Not THE shot I was after, but a scouting shot from my first morning at the Charles Bridge.
Trying to capture that classic Prague skyline from the Charles Bridge.
Time for another “oneshot,” where I tell the story behind getting that one photo. The photo I wanted to come home with. This time we’ll go to Prague, where — if you do a Google search — it seems that it is mandatory to get a photo of the Charles Bridge.
Background: I was headed to Brno in the Czech Republic to present a talk. I was flying into Prague, and taking a bus from there to Brno, so it seemed only sensible to get in a couple of days early and see (and photograph) a little bit of Prague. Prague is home to some of the most incredible architecture in Europe and from the research I did, it appeared that one of the best places to get a shot of this incredible skyline of spires and towers was from the Charles Bridge. Double whammy for me: I’m a bridge geek. So, of course, I needed to get my own shot of Prague from the bridge.
My research also showed a vast array of beautiful shots from this location in all kinds of mystical light and with not another human present. I would have exactly two evenings and one morning to try my hand at capturing this location, so I was realistic about what atmospheric magic I might encounter. I had three tries, hopefully one of them would work out. Rain was in the forecast as I left home for the airport.
Arriving in Prague, I checked into the Hotel u Páva (above). I had found it online and selected it largely for its proximity to the Charles Bridge. This map on the hotel website shows just how close it is — #1 is the hotel and #6 is the bridge. It was a 2 or 3 block walk and a flight of stairs, and I would be at my photo location.
It was a long trip from Kansas City to Prague. I had connections in Chicago, London, and Madrid. It was nearly dark and drizzling upon arrival at the hotel so it was just a quick dinner and off to sleep. I’d get up early and walk to the bridge before sunrise.
Luckily, I tend to be an early riser, even when out of my normal time zone. I woke up and gathered my gear to make my way to the bridge, but perhaps my judgement was not 100%. I chose to travel light this first morning. I told myself I was scouting this time, and wouldn’t bother with the tripod. I would be more flexible to scope things out without it, and I’d be sure and take it next time when I was sure of where I’d want to be and with what lens.
And so I set out with only my Nikon D810 and two Nikkor lenses: the 17-35mm f/2.8 and the 80-200mm f/2.8.
This was a silly mistake that I’ll chalk up to jet lag. I should have known better. The tripod wouldn’t have been a lot more to carry, but it would have allowed me to get sharper images at lower ISOs. To go hand-held, I was cranking my ISO up to 800 and 1600 in order to have shutter speeds fast enough to not have any blurring from camera shake.
I managed, though. And I probably did explore more options on that first morning than I would have had I had the tripod with me. I knew pretty well what shot I wanted, though, so it was largely a matter of finding that exact location I’d want for the evening and next morning shoots. Beyond that, I wanted to look around a little make sure there wasn’t another shot I’d be missing that might be better than the one I’d preplanned.
Here’s an early attempt at the shot I thought I was looking for:
That’s actually frame 23 from the morning. The vertical above was frame 5. Already I was not alone. There were other photographers, some full-on photo shoots involving models and wedding dresses (one can be seen near the tower in that vertical shot), joggers, and a few early-bird tourists that were out to watch the sunrise (or maybe they were just still out from the night before).
Nearly 300 frames later, I felt I’d done my homework and I took a meandering walk back to the hotel to get ready for exploring further into Prague’s old town center. It was a great day of exploring. I’ll share more Prague photos in the future but, for now, back to the bridge.
During my mid-day walks, I saw an entirely different side other the Charles Bridge. Once the sun is up, trinket booths are set up and the masses descend:
The crowds didn’t bode well for the evening shoot, but an hour or so before sunset, I headed for the bridge again. This time I had the tripod, thinking that if there were too many bodies, maybe I could use a long shutter speed to blur them out or even make them disappear altogether.
Shortly after arriving at my spot and getting the tripod set, I had a new problem. A protest group came through complete with police escort:
Thankfully the protest moved on before the light got good, and I was left with a horde of tourists and a string group playing the theme to “Game of Thrones” over and over, just a pier or two down from me. It set an odd mood for the evening. I made the most of the crowds and played with long exposures. In the end, I found myself shooting mostly over the heads and focussing on the skyline more than the bridge.
One last opportunity.
The following morning was my last chance for getting my Prague skyline/bridge shot before moving on to Brno. I was up early again, took the tripod, and walked to the bridge.
This morning thankfully worked out really well. There was no drizzle, fewer people, and I knew to work fast before the streetlights were turned off. The results were very similar to what I’d had in mind before arriving. Sure, I would have loved to have some unique weather — maybe a little fog — but this crisp clear morning worked. The purplish images are pretty accurate to the feel of the morning, but with a change of color balance settings and a little toning, the orange version was born. It gives a nice alternative and a completely different look. You might never know these images were all taken a few moments apart.
In the end, I was pretty happy with my results. Considering I had no control over the season or weather — and that I needed to work around the heavy crowds — I actually came away with something that is pretty close to what I was looking for.
And if anyone finds the tripod foot that seems to have fallen off of my MeFoto at some point during this shoot — keep it. I already found a replacement. 🙂
