Little Paris

The city of Dresden is known as one of the most beautiful places in Germany. And it absolutely is. However, most people know Dresden for what they think of as the old part of the city. There is the Frauenkirche and the Zwinger and all that magnificent architecture. There is the Elbe River with its steam boats and lots of other places to plentiful to mention. 

But there is also another part of Dresden on the other side of the river that few tourists ever get to see. It's called "Neustadt", the new town, which is misleading because historically it is actually the oldest part of Dresden. It's where everything started about 800 years ago.  

Today, Neustadt is a bustling place looking very much like certain parts of Paris and it's inhabited mostly by young people with a pretty liberal disposition. Consequently, you get to see things that seem rather un-German and exotic, which is exactly what makes this place an absolute treasure for street photography. 

I went there just a few days ago and came back with more respectable street shots than I have produced in the last two years put together.

Here are some of the better ones.

 

Wait a Second!

Usually, I download pictures I took during the day the same night. I also edit them right away and post the best ones on Flickr, 500px and Facebook. I'm kind of an instant gratification guy that way. 

But then I hear people say, "You need to let your pictures rest for a while!", or "Give it a few days before your edit." I never understood this type of comment. Why the hell would I wait? I'm here, the pictures are here, my laptop is here. You are here. What's the point of waiting?

That's still the way I feel, by the way. But I do concede, that there are some pictures I shot years ago that I never bothered editing, because I didn't think they were worth it. And now I think they have potential. And then, of course, there are those that have always been great, like the one above. They are so great that I keep going back to them and re-edit them in some way to make them even better. 

This shot was probably one of my first real street photos ever. I remember how it happened as if it were today. I was roaming the streets of Berlin, somewhere in the Checkpoint Charlie area. I look around for interesting things. I turn my head to the right and BAM, there is this cop with his twin daughters. I can't describe the rush of excitement I was feeling. What a shot! What a freakish coincidence! What an opportunity! 

I run after them because they are quite a ways away already. I crouch down on the street and rack my zoom lens all the way out to 135mm. Aim, focus. Click! 

I knew it was a great picture, immediately. Coincidentally, it was also the moment I realized who I wanted to be as a photographer. I knew it right then. I didn't have to wait or contemplate it. I knew it! And I know now.

So there. If you want to wait for goodness, do it. I prefer to create it and then share it. Life is for living. :)

People

When it comes to photography I keep getting back to people. I do landscapes, I do architecture, even flowers and animals. But at the end of the day, it's always about people. They interest me, I wonder about them. Where are they going? What are they thinking? How do they live? 

That's why public transport is so interesting to me. There you get the full brunt of a city's real soul. Because that's the ultimate test, isn't it? You are all together in a very confined space. How do you behave? How do you cope and how do you deal with others?

Are people edgy and protect their personal space or are they accommodating and think about others more than they do about themselves? It's those key questions about any society, big or small, and they are answered withing seconds on any bus, tram or subway train.

And it's not just that. Public transport is full of stories. People's stories. Passengers, drivers, service people, just everybody. I like reading those stories in their faces, clothes and behavior. It attaches me to them and the city they live in. And if I'm lucky enough I am holding the camera up at the right moment. 

Romeing

What a city!

I have been to Italy many times in the past, but never made it farther south than Milan. And while northern Italy is also Italy, it's worlds apart from Rome. It's a different part of the country with different people and a different way of life. 

You expect the capital city to be enormous in proportion. And yes, there is a metro, tons of buses, even an unexpected tram line. Yet, the best way to explore Rome is by walking. I suggest to get the sights out of your system during the first two days. Do the Colosseum, the Spanish steps and Vatican City.

Then let it all go and just stroll. Enjoy the parks, venture into the northern parts of the city that tourists rarely go to. Wander through those quiet side streets and forget your map and GPS. You can't get lost in Rome. At the end of the day you will always magically wind up in the center, where it's loud and bright and an orange juice costs more than your daily food allowance back home. 

I must have spent 100 Euros for food and drinks on my first day in the city. That's before I discovered where to eat and where not to. There is a surcharge for everything in Rome. Even food you never ordered, like that fantastic white bread that comes in a basket. They just bring it out. You touch it, you buy it. And if you like cocktails, you better bring a wad of cash. Oh, and notice the short pause the bartender takes to think of his answer after you ask him for the price of your drink. That's the time he needs to make one up. He doesn't think about the cost of the ingredients, you see. He looks at you to figure out how much you can afford. So dress down if you're thirsty. 

The X100 - Pain and Bliss

It is the latest addition to my camera bag - the Fuji X100.

Six months I had battled with the decision of whether I should spend a thousand Euros on a quirky camera. And I am still not sure. But the money is gone and so I'm making friends with this thing, this prima donna , this nuisance, this marvel. 

It lacks everything I had in my old compact: reliability, functional certainty, simple operation, a zoom lens, sufficient battery life, small size, and resistance to abuse. Yet if gave me the most important thing a photographer can hope for: stunning pictures.

But the joy is conditional. You have to coax the X100 into compliance, you have to stroke it and talk gently to it, whisper a compliment at the right moment and pull its chair out. 

Just last night it drove me crazy. I sat in a restaurant with a friend and wanted to take her picture, because the light was so beautiful and she looked nice. The first picture came out completely dark. I couldn't see why. Second picture, same thing. I checked all the menus. Nothing. Third picture: starry night. The moment was gone, my friend started eating and I ordered another cocktail to wash down the disappointment. 

After the meal I looked at the camera again and saw that the shutter speed dial had accidentally moved from the automatic setting to 1/4000th of a second, the position right next to it. This could never have happened with any camera I have ever owned and it is only one of many steps in the painful learning process that comes with the X100. You literally have to unlearn many of the things you took for granted and give in to the new rules. 

Once you do, a new world opens up to you. It's like records and mp3s. It's the same music, but it sounds better.