Tag: croatia

Dubrovnik, Croatia {travel with film} Part 4

~ Marcus Low ~ 4 Comments
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Art seller

Inside the walled city, i feel the fusion of urban commercialization with medieval haunting covering the whole place. It is as if two lovers struggling to keep the relationship alive and yet dances in harmony to the playing music.

I walked passed by a shop selling potpourri of trinkets only to be greeted by the next shop with hand crafted items and arts. Today is the first day in Dubrovnik and after 15 minutes inside this ancient city, i knew i made a big mistake.

I had only 7 rolls of film and about to finish up the 3rd roll.

(Do visit my previous chapters here : 1 2 3, this whole series is done completely in film)

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The oldest pharmacy in the world

As my family strolled along the main path looking at the shops and cafes, we noticed there are narrow paths between some shops and those paths are opens up smaller shops that array themselves along the corridors.

On top of these shops are actual residents living in almost apartment like setting. They are not allowed to renovate the outer construction to preserve the medieval theme. Most are available for rent and you could find them at premium prices in AirBNB.

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postcards

I didn’t want to buy any souvenirs since it is just day one and constant reminder that i am running out of film only leave me with two options. I could either switch to use the Fuji digital camera that Phoenix is carrying with her and that amazing 16 f1.4 in her green bag or i should try to find a shop here that sells film.

I went for the latter.

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Narrow walls

It is a vintage location with vintage look, feel and ambiance. Who in the right mind would prefer digital over film in Dubrovnik? Hahaha, that was playing on my mind as i turned on my “radar” as we tour the ground level.

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toys of thrones

 

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charlie

When Phoenix and Sheryll got tired and decided to snack at a cafe (there are 1 at nearly every 10 meters away) i took the opportunity to walk up some of the visible stairs leading up to side of the city. Away from the main attraction you can see people going about their normal lives, doing laundry and chilling outside the window.

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the chef

There are all kinds of restaurants here and even at the higher level of the city if you walk up the stairs you will see smaller establishments. It does feel “crowded” sometimes in this city despite the vintage settings and i was really hoping to find a quiet spot to just take in the moment.

Next, i be sharing images taken at the wall tours and piers in the tip of the walled city.

Dubrovnik, Croatia, Chapter 5

Dubrovnik, Croatia {travel with film} Part 3

~ Marcus Low ~ 5 Comments
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tourists 101

This is the 3rd chapter on sharing my film only travel experiences on Croatia from the period of June 28th to July 12th 2016. You can find read about Part I and Part II before coming here.

Upon reaching the entrance of the old city Dubrovik, you can see huge crowds of tourists from various countries. Mostly are white people from Europe, America, Australia and some asians from Japan and Korea. Particularly interesting is that i have seen more Koreans here than from any other asian countries.

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crowd

I took these 35mm shots feeling much safer and bolder than i would have done in Malaysia. It is after all a tourist spot and you can see in the picture above it is not easy to find someone who still hangs a camera at their neck. There are some canons and nikons around no doubt, but mirrorless and mobile phones are the cams of the day.

Street photographers would find these spots interesting but i saved most of my films for the scene inside the old city.

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no.19

Droves after droves of tourists with their guides will arrive here. There are also individual guides that you can hire here that will walk you thru the old city and provide historical expository guidance.

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handcrafts
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majestic walls

Before entering the walled city thru the obvious gate, you can walk near to the side of the restaurant and see how the walled city looks like on a majestic ocean view. There are still vintage like ships that would be seen sailing here and for those seeking additional adventure, there are kayaking services that will bring you into some of the gates built at the bottom of the wall. You can see one of such entrances in the picture above, looks pitch black on my shot here.

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first steps

Here is a glimpse of inside of the walled city, here is where you will see cameras snapping away and its pet friendly too. I spend nearly 4 hours here before my kid got tired and took a lot of amazing images that i will share in my next chapter.

Chapter 4.

Dubrovnik, Croatia {travel with film} Part 2

~ Marcus Low ~ 6 Comments

Between my rented apartment and the old city Dubrovnik is a beautiful harbour. I took a stroll down with Phoenix while Sheryll takes a rest from the flight.  Retail stores here are nothing like those in Kuala Lumpur city, they are more “vintage” and gives the impression that the owners are of aged.

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The harbour. Pro400H

It’s a pretty narrow set of shops lined against a the backdrop of rocky hills. There is a constant lure by the scene to hike along those hills and create your own “Lord of the rings” experience. Walking along the harbour towards the old city takes around 20 minutes.

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peace along the harbour. Pro400H
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the walk. Pro400H

The walk itself is a peaceful and unfolds several serene scenes. There are residents along the main road that resembles some mansion and old rocky stairs that leads to the homes. I like these scenes. It strikes a nostalgic chord somewhere inside of me, wondering what happened to those people who have taken these steps and how so much activities have preceded us.

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old rocky stairs. Pro400H
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mansion of old. Pro400H

There is a bakery shop that we stopped by and we were wanted to experience what Croatia bakery is like. While they were enjoying the bread and cakes, i took the shot below.

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the bakery. Pro400H

You could take a taxi or bus to reach the old town but for the next few days here, i walked there every single day. Enjoying the same scene and answering more and more of my curiousity of the people who lives here. Different time of the day grants the same scene a very different feel. Shooting these scenes on film….are just perfect.

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the view. Pro400H

Halfway towards the old city, you will come across some locks with love messages locked to the fence. This fence leads you to an opening view of the sea and you can see the shores on the left and the newer city and hotels on the right. It gets really windy here, a perfect spot for emotional portraiture. I am not an aficionado for landscape, so i had to include a model in most of my shots, no models around, my family had to fill in 😉

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next “The old city Part III”

Dubrovnik, Croatia {travel with film} Part 1

~ Marcus Low ~ 5 Comments

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I want to share the photos from my recent trip to Croatia done entirely in film. This will span several chapters and posts to complete. When my family decided on Croatia for this year’s family trip, i selected the Leica M7, some rolls of Pro400H and Superia 200s. (All images in these series are taken on M7, 35mm Zeiss ZM)

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Amsterdam Superia 200

Our flight have to stop by Amsterdam for a night before leaving for a very early flight the next day to Dubrovnik. I carried a small Crumpler sling bag and i am surprised i managed to put the M7 with the 35mm f2 Zeiss and 7 rolls all into that bag.

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Superia 200. M7

My “home ministry of tourism” decided to be thrifty and she booked a budget hotel for this overnight stay because its very near to the airport. We took the free shuttle provided by Ibis just outside the airport.

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no makeup and tired from the trip, i hope she don’t see these photos haha. Superia 200.
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IBIS budget hotel. You buy food thru the vending machine downstairs. Superia 200.

In Malaysia, if you are into photography, you will definitely lament on the fact that the “golden sun” only exist between 7.20am to 8.30 am and 6 pm to 7.20 pm. So you can see how ecstatic i was when i landed in Amsterdam around 8pm and the golden rays greeted me.

IBIS budget hotel is exactly what it is. A small room with a double decker just enough for a small family of three. We walked over to the non-budget IBIS hotel which is located just 200 meters away and had our dinner there.

The flight took 2 hours to reach Dubrovnik. We were greeted by Nikolina, a mother of 2 and had coffee with her while her father in-law prepares the apartment for us.

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The apartment. Superia 200.

Located at Grutz, it is a 20 minutes walk to the old city Dubrovnik. Our apartment is built on top of a reclining slope and leads to a beautiful harbour. It’s a beautiful sight to behold and walking by the harbour around 18 C is enjoyable.

 

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On the way down, we took some photos by one of the neighbour’s door, beautifully surrounded by flowers. Sheryll is camera shy and cant wait until we are done. Superia 200.

Dubrovnik is where the Games of Thrones was filmed for the “King’s Landing” scenario.

next, the walk Part II