Visit to Zagreb in June 2015

I had a really lovely time back home in my beloved home town Zagreb, but my photography always has to take a back seat while I am there. It is time for family and friends who I do not see for a long time so time for taking photos is scarce and random. But I am quite happy if I manage to take just a handful of good photos which I usually do.

A view from the Strossmaerovo setaliste, popularly called "Stross". It is a lovely, romantic walk in the Upper Town with beautiful views over the city. It was a sunny late afternoon so the light was on my side. I particularly liked the little playground at the bottom of the frame with the red slide.

This is Kaptol, one of the two parts of the Upper Town the other being called Gric. I took this from the left hand corner of the Cathedral. As this is a well photographed place I was looking for an unusual point of view and composition. I am glad I was able to include the street light and keep the parallels straight. I applied a texture with writing in order to communicate a deep sense of nostalgia and homesickness I always go through on my return to England for the first few weeks.

St Paul's Church. It must be the most famous and popular landmark of Zagreb. The Government headquarters are just visible to the left. I find the church very hard to photograph well with a 35mm camera. Again I was looking for an unusual angle and framing, and the one without converging vertical lines. I went for this view that excludes the tower. I thought the decorated roof and the street light in front of the church provide enough detail themselves. Every time I look at this church it evokes a story book feeling in me so I tried to convey that feeling through the way I processed this image.

An old metal gate at Gric, Upper Town. There is something about old metal gates in my opinion and I find this one quite pretty. I like how the viewer gets a glimpse of the front garden through the half open gate, and how the proximity of the house beyond gives the image an intimate and inviting feel. I desaturated the colours heavily and slightly sepia toned the image for that old vintage look.

This must be the strangest image I have ever created. I played and played with it in  Photoshop searching for some balance, some harmony I thought must be somewhere. I even added one chimney and took one window away! But I just could not get any depth to the image possibly because both sides of the house have been cut out. I do not even know why I am sharing it at all!! Maybe because I do love this quirky house. I just need to come up with a decent image of it yet.

Taken from the Adriatic Bridge over Sava river, from the tourist bus. I applied a radial blur in Photoshop to emphasize the movement, and texture for a bit of a painterly look which I like with images with a lot sky and water space.

A mobile shot taken from the balcony of the "City Rhythm" bar just visible to the right (I leaned out over the rail as much as I could to get the shot). Just love sitting here sipping a honey schnapps and watching people and trams on the main square.