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I'd just finished photographing gondolas at dawn at the iconic location in front of St Mark's Square, Venice, and I was just starting to head back into the city for breakfast when I spotted this lone street sweeper plying his trade under the arches of the Doge's Palace.
At more normal times of the day this area throngs with thousands of tourists and vendors, but at 6.00am there was just me and him.
I was entranced by the olde worlde technique he was using, with a hazel twig broomstick and no high viz jacket in sight.
I found this lone sweeper at the Doge's Palace to be highly evocative of the mood of Venice at dawn, as the city pauses for breath before the daily onslaught starts up again.
A slowish shutter speed provided just a hint of blur to his movement, adding to the air of mystery and history that is now so fleeting in busiest of tourist destinations.
Filename - venice street sweeper 01.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 65mm
Exposure - 1/5sec @ f11, ISO100
Location - Venice, Italy
This image - 533x800px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Exposure chosen to slightly blur the figure.
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