This is the third entry in a 3-part series where I shoot with classic Zeiss lenses on modern mirrorless cameras. In this article, I take the Zeiss Distagon 28mm f/2.8 (C/Y Mount) on a day trip to Venice. You can start with my impressions of the 35mm here, or read more about the 28mm itself here.

Walking Through Venice with the Zeiss Distagon 28mm f/2.8

The third day took me further that the previous two. With a flight leaving from Venice I took advantage of the late departure time to walk a bit around the city.

Despite Venice being one of the most photogenic cities in the world I struggled a bit at the beginning finding good subjects and compositions.

The first good photo of the day is a view of the St. Mark’s Basilica from one of the narrow alleyways leading towards it. The dark building of the alleyway create a nice framing for the façade of the cathedral.

Black and white photograph of the ornate façade of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, framed between narrow alley walls, shot with the Zeiss Distagon 28mm f/2.8 (C/Y Mount) — *St. Mark’s Basilica, 1/400, ISO 100*

Not very far away a snapped a photo of the Doge’s Palace facing St. Mark’s square. It’s a very classic view and I think it renders well in B&W.

Black and white photograph of the Doge’s Palace in Venice with its ornate arches and busy crowd in the foreground, taken with the Zeiss Distagon 28mm f/2.8 (C/Y Mount) — *Doge’s Palace, 1/640, ISO 100*

From the Accademia bridge, one of the 4 bridges crossing the Canal Grande, I noticed a small gondola pier and I got a feeling that an image here would work. The straight vertical lines of the wooden poles complement well the diagonal cut of the pier.

Black and white photograph of a wooden gondola pier and mooring poles on the Venetian waterfront, taken with the Zeiss Distagon 28mm f/2.8 (C/Y Mount) — *Gondola Pier, 1/160, ISO 200*

On the ferry heading to the San Giorgio Maggiore island I framed the main abbey and I’m very satisfied with the result. The light and the angle are just about right and the person sitting on the stairs gives a sense of scale to the image.

Black and white photograph of the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, highlighting its Palladian façade and statues, captured with the Zeiss Distagon 28mm f/2.8 (C/Y Mount) — *St. George Abbey, 1/800, ISO 100*

Closing Thoughts

Venice has definitely many moro photo opportunities to explore, during this day I did feel like I barely scratched the surface. It would be good to be back one day with a bit more time to explore other more hidden corners of the city but for now this will do.

If you’d like to keep exploring my impressions of classic Zeiss lenses, check out the posts below:

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