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Mala Strana; Prague, Czech Republic
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
I HAD been anticipating this outing. Bruce joined me on a similar tour in Lisbon a year back and had really enjoyed himself, shooting with his iPhone. Our photographer guide worked some with him and showed him a couple tricks on the iPhone - but more importantly, some tips on how to frame and compose images. He worked with me, also, to learn some things about viewpoint, particularly in the night time hours. It was a good outing and from it, I vowed that I would do it again whenever I could.
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Rudolfinum Concert Hall - Prague, Czech Republic
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved. |
FOLLOWING UP on his own experience, Bruce decided to join me on this one. I think he enjoyed it just as much as the previous outing. Every one of these I do are different, but enriching. Every one a learning experience, and every person a different approach. In spite of myself, I have learned something new and insightful every time. Perhaps the primary "theme" to Martin's teaching was to try to make unique images as opposed to the usual "calendar" shot. As you can see from the opening image, he suggested that using a wide angle lens to make this shot would result in perspective issues. That's actually o.k. It is part of what can make an image unique. The anal retentive in me wants so badly to take these kinds of images into Photoshop and use its powerful perspective tools to "straighten" things up. But in some cases, the perspective distortion is part of the impact of the image.
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Spiral Staircase in the Kubist Museum - Prague, Czech Republic
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
WHEN WE found Martin at our meeting point, it was still daylight, but it was late afternoon. Knowing roughly where we were staying, we started fairly far away from our residence, and finished very close to it.
In spite of myself, I have learned something new and insightful every time
BECAUSE OF the continued overcast and grey skies, Martin planned a few locations/subjects that wouldn't require skies or dramatic lighting. Our first stop was right around the corner from the meeting point, at a small museum just of the main east west corridor in the Old Town. The Kubist Museum, which we did not actually go into, has a very artistically interesting spiral staircase that starts in the lobby near the entranceway, and goes up the entire 3 stories (there are - of course - "lifts" also). I made several different shots of the staircase, and eventually rendered some of them in B&W. I like color - as I have made clear hear often. So I had to try my hand at color, of which the first image above is my favorite. I do think this is best rendered as a B&W image and the second image is my own favorite having made several different "interpretations" of it in B&W.
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Spiral Staircase in the Kubist Museum - Prague, Czech Republic
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 |
USING MY widest angle lense (the 18mm end of my M4/3 setup - an m.Zuiko 9-18mm), we were not really able to use a tripod because of cramped space and pedestrian traffic on and near the stairway. Martin gave us the idea he was looking for (no doubt shot by him many times prior). It was an asbstract idea, trying to get the entire curve of the stairs and railing in the frame. There is lots of photographic "fodder" there, including shape and line, repeating details, vanishing point (almost) perspective, and even nicely contrasting colors (although most photographers viewing this scene would likely conclude that this would be a strong image for B&W composition. I did not have my 7.5mm fisheye lens along on this outing. Looking during post, I couldn't help but wonder how that lens might have rendered this scene. I made a note to myself to make sure I carry that lens from here on out.
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The Old City of Prague, with the Vltava River and the Charles Bridge in the foreground
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved
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OUR NEXT destination was a spot at the river edge, which had cobblestones going right into the water. It would have The Charles Bridge in the background. The Vltava River, a tributary of the Elbe River, many miles to the north, flows generally south through the center of Prague, separating the west side Mala Strana from the east side Old City. The Charles Bridge is, since 1967, a pedestrian-only bridge. It is the oldest bridge in Prague, built in the later part of the Fourteenth Century. As we walked back toward Mala Strana, Martin pointed out some opportunities in Old Town for the last couple days we had in Prague. We would get back to a couple of them the next days. Nearing the river, Martin took the opportunity to talk with Bruce about leading lines as we stopped at Rudolfinum, a Concert Hall in the Old Town, using the boxwood hedges in the foreground. Listing out of one ear, I snapped a couple shots of my own.
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The Old City of Prague, with the Vltava River and the Charles Bridge in the foreground
(High Contrast B&W Rendering)
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
AS WE set up for the shot with the cobblestones in the immediate foreground, I was was "motivated" to invest in another piece of gear. Martin suggested that there was still enough light that in order to achieve the ultra-flat water surface we wanted, we would probably benefit from using a ND (neutral density) filter in front of the lens to allow for a much longer shutter speed. The lowest ISO setting on the Olympus M4/3 cameras is 200 ISO. My settings (not something I usually get into here - but to illustrate the benefit of the ND filter) were ISO 200; between f10 and f16 (to try to get as much front to back DOF as possible) and between 15 and 25 second exposures. I wasn't going to get there without some help. Martin had a "rig" that I had seen before, but never paid enough attention to do any research. In my dedicated setup (Sony "Full Frame gear), I have carried a couple square ND filters, which I mostly used for waterfalls, and moving water, usually handholding the filter in front of the lens (likely defeating the purpose of having the shot set up on a tripod). Not the optimum approach. His setup is a square (Cokin - compatible) frame that screws onto the lens front and holds the square filter(s). He had rings for numerous filter threads, including mine.
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The Old City of Prague, with the Vltava River and the Charles Bridge in the foreground
(Lowered Contrast B&W Rendering)
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
SHORTLY AFTER I returned home, I ordered my own square filter holder and a "kit" of several different strength ND filters, and a square circular polarizer ("square-circular" - I know; kind of a contradiction in terms). My setup can hold two of the squares stacked, so I can use an ND with with a Polarizing Filter in front of it. When there is any direct light around, this setup (adding the PZ) will let me eliminate unwanted reflections and degradation from glare. I am looking forward to giving this "kit" a workout when I visit the GSMNP again in April for shooting the wonderful streams and moving water throughout the park.
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The Charles Bridge - Prague, Czech Republic
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
WE CONTINUED to think in terms of B&W rendering of these images, given the monochromatic skies. What we needed to try to do was to record some of the cloud detail in the skies. I think we were generally successful. I use a couple different plugins in Photoshop to render to B&W. I have tried "hand-rendering" but I am just not very good with it. My main program is one of the NIK plugins toolbox called "SilverFX." Using a couple of the different presets in the program, I am able to fine tune a bit. Sometimes I will do some layering and masking afterward. When he first saw them, Martin's commentary was that he felt I was a little heavy-handed (he didn't put it that way, but lets call it what it is 😑) with contrast. Looking at the first B&W above, it is easy to see that - and I agree. I like the lowered contrast version much better. Even so, I don't think this image was necessarily the best candidate for conversion to B&W. I kind of like the color version better. Likewise, the diagonal shot of The Charles Bridge above, made after we moved a short way downriver. I played around with B&W, but ultimately did not save any of the B&W renders. I just like the color better for this image.
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David Cerny's "Peeing Men" sculpture - Prague, Czech Republic
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
FROM OUR spot along the river, we walked up the bank an on into Mala Strana. Martin wanted to show us a rather unique spot (not knowing we had already been there): Prague's somewhat famous "Peeing Man" sculpture. David Cerny is a Prague artist who has several very unique and abstract sculptures around the city. It was a good thing Martin took us there, because we got the Paul Harvey explanation ("The Rest of the Story"), and were encouraged to think outside the photography box. Two blogs ago, I included the "record" shot of the scupture (and foreshadowed this part of this blog). First, the story. The "pool" the men are standing in and peeing on is a shape replica of the Czech Republic. I perhaps committed the bad photographer's mistake of not really "seeing" the scene. I never really put anything into the shape, which I though was probably random. Knowing it is the Czech Republic puts an entire new spin on things. The men in this sculpture are the "politicians" who are "peeing" on the country. The other thing Martin encouraged was for us to think about different and unique photographs; more like the shot here - through the space created by one of the men's arm and side.
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Canal off the Vltava River from the Charles Bridge - Prague, Czech Republic
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
FROM THE "Peeing Men," we would walk once again down toward the river, this time to another spot that I had photographed on my first morning out. Sort of. Up on the bridge as you walk from Mala Strana toward the Old City, to your right you come upon a canal that goes south somewhere into Mala Strana. Lined with buildings, there is a paddle wheel off in the distance. I made a few different shots of this spot. What didn't ocurr to me was what might be down below the bridge. Martin took us to this very spot (immediately below where I stood for the shot above). There was a small (very slippery) landing area for small boats just below the bridge where we nelt down and made the much more striking photograph below. As I stood in the spot, I could immediately see that "the" image would be made by using the arch of the bridge structure as a circular frame. All of the same environmental elements are present (buildings, some foliage, the paddlewheel, and the river). What I learned from Martin on this one though, was that by getting the camera angle way down and close to the water, instead of just a brown expanse, you can see the sheen, the reflection and the colors in the water. It is an interesting technique (and maybe a bit scary), as you are required to hold your camera out away from the dock at arms-length, and as close to the surface of the water as possible without dunking (or dropping it). This is obviously not a shot you can make from a tripod. Martin demonstrated, using his camera with its fully articulating mirror. There was a problem for me. My mirror flipped up horizontally, but was not fully articulating. It required some trial and error and a few shots that were junk. But the end result was worth it. At least I think it was.
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Canal off the Vltava River from under the Charles Bridge - Prague, Czech Republic
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
MARTIN HAD a nice little plan for us - and experience taught him how to time things. We had started late afternoon. On a nice day we would have had the nice light of late day. Because we did not, he found spots where we could make nice images without golden hour sunlight. And how to make them work even in the questionable light. I think the above photograph demonstrates how well he did that. What was heading for for a finale was a vantage point (we may never have found it without him) high above the river and just up from our Prague residence. To avoid the walk up many steps, we took and Uber up to a very cool park that had a couple different observations views. Our target was to shoot down the river with as many of the bridges in view as we could, and with the city in the background. And our goal was to get there for the "Blue Hour."
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The Vltava River as it flows south through Prague, Czech Republic
"The Blue Hour"
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
AS SOME readers here know, outdoor and landscape photographers strive to work with the best light for recording so-called "daylight" photographs. We often break our days into 6 different "slices" of daylight: There are two slices that we refer to as "Twilight." The are when the first light which precedes sunrise comes and again when the last light just after sunset comes. Lots of photographers miss the twilight and in my experience, it is their own loss. I am always surprised to see folks packing up their gear as soon as the sun passes below the horizon. Sometimes that is the end of the show. But sometimes if you do that, you will miss some of the most magical light possible. The same is true on arrival. Normally when we arrive at a site in the morning, we are setting up in the dark, often with flashlights, and then just waiting. That is why it is so important if possible to scout a side during daylight and do some thinking about where you want to set up when things happen. Sunrises and sunsets are often very dramatic (even when there is substantial cloud cover). They are also very different. If you aren't an early riser, even though you may have made some wonderful sunset photographs, you are missing out on some of the best dramatic light. The other two slices - just after sunrise (for 1- 2 hours at the most) and late afternoon (1-2 hours before sunset) are often referred to as "the golden hours" as the low angle of the sun means it is a lot "warmer" colored agains the landscape.
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The Vltava River as it flows south through Prague, Czech Republic
"The Blue Hour"
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
THERE IS a subset of evening Twilight though. It is referred to as "The Blue Hour." This happens (although not always) most times immediately after the sun sets and is so-called because most often the atmosphere takes on a blue hue that makes a very photogenic setting. Twilight opportunities are very short so it is important to be set up and on site. Generally twilight (and the blue hour) lasts for not more than 20 - 30 minutes so once you get to it you need to work fast. I often set up at my spot well before it "happens," knowing I probably won't be changing settings or position of my tripod one the show starts. You can see that as it progresses, there are subtle differences. The 3 images here are taken only minutes apart, but each is progressively darker and richer, deeper blue, until the blue goes away and it becomes officially a "night shot."
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The Vltava River as it flows south through Prague, Czech Republic
"The Blue Hour"
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved
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HAVING MADE my images of the scene, I looked a bit for something unique. As is common on all rivers in large metro areas, there is a fair amount of boat traffic. Since these images are made at slow shutter speeds mounted on a tripod, catching a boat will render as a streak. It can be a bit of a challenge to time things so the boat is positioned in your frame where you want it. I made a few tries and finally caught the one down in the lower left of the image below. You can also see that in the second image above, I caught the Tram as it started across the bridge. I like those little details in the images when you can get them. Surprisingly, the tram is reasonably sharp - it may be stopped.
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The Vltava River as it flows south through Prague, Czech Republic
"The Blue Hour" - Ferry in the forground
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved
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WE WERE at the end of our session. I was really pleased with the whole thing. Martin is a good teacher, and also gave me some great guidance and where to shoot, and in many instances how to shoot. One thing stuck with me as we walked back down to our residence. He had told me that a shot of the Charles Bridge at morning twilight, catching the lights still on on the bridge was a classic shot. But I would need to get there well before twilight, because even then, there would be a fair amount of action (people) on the bridge. I was running out of time. I really only had one more morning to do it. The very next morning. Which meant I would break the rule I just pontificated on above - pre-scouting. Fortunately I had been on the bridge a couple times and Martin was able to give me a "landmark" for where to set up. Exhausted, but pretty happy, we headed back to the residence.
