Photos: Vulture's Adventures in the Land of Tradition
This summer was is lovely but it left… LEAVES something to be desired in the department of sun, at least when maybe-it’s-going-to-rain-maybe-not doesn’t exactly make what you call a promising day. So, now you can picture Yours Truly focused on weather forecasts with a vulture-like expression, beak dribbling, feathers expectantly ruffled and all, and diving in the same manner upon the only day that actually promised to be rainless dawn to dusk. The day turned out to be 9th August, and having only such short window of time, I decided to use it in a relatively checked, if not so much original, way: a few hours in Tatra Mountains. As it turned out, next day a particularly violent storm hit the very same places I walked 24h before…
Even the day I chose, though, looked somewhat storm-hesitant at times. And the air wasn’t as clear as I had hoped… You know what fine photographer is? Fine photographer is a fellow who goes out at any time, and gets a fine piece of art from anything is there before the lens. The rest of us poor morons, though, hunts for good light and viewpoint and such, and then makes a mess of it anyway. I’m NOT happy with my lens’ contrast abilities, and even less with my skills. Ah well, at least mountains are always nice. This is the Eastern Tatras range towering over Zakopane. On the far left, Havran Mt. aka Hawrań aka Rabstein/Rabenstein, in Slovakia. If you happen to be a fan of ski jumping, in the very center on a slope among forest you can notice that place where they do the all ‘wheeee…ooaaaah!!!...whummp’ competition.
And this is Giewont, the most popular mountain in Poland. You’re not a self-respecting tourist if you haven’t been on Giewont, preferably wearing flip-flops and bitching at the lack of paved alleys with benches every ten meters. It has the shape of a sleeping knight, and the legend says an army of knights sleeps in a cave hidden somewhere under the mountain’s massif. They are supposed to wake up in case the country is attacked and ride out to kick the enemy’s ass, but so far, the history has made no mention on such event. Maybe they forgot to set their alarm clock. An iron cross has been built on the very peak in 1901; it’s (barely) visible on the photo. I still think it was kinda impolite to set it on his moustache, though…
But at least I’m quite satisfied with this one.
By the way, it’s a fine example of the rule saying that light is what makes a photo. See? It really does. The difference is exactly an hour and half, and one cloud. In general, I think the light makes some 60% of a photo, the 30% is composition, and the subject is only 10%. Except little kittens. Little kittens make 90%, and everything else is just embellishment. *g*
As you can notice, it’s an old traditional fence. Tradition is very important in Zakopane. That’s cause the most popular occupation is fleecing tourists with use of such traditional tools like traditional food (you know it’s traditional when tourists eat it more than locals), traditional stuffed cross-eyed sheep of genuine acrylic wool, rooms on hire in traditionally sculpted houses…
(this one is from 1880, though I think it’s obvious the individual parts must have been replaced many times)
(this is the villa Koliba, designed by Stanisław Witkiewicz and built in 1892-1893; ‘koliba’ in the Podhale dialect means ‘shepherd’s cabin’, but it’s far from it, as it was a summer house of certain landowner from quite another part of Poland; now it holds the museum of Zakopane Style architecture)
…and traditional beverages.
Priced at least twice as much as at the tourist’s home. This is tradition too, going centuries back, when locals used to put plenty of effort in welcoming visitors in organised groups. Only then it was called ‘robbery’.
Still, some locals think all this tourist-oriented frenzy is below their dignity. Yawn.
Summer greetings! :)
Even the day I chose, though, looked somewhat storm-hesitant at times. And the air wasn’t as clear as I had hoped… You know what fine photographer is? Fine photographer is a fellow who goes out at any time, and gets a fine piece of art from anything is there before the lens. The rest of us poor morons, though, hunts for good light and viewpoint and such, and then makes a mess of it anyway. I’m NOT happy with my lens’ contrast abilities, and even less with my skills. Ah well, at least mountains are always nice. This is the Eastern Tatras range towering over Zakopane. On the far left, Havran Mt. aka Hawrań aka Rabstein/Rabenstein, in Slovakia. If you happen to be a fan of ski jumping, in the very center on a slope among forest you can notice that place where they do the all ‘wheeee…ooaaaah!!!...whummp’ competition.
And this is Giewont, the most popular mountain in Poland. You’re not a self-respecting tourist if you haven’t been on Giewont, preferably wearing flip-flops and bitching at the lack of paved alleys with benches every ten meters. It has the shape of a sleeping knight, and the legend says an army of knights sleeps in a cave hidden somewhere under the mountain’s massif. They are supposed to wake up in case the country is attacked and ride out to kick the enemy’s ass, but so far, the history has made no mention on such event. Maybe they forgot to set their alarm clock. An iron cross has been built on the very peak in 1901; it’s (barely) visible on the photo. I still think it was kinda impolite to set it on his moustache, though…
But at least I’m quite satisfied with this one.
By the way, it’s a fine example of the rule saying that light is what makes a photo. See? It really does. The difference is exactly an hour and half, and one cloud. In general, I think the light makes some 60% of a photo, the 30% is composition, and the subject is only 10%. Except little kittens. Little kittens make 90%, and everything else is just embellishment. *g*
As you can notice, it’s an old traditional fence. Tradition is very important in Zakopane. That’s cause the most popular occupation is fleecing tourists with use of such traditional tools like traditional food (you know it’s traditional when tourists eat it more than locals), traditional stuffed cross-eyed sheep of genuine acrylic wool, rooms on hire in traditionally sculpted houses…
(this one is from 1880, though I think it’s obvious the individual parts must have been replaced many times)
(this is the villa Koliba, designed by Stanisław Witkiewicz and built in 1892-1893; ‘koliba’ in the Podhale dialect means ‘shepherd’s cabin’, but it’s far from it, as it was a summer house of certain landowner from quite another part of Poland; now it holds the museum of Zakopane Style architecture)
…and traditional beverages.
Priced at least twice as much as at the tourist’s home. This is tradition too, going centuries back, when locals used to put plenty of effort in welcoming visitors in organised groups. Only then it was called ‘robbery’.
Still, some locals think all this tourist-oriented frenzy is below their dignity. Yawn.
Summer greetings! :)