Charles Bridge - The Reconstruction

Tomorrow is the Theme day at Daily City Blogs. So I went to the old parts of Prague to take some pictures. I ended up at Charles bridge and took this picture so you can see how the Great Charles bridge reconstruction began. From the west gate. Still lot of tourists.

Fountain with Sculptures at Senovazne square

Fountain with sculptures at Senovazne square. It's very close to Masarykovo train station and also to Hybernska street. I spent quite some time here ... eating while waiting for my English class at Cambridge Institute Praha (which is in the mentioned Hybernska street). They are great at learning English, the atmosphere among students and teachers is great and it was one of the places I really enjoyed going to. But they are not exactly cheap.

Canonet QL17 + Ilford Pan 100

Prague's Courtyard

This courtyard is right in the heart of Prague but still remains very peaceful. There are 2 cafes, a pub, a pizzeria and a very stylish restaurant here. So a plenty of options to choose from. If you go straight on you'll end up at Narodni trida street. On the opposite side is Skorepka street and my former elementary school. Strange thing is these places are grey and boring in my memories. But now all of them are glowing and full of life. And that's good for Prague :)

Canonet QL17 + Ilford Pan 100 (I almost stopped using my digital camera :)

Porsche 911 in the Prague street

This Porsche 911 has one uncommon thing among all the Porsches in Prague and Czech Republic respectively. Its license plate doesn't contain number 911. It seems like every other 911 owner have the luck to get a plate with those numbers - and we don't (officially) have custom plates in Czech Republic.

This place is very close to Celetna street (which leads to Old Town Square), Prague famous Kotva store and my former high school :) Thus I can tell you there's a pub on the right. Well, there was a pub. They rebuilt it lately and now it looks like there's gonna be a fancy and expensive restaurant. Prague is changing.

UPDATE: Lets go see Porsche 356 at Zurich Daily Photo.
356 is my very favorite Porsche... like this one from France for example :)

Canonet QL17 + Ilford Pan 100

Yawning Prague taxidriver near Charles bridge

Prague taxidriver at the end of Karlova street facing the Charles Bridge... and yawning :)

We had a school cafeteria across the street. We were 12 or so and have to run through the old Prague (Old Town square included) to have our lunch. We have to run because we wanted to be there first. And we found it funny running in the streets :)

Taken with Canonet + Tri-X

Tram will tell you how old I am

I'm having a birthday tomorrow. Thus I wanted to post a really nice picture. Only before I saw this ugly one in my iPhoto library. It's from a tram number 26. And now you would easily guess how old I am :)


Taken with my favorite Canonet QL17
+ expired Fujichrome MS 100/1000 Professional slide film.
Canonet QL17 series

Yessi Cafe at Prague

After a lunch with a friend I walked from Masarykovo train station to Na Prikopech street and I saw them sitting alone in this cafe. Sure, I was shooting before thinking so you may not see them as I wanted to. But I did take the TAKE AWAY sign quite well so at least something :)


Canonet QL17 + Kodak Tri-X 400 (exposed at 800 ISO)
My Canonet QL17 series

Night at Prague Castle

This is just in front of Prague Castle. At night. Prague Castle and its surroundings are great for a night walk - if the weather is not bad, of course.

Canonet QL17 + Ilford Pan 100
My Canonet QL17 series

Things to see from Charles Bridge other than Prague Castle

You can also see a boat from Charles Bridge. Or you can see Charles Bridge from a boat :)

Prague started big and a very very long reconstruction of Charles Bridge. It will be still open for tourists but it will be slowly under reconstruction. I think it will end in 2011 or so. Maybe later. They are reusing the old stones. The originals from Petr Parler from the 14th century. And when the stone is unusable, they will make a new one but in the old fashioned way. So it will look just like when the bridge was firstly finished in 1402.

More photos of Charles Bridge at Prague DP.

Canonet QL17 + Kodak Tri-X 400 (exposed at 800 ISO)
My Canonet QL17 series

Prague's biggest and the most real Louis Vuitton bag

100% original Louis Vuitton bag. Made from paper :) But even though, it's nice. And big. Bigger than other Louis Vuitton's bags. Louis Vuitton has its shop in Parizska street - the highly expensive highly known fashion stores' street. And the picture is from Na Prikopech street - maybe the second most expensive street in Prague.

Prague's copy of Paris' l’Hôtel des Invalides

Prague's Invalidovna is a copy of Paris' l’Hôtel des Invalides. This baroque complex was build during the first half of the 18th century as a hotel for injured soldiers. It's military archive now. And it is in a very bad shape. The flood in Prague few years ago leave its marks here, too. On the other hand it has that strange charisma of old times. Something you won't feel in the renovated buildings.

I took this picture from the back of Invalidovna. There's a small park in front of it. There's a metro station nearby (also called Invalidovna). But this part of Prague, even though being close to center, is an abandoned place with a small village feel. It's just that, especially during the sunny Sunday afternoon, when the time stops here completely, workers slowly drinking their beers, two old ladies sitting on a park bench, silently, the only grocery shop around having only one customer - with ten employees who would help him but being too obsessed with nothing-doing. I kinda love it here :)


Canonet QL17 + Ilford Pan 100 -> Canonet QL17 photo series


PS: I found StumbleUpon website yesterday and one of the sites I liked was New York Changing with photos of New York from 1930s and then the exact same photos from present. If you have nothing to do, I recommend spending some time here. I enjoyed it. And after that you can visit New York by Lucy & Brian and New York City by Ming the Merciless. Isn't Daily Photo great? :)

PPS: Post mentioning Paris just wouldn't be complete without link to Paris Daily Photo. You can even search for Hotel des Invalides here.

Karlinske square is also a park to spend a sunny day in Prague

Karlinske square at Karlin, one of the almost central parts of Prague is also a park as you see. During the school year it is full of students. There are three schools behind the church (Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius). Two of my old but for a long time not seen friends go to the two of them. Speaking of those friends, first was a promising model but she's not continuing her career. You can watch her on one of our clubs event. The video is even relevant to Prague DP, because it was at Jan Palach square in front of Rudolfinum with a view on Prague Castle. What won't be relevant is the second friend. I met her at France where I also met this girl. Well, I love France. And now I have to go and see some France daily photo blogs. (I don't know why but I like Nantes - well, I know why. I wanted to live here but life changes things.)

This photo was taken with Canonet QL17 and Ilford Pan 100 and I'm adding it to my Canonet QL17 series

Another Prague Skatepark at Strasnice

One of the Prague skateparks is at Strasnice. Strasnice is a part of Prague and also a name of a metro station, and a tram station and a bus station. I went there two days after seeing Lords of Dogtown movie. And it was almost like it :)

I tried to catch one of the skateboarders in this picture. But my shooting without looking has its limitations. So this is what i got. The red and white colors are part of the Czech national flag (the missing blue color is on the opposite side of this skate pool).

This photo was taken with Canonet QL17 and expired Fujichrome MS 100/1000 Professional slide film exposed at 100 ISO.
And I'm adding it to my Canonet QL17 series :)

Prague Television Tower at Zizkov

Prague Television Tower (or Zizkov Television Tower if you wish) - We had a Christmas dinner with friends in the inside restaurant few years ago. It wasn't as good as we thought it would be. Actually we continued with our Christmas dinner/party in the pub two streets from the Tower and it was incomparable better. The next year we went straight to a "common" pub that to a fancy restaurant :)

Industrial part of Prague right in the centre of Prague

You may not tell that this is less than 3 minutes away from the centre of Wenceslas square, the most known square in Prague. The building to the right from the chimney (not in the picture) is a bowling and a snooker place. We were there quite often during my high school years as we have our school right over street (in Panska street).

I'm just watching document about photographer Jan Parik on tv. He does a lot of interesting stuff but his best would be Kafka's Prague exhibition. With beautiful black and white photos of Prague - almost unchanged from the times Franc Kafka lived here.
Well, I like Kafka's novels. They are so nicely strange :) Unfortunately Franc Kafka is way too merchandised in Prague.

Speaking of what's on tv, before this document about Jan Parik was a short about Madrid. And when I hear Madrid I think Dsole and Madrid Daily Photo :)


This photo was taken with Canonet QL17 and Kodak Tri-X 400 (exposed at 800 ISO) and thus I'm adding it to my Canonet QL17 series :)

Prague in August can look like Prague in fall

Street I go through every day. Part of my work-home way. Well, it is home-work, too. But the sun shines from the other way in the mornings :)

My new friend just moved to Prague with her family. We helped her with moving... carrying all the things to the fourth floor in a typical old Prague house. I must say that her new flat is absolutely stunning. Very close to Prague center and with a great view. And with a 30 pubs within 5 minutes distance - this is a fact, not a guess :) She's a stylist and a make-up artist, so if you'll ever need a stylist or a make-up artist in Prague, just let me know and I'll let her know :)

Prague's Main train station with Harry Potter

I read about how Czech Warner Bros. is promoting the new Harry Potter movie at Prague's Main train station in today's Marketing & Media magazine when I realized I did take a picture of it yesterday on my way home. I though it was something completely different but it really is Harry Potter. The ad is on the front of the train station roof.

Coincidentally my colleague's daughter told me almost everything about the last Harry Potter book today. She read an illegal translation of it. Illegal translation of Harry Potter books are quite common in the Czech republic because there are lots of fans who don't want to wait till the official Czech Harry Potter book is out. It is months of waiting. And all of those who read the illegal Harry Potter will buy the book anyway. So why not.

I read the first four Harry Potter books. Then it took so long till the fifth was out that I didn't continue. Maybe I'll just wait and watch it in the cinema - all seven parts at once :)

Have you read/seen Harry Potter books/movies?

Canonet QL17 Week (The Big Summary): #7 - Ballet Masterclasses in Prague

I'd like to finish the Canonet QL17 week with a photo I really like. I took it at International Ballet Masterclasses in Prague. You can see Daria Klimentova, one of the best Czech ballet dancers, here. I posted a photo from Ballet Masterclasses in Prague before. But it is not as nice as this Canonet one :)

Photo taken with Canonet QL17 and Neopan 400

My photos at Prague DP taken with Canonet QL17:

• Tram will tell you how old I am
• Yessi Cafe at Prague
• Night at Prague Castle
• Things to see from Charles Bridge other than Prague Castle
• Prague's copy of Paris' l’Hôtel des Invalides
• Karlinske square is also a park to spend a sunny day in Prague
• Another Prague Skatepark at Strasnice
• Industrial part of Prague right in the centre of Prague
• Canonet QL17 Week: #7 - Ballet Masterclasses in Prague
• Canonet QL17 Week: #6 - Prague
• Canonet QL17 Week: #5 - Prague's church
• Canonet QL17 Week: #4 - Charles bridge
• Canonet QL17 Week: #3 - National theatre
• Canonet QL17 Week: #2 - Smoker in Prague
• Canonet QL17 Week: #1 - Old Prague

I must say I didn't like my Canonet from the first time. I had two compact Yashica cameras when I purchased it from eBay and the Canonet was like a dinosaur to them. It wasn't in the best condition, too. Actually I didn't take a photo with this Canonet for months. I had it repaired and slowly shoot a few films - without a battery guessing the exposition (which I'd never done before). Surprisingly it was quite a fun. And then I had that weird dream. It was a dream with Chris Weeks (who I knew from deviantART; you'll find him at Uber now) and above all the other things, he said to me I should buy a battery for my Canonet. So I went to a store the very next day, bought a battery and it was that day when I fall in love with my Canonet :)
And as I love and use my Canonet, I come to a rangefinder conclusion: I should buy myself a Leica :)

Useful Canonet QL17 links:

• Canonet QL17 GIII
• Canon QL17 (with a comparison to a Leica M6)
• Canonet GIII QL 17
• Canonet QL17/QL19 GIII manual
• CANONET mon amour Flickr Group
• Canon Canonet QL17 G-III Flickr Group

Canonet QL17 Week: #6 - Prague

Just Prague. I wish you can see this in person. If you're ever in Prague for a vacation longer than a few days don't miss Letna park and this spectacular view. There's a restaurant right at this spot. Actually it's quite close to Prague castle so this would be a nice place where to spend a relaxing evening after the walk at Prague castle. Speaking of Prague castle, I would mention that it is open till 1 AM and there is a lot less people than during the day (as anybody can guess :). Thanks to that I have a night photo of St. Vitus Cathedral which I'll post sometime later.

Photo taken with Canonet QL17 and Kodak Tri-X 400 (exposed at 800 ISO)

PS: If you know where I can get Canonet QL17 light seal kit, let me know. I would appreciate it :)

Canonet QL17 Week: #5 - Prague's church

I admit I am not sure which one of Prague's churches this one is. But it must be at Prague's Old Town.


Photo taken with Canonet QL17 and Neopan 400

Canonet QL17 Week: #4 - Charles bridge

I bet everybody who has ever been to Prague was here - at the entrance to Charles bridge with a view on Prague's castle.

I think I've seen very similar photo before. But I don't know where. Maybe a lot of people shoot this while in Prague :)

Photo taken with Canonet QL17 and Kodak Tri-X 400 (exposed at 800 ISO)

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It's raining in Prague. And when it is raining in Prague, you better not wear flip-flops. I can confirm they are way too much dangerous on Prague's polished stone block paving.

One more (photo related) thing - we had a photoshoot today and you can guess my excitement when we were shooting with a Hasselblad H3D-39 :) I don't think you can get much better. The pictures from H3D are just stunning! If you'll ever need a pro photographer in Prague then I suggest Radovan Subin.

... well, I've just spent an hour surfing at Hasselblad website and going through the Hasselblad section on eBay. I should do something less time wasteful. Hope you like the Canonet series :)

Canonet QL17 Week: #3 - National theatre

National theatre in Prague like you probably haven't seen before. I can imagine this being somewhere at the sea. Maybe in Greece :)

I shoot this with my Canonet last week. On a Kodak Tri-X 400 which is my favorite black and white film from now :) And it was very close to not. I took it to a (different than usual) photolab on Sunday and as I was in a Sunday mood I totally forget to tell them to push the film one stop (I shoot it at 800 iso). Well, I was there again on Monday. Five minutes after they opened only to find out they sent the films out already. Luckily for me, not far away. So I discovered where they are sending films: to a place, that sent them to another one. Right, just a few minutes before I came here. And now comes the real luck for me. I was given a phone number to that magic place, that almost all of films from Prague are sent to. And they were kind enough to change my order and develop the film at 800. I scaned the negative yesterday and it turns out absolutely awesome. Now I know why so many people love Kodak Tri-X :)

Photo taken with Canonet QL17 and Kodak Tri-X 400 (exposed at 800 ISO)


PS: The new photolab from the beginning of my story is FotoSkoda - Prague's most famous photo store. Mostly for its wide array of second-hand stuff. And their film developing is also cheaper and faster. I found one older photo from almost inside.

PPS: Have you seen Apple Special Event? I love the new iMovie :)

Canonet QL17 Week: #2 - Smoker in Prague

Continuation of Canonet QL17 week. Today with a smoker in the streets of Prague. I like how he takes it as absolutely normal walking through the Prague's Old Town. As opposite to an enthusiastic group of tourist he just passed by. He went to Narodni trida street and then I lost him. Maybe he ended in a cafe. There's lot of them at Narodni trida street, some even the most famous in Prague (Cafe Slavia or Cafe Le Havre for example).

Photo taken with Canonet QL17 and Neopan 400

Canonet QL17 Week: #1 - Old Prague

I had a few rolls of film developed last week so I will be posting only photos taken with my good old Canonet QL17 - one of the finest rangefinders ever build :)

First up is a classic photo from Prague's Old Town. From a place that has not changed for a long long time. I always imagine how would it be like to live here in the times when these houses and everything were new.

Photo taken with Canonet QL17 and Neopan 400

Prague's Central Park - Stromovka

I have never been to New York but I think that what Central Park is for NY, Stromovka park is for Prague.

Stromovka is a wonderful place to spend a sunny weekend with friends or all by yourself. It is like a little green heaven inside Prague. You can play various games, ride a horse, ride a bike, skateboard or roller-skates, rest on the grass, under a tree, near a pond, near a fountain. You can do anything what would charge your inner energy.

There's are a lot of foreigners spending their time in Stromovka. It's partly because Stromovka is close to Letna and a lot of foreigners lives at Letna :)

Once more from Prague's riverbank

Riverbanks in Prague are getting more and more live. And these upside down trees are part of the plan to get more people here. It worked for me :)

Not a typical picture of Prague

This is a view not many in Prague know. That green building is a water power plant at Stvanice island. And it is unknown for a reason. The road along the river is under ground here (so you can't see it from car) and it is kinda isolated from the tourist center of Prague by lots of old but not that special buildings - although it is very close, about 5 mins from Florenc metro station and 10 from Prague's Old Town. Mostly locals go and sit on the bench here. And skateboarders, because there's a skate park at Stvanice island :)

Place from which the photo was taken: Bank with a Prague castle view and a skatepark nearby

Breakfast after the Theme day

This is how I browse other Daily Photo Blogs. I can't wait for weekend when I'll actually have a time to go through all the post for Typical Breakfast Theme Day - and so can you. The list is in this post.

There's nothing like typical Prague breakfast... unless you have a theme day

My typical breakfast for those lazy Saturday mornings at my parent's. Otherwise my breakfast habits are absolutely terrible.

PS: I love tomatos :)

Enjoy other wonderful breakfasts all around the world:
Saint Paul (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - New York City (NY), USA - Tel Aviv, Israel - Hyde, UK - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Stockholm, Sweden - Paderborn, Germany - Singapore, Singapore - Haninge, Sweden - Nottingham, UK - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Manila, Philippines - Boston (MA), USA - Seoul, Korea - Singapore, Singapore - Joplin (MO), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Paris, France - Sequim (WA), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Boston (MA), USA - Chennai, India - Madison (WI), USA - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Toulouse, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - La Antigua, Guatemala - Selma (AL), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Sheki, Azerbaijan - Sydney, Australia - Mumbai, India - Seoul, South Korea - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - New Orleans (LA), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Villigen, Switzerland - Montréal (QC), Canada - Stayton (OR), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Moscow, Russia - Springfield (MO), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Arlington (VA), USA - Cologne (NRW), Germany - Anderson (SC), USA - Oslo, Norway - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Manila, Philippines - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Bandung (West Java), Indonesia - Stavanger, Norway - Bastia, France - Hong Kong, China - Wailea (HI), USA - St. Louis (MO), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Sydney, Australia - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Kansas City (MO), USA - Grenoble, France - Paris, France - Evry, France - Saigon, Vietnam - Prague, Czech Republic - Cape Town, South Africa - Brookville (OH), USA - Brussels, Belgium - San Diego (CA), USA - Wellington, New Zealand - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Shanghai, China - Zurich, Switzerland - North Bay (ON), Canada - Lyon, France - Naples (FL), USA - Olympia (WA), USA