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Budapest bound
By nealejames | January 25, 2010
It’s a truism that the aircraft icon on any in-flight cabin display map showing your route and time to destination is approximately the size of Luxembourg. It’s not an aviation coincidence either, as I passed through the place once on a road trip; it was like crossing your front room. And so here I am half an hour into my Malev flight to Budapest for a spot of unadulterated Leica M8 street photography. Just post Christmas I splashed out on this digital fancy in classic clothing with the aim of using it more freely on the street and so this, is it’s first test drive. To be fair it’s equally a kick up the proverbial from Sam, my wife, who bought me this trip as a Christmas gift, a little easier to wrap tickets than an E-Type; there’s always next year. I’m not a great one for using my chunky Canon gear in cities, and though my somewhat less than svelte frame makes it tricky to completely fade into an urban backdrop, it’s fair to say that something that protrudes from my fleece no further than a wallet stuffed with store cards (slight disparity) doesn’t attract quite so much unwelcome attention. So, one M8, a 50mm lens, handful of SD cards, a city guide I’ve not even read yet and I’m good to go.
One of the first things that struck me about the place is just how much graffiti there is. Banksy would be at home in a city like this, as it appears nobody seems interested to curtail the artform. It’s everywhere. People’s apartment blocks, the underground, the overground, government buildings. Maybe they don’t do community service out here?
If you’re not daubing the walls with pictures and tags, you could join the elite set of craftspeople that fashion all manner of statues.
And… another tram.
Courtyard shops are common. I’m armed with a 50mm so the focal length doesn’t allow me to easily show you how these shops squeeze into the tiniest backstreet corners in-between apartments. I did spot one or two impressive ornate arcades too. Budapest appears to be in a transition commercially, where the arcades are emptying, traders favouring the shopping centres. This is one such arcade above; a solitary shop illuminates a small segment of what looked like a hub of commerce once.
Five degrees under and falling, I was heading back to the hotel when I came across a ‘table water musician.’ I asked if he did requests. My joke was lost in translation.
Enough with the trams now.
Topics: Blog journal | 4 Comments »
January 26th, 2010 at 8:05 am
Brilliant! I’m actually jealous. Although not good at being cold. Colours are fab- real or edited? Have fun today
January 26th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Great shots, love the second to last image, the muted colours are beautiful.
January 26th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
They’re a hybrid of real and PS. I’m shooting with low saturation on the Leica, then muting a little more still when back at base! I started today at minus 5, and the breezy chill made it even colder along the Danube. The M8 at best has average battery life, so it spends most of it’s time in my fleece!
January 26th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Thanks Allister, it’s a good place to shoot, very very easy going.