Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides
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.
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Lviv, Ukraine along a popular shopping street on the way to Market Square. Wedding photography is extremely important in Ukraine. There’s wedding photo shops all over the different cities. It’s a big deal and big business here. Nowhere I went in Ukraine was this more true than in Lviv. The center of Lviv is packed with cobblestone streets, old churches, and beautiful medieval architecture. The atmosphere and scenery are perfect for wedding photos so every few streets you’re bound to run into a wedding shoot.
I was walking towards Market Square when I saw this bridal party in the middle of the street. The bride was getting fixed up by one of her bridesmaids, while the rest of them were sitting on a bench. I liked the juxtaposition with the bridesmaids sitting on the bench to the left of the bride standing up. I also liked the expressions and gesture of the bridesmaids. It was just before sunset and it looked like they were tired from a long day of shooting. There was something authentic about it, as opposed to the cliche look of wedding photos in Eastern Europe. So I captured this shot and kept on walking towards the square.
My time in Ukraine finished off at the western corner in Lviv. This is the city that most Ukrainians told me was their favorite. They told me about the coffee houses, themed restaurants and bars, the architecture, the culture and the special, old world charm some call “the Lviv Spirit.”
It’s one thing to hear about it, but it’s another to experience it and make your own impressions of the place. Experiencing a city through Street Photography can give its own perspective compared to just going as a tourist too.
So here are my first impressions of Lviv, from my personal Street Photography perspective…
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Market Square in Lviv, Ukraine. This is the main square in Lviv, where all the action is centered. Coffee houses, restaurants, chocolate shops and more surround street performers and crowds of people enjoying this lively place. There’s also a popular trolley stop here that I was walking around just as the sun was setting below the walls of old buildings. I liked the sunlight on her blonde hair and there was something nice about the colors and tone of the scene, especially her through the trolley window. So I snapped the shot just as she looked at me, right before the trolley rode off.
During my time shooting some of the bigger cities in Ukraine, I made a detour to Poltava to visit my good friend there. Poltava has a population under 300,000 so it doesn’t feel anything like a big, urban city. Life is a little slower paced and relaxed. The scenery, while less modern, is beautiful and full of parks everywhere you walk. And while there might be less to do compared to the big city, there was still plenty to see and photograph.
I didn’t have any expectations, but ended up getting a good amount of Street Photography in because of how great Poltava was. It was such a great experience shooting in a smaller city for a change that I even wrote a post about it.
So here are 33 street photos I took during my 5 days in Poltava…
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Poltava, Ukraine at the city’s main market. Ukraine is already big on their markets and this is one of the best you’ll come across in the country. You can find anything and everything here. From fresh produce to clothes to pig heads, this large bazaar has it all. I don’t always love markets as much as others because they can be too crowded with messy backgrounds, but this one was special so I spent hours walking around here. One of my favorite parts was an area with rows of colorful metal stalls that are locked up when the seller isn’t around. I really liked how the light hit this blue stall and cast different shadows. So I stood by it waiting for people to walk by to see if I could capture anything interesting. I got a few shots at this spot that I will include in my 33 photos from Poltava post coming soon, but I’m putting this one up for Street Shot Sundays, partly because of his shadow. It looks like he’s wearing a full brim hat when it’s actually his hair bun in the back and there’s something about that shadow that’s almost cartoonish to me.
*Side Street Series ventures off the beaten city streets. Many times, the photography ventures away from Street Photography too.
So while shooting some work in Ukraine, I made sure to visit my good friend Rita in Poltava for a few days (that pretty girl pictured below).
Poltava isn’t a city that attracts tourists or is known much outside of Ukraine. With a population under 300,000 it’s no village, but it’s not the big city either.
Many times, in the world of Street Photography, we are looking to shoot in the biggest and most famous cities where the streets are always full of life. This makes sense since it provides so many opportunities to capture people in everyday life, but sometimes we neglect all the life that happens in smaller cities around the world.
While the big cities bring their own perspectives on life, smaller towns can bring other perspectives that are just as important and interesting. Visiting and shooting in Poltava provided a great example of how true this can be.
So I’ve compiled a list of reasons to photograph smaller cities too, with a bit of my experience in Poltava mixed in.
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Poltava, Ukraine by the Vorskla River. It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday in Poltava and my friend took me on a walk to a small beach on the river. I had no idea Poltava’s Vorskla River had a beach access like this and when we walked down from the bridge I saw people sunbathing all over the small stretch of sand. Being in Poltava, it was all locals who seemed to know each other. I definitely got some funny looks walking around the beach. I don’t think they’d ever seen a foreigner find this hidden getaway. By the beach there was a small little store stand where people were hanging out at. The bright sunlight shining on the old man and boy in front of the inside shadow captured my eye. I also liked the contrast of the boy crouched down facing inside the store while the older man stood up facing the opposite direction. It was an interesting scene in their swimwear and the old man’s bearded expression too so I quickly snapped the shot, smiled and kept walking along the beach.
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken on a train ride just outside Poltava, Ukraine. I was visiting my good friend in Poltava and she was taking me to see some of the smaller villages in the area. It was the type of older, simpler train made for short commutes instead of long distance travel and I decided to walk around to see if I could find anything interesting. In between the cabins, people come to smoke and I noticed this older man watching the rural landscape roll by as he smoked his cigarette. What interested me the most were the multiple reflections going on in the scene. I made the shot through the door window of the cabin so you could see the reflections of different windows, scenery and people, while leaving the front of the man the least affected. The woman to the right looked back at me just as I snapped the photo.
My trip in Eastern Europe started in Ukraine’s capital city of Kiev. Ukraine became my best travel surprise in a while and Kiev was a big reason why. I lucked out with the weather and saw nothing, but sunshine my whole week in Kiev. It was warm, beautiful and the perfect weather for Street Photography.
While the light was amazing, there was plenty more that I loved about Kiev for photography. It was one of the most photography friendly places I’ve been to, there was so much life to capture, it had its own unique atmosphere and while very walkable, the metro was great too. On top of that, Kiev is a beautiful city that costs a fraction of any other large European city right now.
Outside of photography, there’s plenty to do and see, amazing food, culture, architecture, and a great vibe. I could imagine spending a lot more time in Kiev and loving every minute of it. I can’t recommend the place enough.
For more on my impressions of Kiev, check out the post I wrote about the city from my Street Photography perspective here.
And for 33 Street Photography photos I captured during my week in Kiev, just start scrolling…
