street photography

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 McC1 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.

pula antifacist memorial — Anti-fascist memorial

pula petrovic — Ruza Petrovic – partisan blinded by fascists

Back in the old town the town-hall is on a old Roman site

pula bar — some old buildings of course become bars

And various remnants of old walls and portals into the old city

pula James Joyce — and of course, there is the Irish presence – a James Joyce bar

Shot on Rollei RPX25 and Fomapan 100.

Hol18: Rovinj, Croatia (Hrvatska)

February 9, 2019February 9, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

My first moments in Croatia (I find Hrvatska a bit difficult to pronounce) were getting off the ferry in Rovinj, and Rovinj is very, very easy on the eye.
It’s got a very nice town square.

It’s got very pleasant bars – all decked out with the very recognisable flag.

Rovinj Monte Carlo — The Monte Carlo bar

Rovinj steps — with seating down to the sea

In its old town centre, there is a baroque church overlooking the bay – the Church of St. Euphemia (she was from Byzantium, apparently)

Rovinj church 2 — Church of St. Euphemia

Around the town, there’s no shortages of places to have a drink or to photograph.

Rovinj ruins and house — House among some ruins

Rovinj at the Copa Pizza — At the Copa.. View from the bay

While I was here, I tried for the first time some Rollei RPX25 film, it was pretty bright after all. And the RPX25 is the most grain-free film I’ve shot.

roving coastline — Rovinj in the evening

window man rovinj — Man in window of pizzeria. It’s like a basic advent calendar

window rovinj — decorative house, Rovinj

Rovinj was nice introduction to Croatia and a base for a relaxing few days. It’s not the most dynamic of places, but a good entry point travelling by ferry from Italy.

Camera: Ricoh KR5 with Fomapan 100 (the grainier shots) and Rollei RPX25 (no grain)

Hol18: Venezia 2. Giudecca

January 31, 2019January 30, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

Giudecca is the longish island that lies opposite the main island of Venice and you can get to it by vaporetto from St Marks. One of the main attractions is that it’s relatively quite and peaceful. Being mainly residential, most tourists don’t go across, but it’s a delightful place with some magnificent churches, views and cafes. En route the vaporetto also stops at San Giorgio Maggiore, the little island with the landmark church everyone photographs from across on the main island.

Church of the Santissimo Redentore, Giudecca

cool bloke, Giudecca — Giudeccan.. nice hat.

Vaporetto stops, Giudecca — Vaporetto stop, Giudecca

Selfie. Giudecca — along the waterfront, there is a set of mirrors. For the Venetian selfie

Kit: Ricoh KR-5 and Oriental Seagull.

Hol18: Arrivederci Roma

January 29, 2019January 27, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

Rome was everything I thought it would be – magnificent in its ruins, churches, history and people. I’ll go again, maybe in autumn when the heat isn’t as crazy. The sites, streets, piazzas are all undeniably photogenic and maybe in less tourist-heavy seasons, I’d take a more measured photowalk round the numerous easily walked. Here’s some random shots of Rome. Shots taken on the Ricoh KR5 and Lomography Earl grey 100 film.

rome castel san angelo 2 — view of Castel San Angelo

rome castel san angelo — Castel San Angelo

Rome Catharine Siena — Catharine of Siena

Rome fountain — a rather ornate fountain

rome along tiber 03 — Cafe along the Tiber

rome trevi 4 — Tat at the Trevi Fountain

HOL18: No Place Like Rome 2

November 25, 2018Ian McCLeave a comment

Romans – the current ones, not the ancients – are more often than not a stylish lot as are many of the tourists, at least not the sweaty football shirt-wearing middle-aged Irish ones. And like Paris, it’s easy to snap a more flattering street shot when you’re in such beautiful and iconic surroundings.

rome along tiber 01 — Just like the banks of the Seine

Rome busker — Roman Busker – I suspect more aged than his youthful demanour

Rome, Girl in a cafe — roman cafe – girl outside

rome trevi 3 — Capturing the magnificence of the Trevi Fountain

rome fountain 1 — Drinking water freely available

Photos shot on Ricoh KR5 with Oriental Seagull 100

Ueno Park, that’s where I’ve been

April 17, 2018April 17, 2018Ian McC1 Comment

what did you do there? I took photos

km400_tokyo_uenopark1 — Kaneiji Temple, Ueno Park

Ueno Park is a large green space in central Tokyo and a great place for a walk around the city with the camera. There’s temples, museum, a zoo, entertainment – including Taiko drumming blogged here, flea markets and plenty of people. It’s also beside a large shopping area, the Ameyoko Shopping Street so you can easily fill a day here. And like Tokyo there’s any number of JR and metro stations in the area to get here.