Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Europe

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Ariccia Smiles”

Ariccia woman & dog-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Ariccia, Italy.

It was my last full day in Rome with the StreetHunters.net team after the filming of their Street Hunt: Rome episode. It was also a Sunday so our local friend and fellow photographer, Marcello Perino, decided to take us outside of Rome and into the Alban Hills for some city escape. Ariccia is a popular getaway spot for Romans because of it’s beauty, history and famous porchetta, a pork that is slowly roasted with herbs and wild fennel. So after putting our name down at one of the porchetta restaurants (The restaurants are filled with hungry day trippers on Sundays), we walked around the small, ancient town.

There’s an open space by a bridge at the top where you can get some amazing views of the countryside. I noticed this older woman happily wearing her sunglasses while relaxing by the scenery. There was also a smaller dog enjoying the scenery on top of the wall she was sitting by. So I got down lower and framed the photo to get both of them in the shot. She gave me a natural smile and said “grazie,” so I did the same.

Then we walked back down to the restaurant and I had an unforgettable lunch of porchetta, pasta and wine.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Smoke Light”

Prague Smoke Light-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken by the Charles University Faculty of Arts building in Prague, Czech Republic. I hadn’t been to Prague since my first visit over 7 years ago and I was surprised how much it had changed. I had great memories of being blown away by how beautiful and unique of a city Prague was.

Unfortunately, while it’s still beautiful and unique, it had lost much of it’s charm, in my opinion, due to being overrun with tourism. Segway tours and crowds of people filled the streets, while that authentic feeling I remembered had given way to more of a tourist attraction. It’s still definitely a great city worth visiting, but this usually happens when you have something special like Prague does.

On top of a little nostalgic disappointment, just about my whole time in Prague was dark, grey and very cold. It’s still a fun city to walk around, though, and even with the crowds of tourists, the view of Charles Bridge and Prague Castle is hard to beat. I had just come over from the Prague Castle when out of no where, the clouds parted and let in some sunlight.

I had to take advantage of this temporary moment and noticed how the light was hitting the Charles University Arts building. There’s a covered walkway with arches on the outside that was letting in just a little sunlight. I saw this interesting scholar dressed in all black taking a smoke break with the sunlight hitting only his head. So I walked over and took the shot just as he brought the cigarette to his mouth and glanced at me. A few minutes later, the clouds put the sun back away to never be seen again during my stay. You take what you can get.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/8.0
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week: “Leaves”

krakow leaves-1

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the Podgórze neighborhood of Krakow, Poland. Podgórze is actually Krakow’s original Jewish Ghetto, even though the historic Jewish district of Kazimierz gets most of the attention today. Schindler’s factory, the inspiration for the movie Schindler’s List, is here too. 

So I took a walk over the bridge from the more touristic side of Krakow to explore this neighborhood too. I was walking along when I noticed this little girl looking through a store window. Her purple shirt stood out, but what really grabbed my attention was her handful of leaves in front of a window full of plants. I tried to take the shot so this juxtaposition could be noticed along with window’s reflection and her purple shirt. Looking back now, the strangest part was how she didn’t seem to have any parents or people with her, as she kept roaming the streets with her handful of leaves.

Stats:

  • Aperture: f/4.0
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 27mm

33 Street Photography Photos from 4 Days in Lviv, Ukraine

33-lviv-photos-cover

My last stop in Ukraine was also many locals’ favorite city in the country. Lviv is mixture of old architecture, churches, coffee houses and uniquely themed shops wherever you walk. All this packed into an extremely walkable city. There’s a very charming and unique vibe to the city that people refer to as “the Lviv Spirit.” When you walk around, you feel something special. 

[Read more…] about 33 Street Photography Photos from 4 Days in Lviv, Ukraine