Bratislava blues
Here's a photo from lovely Bratislava. It was shot during blue hour there, overlooking their Old Town, and I used Aurora HDR to accentuate details adjust some colors, and more. Dive in, and also check out the video I did as well!
A lovely blue hour in Bratislava - and a video showing how I made the photo!
It was several years ago that I visited Bratislava, Slovakia but I still look back fondly on that trip. I captured many photos that I am proud of, and I loved being there. It's a quaint town with wonderful architecture, and I felt very comfortable there. I hope to return some day.
As part of my ongoing YouTube series "Making the photograph", I recorded a session a few days ago showing how I created today's pic in Aurora HDR. You can view that below, or click the linked text above to see the entire series.
I was out shooting with my friend Miroslav Petrasko and we were on top of the UFO Restaurant which straddles a bridge over the Danube and actually looks just like a UFO. They have a great rooftop deck area that we shot from, giving us this unobstructed view of the old town as well as Bratislava Castle.
As you can see, I used many layers in Aurora HDR to achieve the final look, bringing up the details, making color adjustments, reducing noise and more. It's fun. I also added a final step in Lightroom (which is not in the video), which was to use the guided upright tool to adjust the perspective a little bit (and which resulted in a slight crop). It gave the image a little more balance and in my opinion it finished well! Thanks for stopping by!
The little things in Bratislava
I'm back at it - sharing a HUGE collection of photos from a trip I took to Bratislava, Slovakia. But this isn't your normal post, featuring some landmark or well-known sight. This is 16 photos of the little things I found there while wandering with my camera. Take a look!
I don't just shoot the landmarks - I shoot it all!
Over the last couple of years here on the blog, I have mostly been sharing photos of the "big things" that I see when I travel somewhere: the landmarks, the iconic structures, the big churches. And I plan to keep shooting them, because they are awesome. But all along, I have also taken a lot of shots of the "little things" that I come across in my travels as well - graffiti and interesting signs, street scenes, deserted alleyways, little European cafes - the list goes on.
In fact, I did a post a while back about the little things that I saw in Amsterdam. And I also did an entire post about what I call "the postcard shot", and why it's not about getting the "big shots" when you travel.
So this post is similar to that one from Amsterdam, but of course from a different town. This is from Bratislava, Slovakia which is a beautiful little town nestled next to the Danube River, and about an hour away from Vienna. I loved it there. I hope to return some day.
I was there over 2 years ago, and still have plenty of photos to share from that trip. And by the way, when I was there I met up and shot with Miroslav Petrasko, who is a local, a great photographer, and all-around awesome guy. You should follow his blog too! You will find some amazing photos to enjoy.
So these are just some random snaps from that trip. No order to them, no theme or anything - just things that I saw while wandering, that happened to catch my eye. While a number of these include graffiti or look a little grungy, the city is actually quite beautiful and well worth a visit! Just want to be clear about that! :-)
And as you can probably tell from the pics...I just love doors.
Enjoy!
(click any photo to view larger)
Just another alley in Bratislava
Do you ever wander down alleys?
I love wandering down alleys in search of images. Back streets, alleys...they are often overlooked but I think they are rich in photographic opportunities. Don't you?
find life experiences and swallow them whole. travel. meet many people. go down some dead ends and explore dark alleys. try everything. exhaust yourself in the glorious pursuit of life. - lawrence k. fish
That is definitely one of my all-time favorite quotes. It's just so awesome and inspirational, and I happen to think that it's also great advice. Do I do all that stuff? Maybe yes sometimes, and other times no. I'm not going to lie and say I am some total "carpe diem" maniac living life to its fullest. I do my part, I think, and have a good time, but it's not all fun and games, as the old saying goes. It just can't be.
Anyways, I didn't really mean to get into all that, just rambling here at the keyboard. :-)
I was in Bratislava about 2 years ago, and still think about it often. It's a beautiful town and I found quite a bit to shoot there. I also wandered a lot of the old back streets and came home with a lot of images like this one that I just happen to really like. They're not going to get published, and likely will never sell, but I just don't really care. They're meaningful to me despite their relative insignificance. Does that make any sense?
Plus, I just happen to like all the detail, texture, and all the lines that your eye follows here.
Oh and before I ramble on too much and forget, here is a screen shot from Color Efex Pro that I grabbed while I was editing this one. I actually went a little dark on the HDR in Photomatix but after a few filters it's looking good!
Over Bratislava
Bratislava is a beautiful little town...have you been yet?
If not, I think you should go. Of course, that's easy for me to say since I am sitting in a chair at home and just typing this on my laptop. But I really do think you should go. It IS a beautiful town, but it's not a large town. It's a manageable town, which is important.
Why is that important? Well, if you are like me and you are in Europe (or anywhere new, really), at every turn your head is spinning because there is so much awesome stuff to see (and in my case, and maybe yours - to point the camera at). I have said that about Paris at least once or more here on the blog, and if I haven't said that about London then I should have.
And that's what I liked about Bratislava. Yes, there's great architecture, churches, bridges, old buildings, a town square, and more. And it's all great to look at, and all great to photograph. But the great thing to me is that the historic town center is fairly compact and easy to navigate. In other words, it's not huge and potentially overwhelming like London or Paris.
And in case you didn't know - it's only about 45 minutes in a car from Vienna, Austria which is a place you are probably going to try and see someday anyways, right? Why not take a little detour and soak up another town, which happens to be in another country, but is still close by?
Or you could take a boat ride down the Danube from Vienna - it's about 2 hours if I recall. And yes, I took the boat ride, and the scenery was fabulous. But I just realized I never posted anything from that little trip here. I need to get busy!. Ok, that's it for today, thanks for swinging by!
Back alleys and dead ends
Here’s another photo in my unintentional-but-super-fun series of alleyways and back streets in Bratislava, Slovakia. One might think, upon seeing all these shots, that I just skulked around in alleys while there, but the truth is that I didn’t really do that much at all, except for one morning. I took lots of shots all around the historic center of Bratislava...maybe I should process some to prove it to you. :-)
I guess this is really proof though - without me saying it - that I just love to shoot HDR photos in these sorts of spots. Alleyways and back streets usually have a lot of character, and generally since they can be run-down, they make for interesting HDR shots in my opinion. I find that there are interesting lines, usually some graffiti (which I enjoy shooting) and great texture and detail. In other words, these spots are just perfect for HDR. I think I’ll keep doing it.
Off the beaten path in Bratislava
I really like Bratislava. For a fairly small town, it packs in a lot of awesomeness for a photographer. It is only about 45 minutes away from Vienna, but I imagine lots of people overlook it. That’s a shame, really. It feels like a nice little European village that is just filled with great character.
On second thought, maybe it’s better that more people don’t go there, since over-tourism may ruin some of the charm. Either way, I enjoyed my visit there and despite sharing a lot of pics from there already, I have many more still to get to.
I caught this HDR one morning while wandering around in their old town historic district. I started around sunrise, and had the place to myself, or at least it felt that way. This image was taken on one of many back streets that I explored with my Nikon. It was a fabulous start to a day!
And here is a Before & After comparison for those interested in HDR - quite a difference!
Beauty above Bratislava
This is probably the prettiest view in Bratislava, and I have to say there are a lot of beautiful spots to shoot in this town. Although it is not very large, it packs a lot of awesomeness in a not-too-big space. I loved my visit there, partly due to being able to hang out and shoot this awesome scenery with my friend Miroslav Petrasko (see his awesome work here). He took me up to this incredible spot (I had no idea you could get there) and we shot through a nice sunset and on into this incredible blue hour. It was a pretty awesome way to spend a day!
That’s one of the great things about photography and sharing it online. I have been fortunate to connect with and in many cases meet up with and shoot with talented folks around the globe. We live on a big planet, and so many of us are so far away from each other, but thanks to the wonders of social media, I now have friends in far-flung places. And when you are fortunate enough to get together in person with like-minded folks, it’s an incredible experience.
Beautiful Bratislava
As I mentioned in my post at the beginning of this week, Bratislava is a beautiful town and offers up a lot of photo opportunities. Since that last post showcased some decay and graffiti, I promised that my next Bratislava photo would show some of the “traditional” beauty of the place.
So, here is a view across the Danube River, under their New Bridge, and looking at part of their historic city center. You can see the steeple of St. Martin’s Church there as well. See how pretty this place is?
Back in the alleys
Howdy folks - thanks for stopping by today! I took the last few days off from the blog due to the Thanksgiving Holiday here in the US - which I enjoyed immensely. I also took a few pics which will find their way here pretty soon.
Today's post is from another back alley in Bratislava, Slovakia. I took a lot of shots like this while I was in Bratislava, but I find doors interesting in the first place, and when you surround them with graffiti and smash 'em up a bit, I just can't resist! And for the record, I found Bratislava to be a very beautiful city, so I guess I better show some of that next time I post about this place!
Old door in Bratislava
As I have shared before, I have a thing for doors. They just get to me somehow. So whenever I am out shooting, I am casually scouting out interesting doors too. It's hard because often my mind in pulling me in two directions at once. I usually shoot whatever is closest first, unless the further thing is likely to disappear or change in the span of a few moments. I think of that as being logical, but it's just laziness, probably.
I caught this one while wandering some back streets in Bratislava, Slovakia. It wasn't an overly beautiful door, but I did like the writing above it - although I have no idea what it says. I am a fan of languages, though I really only speak one (apart from Pig Latin haha). That one potted plant sitting there gave it a nice touch, I thought.
Sometimes these little scenes that I capture bring back just as fond a memory of a place as the big cityscapes do. How about you?
Back streets and cool doors
Ok, I will go ahead and admit it: I have a couple of addictions when it comes to my photography. The first is that whenever I am in a new place, I really enjoy wandering around in the back streets. It’s just fun and interesting, and you never know what you might find.
The other addiction I am referring to is that I love to photograph doors. It doesn’t really matter if it’s a big door, small door, red door, blue door, old door or new door (hey I sound like Dr. Seuss!) – they usually catch my eye, assuming it has at least some interesting elements about it.
The nice thing is that these two little addictions often go hand-in-hand. When I wander on back streets, I find cool doors. You gotta love when your addictions are complementary!
I found this door wandering on the back streets of Bratislava, Slovakia. Isn’t it cool?
Bratislava street scene
Whenever I travel, I make it a point to see the "big stuff" because, well, you sorta have to, right? Even though there are already a million shots of the famous spots, I want to get my own take on a place - and I bet you do, too. But, I always make time to wander a little too, especially in the back streets near the big sights. I am always rewarded with some cool, interesting, or unique finds.
In this case, I was wandering around in Bratislava, Slovakia and after seeing their big church (St. Martin's), I decided to walk around it and explore some of those back streets. This scene immediately caught my eye, since I enjoy graffiti and I liked how that light post was sort of sticking it's neck out there. The textures and slightly crumbling wall were a bonus!
Back streets in Bratislava
I wanted to share this with you all today - I was featured on the HDR photography/travel blog Strange Lands, hosted by my friend Jimmy McIntyre. Check out my guest post and let me know your thoughts!
http://strange-lands.com/2012/07/featured-hdr-photographer-jim-nix.html
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Daily photo: Back streets in Bratislava
find life experiences and swallow them whole. travel. meet many people. go down some dead ends and explore dark alleys. try everything. exhaust yourself in the glorious pursuit of life. - lawrence k. fish
I love that quote - it's quickly become one of my all-time favorites. It's great advice and inspires me to do more with any free time I have. One part of it that really appeals to me as a photographer is the "go down some dead ends and explore dark alleys" part. I love to wander with the camera, especially when I am in a new town, and doubly so if I am in Europe. There are so many big, popular and culturally significant things to see in any town, but sometimes I get just as much joy from wandering the back streets, alone and away from the crowds.
This one was taken in Bratislava, Slovakia while I was doing just that one morning. I had a few hours to kill, and of course with camera in hand I hit the streets. It wasn't long before I found myself going down some dead ends and dark alleys. It was fabulous.
Technicals: Nikon D700, 7 exposures, f/13, 14-24 wide angle lens (at 14mm)
Software: Photomatix, Color Efex Pro, Aperture
Roland Fountain - Bratislava
Town squares are awesome, especially in Europe!
I love fountains and waterfalls, and town squares - they're just awesome! I found this fountain (quite easily, I might add) in the Old Town Square in Bratislava, Slovakia. It's hard to miss and is the key focal point of the square. It seems every town square in Europe has a fountain, and they are always surrounded by such great architecture. For me, that's part of the charm of European cities.
Curiosity killed the cat...but helped the photographer!
I'm actually lucky to have been able to get shots that night. I had massive travel delays - and didn't sleep a wink on the plane - so I got into Bratislava around 7pm instead of earlier that day at 1pm. I almost went to bed, but my curiosity won out so I hit the town for a quick round of shooting (and some dinner!). It's impossible to pass up an opportunity to shoot in a new place!
Technicals: 7 exposure HDR, f/22, 14-24mm wide angle lens (at 14mm)
Software: HDR Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Aperture
HDR Before & After: how the photo was brought to life!
I have been sharing these "before & after" shots, and get some good feedback on them so I thought I would keep that going. It's amazing to me what HDR can do - it really does bring a photo to life!
Under the New Bridge
I am traveling this week, and so most of my posts are going to be pretty short. I hope to grab quite a few shots this week in Santa Fe - it's a great town. Thanks so much to everyone who visited and commented yesterday, I really appreciate the feedback on that image.
I caught this shot in Bratislava, while I was walking around under their New Bridge. I love shooting bridges, and often try to get shots underneath them as well!