View from the Charles Bridge
Well…January is almost over and I hope it’s not to late to wish you all a Happy New Year. This is probably the longest absence I’ve had from blogging in the past 5 years.
Coming of a bout of bronchitis right after the holidays made getting back into the groove of things a bit more difficult. Well…I think I’m back on track and wanted to share this image taken on the Charles Bridge in Prague.
No new years resolutions this year (I tend to break those) but I do promise to “try” to be more consistent in my blogging schedule. Did you guys make any resolutions?
Click on the image to enlarge (it really does look better) or to Purchase a Print.
The Spanish Synagogue in Prague
There are times when things certainly don’t pan out as you plan them. For instance I had started preparing this post and was going to finish it up and publish at the beginning of the week before leaving for Montreal. Unfortunately I got sick on Christmas Day with what I thought was a cold but end up turning into bronchitis. so needless to say…no blog post…no Montreal.
I still have a few images of Prague that I wanted to share with you. One of things that my husband and I did (and I highly recommend) was a 1/2 day private tour of the old Jewish Quarter. Really we should have done the full day but we had a train to catch back to Vienna.
We knew that there was so much history and so much to learn that hiring a private tour guide was the best way to make the most of our time. I’ll be sharing my images of the Jewish Quarter in the next few posts but during this tour I wasn’t the “photographer” trying to get the shot but rather a tourist learning about what took place here.
This is the Spanish Synagogue which is the “newest” synagogue in Prague built 1868. It was actually built on the site of the oldest synagogue, the “Altshul” built-in the 12th century in the Prague ghetto.
It’s called the Spanish Synagogue because of its interior Moorish design and architecture.
While it’s still a functioning synagogue it’s part of the Jewish Museum of Prague and houses an impressive exhibit on the History of the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia.
I wish I had more pictures of this beautiful place but I had to be stealth with my photography. I got warned more than once (in different locales) that photography was not allowed. The reason being they wanted you to buy the postcards.
The Water Wheel…at Night!
As you walk along the Charles Bridge in Prague and pass the main water way make sure you stop and look at every nook and cranny on either side. You’ll be rewarded with beautiful little scenes.
This water wheel was turning and it took me a few tries at different exposure settings to get the image, 15 secs at f6.3.
Click on the image to see a high-resolution version (it really does look better) or to Purchase a Print.
Crossing the Charles Bridge
Maybe I should have titled this post Cinderella’s Castle but this isn’t Disneyland. Crossing the Charles Bridge during the day is like fighting your way through the crowds in Best Buy on Boxing Day. I thought a nighttime stroll might be quieter and it was but not by much.
This was a long exposure and you can see the ghosting of the people walking though. I decided to leave them in as it gave the sense of motion. I really didn’t do much to this image except for applying a little clarity and vibrance in LR.
Click on the image to enlarge (it REALLY looks better in full resolution) or to Purchase a Print.
Watching the Crowd Pass By
This image was taken whilst walking around the old city of Prague.
It was a very sunny day and I wanted to make sure that I exposed properly for both the crowd who were in direct sunlight and the architecture under the arches. I took a series of 5 brackets and then processed them in Lightroom using the Photomerge HDR function. I was quite pleased with the result. I then converted the image to black & white using Topaz Black & White Effects.
From November 25th through November 30th, Topaz Labs is offering 50% off of the full Topaz Complete Collection. That’s over $1000 worth of software for only $249.99!
To take advantage of this offer use code “BLACKFRIDAY16” in the Topaz Labs store.
Click on the image to enlarge (it really does look better) or to Purchase a Print.
Sunset Glow
The city of Prague simple glows during the sunset hour.
Click on the images to enlarge (they really do look better) to to Purchase a Print.
Edith Levy Photography 