Hello! (again)
I hope all is well. The third post from this mini-series is one I took in Vienna a couple of years ago. The best thing about Vienna is how easy it can be to be right in the city centre and hardly see any people. Regardless of the season, whether it be Summer or Winter, you could easily just take a camera find a nice quiet road and take some photos. The advantage of this is that the really nice alleyways, you may find, are more often than not deserted. This means that you don't get annoying people walking into your shot just when your about to take the photo.
There are various things which I like about this photo. Firstly, I like the way the bicycles are just placed against this rising wall that keeps on going vertically up. Whenever I go back to the spot where I took the picture, I still see the same bicycles resting against the side of the building (as if they have stayed there the whole time). Secondly the lighting of the street. There are no intense, blinding street lights, they create this certain ambience (perhaps sleepy?) Lastly the signs for the restaurant and gallery. The restaurant sign is one of many old-fashioned signs that typify the traditional Viennese restaurant/pub. While the modern gallery sign reflects the growing number in modern art/photography galleries - not the large, spacious type, but more the small, personal galleries.
The photo:
I hope you enjoy!!
Hello!
My next photo in this little mini-series, I took in Osttirol two years ago (Summer 2011). An advantage continental Europe has over the UK is the weather. British weather is far less extreme and random as you would get in mainland Europe. In the UK when it rains, it just rains - there is nothing exactly special about it, other than it rains for a long period of time. On the continent, when it rains (especially in the summer) it gets a lot more interesting. There would be lightning and thunder and extremely dark clouds, and then after an hour or so it goes back to nice sunny weather. There was even a time, last summer, when there were hailstones about 4 cms thick - completely out of nowhere they appeared and then all of a sudden it became nice and sunny again.
Going back to the photo...
Two summers ago, there was a (European) summer thunderstorm while we were staying in Osttirol. The difference is that when one is high up in an alpine hut in the mountains the lightning, in particular, can be very intense. The morning after however we went up one of the alpine paths - through the forrest etc. The journey took longer than expected due to the amount of mushrooms found en route. However away from the forrest we managed to get an opening over the valley. The rain (the night before) was evaporating from the forrest creating a cloudy/misty atmosphere. As mentioned in my tweet earlier, it was one of these right place, right time moments. The results are as follows:
Not bad view...
Hello!
I will be starting this mini-series of what my favourite photos are. They aren't meant to be anything special, they are just normal photos, which I believe were (mainly done to pure luck) standing out from all the others I have done. One thing about photography, which I have noticed, is that some photos are to be planned. You pick a scene and wait until the moment comes and you take a couple of shots and that is it. For instance, it has been raining the day before, and the morning after you go for a walk with your camera and take pictures of the morning mist coming through the trees (for example). Then there are times were you just happen to wake up at a certain time, and that you just happened to take a walk, and that this time you just happened to bring your camera and that it just happened to be raining the day before etc. On one of your walks, you notice something out of the corner of your eye (which you haven't noticed before), you take your lens cap off... The light just happens to be at a certain intensity and that the mist comes across creating this mess (if you will) of light and mist. You take a quick photo. What happens in this quick second is incredible. The total randomness of all these elements combined: the light, the time of day, the setting, all these combine to create this picture - knowing that the mixture of all these different elements will never happen again.
When looking back at photos, you start to think, I'm glad that I was there when this happened and that I managed to bring my camera along. Because by taking the photo a second, minute, day later, the whole make-up of the photo will have been completely changed. It gets you thinking (my philosophical side coming through now) that whether you believe that everything was pre-determined - that you were destined to be there at that time - or that the moment happened spontaneously and that it was just merely by chance.
One must have an eye for things. Instead of just looking forward and trying to find a good place to take a photo, look around: left, right, up, down etc. Be aware of your surroundings! Although luck and chance may have a majority when taking a photo. There is still room for creativeness. This goes down to the individual, What angle should I take this photo from? Shall I wait until I get better light? My four/five years I have spent learning and developing my photography, there has been this one thing I have noticed. That is not to rush, one must be patient and wait...
Right monologue over...
This photo I took two years ago, whilst on holiday at the Isle of Skye, Scotland. The Isle of Skye is not famous for its munros, that isn't to say that they don't exist. Due to its exposure to the Atlantic Ocean, Skye can face the worst rain, but it could also have the most clearest of days. This photo was taken whilst hiking, unfortunately for us we didn't get the latter, so the chance of getting fantastic views were limited. Yet that wasn't to say that I couldn't get any photos done. On the contrary, the thick clouds may have prevented me of seeing the ocean, but it did create haunting scenes. This photo was one of them. I like the way how the cloud is, in a way, dissolving the rocks creating this somewhat eerie atmosphere.
I hope you like the photo!
Hello!
I hope all is well. Good. This is the first post of a few dedicated entirely to Scotland. The photos you will see were taken in October 2010 - so a very colourful time of the year. The photos vary from different trecks/days. I have plenty more photos, but due to: a) bad visibility b) bad weather (almost always happens) I can't possibly show you. So therefore I have decided to show you a few photos with at least some variation (kind of).
What we usually do is rent a cottage for a week rather than stay at a hotel or bed and breakfast, which in a way is nice because that means that you have a nice comfortable retreat from a day's walk and that also you don't have any real privacy problems.
When the weather decides to be nice, Scotland becomes a feast for the eyes. The advantages of doing walks during autumn means that there aren't as many walkers, as you would get in the summer, but also that the contrasting colours on show are extremely striking.
So here are the photos:
I just want to thank Fi for helping promote my blog.
Have a good day!
Hello!
Just a very brief post today. In order to celebrate the snow, I set out with my camera to capture the rare phenomenon of some actual decent snow in England. Only three photos this time...
Still, it's not even close to the amount of snow currently in Vienna...
Hello!
I just started experimenting with black and white photos and just tried to see how it went with various types of photos, from portraits to landscapes etc. The selected photos are just a few examples of what I've tried to do.
The first is one I took while on holiday at the Isle of Skye.
The next few were taken again in Scotland. The photos give an example of the weather we had to face.
The following photo was taken last Winter in Austria. The one after (again in Austria) but the opposite season.
The last few are photos of local farmers in Austria (once again).
Enjoy!
Hello!
Seeing that it's freezing outside, I thought I would do a snow related post. Winter in Austria can vary from year to year - either it would be -15 or just above freezing. Hence the amount of snow also varies. This Christmas we got about 10/20 cms worth of snow, yet every morning and evening the crispness would remain, and therefore make very beautiful shots. Taking long walks in the forest with your camera is always fun to do, because every single time you go you notice something new.
Here are some of the photos taken this Christmas. Enjoy!
And some in black and white:
Hello again!
The three weeks I spent in northern Italy were quite contrasting; from the crystal waters of Lake Garda to Bolzano/Bozen deep into the valley of the Italian alps. The weather varied as well. The occasional thunder storm in Bolzano was very different to the high temperatures of the Italian sun in Verona.
As mentioned, one of my passions is cooking, but one thing I certainly like to do is to eat. So there was no complaining from me when we tried various types of food (depending on the region): risotto, ravioli and, best of all, pizza - the best of which, was pizza with prosciutto, red onion and then a garlic dip!
The pictures I've captured are just a small amount of the many I took. The photos below give an illustrated account of what I've seen and where I've been.
Many thanks to the Girelli family and the Schullian family for their kind hospitality. And a big thank you to Ines for helping me getting started!
Enjoy!
Hello!
Among my travels last year Verona was definitly one of the more memorable experiences. The hot, Italian, summer sun did not do any favours to my skin but yet the piercing lights did help me get a few shots done while I was there. I joined up with the eldest son - of the family I was staying with - and his cousin, a student who studies at the University of Verona. Giving us a brief tour of the city - we only stayed for around 3/4 hours - I managed to capture decaying buildings to empty alleyways.
Here are the some of the photos I managed to take:
And a big thank you to Francesca for the tour:
Ciao!
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