Je te vois

“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

Every year I promise myself to hop on a train to Venice for the Carnival but somehow I always find a reason not to.

As to why I have no answer.

I used to love theme parties.

Dressing up as the host requested.

Revamp into anyone I wanted to be.

Suspenseful.

Ask me to celebrate Carnival & I run.

However, the masks intrigue me.

Spending time in disguise & hiding who you really are, just for a little while.

Provocative.

Starring into the unknown eye & envisioning who might be looking back at you.

Eyes talking while playing the game of the mind.

Venice is special, the atmosphere is otherworldly, the wigs are pieces of art & the costumes are to die for.

I could spent weeks walking around with my camera, photographing the unusual but the crowds get to me.

Thousands of people all wanting a piece of it.

So in praise of the festivities that ended yesterday I am sharing some of the pictures I took during a shoot with friends in a small & long forgotten town in the South of Italy.

But wait, let me put my mask on first…