While visiting Florence back in 2023, I wanted to make a conscious effort to walk around Florence and photograph at night. Being a safe city and very ‘lit-up’ at a lot of the landmarks, it’s a great place to ‘plant a tripod’. As we all know, water in motion is a great way to share the 3D experience, so I had to get a shot of the infamous Fountain of Neptune. Located in the Piazza della Signoria, it’s steps away from the Uffizi Gallery, which houses some of the most famous artwork in the world. The best part of shooting Florence at night are the options. Tons to photograph and lots of historical spots to aim your lens at.

A little history on the fountain. It was commissioned in 1559 by Cossimo l de’ Medici, the Duke of Florence, in celebration of bringing new water to the city after a new aqueduct was built nearby. Almost immediately after being officially completed in 1574, people damaged the fountain. Some used it as a wash basin for laundry and caused discoloration. Other instances included breaking off Neptune’s hand, painting Neptune’s shoulders after Italy winning the World Cup, and most recently, a woman climbing on one of the horses for a ‘selfie’. The photo was taken with my Sputnik, shot at about 15 seconds at f. 16 with Provia 100F Fujifilm. I noticed there’s a blue crescent in the fountain water in the left eye shot, but overall I figured that it was a decent image regardless.