J & A decided to celebrate their engagement with a trip to Europe. They set off from the United States and stopped in Italy, visiting some of the most beautiful cultural cities in the world such as Rome, Florence and Venice. On their romantic journey they also crossed Tuscany, where I had the pleasure and honour of photographing them in a village that, in summer, offers wonderful views with orange sunsets painting the rolling wheat hills that characterise the area.
Cypresses, medieval villages, good food and excellent wine are among the main attractions for visitors, and right in Castelfalfi there is a resort of excellence that welcomes people from all over the world. The future spouses and I arranged a photographic tour through these places on a midsummer day. Our first stop was at David Tremlett's curious coloured houses in Ghizzano, where I also took wide-angle shots to tell the story of the whole medieval village, which welcomed the couple with its beauty of narrow alleys and stone walls.
We strolled among flowering plants, friendly characters and curious cats between the coloured walls.
After a short break we moved to the top of a hill, bare and treeless, dominated by the ruins of an old farmhouse. Here, at 360 degrees, the golden wheat hills stretched to the horizon, making us feel alone in this paradise.
Precisely because of this special view we decided to make drone footage and shots as well, before focusing on the couple's emotion, trying to make the most of the light and the soft slopes of the landscape.
The next stop was the village garden which, although not very large, is well kept, elegant and in a strategic position for taking photographs in an intimate, sheltered space, just a few steps from the town centre. Here the light filters through the leaves of the majestic trees and offers the chance to invent ever-different situations. Flowers, benches and the irregular shapes of the trunks lend themselves perfectly to creating a romantic Romeo-and-Juliet atmosphere.
The sun was sinking towards the horizon, and the couple, energetic and enthusiastic about the experience and the places, showed no sign of tiredness. In any case, we allowed ourselves a break with a wine toast on the low wall of the old terrace in front of the medieval church. It was the perfect occasion for more interesting shots, both wide-angle and with longer focal lengths.
It was hard for me to stop shooting and allow myself a moment of rest, because the sky was blazing with a deep orange that made every perspective interesting. We took one last walk through the surrounding old village, exploring new views and including in the frames a bridge, some houses, the rooftops and, of course, the panoramic view.
Sitting on a bench, as the sun barely touched the outline of the hills in the distance, we took the last photos with longer exposure times, trying to convey that sense of the fleetingness of time which, on a day like this and with such a kind, considerate and willing couple, really passed in a flash.
All images are copyright © of Mauro Toncelli
