This was my fourth business trip to Europe. I finally got a chance see more than the business hotels & offices that I am accustomed to from my previous visits. This series of posts covers my 5 hour walk of Old Geneva Town & its surroundings. I experienced all that I had imagined of Europe – cobbled streets, flower pots in window sills, inspiring architecture, al-fresco cafes, marquee brands, and more.

<<   Part 1 | Part 3   >>

Creeping Colors

I am sucker for the sight of greenery & floral colors amidst concrete jungles. I find it more interesting when the display is an eclectic mix of individual tastes, as compared to a coordinated effort & controlled taste of a city council. Needless to say, the variety keeps those bitten by the photography bug busy.

 

Charming Tavern

I took at least ten pictures at this location trying to capture the charm of the place ..without success. It finally came down to identifying the various components that made the place so charming & clicking them individually. This particular combination of tiles, the wooden clad windows & the signage against the multi-hued leaves of the tree in the foreground stood out for me.

 

 Mini Poetry

Cobbled street, an old Mini, a backlit tree & a window – what more could I have asked for in this picture! Maybe less, because this was another location whose charm just could not be captured in a singular photo.

 Shoot The Lover

When the locale & the weather is good, can the lovers be far behind? In such surroundings, everything starts seeming beautiful & we are lulled into capturing more of our loved ones on picture. I have more pictures of my family around Sydney Opera House than anywhere else in Sydney .. even though most of these snaps have just them & not much of the Opera House itself.

 

Pristine Window Art

It is such a pleasure to see windows decked with multi-colored blooms. While I’m sure it is satisfying for the residents to tend to these plants, I was left wondering if the sight for the residents is as good as that for a pedestrian outside. After all, those outside get to see the cumulative display across all windows.

 

Brighten-It Window Art

I usually travel with just one lens on short business trips. More often than not, the weight is the decider. On this trip, I travelled with the nifty fifty (Canon 50mm f/1.8). I do feel limited by what the lens can or cannot do. But this lens also stretches one’s photographic skills. I often end up capturing pictures of subjects that wouldn’t have interested me otherwise. 

 
Alone In My  Last Days

My colleagues were especially bewildered by the awkward positions I was getting into to capture pictures of strange subjects. Just months ago, I would think twice (or more) before doing this in public places. I guess I have grown into this hobby over time.

 In Indian Range

Thanks to corporate acquisitions, an additional billion odd people notice some marquee brands now. Whatever is said and done, I think we Indians are just discovering the additional pride one feels when such brands are owned by MNCs from your land.

The DoF versatility of the nifty fifty allows a hobbyist to venture into the artsy space of photography (as in the above two photos).

 Road At The End Of Tunnel

I noticed this inclined passageway connecting two streets at differing levels – made for a nice light at the end of tunnel shot. An example of the limitations of the lens forcing me to notice perspectives that I wouldn’t normally do.

<<   Part 1 | Part 3   >>

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Related Posts:
~ Photo Feature – Fall in Geneva
~ Photo Feature – Linger At Balur Estate
~ Pictures From Lunuganga

This was my fourth business trip to Europe. I finally got a chance see more than the business hotels & offices that I am accustomed to from my previous visits. This series of posts covers my 5 hour walk of Geneva Old Town & its surroundings. I experienced all that I had imagined of Europe – cobbled streets, flower pots in window sills, inspiring architecture, al-fresco cafes, marquee brands, and more.

 >>   Part 2 | Part 3   >>

The Jet d’Eau is a remarkable piece of engineering landmark that is symbolic of Geneva (much like the Petrona Towers for Kuala Lumpur or Opera House for Sydney). Seen from a wide area & even from the flying planes above, this fountain spews water 140m into the air. When operational, there is about 7000 litres of water in the air at any moment of time. I can only imagine how magnificent this would look against the bright blue sky .. which was missing during this part of my day.

 

I did the first half of my walk in dull cloudy weather. Most of the photos came out dull & grey – almost monochrome. The gold from the Rolex logo brings some life into this photo & signifies the co-existence of the old with the new (relatively). I bumped up the saturation levels quite a bit to bring out the golden colour here.

 

The fall brought in some colours into this photo. And the weather was just chilly enough to remind me where I was.

 

I was looking forward to the architecture in the city, and Geneva Old Town was the right place for this. I just had to look up to find something interesting all around the place. They are impressive photography subjects, the grey skies notwithstanding.

 The tram lines bordered by ageing buildings lend a charm to this part of the town. I had to crop this photo in size to bring about some balance into the final product.

 

Glass stands out on these buildings to lend a touch of modernity. While in the country side there is an effort to conceal the glass with wooden shutters (more to address climatic requirements than architectural or photogenic), urban landscape struts glass as a feature.

 

The tiles, sandstone, arches, shapes deployed – all go to make these structures photogenic. This one above is a monochrome version of a different perspective of the same building as above.

 

Cobbled streets are another signature feature of European cities. They never fail to remind me of scenes & sounds from the original Sherlock Holmes tele-serial (Granada Productions / Jeremy Brett in the lead role).

I still tend to go overboard with the DoF (depth of field) that the 50mm lens provides. This photo above is  one such example. I  have learnt recently that the sweet spot for lenses is usually a couple of stops higher than their maximum aperture. So, for my Canon 50mm f/1.8, I ought to be shooting more in the f/2.2 – f/2.8 range.

 >>   Part 2 | Part 3   >>

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Related Posts:
~ Photo Feature – Fall in Geneva
~ Photo Feature – Linger At Balur Estate
~ Pictures From Lunuganga