Photo Diary: Sunlit Serenity

Purveyor of postcards, Ben Mac observes the infallible indulgence of Europe in the summertime. Living la dolce vita, Ben leads us on a scenic route through the crowd, down the aisle, and between the flags at landmark destinations rightfully paraded in travel agent windows.

Photos: Ben Mac / IG: @thesewildeyesvideo.

Ben stamps his passport in the name of business and pleasure, photographing a hedonistic dose of sun, sand, and spritz. Marvel at Cinque Terre, the Colosseum, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower in Ben’s latest iteration of Photo Diary. Read Ben's account below.





I headed over for work to shoot a handful of weddings with the fam. As expected, Navy didn’t sleep a wink during the 30-hour transit to Milan. Traveling with a child who wouldn’t sleep was light work around Australia or Indonesia, but taking the little man—who’s a well-known face in sleep clinics—to Milan made for a daunting trip.

After arriving with all our film rolls and 16mm—managing to evade scanning by Australia's notorious border security—we started shooting. Heading through the coast into Tuscany for a wedding, we were able to slow down and capture some incredible places, good food, and good people. Minimal air conditioning on 40-degree days with a child made us question whether we should have come at all, but we rolled through, spending 3–4 weeks driving through Italy and France.





Looking back at the photos while putting this diary together made it all worth it. I shot motion on Kodak 16mm 50D & 250D using a Bolex H16 Rex-5 and stills on my Contax G2, Contax T3, and Leica M6.