Well, it was a pretty long drive back but my friend and I made excellent time. From Eastern Slovakia (where most of these shots are from) through the Czech Republic (where my friend is from), Germany, Holland, Belgium, France and then finally back home in the UK, we made it back home in just over 15 hours. And when you’re speeding along endless miles of motorways that all look the same there isn’t much opportunity to shoot anything.
But we weren’t there for that. In between the wine tasting and beer drinking and cigar smoking and flirting and… everything thereafter, there wasn’t much time or inclination to take photos of one’s surroundings, stunning as they were. A reminder that one should and can actually enjoy a vacation without having a photographic imaging device permanently strapped to one’s hands and face.
Having said that Eastern Europe, particularly around Stara Lubovna in Eastern Slovakia, was irresistibly beautiful, with the High Tatras Mountains accompanying us alongside in the near distance. I couldn’t help but overcome my fatigue and my reluctance and take a few shots.
I’m sure many people will insist that landscapes must be shot during the ‘golden hour’ light around sunrise or sunset, but I’m also sure those same people probably never actually go out and shoot anything. A beautiful landscape is beautiful in any light and it must surely be up to the photographer to creatively present it as such. I’m not claiming to have succeeded here, of course, but one is obliged to try and extract a scene’s potential.
As well as some spectacular geography Eastern Europe has no end of old fortresses and castles dotted around its undulating terrain. Stara Lubovna Castle below was literally the view from another friend’s bedroom window. In fact it was neatly framed by her window, which made the composition easy for me, but I decided not to include that frame in the shot.
Keeping to our return schedule meant taking opportunistic shots from the car between bouts of laughing or sleeping, no simple feat with entire families of insects splattered over the windshield only to be cleaned off by random downpours of torrential rain under a frightening lightning storm. Plus I had to get my lethargic feet of the dash. Shooting from the passenger seat is something I had done before sitting next to either Nasim or John Bosley in Colorado so I didn’t have any aversion to it. The road gives you a convenient leading line into the distance making composition easy.
But still, I hope these few snapshots will at least hint at the tip of Eastern Europe’s mountains of beauty and perhaps encourage others to go out there to visit, and unlike ourselves, with the intention of capturing its spectacle. Stara Lubovna in particular is worth stopping at to marvel at the High Tatras Mountains.
These were all shot with either the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 or 60mm f/2.8 (a macro lens no less) mounted on my aging but seasoned E-M5. Shot in Aperture priority around f/4 or f/5 (depth of field is greater at any given aperture on M4/3), ISO 200 and varying shutter speeds selected by the camera. The images were processed in Lightroom to my personal taste and in my postcard style. I realise many of you will dislike that style but of course you are free to present your own.
It has been a pleasure to contribute to Photography Life and as always I wish everyone the very best in all your photographic endeavours.
“And so the adventure continues….”
Warm Regards,
Sharif.
And if anyone wants to see what an over saturated colour postcard looks like, search for the Irish series John Hinde published in the 60’s and early 70’s!
Great photos, I especially like how they turned out considering you were speeding along at the time.
As another contributed notes, Czech’s and Slovenian people I know consider themselves “Central” European, reserving the tag of Eastern European for the Albanian’s etc . :D :D
Nigel in Ireland.
Thank you Nigel :)
I think you’re right, yes. I imagine it’s all relative to one’s location. :)
Cheers.
Beautful images and scenery.
I once made a bicycle tour from Czech Republic to Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. The most stunning landscape were the High Tatras and the border of South Poland and North Slovakia (Pieniny) with its awesome Dunajec river and gorge.
Best,
Jens
Thank you Jens!
Yes I think we passed by that river! The scenery is indeed stunning. I hope I can stay a little longer next time and shoot it some more :)
Cheers :)
Hi Alpha Whiskey,
I really don’t like your photos : over saturated, over sharpened, what’s the point ?
Nothing seems to be real with a post prod like that…
Can you explain it ?
Hi Jibi,
Thank you for your comment.
My explanation is that I have processed them to my own personal taste in a way that I choose to see the scenes. Of course that may not be to most people’s taste. I don’t think they are so outlandish compared with much of what I see elsewhere. I like colour but I don’t think they are over saturated to my eyes (or on my monitor). Plenty of people like yourself disagree, of course. Some were taken with a polariser that tends to darken blue skies. I have not sharpened them at all but they may appear that way as they have been reduced in size and quality for posting here. I do enhance contrast, as I prefer a little ‘pop’ as opposed to a more dullish look; my personal preference. My life isn’t dull; it’s full of colour, vivacity and excitement and perhaps I like to reflect that in my work.
I am sorry you dislike them, but rest assured I am not looking for approval or fans here. I am merely sharing my work and experiences so that others, even if they profoundly dislike my images as many people do, may be encouraged to go out and shoot their own instead of sitting at a screen looking at someone else’s work.
Cheers.
Nice photos, I will just add, that Czech Republic nor Slovakia are in Easter Europe, both of them are part of Central Europe.
check wiki en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia
Very right so! Geographically heart of Europe is in? – Yes, in Prague!
Relative to the UK they are east of us so we tend to think of and refer to that part of the continent as Eastern Europe (my friends from Czech Republic and Slovakia jokingly call themselves ‘Eastos’). But I am sure you are technically correct Sud. I appreciate the correction.
Thank you. :)
My family on my father’s side originated on the other side of the Tatras in Poland, so viewing these photos hold special meaning to me. The landscape is very reminiscent of parts of Idaho and Colorado to my eye.
Spookily enough, Crunch, I said the exact same thing to my friend as we were driving through. I’ve never been to Idaho (I’m sure it’s lovely) but I was in Colorado last year so I can see what you mean :)
Great composition. Mind cooling,
Thank you Dilip!
Thanks for the pictures! I lived there the first 23 years of my (now rather lengthy) life. I still return there occasionally. It seems, you like rather “enough” colours. It changes the looks and the athmosphere of the country. But I recognized it anyway ;-)
Thank you Robert!
It seemed like a colourful country to me, and certainly my Slovakian friends are colourful people! You’re lucky to have lived there, I think! :)
The pics look badly overprocessed…
As indicated in the article, post processing is part of the creative process and as such, as with any artistic creation, the outcome is a matter of personal preference. One man’s overly processed shot is another man’s interesting treatment. The images are not badly processed – they are simpy not processed in a way that you like.
Then again, perhaps I’m mistaken. Perhaps the only way to correctly process an image is the way that you would do it.
Here you are: The pics look badly overprocessed for my personal taste…
Alpha Whiskey states that he was going for a “postcard” effect. In the UK (and presumably Europe) postcards are heavily processed for brilliant color, frequently inaccurate and even off-register. Blocking and blowouts are common.
In the US, postcards are processed to be tonally flat with dull but accurate colors, always on-register (or they don’t leave the plant), and never any blocking or blowouts. They strive for storytelling instead, and rely on composition and subject for sale.
AW headquarters in the UK (note the spelling of “Whiskey”) and is going for the UK postcard style, extremely overstated and frequently inaccurately rendered — a style pretty much unknown in the US. To understand all is to forgive all.
I’m going for my own postcard style, but thank you for suggesting otherwise and for the education on national traits. I had no idea.
I’m not sure the UK market is as undiscerning or as simplistic as your generalisation suggests but I wouldn’t really know. Not asking for forgiveness, though – I’m perfectly happy with my images! :)
Thank you!
Cool! Thanks for stopping by!
I agree with you Christobella but everyone is entitled to their opinion and to express it. It does not bother me one iota if someone dislikes my images. I’m having too much fun to be bothered by negative comments from internet strangers! :)
Thanks!
You’re right of course, and my energy would be much better spent picking up my camera to go and shoot!
Amen to that Christobella! That’s exactly what I do and why the pics are here! :)
Great style, I always enjoy your photos. Must have a similar way of looking at the world.
Thank you Nicole. Great eyes see alike :)