The Ponte dei Sospiri, or Bridge of Sighs, is one of the most famous landmarks in Venice, Italy. It connects the Doge’s Palace with a prison on the opposite side of the canal. The name, coined by Lord Byron, comes from the idea that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken across to their grim cells, often to remain imprisoned for the rest of their lives.

Today, the main problem confronting the photographer wanting an interesting image of the Bridge of Sighs is other photographers. Specifically, groups of tourists, many of them Chinese, jostling with selfie sticks on the Ponte della Paglia, with the Bridge of Sighs in the background.

During daylight hours, it is almost impossible to place a tripod in position for this classic view without having the legs knocked into by an eager tourist-with-selfie-stick. In this situation, the photographer is often solicited to shoot group selfies (is “group selfie” an oxymoron?) with someone’s phone camera.

But on a dark, damp, and foggy night there is no one around. What a perfect time to capture a somewhat different version of the famous Bridge of Sighs!