In the Midst of the Herd

So, Prague.  We stepped off our train at 10:30am at the main station and it became clear that we hadn't done our due diligence in preparing for this.

We knew it was a holiday weekend, obviously.  What we didn't think about was that Prague is apparently everyone's favorite place to celebrate this particular holiday, May Day.  Where better to have the traditional drunken bash than the place with the cheapest drinks and food?  So, there was that.  Additionally, Prague was hosting the Hockey World Championships.  And, they were holding a marathon on Sunday.  And, there was some sort of unidentified conference going on.  Therefore, everyone, and I mean everyone was in the capital of the Czech Republic.  Several years ago we decided to go to Manhattan to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade.  As you might imagine, the island was packed that weekend.  Every restaurant, sidewalk, pub, and museum felt like a cattle pen.  We've never been anywhere like that before or since.  Until last weekend.

That made getting around and taking photos pretty difficult.  The Old Town Square was full of marathon stuff, packs of segway tours, and a political demonstration.  So, getting any decent shots there was out of the question.  The Charles Bridge, well, the memory of that still gives me the shivers.  Every neighborhood from the Castle to Old Town, from the Jewish Quarter to Wenceslas Square was a madhouse.  Thankfully, we'd made dinner reservations before we left, or else sitting down for an evening meal might have been tricky.  It became clear really quickly that the photography wasn't going to go according to plan.

Shooting the first night ended up being a complete wash.  There were just too many people on the night of the holiday to get set up where I wanted to.  Also, we were exhausted from the train ride.  The only direct way from Frankfurt was a train that left the Frankfurt station at 1:00am that morning.  I maybe only got an hour of sleep in on the ride.  By that evening, I hit a wall and couldn't think straight, let alone set up and fend off the staggering tourists.

After a good night's sleep though, we were more with it and able to get some decent shots, not as many as I had hoped for, but enough to walk away satisfied.

Gate to the Old Jewish Cemetery

Moses Sculpture, Jewish Quarter

Long exposures were the only way to get wide city scenes with all the crowds.

View towards the castle from one of the bridges over the Vltava River

If we had it to do over again, which we would like, we'd definitely do some things differently.  First of all, we'd make sure Prague wasn't hosting the rest of the continent the same weekend.  Secondly, we'd have to find another way to get there.  Flights weren't affordable, but driving to Leipzig or Dresden then catching a daylight train from there may be an option.  Lastly, we'd schedule a little more time.  There was a surprising amount of things to see and do and we missed a lot.  Why would we go back?

Well, Prague has certainly embraced its reputation as a tourist destination and run with it since the Velvet Revolution.  The main drag from Old Town Square to the Charles Bridge is a bit like Times Square without the lights.  There's segway tours, Jedis giving trike rides, Thai massage parlors, wax museums, a torture museum, and about a million snack and junk shops.  But, once you wander away from that nightmare, cool Prague reveals itself.  We found a great pub that offered a rare beer sampler paddle (above).  Most pubs are owned by breweries, so ones that offer a wide range from many breweries aren't common.  This place was a fantastic way to try a lot of different Czech beers.  Since Czech beer is some of the best in the world, it's definitely worth trying a few or 10.

Czech food is not only inexpensive, but also very tasty.  Rich gravies, roasted meat, big heavy dumplings, fried cheese, and savory sauces are the fare and it is all delicious.  We hadn't heard anything about Czech food before the trip, so this was quite the unexpected discovery.  It's hearty stuff, so the cooler months might be the best time to go (not only for the comfort food, but for the thinner crowds).

The locals were another surprise.  Everywhere we went we were greeted by friendly and helpful folks.  We felt completely welcome and perfectly safe.  Another bonus is that everyone speaks English and all the important signs are printed in English as well as Czech.  The city was a breeze to navigate (except when the metro was shut down for the marathon).

Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral

St. Vitus

Charles Bridge

Another river view

St. Wenceslas Square

Is it the most scenic city in Europe? No.  But, it is definitely photogenic.  I would certainly like a second chance to do it justice.  The unique situation of the weekend meant most of my shooting was done very late, way too late for my liking.  The only way to shoot on the Charles Bridge was to wait until close to midnight.  By then, blue hour was long over.  During the day, long exposures were the only way to clear out the crowds, so it would be nice to go back when it's a little more mellow and retake some of these.  Plus, I don't have a single image from the Old Town Square.

So, yes, Prague was a great destination.  I think a future visit would be much better now that we have a clearing understanding of the city.  As for how the new Fujinon 10-24mm lens worked out, that'll be the next post.

Downsizing

We're about ready to kickoff the 2015 travel season this weekend with a field trip to Prague.  Thanks to my husband's limited vacation days (his American contract gives him only 10 compared to his European co-workers' 30) we rely on state holiday weekends for the majority of our travel times.  May is a month full of state holidays so we end up being gone almost as many days as we are home.  The suitcases stay in the hall, and the rest of the house remains in a state of chaos.

This year, now that we live close to a major transportation hub, we have several train trips planned.  A weird caveat in our situation is that we don't own our car, it is owned by The Company.  That is a pretty sweet deal, one for which we are ever grateful.  However, because it's The Company's car we have to follow their rules on where we can drive it.  One of the rules is that we can't take the car into certain countries in Europe, basically any of the old Eastern Bloc nations.  Why?  Mostly it has to do with road surface conditions (which is funny to me since Northeast Ohio probably has the same quality roads in comparison).  Another reason is that some of those nations have a high rate of auto theft.  If you think the company is being a little harsh, many car rental agencies in Germany have the same policy.  Anyway, for those travel destinations we choose the train.  Unlike flying, we love rail travel.  If it's not too expensive or time consuming, we'd rather take a train than drive anyway.

My favorite travel bag. We've been through
a lot together.  The compartmentalized base has plenty
of room for photo equipment, and the rest of the bag has space
for a change of clothes and other stuff.

While rail travel is easier and usually more enjoyable than taking a car, the one downside is that luggage space is greatly reduced.  That's just fine with us since lugging big bags all over a city isn't comfortable or useful.  We've become pretty good at living out of one backpack.  But, that gets a little complicated when we head somewhere specifically for photography purposes.  This Prague trip is one of those times.  My standard kit for the past year has been a Canon 600D with the 10-22mm wide-angle lens and the Fujifilm X-E2 with the 18-55mm lens.  Plus, I'll usually toss in the Fujinon 35mm for shooting candid street scenes or maybe a Canon 55-200mm instead if I know I want to shoot tight on stuff I can't physically get closer to.  Add to that a tripod, filters, batteries, cards, remote triggers, etc. and I usually end up having to carry a full-sized photo bag, plus a suitcase.  The biggest hang up has always been the Canon.  It's a fatty.  Even my Three Legged Thing tripod can be collapsed down tight to fit in a pack if need be.  But, wow, that Canon with its wide-angle lens really eats up bag space.

Different bag here, but it has the same base volume as my canvas one.
There are four lenses, a body, battery charger, neck strap, and remote
trigger in this space, with padded dividers between each lens.

Well, no more!  I'm officially at the place now that I can shoot entirely DSLR free!  I recently switched out the Canon 55-200mm for a Fujinon 55-200mm and last weekend our local MediaMarkt was running a sale on the Fujinon 10-24mm f/4.0 R OIS lens!  Between the sale and a gift certificate I was able to purchase the lens for significantly less than it is on Amazon.de.  So, finally, I can now shoot super wide-angle (my typical M.O.) with my X-E2!  You know what that means?  I can fit everything- the X-E2 body, the 18-55mm lens, the 35mm lens, the 55-200mm lens, and the 10-24mm lens (along with any accessories like chargers, filters, straps, etc.) in just the bottom of my photo backpack!  The rest of the bag is completely free for other stuff like clothes and toiletries.  Now, normally I don't need to carry all those lenses at once, but the fact that I can is pretty freaking awesome.  Ah, the glory of mirrorless technology!  It's truly the traveling photographer's dream.

My current Fujifilm line-up.  Everything I want to shoot can be done with these lenses- 
landscapes, cityscapes, architecture, and candid street portraits.

I've been planning to go completely mirrorless since I fell in love with my X-E2 last year.  I'm just as much in love with it as the day I opened the box, maybe even more so.  With this latest lens acquisition I'm pretty much where I want to be with my kit, especially with glass.  I definitely plan to add a second body soon, probably the X-T1 (though I'm carefully watching the developments concerning the rumored X-Pro2 before I make a final decision) to balance out the larger lenses and have the weather sealing (not to mention the rest of its awesomeness).  And, I could see picking up the newly released Fujinon 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR to have a nasty weather setup so I can't say, "Oh well, it's too wet to shoot so let's go to the pub."  However, for now I'm really pleased that I can do everything I want to do all out of the bottom of a standard backpack or out of my shoulder bag!

For a city trip like this one, I prefer to shoot from a shoulder bag instead of a backpack.  I don't use a camera specific messenger bag, although I do like the look of Think Tank's Retrospective line.  Instead, I purchased a cheap foam insert that can fit in any of my messenger bags.  My favorite bag to use is a Vaho Gingko.  It's spacious and comfortable to carry with the added bonus of being made of bike tubes (so it's weather resistant).  There's plenty of room inside, even with the camera insert.  Since it is just a regular messenger bag and doesn't say LowePro or CaseLogic, it's a more clandestine setup.  Using a shoulder bag like this is much more user friendly than a backpack.  I can easily retrieve or stow items while on the move without drawing much attention.  Plus, when it's time to duck into a pub or restaurant, there isn't a giant bag on my back whacking people or getting caught in tight spaces.  Lastly, few things (besides bum bags, wrinkle free shirts, Nikon/Canon camera straps, and packable travel hats) scream, "I'm a tourist ripe for the picking!" more loudly than a big 'ol backpack.  The only downside, obviously, is that there isn't a way to carry a tripod (a real one, not those wee table top ones) from a shoulder bag.  A tripod is a necessity for taking sweeping daylight city scape scenes like the one's from the Ghent session.  So, if I'm not inclined to carry a full-sized bag with a tripod storage system I'm left with carrying it separately.  Thankfully, Three Legged Things all come with their own cases and can be carried all day very comfortably.  Since there's two of us it's very convenient for one to carry the "camera bag" while the other carries the tripod.

So, after much thought, agonizing, and second guessing I've come up with my kit for a weekend in Prague:

Fujifilm X-E2
Fujinon XF 10-24mm
Fujinon XF 18-55mm
Fujinon XF 55-200mm

Normally I don't carry a long lens on a trip like this because even the smaller Fujinon lens is a big lens.  However, in this case I know there are things I will want to shoot which are physically out of reach.  So, it's coming along this time.  This will be the first test of the new 10-24mm lens and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it performs in comparison with my Canon setup, which I've probably shot with more than any other over the last three years.  And, of course, I can't leave the kit lens at home.  I know people tend to overlook or avoid the kit lens of any system or brand.  But, I've found the Fujinon to be the perfect all rounder for travel.  It's wide, but not too wide and its optics and speed are top notch.  It works quite nicely for candid street in a pinch too.  This all fits well in the bag insert so I will be able to go backpack free this weekend.  TLT Brian is coming along for the tripod work and I've thrown some filters in the bag as well.

I'm really looking forward to this trip for a few reasons.  Number one, neither of us have been to Prague before so this is the first brand new place we're visiting in 2015.  Also, this is our first visit into Eastern Europe and I'm really excited to explore a part of the continent that is noticeably different from where we've been traveling and living thus far.  Finally, this is the first photo excursion that will be completely DSLR free and I can't wait to solely experiment and create with Fujifilm.  The forecast has been all over the place, so I'm hoping the weather will surprise us and be cooperative.  I've thrown a rain cover in just in case. So, with that, I have just a bit more packing to do then it'll be time to catch the midnight train to Praha.