Friday, 11 March 2011

Old Town, another prospect

I wrote recently about the less-frequented streets and passages of Warsaw's Old Town and New Town, situated over the Vistula Escarpment. Here are some more views. Below: this is ul. Celna (literally, 'customs street'), which runs from ul. Brzozowa to the Old Town market square. Picture taken from the stone steps leading down toward the river.

Hand held at three-quarters of a second exposure (steadying my elbow on a wall), the photo shows how well Nikon's Vibration Reduction (VR) system works. Without it, the image would look unacceptably blurred.

Left: this is ul. Krzywe Koło (lit. Crooked Wheel Street)which runs off the north side of the Rynek (Old Town Market). Less of a wheel than a broken dog's leg, the atmosphere on Krzywe Koło at dusk, with no people or cars, is timeless. Where are we... 2011, 1951, 1881? Electric lighting replaced gas, but otherwise, the cobblestones, the cobbled pavements, doors, windows and walls could be from any period in the past two centuries.

Right: looking down ul. Dawna (lit. Long Time Ago Street) towards the Sanctuary of Our Lady and ul. Kanonia. This pic and the one above left were both shot without VR (18-55mm Nikkor set at 18mm) at a quarter of a second. With a steady hand, you can just about get away with it. Three quarters of a second is way too long to hold blur-free unless you have VR. The current generation of 18-55mm Nikkors have VR, optically an excellent lens, and lightweight (although it feels a bit flimsy it's actually very robust).

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well made photo; and beautiful. We're enchanted by Warsaw's beauty in quite unexpected moments.
It's interesting that you fast during Lent; it's so rare today. I fast on Fridays. I remember my grandmother was so orthodox. She ate only a slice of bread with a special kind of milk (mleko zsiadłe). I just avoid of eating meat and usually have my dinner in one of Green Way bars.
Pozdrawiam!