Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem (HDR)

[Octane]

Hi all,

Disneyland, anyone?

This is actually the Staré Město (Old Town) side of Karlov Most (Charles Bridge) in Praha (Prague).

The first, second and fourth images here show Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem (The Church of our Lady Before Týn).

This church has an astronomical connection; the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe was buried inside in 1601.

In the fourth image, you can see the Jan Hus Monument. This was erected in 1915 to mark the 500th anniversary of the religious reformer's execution.

The third image shows part of the clock tower of the Old Town Hall, underneath which is the famous astronomical clock (not visible in image), built in 1410. On the hour, the clock entertains with its parade of apostles and bell-ringing skeleton.

All images are HDR composites consisting of five sub-exposures each.

Comments and critique, are most welcome.

Regards,
Humayun

[gary]

Nice shots and appreciated the background, particularly the
astronomical connection with Tycho Brahe!

Prague is reputedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world and you
have given this typist itchy feet.

Keep them coming!

[Octane]

Gary,

Prague took my breath away. I completely understand why they call it the Paris of the East, now.

On the street I was staying on in Prague, it was cordoned off, as the filming of the G.I. Joe movie was taking place. They had converted the length of the street into a Parisian rue. At first I got a little confused as all the street signs had changed into the Parisian style -- white writing on blue. They had set up fake boulangeries, florists, cafés, etc. I guess it's cheaper to film Paris in Prague than it is to film Paris in Paris! I think they were filming an action scene. They spent three days filming for 20 seconds of footage! At the end of it, the whole street was a mess -- all the buildings had been blown up and cars were overturned. I used to wonder why movies had such egregious budgets. Now I understand why.

Thanks, mate!

Regards,
Humayun

[iceman]

Your shots are just stunning, Humayan (all of them). This photography thing is as natural to you as astrophotography was! :)

Did you visit many WW2 sites on your travels?

I can only imagine how much history was lost in the constant bombings.

[Octane]

Mike,

phw0ar! Thank you. :)

I will get back into my astrophotography, very, very soon. Promise. I'll even start coming back up to Kulnura! I really, really miss hanging out with you guys. I'm always itching and pining to come up, but, I'm stuck down here as I've got a bit more responsibility with work and am on-call at least one week a month. It makes it really difficult to get away.

I did go on a wonderful walking tour in Berlin (one of the free ones, where you tip the guide at the end if you think it was worth it). The walk that I went on was with an American guy (I can't remember his name now), who was a student studying lots of things in Berlin. He was unreal -- so knowledgeable and so enthused about taking complete strangers for an almost-four-hour tour throughout Berlin. He took us to lots of historical places and buildings and monuments. I'll have to go through my photographs and pick out some and post them. :)

Thanks again for the compliment. :)

Regards,
Humayun