AIB Street Performance World Championship

During the month of June (18th to 21st) there is an event in Dublin at Merrion Square sponsored by AIB that brings together street performance from all over the world. You can visit their website here, and follow them on facebook as well.

I didn't manage to get many shots but was able to get a couple of good pictures, here are some tips on the event if you want to try it next year .

First of all bring a telephoto lens, unless you are looking for a specific shot a wide angle lense might not do you much help as the crowds, sun might make it hard to get a good photo.

Plan in advance what you want to see, as for location, here is a good tip: get there early, is very crowded and not much space to move. Here is a piece of good advice, locate yourself in the corner of the park marked below, it has a grassy hill that people use as a seating area, if you get there early you will be able to get clear shots of the show. The green arrow shows the corner of Marrion square where you should be position yourself. Download the schedule and wait for the show you are interested to arrive there, across the 4 days all shows would have hit that single stage.

I was able to get clear shots of a couple of acts such as these:

 

As always in Dublin, be prepare for the rain, the organizers will provide ponchos for the crowds to use as seat covers for the wet grass, but bring something for the camera.

Once the shows starts, crowds start to gather, pay attention not only to the performer but people’s reactions make for great candid shots.

If you are interested on the whole photo set visit my site at flickr…

Vienna photowalk

A couple of weeks ago had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in Vienna and brought my equipment with me. Here is a list of my equipment for this occasion:

Olympus E3

Olympus E30

Olympus Flash FL-50R (Very useful while inside a Barn)

Sigma 30mm 1.4

Zuiko 8mm 3.5 (great for cow and calf close-ups)

Zuiko 50-200mm 2.8

Zuiko Teleconverter 2X EC-20

Zuiko 11-22mm 2.8

ND Filters

Small Table top tripod

Hoya Polarizer Filters

Most of the sites worth visiting in Vienna are contained within the city center and easy to get around either by walking or tram.

Here is an overview of the walk by using my AMOD GPS tracker as well as GeoSetter for attaching  GPS coordinates for my Olympus Raw Files. One thing I have found out while traveling on old cities with narrow streets is that it will be common for the GPS to lose connection with the satellites, so make sure you adjust your settings to your Software accordingly to ensure that you tag the picture to the closest available tracking point.

A good way to track the main sites to photograph is by using the Rick Steves guides for Europe, I always travel with one as the contain easy to follow maps as well as tips for avoiding crowds, using public transportation, etc.

Some of the highlights of the city are:

NaschtMarket:

Located between the left and right Wienzeile, the Naschmarkt extends from the Kettenbrückengasse to the Getreidemark, on an elevation to the Secession.

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Differently to as the name implies, there aren’t only sweets to buy at the Naschmarkt: Fresh fruit and vegetables from around the world, exotic spices, meat, fish and ecological foods are offered for sale on the colorful market stands. Early in the morning cooks and chefs already crowd around the market looking for fresh specialties. Later, after a Viennese breakfast in one of the numerous cafes, bars or delis located around the Naschmarkt, the "laymen" start their search for culinary treats. Delicacies from the Naschmarkt make a favorite gift with Vienna holiday-makers.

On Saturdays you'll not only find delicious treats at the food market but also curiosities, old and beautiful things on the street market stalls adjacent to the Naschmarkt. The wares offered are completely mixed, for beautiful souvenirs it helps to be a skillful bargainer.

There are great opportunities for those that also want to take candid pictures of people haggling (specially on the antiquities area at the end of the market), friends having breakfast and the intellectual crowd.

Opera House and Concert Hall

Try to attend a music concert either on the Opera or the Music Concert Hall. Its allowed to bring your camera but not a tripod. You can see people dressed as in the times of Mozart. As well a both buildings have great architectural detail. Make sure to boost the ISO and bring a sharp lens

City Center

Within the Opernring there are lots of opportunities to take advantage of the city architecture. Some examples are St Stephens Cathedral, Rathaus, State Opera, among others. It gets very crowded, what I ended up doing was getup at sunrise to take full advantage of the buildings without any crowds. You can check the sunrise and sunset times throughout the year for most cities in the world here.