Firenze Boutique

[CMT]

I know this same thread has been made a few times here, so I'll do my best to make it stand out a bit from the others.

I married my wife on June 11, 2011, with a TRFer as my Best Man. My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Montecatini Terme, Italy, and while we visited a lot of places during our time there, I really looked forward to visiting Florence. I've had my 112F for a long time, I purchased it in early 2004 at the beginning what would become Panerai's current popularity and for a long time it was all I wore. Being a longtime Panerai owner it was hard not to want to see the "FIRENZE" that accompanies just about everything associated with the name, and in 2011 I finally had my chance.

We took the train from Montecatini to Florence and walked around for a while. I knew I'd be leaving the boutique with a strap, so before I had something other than the camera to carry we decided to shlep the 400+ steps up to the top of the Giotto's Campanile bell tower. Halfway up the bells rang for noon, and we were directly underneath them - It was loud. Real, real loud.

The steps leading up the Campanile were narrowly cased, or at least I thought at first, having no idea how narrow the passage would become towards the top. This became especially tough as, encountering groups of people on their way down, everyone had to flatten themselves against the wall to allow the other to pass and a lot of the dudes had a not-so-fresh smell.

Once back on the ground, enjoying our space and fresh air, we made our way down to the Panerai Boutique where I purchased a brown Riva strap to commemorate the experience.

On the train to Florence from Montecatini:














Off the train in Florence:



















The Campanile:



The stairway up:



Inside the Campanile:



Getting up there:









The Duomo as seen from the top of the Campanile:



Florence as seen from the top of the Campanile:









At the top, this was the stairway looking down. It was far narrower at this point than when beginning the ascent from the ground floor:





Back down on the ground, the back of the Campanile:



The Duomo from the back, showing the construction:





Finally, the Panerai Boutique:























I went with the brown Riva strap, which to this day is my favorite strap on the 112:





Back at the house getting ready to go out that night:





Thanks for checking out the thread! For your patience, here's a bonus pic of David and his dingdong that I took blindly in the Accademia Gallery, and that almost got me thrown out for the effort.

[Jonathan007]

Thanks for the post Chris!

My wife and I were married in 2009, we spent our honeymoon in Florence and Venice. We also climbed the Campanile! Brought back some memories for me there!

As a Panerai owner also I appreciated the shots of some fantastic watches.

Thanks again

Jon

[CMT]

You are very welcome, Jon, and thank you for the good press! Making the thread brought back so many memories of a truly monumental life experience and it is wonderful to be able to share it - especially with someone who also climbed those steps. We originally had plans to reach the top of the Duomo but they were scrapped once we were back on the ground. It was time to eat.

[wingku]

Thanks for sharing, beautiful pics!

[mfer]

Great shots. I'd love to go back to Florence again. Looks like they changed the signage on the boutique.

[jvo300]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing!

[rockmastermike]

Fantastic - thanks for taking us along

[Cru Jones]

Such a great sequence of pictures. Thanks!

[kilyung]

One of my favorite cities! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[nick c]

Very nice thanks for sharing

[bcacncnc]

Fantastic pics - and thanks a lot for sharing.

[geekyjeff]

Great pics! My wife and I spent a week in Florence a few years back. I kick myself for not being into Panerai back then. I would have totally made an event out of visiting the boutique. I guess an excuse to go back someday.

Beautiful city though. Here's my pic of the Campanile from the top of the Duomo.

[CMT]

Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by geekyjeff

G
Beautiful city though. Here's my pic of the Campanile from the top of the Duomo.

Very nice shot, I love the countering view from what we saw.

That Tokina 11-16 is razor sharp.

[skyedog]

Thank you for sharing!!! so jealous for all the straps to choose!!

[Z-Sub]

Beautiful City. Brought my wife there in 2011 and was my second trip.

Beautiful strap and I have to say it's the best looking one I've seen so far!

[geekyjeff]

Originally Posted by CMT

Thanks guys!



Very nice shot, I love the countering view from what we saw.

That Tokina 11-16 is razor sharp.

Ha! Good call. You have my photogeek respect for checking the EXIF data It was certainly a great lens when I had it. Completely full frame gear now, but unfortunately it's all a little heavier to travel with.

BTW, at first I was thinking that was an awfully large shopping bag to get with just the strap. But then I realized that the boutique's facade is printed on it too, which makes it an awesome keepsake from the Panerai mothership

[CoachRolexRyan]

One of the best Panerai threads I've seen so far, thank you!

[Trailblazer]

Nice pics, I was there too..about 6months ago...friendly staff they have got.

[Psmith]

Great post and pics - thanks for sharing

[TopNotchChach]

I cant wait to go!

hahah. love that last shot.hahaha

[CMT]

Thanks again guys, I'm really glad that the thread has been so well received.

Originally Posted by geekyjeff

Ha! Good call. You have my photogeek respect for checking the EXIF data It was certainly a great lens when I had it. Completely full frame gear now, but unfortunately it's all a little heavier to travel with.

I'm always gear-curious when I see a killer shot like that - Not that the gear is what makes the shot, of course, but I did assume it was full frame at first. The Tokina ultra-wide obviously explained everything and I have recommended that lens to a lot of people just starting to build their gear list.

Did you move to a fullsize pro body? One thing I like about my 5Ds, aside from their inability to focus in low light and the prayer required when hitting the shutter at times, is the ability to remove the battery grip and slim things down for travel. I only took the 16-35 to Italy and hoped for the best, and while there were definitely times when I wished for more reach the zoom range served me pretty well. Like at the Vatican:



















































I hope I'm not derailing my own thread. I haven't shared these with anyone outside of family because, while I lurk on photography forums, I find the criticism there to be harsh at times and I just shoot for fun.

BTW, at first I was thinking that was an awfully large shopping bag to get with just the strap. But then I realized that the boutique's facade is printed on it too, which makes it an awesome keepsake from the Panerai mothership

Heh. I treat that thing like I treat the strap - With kid gloves. A part of me is surprised that I haven't had the thing framed yet.

Originally Posted by Trailblazer

Nice pics, I was there too..about 6months ago...friendly staff they have got.

Agreed, everyone there was super nice and accommodating. I can't wait to return some day.

[geekyjeff]

Originally Posted by CMT

Did you move to a fullsize pro body? One thing I like about my 5Ds, aside from their inability to focus in low light and the prayer required when hitting the shutter at times, is the ability to remove the battery grip and slim things down for travel. I only took the 16-35 to Italy and hoped for the best, and while there were definitely times when I wished for more reach the zoom range served me pretty well. Like at the Vatican:


I hope I'm not derailing my own thread. I haven't shared these with anyone outside of family because, while I lurk on photography forums, I find the criticism there to be harsh at times and I just shoot for fun.

More great shots Your 112 made one of them, so I'd still consider that relevant

I did move to full frame pro bodies. D700, D3s (which I sold), and the D800. I have done some paid work (weddings, portraits, etc.), but lately have been shooting more for myself. It sort of loses its luster when it becomes work, so just trying to rekindle my personal interest. I am planning on trying to do some cool shots of my watches in the near future. Just haven't gotten around to doing them yet.

Anyway, kudos again to a really fun thread. 2 of my most favorite things - photography & Panerai!

[red1108nyc]

Great post and thank you for sharing!

[gameson]

great post. just noticed that your tang is not OEM as OEM is square looking... just want to point that out

[CMT]

Originally Posted by geekyjeff

More great shots Your 112 made one of them, so I'd still consider that relevant

Anyway, kudos again to a really fun thread. 2 of my most favorite things - photography & Panerai!

Thanks! It's great to talk shop with the similarly afflicted, both by watches and photography in general. I love the TRF main forum for this reason as any time I start patting myself on the back for an OK shot, I go take a look at what Jocke puts out and feel appropriately amateurish again.

I did move to full frame pro bodies. D700, D3s (which I sold), and the D800. I have done some paid work (weddings, portraits, etc.), but lately have been shooting more for myself. It sort of loses its luster when it becomes work, so just trying to rekindle my personal interest. I am planning on trying to do some cool shots of my watches in the near future. Just haven't gotten around to doing them yet.

Killer stuff. I love the D700 for its image quality and fps speed with the battery grip attached. A friend shoots one for both sports and portrait work, but he's also really interested in the D800. That thing is ridiculous. Another friend uses one for studio work and his "fun" shots with the 14-24 2.8 are insane. They make me want to ditch Canon altogether for a similar setup. My 14 2.8 prime can't touch the sharpness and corner performance of that lens, and the Nikkor is a damned zoom! Nikon is killing it right now. If I didn't have so much invested in L glass I'd be seriously considering it.

I've been asked to do weddings as well, and I feel the same - I refuse to compromise a hobby that I truly love by trying to make money off it. I've shot friends' weddings where they did not have the resources to hire a pro and knew then that I could do it quite well, but...nah. No way. I'd never get another client after the first entitled jerk mother/bride/whoever encounter because I'd tell them where to stuff it.

When you start taking watch shots with that magnificent Nikon I cannot wait to see them, and here's a few more 112 pics to keep things relevant.

Originally Posted by red1108nyc

Great post and thank you for sharing!

Thanks red, glad you liked it!

Originally Posted by gameson

great post. just noticed that your tang is not OEM as OEM is square looking... just want to point that out

Good eye and absolutely correct. I am an idiot, and when I was packing for Italy I grabbed the wrong tang out of the pile I've collected over the years. While most of them are aftermarket versions in various finishes, I have two OEM tangs that resemble the one in the photo and a few fakes that came on crappy straps that were given to me as gifts.

In my hurry to pack, I wasn't paying attention and picked the wrong tang.

[steveclocks]

I haven't been in Firenze since the 1990's. Your pictures bring back very good memories as I still have friends in Italy (but they moved to Milano), which is a beautiful city too ofcourse.
I can also recommand Ferrara and Venice, such marvellous places !
By the way thanks for sharing your holidaypics here with is. I appreciate it a lot.
And what a good quality they are, much better then mine !!!
Thanks Chris, well done

[Z-Sub]

Great shots!

Last time I was at Vatican was over 20 yr ago. Still grand and beautiful and well kept as always