Welcome to the 1st entry of the street photography album. The photos here are from a Cruise I was onboard in 2023, through out Italy, Greece and Turkey. All of them are shot on my Galaxy S23 Ultra as I yet to purchase my beloved Fujifilm XT-30.

Click here to learn more about the topic. Click here to explore more photos.

Before we begin, I'd like to initiate a gimmick that will follow us through each street photography blog, which is:

The Legend

Based on chess notation, with some caveats, this will help me share my opinion and line of thinking behind some photos. Remember, these are entirely my opinion.
The legend goes as follows:
!! - A genius photo.
! - A good photo.
!? - An interesting photo that is thought-provoking.
? - A lacking photo that leaves something to be desired.
?? - A bad picture.
No notation usually means I find the picture to be average or OK at best. A fate arguabely worse than being a “bad picture.”

Without further ado, here are the photos:


Remember: you can click on the images to zoom in!


The Bumbling Drunkard (??)
While visiting a souvenir shop, I heard a loud singing voice. I went outside and saw a man barely walking straight, singing his heart out. I snapped a photo, to his shock—he stopped for a moment and then burst into laughter.
The first photo I took: subject not in focus, poor exposure. And yet, this experience is what started it all.
Cops (?)
Another poor photo, as it came out blurry. Yet the composition is interesting, which motivated me to keep going.
Salamanca Cousins (Gender Swapped) (!)
Barefoot Ambassadors (!!)
Late 60's Babe (?)
In Motion (?)
The Interview
RomCom Cops (!)
The Couger (!)
Siesta (?)
The Great Masturbator (!)
The Grandpa

Il Gatto

Il Gatto 1
Il Gatto 2
Ill Gatto 3
Bad News (!!)
La Donna (!)
I ❤️ Jesus / Jesus' Angels (!!)
Her (!)
The Colosseum
The Dancing Man (!)
The Road Block

Mother’s Worry

(!?)
(?)
(?)
(?)


The Baba of The Vatican

An epic name, I know. But in my defense, these might just be the peak of my career, at least for now. If you know me, I must have told you this story a billion times, not that you would remember, as no one ever listens to me. (I get no respect…)
The story goes as follows: a woman who I could only assume is the mother of Mussolini himself, causes a ruckus right next to St. Peter’s Basilica. The three stooges acting as policemen (or rather Italian Carabinieri), stand there as she yells and shouts, hand on her hip and finger in the air—the signs of a maxed out charisma stat.
In the midst of the chaos, I recognize the potential of the scene, and whip out my phone. Perhaps all too clumsily, as I’ve now attracted the attention of, well, everyone. Disturbing the subject—a rookie mistake. Make no mistake, the officers stepping forward aren’t approaching The Baba, they’re approaching me. Before I managed seek a diplomatic asylum at the nearest embassy, I was apprehended.
“Delete the photos.”
-I did.
-“No no, go to deleted album.”
-I don’t know what you’re talking about.
-“Go to recently deleted.”
-I just did.
-“Let me.”
He played with the phone a bit, and despite the abhorrent disregard for my human right to privacy, he did not manage to find the recently deleted folder and gave up. This is a monumental win for Samsungbros over Apple users. To think, if Samsung had made the gallery interface just a tad bit more user-friendly, these photos would be gone. Anyway, they ran my passport check and told me to eff off. I was scolded by my family. They wouldn’t get it…

The Roar 1 (!!)
The Roar 2 (!!)
The Roar 3 (!!)
The Stare (!!)
The Strut (!!)

The Altercation

The line for the ticket booth at The Colosseum quite literally spans around it. Wisely, we chose to arrive early to secure a good spot in the queue. While waiting, the city was kind enough to organize a spectacle for our entertainment. I didn’t quite catch what they were arguing about, only that the lady approached the cop and yelled “Cazzo!” among a flurry of other swear words. What unfolded before us was a sight to behold.

Disagreement (!!)
On Duty
The Scolding (!!)
A Victory Cigar Under The Triumphal Arch (!)



(Michelangelo's) David at the Crosswalks (!!)

The two photos below were taken using a technique I devised, where I put my phone in my front pocket and click the hidden s-pen in my hand to snap the photo. A true marvel of my genius which may have worked if I had remembered to turn off the flash. (A joke. Laugh.)

(!?)
(!?)
The Lesson (!!)
Just about everything technical about this photo sucks, but holy moly, that composition!
The Hard Knock Life (!!)
Joy (!)
(?)
Catch and Release (!?)
Clark Kent and Superman (!!)
The Go F#$k Yourself (!!)
White and Blue (!?)


This concludes this entry. What’s next? More trips around the globe and plenty more photos! This time, instead of being shot on my Samsung Galaxy and edited using Google Photos AI, they’ll be taken with my (relatively) recently acquired Fujifilm X-T30 and edited in Affinity Photo. So, you can expect a noticeable leap in quality—once I figure out how to use them, of course. It sure is a menu hell!

Cya!