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It was a groggy Friday morning in Siena as I rushed through the narrow streets carrying an antique umbrella for the seemingly inevitable rain. Running late (as always), I wiped the sweat from my brow as I approached Porta San Marco in the humid, morning air.

My classmates, Vasilis and Kostas, were already there, ready to go. Jackie, our fantastic photography professor, greeted me with a cheery “buongiorno” and the four of us went off into the Tuscan countryside in search of some peculiar, photo-worthy places.

Kostas walking back to Jackie’s car after visiting this famous photo stop.

The first spot was a quick stop at one of the most photographed places in Siena; a line of cypress trees atop a picturesque hill close to the city. Although beautiful, the lighting wasn’t great and scenic landscapes were not really what we were looking for. We continued on to find something more interesting.

Driving through the country roads, we spotted what looked to be a large pile of giant marshmallows. Intrigued, we stopped off for a bit and had a fun little shoot. The sun was finally starting to break through the clouds, creating some interesting light.

Kostas having fun with the “giant marshmallows”.

After some deal of effort, Jackie got us to leave the giant marshmallows. We resumed our trip in “le Crete”, an area in Tuscany full of farms and charming villages. We met some friendly cows and had a nice little session with them.

Intrigued cows play in the mud.

After our fair share of cow pictures, we went to a farm that had been totally abandoned. This place was absolutely fascinating. An ancient refrigerator lay in the middle of two live stock buildings. A small, crumbling house with old kitchen appliances and dirt floors sat dormant in the lush green foliage.

Abandoned house complete with kitchen appliances and stools.

The old animal houses were scattered with torn metal sheeting and rotting insulation. By this time, the sun had made its way through the clouds and the shadows were oddly mesmerizing.

Abandoned farmhouse.

The natural world was working to reclaim this land as vegetation, small reptiles, and insects had taken over.

The only inhabitants of the deserted farm

The property had a small pond accompanied by a stark tree that made for some fantastic shots. To me, this place was much more interesting than the famous rolling hills and cypress trees.

Lonely tree next to a well hidden pond.

After a short lunch in Monteroni d’Arbia we headed to our final destination of the day, the abandoned construction site of a long forgotten road. Just like the abandoned farm, it was quite bizarre to see industrial objects exiled to the beautiful countryside.

Concrete structure for a road that will most likely never be built.

It was sad and perplexing to see kilometers of orange fence, left for an apparent eternity, unable to decompose. But the landscape didn’t feel sorry for itself. It simply does what it has always done, it grows.

Deteriorating orange fence in the Tuscan countryside.

I would say that our first photography field trip was a smashing success. I’m eager to see what kind of strange places we can find next time. Thank you Jackie!

Spencer Nowell

Liberal Arts

Northern Arizona University