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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4486″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]Arriving in Prague, I checked into the Hotel u P\u00e1va<\/a>\u00a0(above). I had found it online and selected it largely for its proximity to the Charles Bridge. This map<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/2″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”4484″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/2″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]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.<\/p>\n Here’s an early attempt at the shot I thought I was looking for:[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4471″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]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).[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4482″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][image_with_animation image_url=”4481″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][image_with_animation image_url=”4480″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]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.<\/p>\n 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:[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4479″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]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.<\/p>\n 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:[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4478″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]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.[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4477″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][image_with_animation image_url=”4476″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][image_with_animation image_url=”4475″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”4474″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][image_with_animation image_url=”4473″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][image_with_animation image_url=”4472″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]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.<\/p>\n 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. :-)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”4483″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_text_separator…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[49,192,48,47],"tags":[50,146,147,75,145,94,81],"class_list":["post-4485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gear","category-oneshot","category-photography","category-travel","tag-architecture","tag-czech-republic","tag-europe","tag-night","tag-prague","tag-skyline","tag-tripod"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9xwru-1al","jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/cz_charlesbr12_snell.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4485"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4576,"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4485\/revisions\/4576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelcsnell.com\/travelphotographyblog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}One last opportunity.<\/h4>\n