Mju-Mju
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Prague: Admiral Botel and the Vltava river by night
Two more night photos from Prague. I did the same thing with these photos as I did with the photo of Wenceslas Square - flash off, put the mju on a wall, timer on, stand back.
The first is of the Admiral Botel - a floating hotel I stayed on. I had a cute little cabin. Lying in my bed at night, I could hear ducks quacking quietly outside the hull.
Olympus Mju-II, Ilford XP2
The other is of reflections on the river. I was walking back to the hotel around midnight and the reflections in the water were beautiful.
Olympus Mju-II, Ilford XP2 ¶ 9:45 PM 0 comments
The first is of the Admiral Botel - a floating hotel I stayed on. I had a cute little cabin. Lying in my bed at night, I could hear ducks quacking quietly outside the hull.
Olympus Mju-II, Ilford XP2
The other is of reflections on the river. I was walking back to the hotel around midnight and the reflections in the water were beautiful.
Olympus Mju-II, Ilford XP2 ¶ 9:45 PM 0 comments
Prague: Wenceslas Square
I went to Prague a few weeks ago. The first night I arrived, I went out for a walk. I headed up Wenceslas Square and ended up at the top end of the square, near the National Museum. In front of the museum is a statue of St (King) Wenceslas. I'm a complete sucker for the square. I've been to Prague twice, but before I was ever there, I remember seeing TV footage of the square in 1989, full of students and demonstrators, implementing the Velvet Revolution. Everybody clustered around the statue of Wenceslas. There's a photo of them here. In front of the statue, there's a plaque to Jan Palach, a student who set fire to himself in the square in 1968, in protest at the Soviet invasion. The square is to Prague what Place de la Bastille is to Paris. This is where the people protest and where governments are overthrown. When you ponder all of Prague's history and especially the two big events of the communist period, in 1968 and 1989, it's hard not to feel emotional when you're looking down at this historical, beautiful, revolutionary square.
So - my first night. It was late - maybe 11pm - and I only had the Mju. I headed up to the Museum, walked onto the first terrace and looked down on the square. This is what I saw. The square is actually more of a long rectangle. I wanted to bring back a photo of the memory. It's one of my favourite places in Prague. So, what's the best way to photograph this? What I did was this: switch off the flash, put the camera on the balustrade, point the camera out at the square, set the timer and let the Mju do its thing.
And this is what I got, which I reckon was the best photo I took in Prague. Click it for a slightly bigger version.
Olympus Mju-II, Fuji 400CN chromogenic b/w film.
On the print and maybe your screen, you can see all the way down the square. This is a very sharp print. I'm planning to blow it up to an 8x12 print and frame it. There's a bit of tourist info about the square here.
It is somewhat annoying - although predictable in some ways - that despite the money I have spent on cameras over the years and despite the fact that I can take the occasional good photo with an SLR or TLR, sometimes even guessing the exposures, the best photos often come from this lovely little camera. ¶ 8:58 PM 0 comments
So - my first night. It was late - maybe 11pm - and I only had the Mju. I headed up to the Museum, walked onto the first terrace and looked down on the square. This is what I saw. The square is actually more of a long rectangle. I wanted to bring back a photo of the memory. It's one of my favourite places in Prague. So, what's the best way to photograph this? What I did was this: switch off the flash, put the camera on the balustrade, point the camera out at the square, set the timer and let the Mju do its thing.
And this is what I got, which I reckon was the best photo I took in Prague. Click it for a slightly bigger version.
Olympus Mju-II, Fuji 400CN chromogenic b/w film.
On the print and maybe your screen, you can see all the way down the square. This is a very sharp print. I'm planning to blow it up to an 8x12 print and frame it. There's a bit of tourist info about the square here.
It is somewhat annoying - although predictable in some ways - that despite the money I have spent on cameras over the years and despite the fact that I can take the occasional good photo with an SLR or TLR, sometimes even guessing the exposures, the best photos often come from this lovely little camera. ¶ 8:58 PM 0 comments
The English Market, Cork City, Ireland
I took this black and white photo from the Prince's Street entrance to Cork's English Market.
I'm from Cork. When I was a kid, this market was a dark, dingy place where people went to buy food at prices cheaper than the supermarkets. You could buy tripe, spare ribs, chicken, black pudding, fruit and veg, odds and ends. Customers were usually either the poor or people who were careful with their money. The ground seemed to be a sort of soft tar that had been ground into a dark substance over decades. Many people in Cork had their favourite stalls and might only go to the market to visit one market stall.
Nowadays, Celtic Tiger Economy days, the market has had a make over. The floors are tiled, the roof lets in light, there's a lovely cafe/restaurant upstairs. This is how it looks. If you visit Cork, go there.
Olympus Mju-II, Fuji 400CN (Chromogenic b/w film), handheld. ¶ 8:38 PM 0 comments
I'm from Cork. When I was a kid, this market was a dark, dingy place where people went to buy food at prices cheaper than the supermarkets. You could buy tripe, spare ribs, chicken, black pudding, fruit and veg, odds and ends. Customers were usually either the poor or people who were careful with their money. The ground seemed to be a sort of soft tar that had been ground into a dark substance over decades. Many people in Cork had their favourite stalls and might only go to the market to visit one market stall.
Nowadays, Celtic Tiger Economy days, the market has had a make over. The floors are tiled, the roof lets in light, there's a lovely cafe/restaurant upstairs. This is how it looks. If you visit Cork, go there.
Olympus Mju-II, Fuji 400CN (Chromogenic b/w film), handheld. ¶ 8:38 PM 0 comments
It's been a while.
Well, it's been a while. I haven't used the Mju for a while and when I did, I typically left half a roll in the camera. Recently, however, I seem to used it quite a bit. So for those of you who love the Mju, read on up...
¶ 8:36 PM 0 comments
