card payments were processed by Stripe and Mango Pay, and in the five years we used them we never had one single chargeback. Our payments to Monese Bank Account consistently came from such reputable companies as Viator, Expedia, and GetYourGuide.

It was in May 2019, that things started going sour. I received an email from Monese asking me to confirm that I was using the account solely for business. I explained to them that, due to my line of work as a freelance photographer, I would often receive royalties from a number of sources when my images were used in publications etc. They let me know that this was fine as long as I was working as a freelancer.

Compliance Team (Monese)

19 Aug, 12:09 BST

Hello!

…… In cases, where you are operating as self-employed/freelancer you do not need a business account, that is correct. But all the transactions linked with your company should be done from your business account.

Best regards,

I thought that this was the end of the issues, but it turned out they had only just began.

On October 16th, 2019, I received an email from Monese informing me that my Euro and GBP had been closed with immediate effect. The first reason I was given was that they were enable to gather enough information on the Business and me. WOW after 3 years!!!

Then this changed into …. I was using my personal account for business transfers, which of course wasn't true.

To make things even worse the Monese staff didn't realise that I held a business account with them, and this was only closed ONLY after I told them of its existence. In around two minutes after receiving that email, all of my accounts were blocked. This caused havoc for my business, with both incoming and outgoing payments were being bounced.

I remain adamant that I never used my personal account for business. It would be highly illogical as our business is a limited company that we opened a business account especially for. Even if, on the off chance, I had made such a huge mistake, I would expect better service from a bank that I was a loyal customer of for many years. I had zero opportunity to discuss this issue or rectify it.

Anyway I accepted it and I gave them the Bank Accounts where to transfer the balances held on Monese=

Compliance team (Monese)

16 Oct, 11:23 BST

Hello Marco, We are very sorry for the inconvenience,

Unfortunately we have closed your account due to business transactions. As mentioned in our terms and conditions under section 3.6, a Monese personal account is for personal use only, not for business use.

We will transfer your bank details to our payments team and they will process the payment for you.

Thank you for understanding.

Their decision has distressed all of our employees, and we've requested that funds be transferred to alternative accounts. Over two weeks have passed and we have still not received OUR money from Monese!

After about ONE week I still had not received the money and I enquired with Monese Customer support …only to be told that if I wanted my money I had to supply the Banks details (!!!!)

Jessy (Monese)

23 Oct, 10:45 BST

Hello

Thank you for contacting Monese.

Please refer to the email you received from our compliance team on the 16th of October.

We are yet to receive your response.

So on the 24th October, I did send, once again, the details and I got a confirmation that mye mail had been received

Jessy (Monese)

24 Oct, 08:10 BST

Hello Marco,

Thank you for your response.

We got all your mails and your account details has been passed to our payments department, you will get a confirmation when it has been made.

Have a great day

As at today, 29th october still no money….. It is in my view unacceptable that a private or a company should be possibly kept without the money for such a long time.

30th October I got a call from a super kind and helpful Support Manager from Monese. He was very apologetic and told me that somewhere along the lines there was a mistake and things took few wrong turns and…. ended up in misery. He understood my strees erc My accounts have since been reopened, new cards will be posted free of charge !

I WAS VERY UPSET AND STRESSED IN THE LAST FEW DAYS BUT HEY ERRORS CAN HAPPEN!! Even more with Fintech ….and super technology. It is always nice when a company of the size of Monese recognise that something went wrong…. but also that this error will help them to understand what and where it happened to avoid the same in the future!

Bad Radkersburg and South East Styria

Located at less than one hour drive from our location in Orseg …..is Bad Radkersburg

When something has preserved its charm and its youthful appearance over 700 years, there must be something special.

There is no written record of Radkersburg’s founding. It is first mentioned in the records as “Rakerspurch” in 1182. Before the town even received the name Radkersburg, it was among the leading trade routes in Styria. It was considered a "market" in the year 1265. Trades have a long tradition here. Blacksmiths, in particular, have been held in high regard for centuries. Radkersburg was home to coopers as well. The cooper’s guild was found in the Bindergasse.

The old structures are being carefully maintained to this day. In 1978 the town was awarded the European gold medal for the protection and preservation of historical monuments.

Due to its proximity to the countries of Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia, the Bad Radkersburg region is in the centre of a quadripoint: an ideal base for a day trip to the wine-growing regions of the neighbouring countries or the Slovenian capital of Marburg.

On the Hauptplatz in Bad Radkersburg, you will find the town’s emblem, the Rathausturm. The upper section was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1806. You will also find the Mariensäule as a reminder of the plague on the Hauptplatz. The appeal of the enchanting town Bad Radkersburg at the border, in the most southern part of the thermal country Styria, lies in the unique mixture of splendid historical buildings, facades and monuments out of a historical past, and a young and refreshing town-life with nice cafeterias and shops. Do not miss a visit in the museum in the old arsenal, which is folkloristic and historical on one hand and a current “visiting card “ of the town and its surrounding on the other hand.

The thermal bath Bad Radkersburg, which is close by, is known to be the thermal facility of the thermal country Styria that is friendly and open to families. It is a real wellness oasis in the middle of health, cure and holiday hotels.

All in all, Bad Radkersburg definitely belongs to the highlights when visiting Styria.

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Jeruzalem vineyards (Slovenia) and Varazdin (Croatia)

From our location in Orseg in Hungary is very easy to organise a one day photography tour in Slovenia and Croatia, visiting two interesting areas,

JERUZALEM (Slovenia)

Legend has it, that crusaders on their way to the holy land, stopped on one of these beautiful hills to rest. Here they were met by hospitable locals, that offered them good wine, and that is when they decided never to leave this place. They claimed the region as their own and named it Jeruzalem. And to this day it remains one of the most striking places with one of the most spectacular views over the surrounding vineyards.

Today, Jeruzalem is an idyllic village, which is built around the church Of our Lady of Sorrows (1652). The church was named after the painting of the Mother of Sorrows, for which it was claimed, that it has been brought here by the crusaders, directly from the Holy land (Jerusalem, Palestine) in the 13th century. Next to the church you can find the Jeruzalem mansion, which has been converted into a boutique hotel with a rich botanical garden.Varaždin is the city of baroque, young people, music, flowers and bicycles. „Little Vienna“ with rich natural legacy interwoven in parks, a must see destination, located in the North of Croatia on the southern bank of the River Drava.

They take their wines very seriously here and a lot of families live off a combination of wine production and tourism. Therefore it is no surprise that the area is famous for its high quality wines with long traditions. Thanks to the great diversity and varieties of white wines produced in this area, you can truly say that Jeruzalem-Ljutomer-Ormož is a true symphony of whites! Wine lovers, and especially white wines lovers, will discover a true Slovenian paradise here among incredible nature.

VARAZDIN (Croatia)

With 46.946 inhabitants and the average annual temperature of 10°C, the city of Varaždin is one of the most attractive destinations to live in or to visit in Croatia. It is the tourist, cultural, economical, educational and sporting centre of North-western Croatia.

The nine-times winner of the award presented by the National Tourism Board, the nomination for the Golden Flower of Europe and holder of 11 „Green Flowers“; the national award, all for the most ordered, appointed and maintained destination, speak in favour of Varaždin being the city of pleasant emotions.

The city of angels, colourful and magical events; the most famous ones Špancirfest - the Street Festival of good emotions in summer and the classical music festival -Varaždin Baroque Evenings which celebrates music, baroque architectural inheritance and authentic instruments, in autumn.

Not to mention a lovely lunch in Vidovec based on Sarma and some great slovenian or Croatian wine!

The Municipality of Vidovec is known for production of Varaždin cabbage which takes primary place in the production of agricultural products, while other cultures include potatoes, pumpkin, celery and kale. Cabbage is planted on a surface of 251.692 ha and its production has a longstanding tradition.

Tour of Graz - Austria

The Styrian capital Graz, with roots dating back to the Roman Age, lies on either side of River Mur. Graz is well known for its striking buildings and architecture.

Graz, the capital of Styria and Austria's second largest city, is nestled in the south of the country and is a vibrant city with a population of 250,000. Here, culture, culinary delights and trendy design take centre stage on both sides of the River Mur. Its reputation of being a lively, modern cultural place earned it the title of Cultural Capital of Europe 2003, and with a population of 250,000, it has a great number of interesting sights ranging from old and time-honored to dynamic and modern. Its beautiful historical centre (a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site) is a colourful smorgasbord of different influences, from the Baroque to the Renaissance, Art Deco and Medieval.

Graz clock tower at sunset, Graz, Styria, Austria

Classic panorama view of the historic city of Graz with famous Grazer Uhrturm clock tower in beautiful evening light at sunset, Styria, Austria

Aerial view on Graz city in Austria

Aerial view on Graz city in Austria

Aerial view on Graz city in Austria. Tilt-shift image technic

Aerial view on Graz city in Austria. Tilt-shift image technic

River Mur with the artificial floating platform Mur island

River Mur with the artificial floating platform Mur island (Murinsel) in the middle and old buildings on the river bank. Graz, Austria.

Panorama of Graz city in Austria

Landmarks such as the late-gothic cathedral is reminiscent of the times when Graz was still an imperial seat, and the baroque Mausoleum of Emperor Kaiser Ferdinand II next door is an equally impressive sight. Universalmuseum Joanneum, donated by prince Johann at the beginning of the 19th century, is Austria's largest provincial museum and spotlights nature, culture and arts in Styria, whereas the Murinsel is an artificial floating platform in the middle of the Mur. It was constructed by the New York artist and designer Vito Acconci on the occasion of Graz becoming the 2003 European Capital of Culture.

Drone Photography

Drone photography by international Award Winner photographer Marco Secchi available for assignments in Slovenia, Hungary and the Balkans.

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Ohhhh YES I do love Sunflowers!

5 facts and one photograph

1. Each sunflower is actually thousands of teeny flowers.

The iconic yellow petals and fuzzy brown centers are actually individual flowers themselves. As many as 2,000 can make up the classic sunflower bloom.

2. You should harvest sunflowers in the morning, not the afternoon.

Planning to clip a few to display in a vase? If you wait until the afternoon, they may wilt.

3. Sunflowers are native to the Americas and were domesticated around 1000 B.C.

Even way back when, people saw the value in growing sunflowers, which are still harvested for sunflower seeds (and the oil you can make from them) today. In 2014, 1.7 million acres were planted in the United States, the USDA reports. The majority of those were found in North Dakota.

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4. A dried sunflower makes a unique, natural bird feeder.

Feathered friends love to snack on sunflower seeds just like you do. To find out how to hang this garden-inspired feeder (no peanut butter required!), get the tutorial at Creative Cain Cabin.

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5. Each sunflower can contain as many as 1,000 to 2,000 seeds.

So there are tons for birdies to munch on! But you can harvest and roast them for yourself, too.

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Gostilna Mlin in Kamna Gorica , Slovenia

Gostilna Mlin in Kamna Gorica is an old converted mill and is set in a great location in an idyllic village close to Radovljica and Bled.

Staff is fast, helpful, attentive and kind

The menu offers Slovenian dishes, traditional and Pizzas.

Food is excellent with a good variety and a great value for money .

Soviet Victory Memorial Bad Radkersburg

This memorial commemorates the victory of the Red Army in 1945 against the nazi fascist

Located near the border with the Kingdom of Hungary, it was affected by the armed conflict between King Matthias Corvinus and Emperor Frederick III in the late 15th century. During the Ottoman–Habsburg wars, extended fortifications were laid out according to plans designed by the Italian architect Domenico dell'Allio. Radkersburg was elevated to an Imperial fortress by resolution of the 1582 Diet of Augsburg.

In the course of the 19th century language conflict, nationalist struggles in the ethnically mixed area arose between the predominantly German-speaking citizens and the Slovene-speaking peasant population down the Mur River. A garrison town of the Austro-Hungarian Army in World War I, it was occupied by troops of the newly emerged Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) on 1 December 1918. An armed revolt against the occupation forces, led by Johann Mickl, in order to affiliate the town with German-Austria failed. Nevertheless, by resolution of the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain, the area north of the Mur passed to the First Austrian Republic, while Oberradkersburg (Gornja Radgona) and the neighbouring municipality of Apače (Abstall), on the south bank, became part of Yugoslavia.

The nationalist conflicts lingered on, on both sides of the border. In World War II many members of the German minority greeted the Wehrmacht invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 and joined the German combat units, while large parts of Radkersburg were devastated by armed conflicts. After the war, most of the remaining German-speaking population south of the Mur was forcibly expelled.

The Radkersburg bridge across the Mur was reopened on October 12, 1969 which led to a first rapprochement between Austria and Yugoslavia. In 1975 the town achieved spa status, another thermal spring was made accessible in 1978, soon followed by an extension to the bathing site. Since Slovenia joined the Schengen Area in 2007, border controls between Radkersburg and Gornja Radgona have been abolished.

The only still operating floating mill on Mura river

Because the mill is still active, visitors get a chance to see how flour was once made; they can even buy some traditional flour to use at home.

35mm equivalence of native Fujifilm X lenses

I am often asked about the correspondence focal length for the Fujifilm X lenses

This table will help you find the true 35mm equivalence of native Fujifilm X lenses.

Native Fujifilm X lenses

Name Focal Length (35mm) f-stop (35mm) Aperture Size

XF14mmF2.8 R 21mm ƒ/4.2 5mm

XF16mmF1.4 R WR 24mm ƒ/2.1 11mm

XF16mmF2.8 R WR 24mm ƒ/4.2 5.7mm

XF18mmF2 R 27mm ƒ/3 9mm

XF23mmF2 R WR 35mm ƒ/3 12mm

XF23mmF1.4 R 35mm ƒ/2.1 16mm

XF27mmF2.8 41mm ƒ/4.2 9.6mm

XF33mmF1 50mm ƒ/1.5 33mm

XF35mmF1.4 R 53mm ƒ/2.1 25mm

XF35mmF2 R WR 53mm ƒ/3 18mm

XF50mmF2 R WR 75mm ƒ/3 25mm

XF56mmF1.2 R 84mm ƒ/1.8 47mm

XF56mmF1.2 R APD 84mm ƒ/1.8 47mm

XF60mmF2.4 R Macro 90mm ƒ/3.6 25mm

XF80mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro 120mm ƒ/4.2 29mm

XF90mmF2 R LM WR 140mm ƒ/3 45mm

XF200mmF2 R LM OIS WR 300mm ƒ/3 100mm

XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR 12-24mm ƒ/4.2 2.9-5.7mm

XF10-24mmF4 R OIS 15-36mm ƒ/6 2.5-6mm

XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR 24-83mm ƒ/4.2 5.7-20mm

XF16-80mmF4 R OIS WR 24-120mm ƒ/6 4-20mm

XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR 27-200mm ƒ/5.3-8.4 5.1-24mm

XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS 27-83mm ƒ/4.2-6 6.4-14mm

XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR 75-210mm ƒ/4.2 18-50mm

XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS 83-300mm ƒ/5.3-7.2 16-42mm

XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR 150-600mm ƒ/6.8-8.4 22-71mm

Touit 2.8/12 18mm ƒ/4.2 4.3mm

Touit 1.8/32 48mm ƒ/4.2 11mm

Touit 2.8/50M 75mm ƒ/4.2 18mm

Odprta kuhna in Ljubljana

Odprta kuhna is a unique and the most popular food market in Slovenia that has been bringing freshness and innovation to the Slovenian culinary scene since 2013.

It has become a regular Ljubljana event and every sunny Friday from early spring to late fall its stands attract thousands of foodies and fans of relaxed hanging-out.

Every (sunny) Friday between 10 AM and 9 PM, and until 10 PM in the summer, Pogačarjev trg square comes to life in various colours, flavours and aromas. The stands of Odprta kuhna have presented over a 100 restaurants from all over Slovenia and the visitors have tried close to a thousand different Slovenian and international dishes.

Imagine a walk in the Ljubljana streets that takes you around the world. When you walk between the stands of the colourful food market, you smell homemade Kaiserschmarrn from one side and on the other some flames jump up into the air from a Asian wok; bograč from Prekmurje is inviting you to one stand and juicy burgers are on the grill at the next. It simply doesn’t get tastier than that!

Cold?? It's the Frost Saints

Surprised about the spell of cold and rainy weather?? No need!

The Ice Saints take place from May 11th till May 13th or 12th to 14th depends on the country. The Ice Saints is a name given to St. Mamertus, St. Pancras and St. Servatius in the folklore of some Europe countries. They are so named because their feast days fall on the days of May 11, May 12, and May 13 respectively.

The period from May 11 to May 15 was noted to bring a brief spell of colder weather in many years.

My grandmother grew up in Austria with that being the rule and has instilled it on at least two more generations. In Hungary the saints are the Ice Saints are St. Pancras, St. Servatus and St. Boniface of Tarsus was said to have feasts that fell during the last possible cold snap of the year before autumn. Exactly which saints are included in the group depends on where you live. So if you waited to plant until after their feast days, you were generally considered safe, in fact, Saint Sophia with her feast day on 15 May, became one of the "Ice Saints". She is known as kalte Sophie "cold Sophia" in Germany, and in Slovenia as poscana Zofka "pissing Sophia" or mokra Zofija "wet Sophia" and traditionally she wash away the cold spell!

According to The Big Book of Catholic Customs and Traditions, this tradition stems from the idea that these saints played a trick on the people by bringing a frost. In the fifth century, Archbishop Mamertus began a tradition rogation days, prayer and processions around the crops, orchards and animals, asking God to protect them from the saint’s wrath.

A 2013 article from The Guardian says that as late as the seventeenth century, Galileo and his students were studying the Ice Saints and weather patterns around their feasts. They found the legends of the cold naps to be accurate. However, it also states that more recent studies aren’t so certain.