street photography

Hol18: The Sound of Villach

February 17, 2019February 11, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

On the second day in the southern Austrian metropolis of Villach, a street music festival was taking place. I took some photos, naturally.

Villach Drummer — drummer eye contact and a person’s feet

Villach bass — a rather dapper bass player

Villach flamenco guitar — a thoughtful guitarist

Villach flamenco dancer — traditional Austrian flamenco

Villach flamenco band — The Full Spanish

Hol18: Villachers

February 16, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

A few more shots taken while lurking around the quiet yet delightful Austrian town of Villach.

There’s the usual source of nutrition by the river

King of Bratwurst Villach — The Bratwurst King

A cliched shot of object-obscuring-head

flowerhead Villach — flower in place of head

Some decorative cafe/hotel decal – something you see a lot of over here

Villach church — going by the church to the Biergarten

Ricoh KR-5 and Fomapan 100 providing the imagery.

Hol18: Villach – Austrian surprise.

February 15, 2019February 11, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

This part of the trip was a bit unplanned. Trying to get a cheap train north from Ljubljana resulted in a few nights staying in Villach, a town in the Gailtal Alps in southern Austria on the river Drau. I hadn’t heard of until I checked the direction of the railway line on Google Maps. And it turned into quite a nice stopover. We got a good value AirBnB in a residential area overlooking the town and spent a nice 48 hours around the river, churches, statues, squares, beer and food.

A bit like Ireland, there’s no shortage of places to go for a drink. Villach has its own brewery – Villacher beer – and a splendid Brauhof.

Also like Ireland, there’s the church for each bar.

Villach St Jakob side — Church of St Jakob

Villach rathaus fish — On the site of the old Rathaus, there is a commemorative fish..

Villach Centre — the main shopping street has a splendid fountain

And there’s a statue of the most famous Villacher – painter and sculptor Hanns Gasser

Down by the river, you can get a splendid 2 hour beer cruise with a nice backdrop of bridges and mountains

Kit – Ricoh KR5 and Fomapan 100

Hol18: Slovenia – Ljubljana 2

February 14, 2019February 14, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

Away from the crowds and walking tours there are many quieter streets and walks in the centre of Ljubljana to indulge in a bit of street photography and to try and capture the look and feel of the city, even around the Triple Bridge when it isn’t so crowded..

Ljublijana river — The river – Ljubljanica

Franciscan Church Ljublijana — The old Franciscan church

Ljublijana church — Ljubljana cathedral spires

Ljublijana kiosk — European cities excel in their wee kiosks

Ljublijana Library — The stand out stone work of the city library

ljubljana bridge — One of the Triple Bridge (s)

Ljublijana market — government offices.. and the main market

Ljublijana morris column — Morris Column and scooter – staples of all smart European cities

Ljublijana statue — Valentin Vodnik – poet, journalist and priest

Ljublijana street scene — a quiet street in the cathedral area

Ljublijana slovenians on a bridge — more Slovenians on another bridge

Ljublijana sign — Union Beer – Slovenia’s finest

All shot using the Ricoh KR5 and Fomapan 100

Hol18: Slovenia – Lake Bled 2

February 12, 2019February 10, 2019Ian McC1 Comment

It’s not all about the lake. Bled has some good walks and viewpoints around the lake, although it is prone to changes to the weather. I never made it up to the castle – it was wet and the light was going, but there it was nice to see the area away from the crowds at the lake.

bled parish house — The Old Parish house, Bled

bled rustic pizza — translated – rustic Pizza (is that movie?)

bled shrine — Shirne at the Parish house

bled skyline — View from the hill – away from the lake

Photos shot on the Ricoh KR5 and Rollei RPX25

Hol18: Slovenia – Lake Bled 1

February 11, 2019February 10, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

It’s on many bucket lists of places to visit and Lake Bled didn’t disappoint. From Ljubljana you can get a direct bus or the more civilised option – the train to Lesce Bled and a short bus ride to the Lake.

lesce bled — Lesce Bled station – one hour from Ljubljana

Once at the Lake – the customary things to do are take a walk along the lakeside, hire a rowing boat, head over to the island and back, and then take a walk up to the castle. All very predictable no doubt but no less of an experience.
I didn’t get the usual shot from the high vantage point of the lake and island – the day became a bit overcast, wet with some bright spells and the Church of the Assumption on the lake was covered in scaffolding for renovation work. As it’s such a great place to visit, sometimes the photos have to take second place to the experience, even with some Fomapan100, Rpx25 and a wee bit of digital on the Fuji X20.

lake bled view — View of Lake bled (Fuji X20)

Having rowed to the island, there was a wedding to crash – complete with piper.

With the Ricoh loaded with the extremely slow Rollei RPX25, I managed to get a shallow depth of field in a pre-rain sunny spell – and hardly any grain.

wedding crashers, Lake Bled — the Bride and Groom

wedding reception bled — about to nick the champagne

lake bled island — the walk up to the church

After a few hours on the lake and island, it was time to head inland and up.

Kit: Fuji X20, Ricoh KR5 with Rollei RPX25

Hol18: Pula, Croatia

February 10, 2019February 10, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

Pula was an hour’s bus ride from Rovinj and is a great spot for a day trip with a bustling old town, Roman ruins and plenty to point the Ricoh at.

Pula has its own amphitheatre, a wee colosseum.

pula wall — old building with 3 owners embedded

pula rain — refuge from the rain – it can get wet

Croatia of course has a fascinating recent history, particularly during the second world war where as well as being occupied by Nazi Germany, it had its own collaborating dark side – the fascist Ustaša which was resisted and subsequently defeated by anti fascist Yugoslav movements. There are a number of memorial to anti-fascism and Pula has a large memorial garden alongside the main harbour.