Around & About Dubrovnik II

[Manfred M]

More images from wandering around the streets of old Dubrovnik.

[AntonioCorreia]

I’m truly starting to think that a trip to Croatia is all but inevitable, it’s hard to resist these urban settings, so full of character... and perhaps, I’ll dare to take a plunge into the crystal-clear waters of the Adriatic !
Nice shots Manfred !

[Manfred M]

I’m truly starting to think that a trip to Croatia is all but inevitable, it’s hard to resist these urban settings, so full of character... and perhaps, I’ll dare to take a plunge into the crystal-clear waters of the Adriatic !
Nice shots Manfred !

Thanks Antonio - The only downside of this part of the world (and I must include Slovenia and Montenegro as well), is that they are incredibly popular locations this year and all of the sites are very heavily visited. That makes photography (and just walking about) quite challenging.

[AntonioCorreia]

Thank you, Manfred, for that reference — the excess of tourists is really something that both my wife and I (and even our daughter, who has joined us on several trips) strongly dislike. For that reason, over the years, we have preferred to visit places that are almost deserted or have very few tourists, which, for us, adds a special kind of charm.

In fact, I can share that, on my first visit to India — about 30 years ago — it was easy to enter spaces peacefully, spaces that today are simply inaccessible. I remember, for example, visiting the Taj Mahal one morning when mist still gently hovered over the gardens and only a handful of visitors wandered quietly along the paths. It was possible to contemplate the reflection of the mausoleum in the water of the front pool in complete tranquillity, to feel the serene atmosphere and take your time to photograph the small details — without any crowds around and, above all, having the chance to enter the mausoleum itself and appreciate its interior calmly. Nowadays, everything has changed: many of these areas are now off-limits and, in order to see the monument up close, you have to join the queue before sunrise, sharing the experience with thousands of people — and you are no longer allowed to go inside the mausoleum, which inevitably takes away much of the fascination and magic of the experience.

We have also found that many of the great tourist icons are, in our view, truly disappointing. The Taj Mahal is a good example: there was a time when you could enjoy the monument at leisure, strolling through its spaces; now, however, every visit requires patience and a tolerance for crowds.

But I digress — after all, we are here to talk about photography, not tourism!

[LenR]

Antonio, sadly the deterioration of many iconic locations due to over visitation is a reality and jostling crowds of visitors certainly make it more difficult from a photographers point of view. When I last visited Europe I found that tripods were not permitted in many places. With IS capable kit this is probably not that much of an issue any longer but it seems this is another erosion of "freedoms" once taken for granted.....