I few weeks back I got the chance to visit Prague for the very first time. As I went there for fun, naturally I packed all camera equipment I could carry. Swearing to myself that I want to photograph the unusual, the hidden, not the typical tourist traps and hotspots.
Full of good intention I headed to the city. It rained the night before and the air was completely still. The old architecture was stunning, and there were so many other cool prespectives to explore. I started clicking away. There we plenty of puddles too, and really nice reflections and details to capture.
The pictures here are only two of the many things I saw and captured over the 3 days I was there.
And then I reached THE Prague tourist attraction, the Charles Bridge. Oh boy, there were SO many people! Not unexpected though. It was summer season, main holiday time. And it was midday. There and then I realized that I will have to break my promise to exclude the hotspots. This was just too good an opportunity to test how, when and where to beat the crowd and take Charles Bridge pictures that not make the tourists obvious.
OK, challenge accepted! The bridge was in walking distance from the hotel, so overall I must have been there at least 4-5 times. Each time at a different time of the day, with a different (or no) angle of sunlight, and various amounts of people. Going early is the easiest when you want to avoid people. But also the hardest, when your alarm goes off at 5am on a Sunday 😊
Alternatively, options include focusing on the edges or details of the landmark, taking pictures from afar or positioning the camera above people’s heads. See a few examples below. Let me know in the comments which ones you like best or if you have another good angle to try next time. Curious to hear your thoughts.
