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Scooped by
Thomas Menk
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The Sedlec Ossuary- or “Bone Church”, located in the town of Kutna Hora, an hour or so from Prague, is amazing for two reasons. First, it’s decorated with the bones of 70,000 dead plague infected humans. Second, Sedlec Ossuary was the subject of an article I did on the very first day of Yomadic. And well, that first post is the only page on Yomadic where nobody left a single comment. I took this to heart. There was only one thing to do. A couple of weeks ago, I returned to the Sedlec Ossuary, to redeem myself.
The prospect of re-visiting the Sedlec Ossuary, in the unassuming town of Kutna Hora, reminded me that I need to get back to China. I’m digressing, but remind me to tell you about the whole China tours incident of 2006. I have unfinished business in China, lets just leave it at that. For today, it’s all about human bones.
That first Sedlec Ossuary article was entirely presented with grainy, moody, good old fashioned black and white film (film that was produced locally in the Czech Republic no less). I felt the result perfectly complimented the mood of the somewhat macabre and mysterious Sedlec Ossuary. This time around, I used my Fuji Xpro1, a digital camera. But, it almost didn’t work out this way.
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Scooped by
Thomas Menk
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This city was once the richest on Earth. The ancient city of Persepolis - Iran – was founded more than two and a half thousand years ago. Ceremonial capital of the Archaemenid empire, thriving for a couple of hundred years or so, Persepolis was subsequently burned to the ground. Two thousand three hundred years after Persepolis was almost completely destroyed by Alexander the Great (what an ass-hole) UNESCO heritage listed the evocative ruins of the city. These days, Persepolis costs the ludicrous amount of 14 US centsto enter. Check your backpack at the door, don’t mention the sanctions. Iran, you continue to amaze me, daily.When I arrived at Persepolis in the middle of the day, using a chartered taxi from the cultural city of Shiraz where I am currently based (circa 7000 years old), the car park was almost empty. The surrealistic site of an empty car park in the middle of central Iran took me back to my youthful days – visiting Los Angeles. I once slept overnight in a car in Orange County, to ensure that I was first in-line for Disneyland....
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Suggested by
Nate
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Photos from the mean streets of Singpore - an incredible location for street photography. Speaking of incredible - all of the photos are taken with my Fuji X Pro 1, and the 18mm lens - the only lens and only digital camera I have, as I travel around the world. I've chosen to shoot all the Singapore street photography in black and white. The streets of Singapore are more colourful than most, but I feel a strong connection with black and white images. Or maybe I'm just yet another poor tormented artist? ;) Maybe you could decide for yourself...
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Scooped by
Thomas Menk
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Street photography Iran. There’s three words I had no idea I would be writing any time, ever. As many Yomadic readers already know, I have just returned from spending a month in the mind-blowingly incredible country of Iran. Indeed, it has gone to the top of my “best holiday destinations list”. I’ve now seen 37 countries, most of them multiple times, and Iran really is a unique, spectacular, life changing, moving, and memorable place to visit. But, what you might want to know is – what are the people like? And, just how difficult and repressive is street photography in Iran?
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Scooped by
Thomas Menk
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New Zealand Panorama-rama! One feature of many current-model travel camera’s is the ability to easily capture panoramic images. In a country like New Zealand, I finally realised the benefit of such an easy to use feature. There’s an obvious reason so many films are shot in New Zealand – three-hundred-and-sixty degrees of mind blowing scenery, almost anywhere you stand. A landscape built for panoramic photos. At first, I considered writing an article titled “the entire country of New Zealand in 500 words or less”. But then I thought, why not collect some of the panoramic photos I have taken in Aotearoa, and present them in one article? If this New Zealand panorama-rama doesn’t make you want to travel to the land of the long white cloud, nothing will. I’m pretty certain it will. In New Zealand, I lived inside a twenty-year old RV (motor home) for about three weeks straight, and travelled all over the South Island. I should mention, I’ve got a bit of a thing for budget accommodation. Sure, when I last visited UK, I stayed in a 4 star luxury hotel in London. But this certainly wasn’t London. It’s New Zealand, and for almost a month I traded posh hotels for cosy RV’s, and grimey streets for stunning landscapes. I gave up the urban jungle, and got back to nature. Much like my lack of London knowledge (as tactfully pointed out in the comments here), I’m a bit of a novice at landscape photography. But really, how can you go wrong in New Zealand? As with many newer travel cameras, the Fuji X-Pro1 has a really simple-to-use panoramic function. Just stand in one place, hold the shutter down, slowly sweep from left to right, and if you’re in New Zealand, you’ve got yourself one heck of a panoramic photo. Choice, bro. There is just a little bit of camera manual-ness required to get your own pics like these – you don’t want a shutter speed too slow, or it will be blurry. You don’t want an aperture too large, shallow depth of field makes it more difficult to get a cleanly stitched panorama. Have I lost you? Read the PS below, and all shall become clear. What more can I say about New Zealand? Nothing. These pictures tell you all you need to know. New Zealand is simply incredible, and I really think travelling the South Island was a “journey of a lifetime”. But, this week, I’m in London, my favourite city. Only joking! I’m in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I’ve been using my time in Kuala Lumpur to eat ridiculous meals, and to set up for a journey I am incredibly exited about…
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Suggested by
Nate
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Fuji XPro1. A lot has been said online about this remarkable and opinion polarising camera. I will cut to the chase right now – if you’re looking for the best travel camera available in 2012, this is it. My opinion is considered and well thought out. I’ve traveled, mostly overland, and photographed twenty-five countries since 2010.
I’ve shot and traveled with many different camera’s, but the Fuji XPro1 outshines them all. Hands down. So much so, that I recently sold my Nikon DSLR system. My travel camera kit now consists solely of the Fuji XPro1, with just a single lens. This is easily the best travel camera combo I have ever had the pleasure to use. Photos shot in an abandoned building in New Zealand with the Fuji X-Pro-1 and 18mm lens.
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