People of Vienna

So I have gone overboard today and shared quite a few images from out and about in Vienna. Just random shots of people doing their thing as they enjoy the city.

I won't comment on each of the photos, I will leave you to make of them what you will.

I did wonder how the artist would cope with the queue of people in front of the coffee vendor but as it happens I needn't have worried, if you look at the painting he is working on you will see he wasn't including the coffee stand in his composition.

And in the final shot, while I had been quite taken aback by the animal headed buskers this group of lads were not the least bit interested, perhaps because they had got the attention of a pretty local girl to take their group photo.
 

Street Sounds

I have always admired buskers for their confidence to perform in public (I guess the musicians in the first image are not really buskers but I still admire their confidence). I have played cello in a school orchestra , sung in a choir and performed in musical productions on stage, I have also played saxophone in a small "big band" and although it was exciting and exhilarating it was also quite scary too. But at least being part of a larger group of musicians/performers I  didn't feel totally exposed.

Buskers however are totally exposed, once they set up to play on the street there is nowhere to hide and no one else to share the pain if things go wrong so even if I don't always enjoy the performance I do admire the person for putting themself out there.

 

In Wondering Awe

I was lucky enough to spend a few days in Vienna, a really wonderful city steeped in history and culture. I  enjoyed good food, good music and lots of delicious cake and of course I took every opportunity to capture sights around the city with my camera. I have lots of pictures to sort through and work on but I knew that I would post this as my first blog picture from the trip because it is probably my favourite shot from the weekend and it tells such a lovely story.

Although it was very cold it was a beautifully sunny morning, perfect for a stroll around the Volksgarten, near the Hofburg and Parliament buildings. I had been sitting on the other side of the park people watching when I heard the sound of buskers so I went to take a closer look, as I turned the corner I saw the little girl standing in awe and wonderment as she tried to make sense of the masked musicians. She was poised to put a coin in the tray but held back and moments after the shutter clicked she turned and ran back to her parents. I love this shot and the story it tells.

NB: I wouldn't normally take pictures of other people's children without asking but I was careful to avoid capturing the child's face so she is not identifiable. As for the buskers, I don't speak Deer or Horse so I couldn't ask them. 

The Great Wall On Tour

Today's selection is from around the streets of Cesky Krumlov. 

First off we have two shots of a pair of buskers. I was going to call the post The Ace of Spades because of the tattoo on the guitarists leg but I picked the alternate title when I decided to include the other two pictures of the groups of tourists.

I can't remember the tunes these guys were playing but they were pretty good and in the narrow cobbled streets the sound carried really well.

Now what you may notice is that virtually everyone else in these  pictures is Chinese. Almost everywhere we went on our roadtrip we were amazed at the vast number of Chinese people. Even in sleepy little towns all of a sudden a coach load of tourists would arrive and then they would rush around, in and out of shops and local attractions and then back onto the bus to be whisked off somewhere else. 

The group in the third picture are all listening to audio descriptions as they're on a walking tour, it struck me as I watched them that although they were listening intently they were not actually taking much notice of what was around them, instead they had found a spot in the shade to listen to the message before heading off to the next point on the tour.

In the final image though the small group were exploring on their own. I did wonder what they made of this bohemian town.

Two From Bruges

Last year I went to Bruges twice, the first time in July and the second in November.  In July the place was hot and heaving with tourists and day trippers like me and in November the city was gearing up for its big Christmas market.  It really is a beautiful place to visit and as  Ralph Fiennes says in the 2008 movie In Bruges "It's like a fairytale".  

There were plenty of pictures of the canals and stunning architecture that I could have chosen to share but I thought I would post a couple of pictures which I feel show the fun side of the city. 

Around the city there were lots of buskers of different genres including string quartets, soloists and as in this picture some very colourful figures.  I was really pleased with this image as the guy half posed as he played what I assume was a traditional song.  I happily threw a few euros into his kettle... 

Busker
Canon EOS 6D EF 24 -105mm F4L @ 98mm f5 ISP125

Being quite small, with narrow streets and relatively little traffic Bruges lends itself to cycling and there were lots of bikes everywhere I looked.  This second photo is of one of many bicycles which have been decorated by their owners to stand out.  

Bike
Canon EOS 6D EF24 -105 mm f4L @ 45mm f9 ISO 125