Narrow Streets of Old Dubrovnik
a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea, in the region of Dalmatia.
a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea, in the region of Dalmatia.
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Jun, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in a narrow street of Old Dubrovnik, Croatia. These streets were wide enough to allow a horse, donkey and cart to pass, but mostly, only people walked these narrow streets. Old Dubrovnik is still the permanent address of many citizens who make this ancient city their home.Time
This is a mid-day shot.Lighting
Fortunately, the narrow nature of the streets filter out most of the direct sunlight and overcast conditions neutralised the intensity of the sun. I had to be patient to capture this image, because the nearby cross-street was fairly busy, so people would constantly walk across this scene as I was composing the photo. But I did want people in the shot, as this street had many small restaurants with outdoor tables. The shot had to be a vertical image due to the nature of the scene, but I particularly liked the fact that this street continued up a fairly steep hillside beyond which is evident by the terracotta tiled houses in the background.Equipment
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens, handheld.Inspiration
I was with a small group of friends who are not photographers, so I was concerned with spending too much time composing pictures and adjusting camera settings. At the time I took this photo they were enjoying lunch at a table just behind me, so I had a little more time than usual. I was inspired by the sites, sounds and smells of the scene in front of me. People in busy conversation, music from the open windows of the homes along the street and the wonderful aromas of Croatian culinary all excited my senses. Whenever I view this photo it all comes rushing back to me - one of the delights of photography.Editing
This capture pre-dated my discovery of shooting in RAW, so there was less data to support rigorous editing due to the nature of jpg images. I did clone out a person standing on the left side at the cross-street. Other than that, only gentle tweaking done in LightRoom.In my camera bag
At the time this photo was taken, I had only been doing photography seriously for a few months. My only equipment was the Canon 5D Mark II and its kit lense. Today, when out on a photo shoot, I go with my Canon 5D Mark III, and three lenses, the kit lens, a Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L, and a Tamron 28-300 f/3.5-6.3. I also take my Sony A6000 equipped with a Sony/Zeiss 16-70. The majority of my shots are done with my cameras mounted on a carbon-fibre Giottos tripod equipped with a Manfrotto geared head. Except for the tripod, this all fits neatly into my Manfrotto sling backpack. I have since packed this around Europe and the UK with little effort.Feedback
If I knew then what I know now, I think this might have been a better photo had I taken it at early night, after the lights of the street and houses came on. This would likely mandate the use of a tripod to accommodate the longer exposure time, but there are plenty of surfaces against which I could have supported the camera. Photography is all about light - although I like this photo, it would be interesting to experiment to see how different it would be with evening light.
