From the Sky

Istria has a quiet way of getting under your skin. Not just through its landscapes, the soft mornings, the light that settles gently over hills and stone towns, but through the people who give it life. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t try to impress. It simply unfolds, slowly, honestly, in its own time. These past few days, moving from Venice into this landscape, felt like stepping into a different kind of conversation. Softer, more grounded, but just as rich. Workshops are never just about photography. They are about shared attention, about learning to see together, about those small moments that stay long after the camera is put away. I leave with a full memory card, yes. But more importantly, with a sense of gratitude. To this place. To the people. To the experience. And to those who made it all possible: @istr__a_more My "partners in crime" without them this would not have happend so a huge thanks! @ana_roberta03 Thank you for putting up with me, but especially for your friendship, the kind you don’t have to question because you can feel it all the time. @visit_motovun to the city, the mayor, and, in particular, the people of "borgo" for coping with me walking around town at 4am to take one more shot! Will try to find "quiet" shoes. :-) @visitistria, great source of inspiration. @opg_stefanic_angelo for being so friendly, helpful, and for the great gift!! Your Virgin Olive Oil is out of this world @miro_tartufi super atmosphere and love it @pizzeria_grimani love your Pizza and even more the atmosphere and friendly smile! @bertosa_wines one of the best views I’ve ever had, beautiful wines, and above all a genuine passion for what you do that you can truly feel. Will be back very soon! #istria #visitistria #istriacroatia #rovinj #motovun #istriaphotography #photographyworkshop #ᴛʀᴀᴠᴇʟᴘʜᴏᴛᴏɢʀᴀᴘʜʏ

Countryside friends!

The Slower Pulse Saturday, 6:00 PM. The world is usually rushing toward the weekend, but here, everything has stopped. There is a profound weight to standing in a place that has already seen its "future" happen. We obsess over our calendar, the appointments, the deadlines, the linear march of 2026 but stone doesn't care about a Tuesday or a Saturday. It operates on a pulse that lasts centuries. Life in the past wasn't a different world; it was this exact same sky, just felt by hands that are now part of the soil. Slicing the Infinite This connection between the "now" and the "forever" is exactly what we tackled in Lesson 2: Shutter Speed https://marcosecchi.substack.com/p/starting-photography-lesson-2-shutter-speed Technically, we use the shutter to slice time into fractions—$1/500$, $1/125$, $1/60$. We think we are "capturing" a moment. But when you are faced with walls that have stood since the 13th century, you realize the shutter is actually a tiny window into the infinite. The Lesson Connection: In Lesson 2, we talked about how shutter speed dictates how we experience motion. The Fast Life: We often move through our days at a "high shutter speed"—everything is a sharp, frantic fragment. The Long View: But to photograph history, you have to slow down your own internal rhythm. When I framed this, the choice wasn't just about light; it was about honouring the stillness. By choosing a deliberate, steady moment to click the shutter, I wasn't trying to freeze a "now." I was trying to show the endurance. The calendar says it’s Saturday. The stone says it’s just another evening in an eternal cycle. As you go into your weekend, ask yourself: are you living at 1/1000 of a second, or can you dial it back? Can you find the stillness in your own "frame" and let the light settle? Photo A window into the infinite. Dvigrad, Istria, at the edge of the day. Proof that while we obsess over the calendar, the stone only cares about the light.

Morning fog rolling through the hills of Istria, just outside Motovun. This landscape does something interesting to your sense of distance. The layers of trees appear and disappear inside the mist, and suddenly the scene becomes less about geography and more about rhythm. Light, shadow, vapour, then another line of forest quietly emerging behind it. Moments like this are why I still enjoy working with a simple camera and a long lens. No drama, no spectacle. Just patience and attention while the landscape slowly reveals itself. Photographed with a Leica, somewhere between Motovun and the silent valleys of inland Istria. #Leica #LeicaPhotography #Istria #Motovun #BlackAndWhitePhotography #LandscapePhotography #FoggyMorning #MinimalLandscape #LeicaCamera #FineArtPhotography

Five days. One incredible peninsula. Our Istria Photography Workshop kicks off tomorrow! We’re diving deep into the coastlines, the history, and the art of the frame. It’s going to be an intense, inspiring week. Let’s go! #Istria #Photography #Croatia #VisualStorytelling

Ki emlékszik még ezekre? A „diafilmezés” volt a 20. század Netflixe Magyarországon. Találtam egy egész gyűjteményt ezekből az apró, papírdobozos csodákból. ​ Who remembers these? "Diafilm" was the Netflix of the 20th century in Hungary. I found an entire collection of these little wonders in their cardboard rolls.