The snow is mostly gone, here on the prairies, but it will be some weeks before we see greenery and flowers blooming. I can’t wait! It has been a long winter and I sure could use a bit of color. Late spring or early summer images are great for it because all is fresh and green is bright and not dimmed by dust of late summer days.
We are lucky here in Alberta, because some nights are full of light show. We had a couple of gorgeous Aurora showing last fall and I have managed to capture some shots without leaving the city.
I know, I know it is winter and everybody posts winter photography, but I am not ready for it yet. I see it outside my window every day, so I want to see something warm, colorful and pretty. Hope you are in need of this as well.
It has been a while since I’ve posted anything about Elk Island National Park. So, I think, it is time for some lovely sunset from the beginning of summer, when all was green, flowers were blooming and days were warm and long.
They call Edmonton, the City of Festivals. There are over 100 festivals during a year with over 50 different events happening in spring and summer. This past Saturday we went to visit one of them - Taste of Edmonton. The weather was great, the atmosphere - wonderful and we have had lots of fun walking around Churchill Square trying different foods offered by many vendors and engaging in one of my favorite pass times - people watching.
Walking around old town of Prague can be quite rewarding if you like street photography. There are interesting people, tourists, political rallies, musicians and many others. It's never boring.
One thing I have to say I like about the Czechs. They know how to play up to tourists. The old city hall tower has an observation deck, which is accessible and the views are stunning. Now, all the German towns and cities also had towers with observation decks. The only difference is that the Czechs were smart, and installed a nice elevator in the tower, Germans are a little more primitive, and if one wanted to see the top, one had to use the old way of climbing, namely stairs.
Right next to the cemetery, hidden from view, is one of the most beautiful little parks in Nuremberg. It's surrounded by 4 story buildings, and it's very easy to miss. It's a perfect little quiet spot away from the busy traffic of everyday. It has a little restaurant at the entrance with a lovely patio
The Nuremberg Imperial Castle is an impressive building dating from around 1150AD. It was restored to it's original shape, as it was almost completely destroyed during the last war. The main Luginsland Tower is open to visitors, and can be climbed with a promise that one can actually see the Bavarian mountains.
After the trip to Regensburg, the day was promising a good sunset. So I convinced my good friend from Hooked on Europe, that we should go out to a field somewhere, not too far. Well, Großgründlach or Grossgrundlach, is not that far away from Nuremberg,
After coming back from a long day in Wurzburg, visiting churches and practicing a little street photography, we had a enough energy left to visit the Nuremberg castle to see if we can catch the sunset. It seemed like a good location
Street photography was never easy for me. I'm too big of a chicken, when it comes to pointing a camera, even a little Fuji X-E1 at strangers. It seems to me that every time I point a camera at someone on the the street, they will come over and beat me up, to a pulp. I like the work of people like Bruce Gilden, but I don't have the guts to confront strangers like that. My way is discreet. I do a lot of hip shooting, or using long telephoto lens from a safe location :) . Hip shooting is a gamble, specially when using a new focal length, which I'm not used to. This was the case when I mounted the Fujinon 23mm on the Fuji X-E1, and tried hip shooting the Freemont Street in Las Vegas.
I'm used to hip shooting street photography, with a wider lens, so a lot of shots with the 23mm Fujinon lens were misses. Horrible misses. I knew starting this experiment I would need some practice, and it showed. Still, I was able to catch a few interesting frames, and didn't get beat up... I think I can count that as a success :) . Fuji X cameras are perfect for this type of shooting. They are small discreet and quiet. People do not notice you as much. It's not like having a big white Canon lens. Maybe this summer I will be able to go out practice more hip shooting, and aiming my camera properly. Here are some of the shots I captured in Las Vegas. Enjoy!
I don't know if you can call this street photography, as there are no streets really... so what do you call beach people photography? I guess I'll stick with street photography, since to me that definition basically says, that these are candid photos of people. Just the setting is a bit different from a street.... it's a beach. Anyhow, now that we got this out of the way, let's continue. I really enjoy photographing people. I am normally the biggest introvert you'll ever meet, and going out among people and taking their photo, scares the crap out of me. I'm usually the creepy creep, training my lens on you, from far away :)
When people are not aware that you are taking their picture, they behave as they normally would. The moment they spot a camera pointed at them, their behaviour changes instantly. They either hide, give you a fake smile, or just pretend to ignore you, but their natural behaviour, that moment, vanishes with out a trace. This is why I try to use either a very wide angle lens, or a long zoom. The wide angle is perfect for hip shooting. What I mean by that is, you pretend to adjust settings on your camera, and without raising the camera to your eye, you take a photo. Or you carry the camera nonchalantly in your hand, and point in the general direction and hope for the best. Wide angle lenses are best suited for this, as it is hard to miss the subject. Other lenses require lots of practice, to know exactly where to point to get that awesome image. Changing from a 17mm to a 35mm lens had disastrous effects, as none of the hip shooting images came out. I just didn't know how to aim the lens properly. So my tip to you is... try hip shooting, or find some balls and don't be afraid of people :D
Here is some examples of beach street shooting, enjoy!
While making images at tourist destinations, you will always run into people. I always try to catch a few shots of them, while they are not paying any attention to me. This makes it easier if you are carrying a small camera, that makes almost no noise. Enter Sony NEX line. I have one of those and coupled with a 24mm f1.8 lens it's perfect for street/candid shots. Just carry the camera by your side point it in the fight direction and snap. The shutter is nearly silent, and the whole system is very discreet. There is always a chance that you might miss the action, but by not raising the camera to your eye, the people you want to catch, act natural. Here are some candid images I captured... but the last were posed portraits of the family. HDR too. Enjoy!
I had a chance to meet Danielle quite a while ago. We did some portraits for her website. Also I was honored to do a family photo session with her beautiful family. This time we met at Edmonton's Whyte Ave, to try out some lenses. Here are some test shots from that meeting, done with then almost brand new Fuji X-Pro1. Enjoy!
A perfect evening, warm and dry, even thought fall is definitely here. Best way to spend it, outside in the gutter, trying to capture the mood of the night street. Then a beautiful morning comes with it's bright colors diffused through the morning fog. This world is a wonderful place to be. Enjoy!
Mac
You know that I love colour. The more of it, the better!! I have shared some of the colourful Edinburgh pictures in my post The Royal Mile in Colour. Sometimes, however, a picture just asks to be processed in black and white.. There were quite a few of those ones taken around Edinburgh that required just such a treatment so here they are...
It's all in the details and mood, I think. Hope you agree. :)
Kasia
