A brisk autumnal wind blew through cobblestone streets in Olomouc, Czech Republic.
I wandered with camera in hand, making images of trams grinding along in the dark of night.
These images were exposed on Fuji Neopan 400 using a Canon EOS-3.
I processed the film using Kodak HC-110 diluted 1-64 with water, with an extended pre-soak featuring an extremely dilute developer to help process shadow areas.
By design, my results are grainy and heavily textured to accentuate the effect of harsh lighting on the cobblestones and ancient buildings of the old Moravian capital.
Trams pause in the fog at the Olomouc main station. This former provincial capital is now in the Czech Republic, located about three and one half hours east of Prague. It enjoys an excellent passenger service with direct trains to many Czech cities. Exposed on Fujichrome with a Canon EOS 3 fitted with a 100mm lens. Contrast and colour adjusted in post processing.
Olomouc—known as Olmütz in the day of the old Hapsburg Empire when it was the capital of Moravia—is an ancient city dating back to Roman times. I found it an exceptionally photogenic small city.
In January 2009, Denis McCabe and Tim Doherty visited Olomouc on a week-long photographic trip to central Europe. On the evening of our arrival from Prague, a heavy fog had settled across the city, making its eclectic architecture, Soviet Era trams, and well worn cobblestone street even more evocative.
We spent several hours walking around in the mist.
Olomouc, Czech Republic, January 2009. Exposed on Fujichrome with a Canon EOS 3.
Canon EOS-3 with f2.0 100mm lens on Fujichrome Provia100F slide film. This was metered manually to emphasize the cobble stone street.
Olomouc is a moderately-sized city off the beaten path in today’s Czech Republic. Historically it was the capital of Moravia in the old Hapsburg Empire and shares an architectural heritage with the Czech capital, Prague. Yet, it is a more compact, digestible version of Prague. The tourists haven’t ‘discovered’ Olomouc, and it has all those old-world central European qualities that I find fascinating and exciting to photograph, including a classic tram system. I’ve visited several times and this image was made shortly after sunrise on a September 2008 trip. Cobblestones make for a classic foreground as a Tatra T3 tram grinds its way from the railway station toward the city center. Olomouc has several tram routes and service is very frequent.
Tracking the Light posts daily.
