Today we all have the pleasure of tagging along in the camera bag of inveterate traveler and dear friend of Viewfinders, Linda Silva Palleschi. Linda is a documentary/street photographer from Salem, Massachusetts, USA who delights in great light, rich colour and capturing magical moments. She both becomes lost in the shooting and finds herself most centered when she has a camera in her hands. While Linda employs many cameras, her medium format Hasselblad and Bronica cameras are her dearest inanimate companions.

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My husband, Carl, and I had planned to travel back to Italy this year and, as I searched for flights, I came across Turkish Airlines who offered the most inexpensive flights — even with stopping in Istanbul for a week then taking a plane to Rome and, at the end of our Italian tour, flying back to Istanbul. I have always wanted to visit Istanbul so Carl and I decided we would go there first!

It was a huge decision considering the events of late in Turkey and around the world. Our families were more than a bit concerned for us and some tried to talk us out of our adventure. We decided that if nothing happened before we planned to fly that we would go and trust that we would be safe — there is so much happening here as well that we refused to let terrorists thwart our plans.

Istanbul

I am so glad that we carried on and went to Turkey. It was an amazing trip! We loved Istanbul: the people were wonderful to us, the sights were exotic and the food was everything we thought it would be–sumptuous! We were so fortunate to meet people from both Turkey and surrounding countries that supported my feelings from traveling so often: we are more the same than different.

We flew onto Rome and trained to Florence, Venice and back to Rome with side trips to Pisa and Lucca. It was as glorious as our other two Italian holidays and I am filled with blissful memories and lots of weight which I hope to be rid of before our next adventure!

Florence

Lucca

Venice

All of these experiences were enriched by my love of photography. Shooting pictures is the icing on the cake of new and old experiences. I am excited to shoot at home so one can imagine how very thrilling it is to be in an unfamiliar place and have such a feast for the eyes! I do tend to get totally enthralled by my surroundings to the exclusion of all else so I am thankful I am married to a patient man who is used to stopping quite a lot. I believe that when one is photographing or painting a scene that they may be seeing far more than if they are just walking through it. I know there is the debate about putting the camera down to be “in the moment” but that just wouldn’t work for me. I want to capture as much as I possibly can and take in as much as my eyes can see!

Burano

Rome

All photographs shot with my Canon Elan (easy for traveling!), 50mm 1.4 lens and Kodak Portra 160.

Linda lives with her supportive husband, Carl and their three very quirky and beautiful cats: Annie, Oonagh and Parker Posey as well as their summer-hating chickens: Juanita, Myrtle and Gem.

You can see more of Linda’s work on Instagram at palleschiphotography. Her new website is in the works.