Beyond the Postcard

Looking for a different side of Prague.

Prague is not exactly short on photographs. There are bridges, towers, churches, colorful buildings and enough postcard views to keep a photographer busy for several days. And, of course, I photographed some of them too.

But after a while, I found myself looking for something else. Not necessarily the view everyone had come to see, but the view I happened to notice while walking somewhere else.

That is usually where things get interesting.

The Things in Between

One of my favorite things about photographing a city is that the interesting photograph is often sitting somewhere between the obvious ones.

A reflection in a window, an unusual angle, someone walking through the frame at exactly the right moment, or a small architectural detail that would be incredibly easy to walk straight past.

You don't always need to find a better viewpoint. Sometimes you just need to stop looking at the obvious one.

Prague is particularly good at rewarding that kind of attention because there is so much happening at once. Beautiful buildings are everywhere, but once you stop trying to photograph all of them, you start noticing the smaller things that give the city its character.

Waiting for the Moment

The three figures in the street caught my attention because of their repetition. Three people, similar uniforms, different positions, and just enough movement to make the scene work.

Nothing particularly dramatic was happening, which was exactly why I liked it.

I waited for the moment when the arrangement felt right. Photography is full of these tiny decisions. You see something interesting, raise the camera, and then realize the photograph isn't quite there yet. So you wait a little longer.

Sometimes for ten seconds. Sometimes for twenty minutes. And sometimes the people who were supposed to make the picture better simply walk away.

It happens.

Looking Closer

Prague also reminded me how much I enjoy photographing details rather than entire buildings. A doorway, a piece of stonework, a reflection in glass or a shape disappearing around a corner can sometimes tell me more than a carefully composed photograph of the complete façade.

Once you start looking this way, a familiar city becomes much bigger. There are suddenly photographs everywhere.

Which is great news.

It also means you can walk about three meters in ten minutes.

Finding Another Prague

I particularly like photographs that don't immediately announce where they were taken. That doesn't mean the location isn't important; it simply means I want the photograph to work even when the viewer doesn't know the location.

The architecture, the people and the light become ingredients rather than the subject itself.

That was the Prague I was looking for. Not necessarily the Prague from the guidebook, but the Prague between the guidebook photographs.

The View I Didn’t Expect

And that's probably what I enjoy most about photographing cities. You can arrive with a list of places you want to photograph, only to spend half the day making photographs that weren't anywhere near the list.

A city doesn't really care about your shot list. It keeps changing. The light moves, people appear and disappear, a reflection suddenly works, and a boring wall becomes interesting for about thirty seconds.

You either notice it or you don't.

I try to notice it.

Because sometimes the photograph you didn't plan to take is the one you remember.