To shoot or not to shoot...?

Another afternoon morning. It took 1 tea, 2 coffees and an hour of hairy '80s rock to get me vaguely vertical even then. And I'm not claiming to be compos mentis even now.

I blame the country air and exercise of the last few days, but in truth the speciality mead didn't help. No label on the bottle, but it went down smooth....

It was a beautiful weekend in the Moravian countryside. I was staying in a small village called Dolny Loucky near Tisnov, and feeling good. My body knew this was an authentic break, and decided to sleep as much as possible whatever else I might have been planning.

That 'whatever else' consisted of trips to a medieval fayre at the local gothic castle, walks by the river and a trip out on the bike. And here we come to one of the fundamental issues of 'being a photographer': when do you put the cameral down and just get involved?

I mean, of course I took my camera to the castle, but once inside they wouldn't let me use it. Not just me; they weren't that mean. Everyone had to put their cameras away. And photography wasn't the only thing you weren't allowed to do. Take a look at this:

No boomerangs, sausages, medicine, muskets, novelty backpacks or black parents, apparently. Despite these cruel embargoes, I managed to sneak a few shots when no-one was looking, and put them in the 'Moravian Bank Holiday' album on the left. I left my boomerang and sausage outside. Didn't want to push my luck. Incidentally, the list on the sign wasn't exhaustive; the guide also gave a verbal list of further don'ts... Just imagine how interesting the castle would have been if people had disobeyed all the prohibitions at once. That would be worth a few shots....

But anyway - it did make me think: should I have just put the camera in the car, and said "hey, I'm at a medieval fayre. Pass me the mead"?

The issue arose again the following day. We went cycling in the countryside. It's the first time I've been on a bike since my tendon injury, so I certainly didn't want to be carrying much. In fact, now that I think about it, it's the first time I've been cycling since my beautiful, beautiful pink racing bike got stolen in Cornwall (I know who nicked it, and I know roughly where he is... the time will come for retribution, oh yes....). So I left the camera at home this time, and, as you've probably guessed, the views were stunning. I mean, really, truly breathtaking.

So there's that part of me looking at the wonders around me and thinking "damn, damn, damn, why didn't I bring a camera?" And then another part of me kicks in with "for goodness sake, just enjoy it! Be here! Be a tourist / cyclist for the afternoon. And have some more water before you pass out."

So I'd love to share scenes of the Moravian countryside with you, but I can't. You'll just have to imagine a cross between Sussex and Tuscany, and settle in the knowlege that I was truly there, and that I promise I'll take a camera next time.

In the meantime here's a few shots that I did take - hope you like them. It's often tempting to visit the capital of another country and confuse it with the feel of the country itself; if you get a chance to visit the Czech Republic do see if you can get out into the countryside. It has a very different feel to Prague, and is truly wonderful.

And remember to take a camera.

Comments

[Mark]

Sounds nice. I really must go there one day.