Urban Photography - Fotoeins Fotografie

Posts from the ‘Urban Photography’ category

New Zealand: Christchurch red zone post-quake

The sight of overhead cranes.

The clang of jackhammers.

The constant rumble of dump trucks filled with debris.

The dust clouds surrounding sites slated for demolition or new buildings under construction.

After four earthquakes since 2010, over half of the buildings in Christchurch’s Central Business District (CBD) were destroyed or have been condemned; the number I got from informal conversations was 70 to 80 percent. The expected cost to the local economy and for reconstruction will be in the billions of dollars. These are staggering numbers. Before reconstruction can begin, there are buildings to take down, and mountains of rubble to take away.

( Click here for more )

My Stockholm: the colours of Gamla Stan

Buildings with bright beautiful colours.
Narrow cobblestone alleys.
Street signage with few consonants.

This is Gamla Stan: Stockholm’s Old Town.

I love the mystery of trying to parse a different language, even when I’ve twisted my tongue into unrecognizably knotted grunts.

With the summer solstice in late-June, the days are long, and skies remain lit until the wee hours of the morning. You can walk through the streets of the old town by day, like other visitors who’ve come to enjoy the place. But I highly recommend you navigate the streets at night. By mid-evening, activities wind down, and eventually, you’ve basically the quiet streets all to yourself.

Gamla Stan, Stockholms ström, Skeppsholmen, Stockholm, Sweden, fotoeins.com

From Skeppsholmen: Gamla Stan with Tyska Kyrkan (German church) at right.

Gilded crown, Skeppsholmsbron, Skeppsholmen, Stockholms ström, Stockholm, Sweden, fotoeins.com

View of the Stockholms ström inner harbour from Skeppsholmsbron (Skeppsholm island bridge).

From Högvaktsterrassen (Main Guard Terrace): Riddarhuset (House of Nobility, left); Mynttorget (Coin Square, centre foreground); Riksdagshuset (Parliament House, centre background)

Statue of Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson at Kornhamnstorg (Grain Harbour Square)

Standing tall, at Stortorget (Great Square)

At Stortorget: Storkyrkan (Grand Church); Börshuset (Stock Exchange Building), now Nobel Museum

Sankt Göran och Draken (St. George & the Dragon), at Köpmanbrinken (Merchant’s Slope)

Grey rainy skies over Gamla Stan, from Skeppsholmen island

Gamla Stan and Strömmen, from Katerinavägen, Södermalm : 1130pm

Tyska Brinken at Prästgatan : midnight

At Stortorget : Börshuset / Nobelmuseet, minutes after midnight

Please do yourself a favour — go to Stockholm in the summertime. Yes, it’s expensive compared to other European destinations, but worthwhile things to see and do await in Gamla Stan, Östermalm, Södermalm, Djurgården, Skogskyrkogården, and in the archipelago (e.g., Vaxholm by boat).

• Daytrip to Vaxholm in Stockholm’s archipelago
• Say “Hej!” (and to food) at Lisa Elmqvist in Östermalm’s Saluhall market hall
• Greeting Greta Garbo in the Skogskyrokogården

I made the photos above on 25 to 27 June 2008, just after northern summer solstice. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com at http://wp.me/p1BIdT-JI.

My Berlin: Hauptstadt Memories 2005–2009

Oh, how I love you, Berlin.
German capital, deutsche Hauptstadt.
People, museums, history, east-and-west.
Five years still wa’n’t enough.

Between October 2005 and October 2009, I made all photos above with a Canon PowerShot A510 and a Canon EOS450D/Rebel XSi camera. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie on fotoeins DOT com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-1Gb.

( Click here for images and more )

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Something about the city breathes colour and magic.

Wide open plazas, yet compact feel for the town.

Cobblestone streets, the narrow sidewalks.

The vibrant colours of the buildings in the style of Mexican baroque.

Art, lots of it – which would fit in Mexico City just as well as New York City.

Cozy bars and restaurants of all kinds : our excellent finds include great spicy Thai at Venus Lounge, breakfast (and an expat centre?) at Juan’s Cafe, Sri Lankan at Dila’s, German and Belgian beer at Berlin Bar & Bistro.

The rich and the poor, the backpacker, and the nouveau riche. Really riche.

The sounds of spoken English heard frequently around town …

What may be unusual is the number of retirees from Canada, USA, Europe, and Mexico City, mixed with and yet separated from local residents. What’s definitely unusual is the real estate for which some places reach seven figures in sticker price. As my friend wisely suggested: rent an apartment in Manhattan, but buy a winter house here in town.

Born in this town, Ignacio Allende helped to shape the independence movement from Spanish colonial rule to create the United States of Mexico. For its historical and architectural significance, the town was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site in 2008.

Calle Umaran by morning light

We buy gold

Calle Umaran by morning light

Posada de las Monjas (Inn of nuns)

Packing and mailing

Vivoli Cafe

Casa Linda … how true …

Dusk at Jardín Principal, west

Dusk light over the Cathedral : Jardín Principal, south

Dusk light at Jardín Principal, northwest

Plaza Colonial, Calle Canal

Light fixture, Conde de la Canal

San Miguel de Allende, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato, Mexico, myRTW, fotoeins.com

Flowers in, people out (Esquina de Calle Canal y Calle del Dr Ignacio Hernandez Macias), 3 Mar 2012.

Templo de la Inmaculada Concepcion

Juan’s Cafe

Calle Relox y Calle Insurgentes

Anachronism or necessity?

La Crepe, Calle Hospicio

Balcony

Calle Quadrante

Calle Cuna de Allende (at Calle Cuadrante), 4 Mar 2012.

Front

Tu y yo (you and me)

Cruz del Pueblo

Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel

Santa Escuela de Cristo (Templo de San Rafael)

Jardín Principal, at night

The Swans in performance, Jardín Principal

Night scene on Calle Correos, facing east from Diez de Sollano y Dávalos – 4 Mar 2012.

Berlin Bar and Bistro, San Miguel de Allende, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato, Mexico, myRTW, fotoeins.com

Berlin Bar & Bistro, 4 Mar 2012.

Calle Umaran at night

San Miguel de Allende can be reached by car or bus in about three to four hours travel-time northwest from Mexico City.

I made the photos between 3 and 5 March 2012 inclusive. This post is published on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-1wL.

My Prague: autumn colours in the Czech capital

I’m happy to be inside the Czech capital of Prague whenever the opportunity arises. With great timing of an early-October visit and a very positive weather forecast, I’m awake well before scheduled sunrise, and I stumble out to Karlův most (Charles Bridge) to catch the light of sunrise on the city. Seeing and photographing the warm sunrise glow on the old parts of the city makes the early wakeup call worthwhile. Prague is effectively an “open-air museum”; the warm colours at sunrise combined with the changing colours of the surrounding deciduous canopy magnify the visual intensity.

And no, I don’t think there’s enough orange or red to cover this UNESCO World Heritage Site …

( Click here for more )