Your Canon Photos No. 17: 27th August to 2nd September 2023

I have been experimenting with a new lens (Laowa FF S 15mm). It is a shift lens and today I took photos of this enormous building with it.The photo below is made of two stitched photos taken without moving the camera. Take that last remark with a pinch of salt, as I was holding it in my hand. I took one photo and moved the lens sideways, taking a second shot. I later stitched these together in Photoshop. I still have a lot to learn about this technique, which I find very helpful for the shots I want to take.

It is not, perhaps a beautiful building, but an interesting one. It was opened on 1 May 1873 as the Hotel Donau, the same day as the opening of the Vienna World's Fair which was timed to celebrate the 25 year of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph. The Fair ran for six months, attracting more than seven million visitors. A contemporary map of the locale is here.

The building was opposite the Nordbahnhof (North Railway Station). In 1907 the building was acquired by the State Railways, today the Austrian Federal Railways, as one can see from the ÖBB acronym on the doors (Österreichische Bundesbahnen). The Nordbahnhof was used until 1945 and, among others, many Jews passed through on their way to Theresienstadt or Auschwitz. There are plaques (Stolpersteine -- stumbling stones) in the sidewalk outside the main door in their memory.

"In memory of the many Jewish people, for whom the Nordbahnhof was supposed to be a gateway to a better life. They were banished, deported and murdered by the Nazis." Thise named probably lived on an upper floor of the building.

The Nordbahnhof was much damaged by allied bombing at the end of the war and demolished in 1965, though the tracks are still used for local traffic

Known today as Nordbahnstrasse 50, the former hotel seems to have escaped bombing, though the floors inside did have to be replaced about 15 years ago. This apartment block is one of those that today occupy the area of the former station:

One can identify prewar buildings here by the height of the ceilings. Those in our house are over 3 metres (10ft) high. The apartment building above gets eleven stories in the former space of five. When houses are rebuilt, as was necessitated by war damage, the ceilings are also greatly lowered, even though the exterior matches the old style. One can see that in the two buildings further down the street, where five floors now take the place of four.

Also to be seen are tramlines and cables to power the trams, which are the bane of a photographer here!

David

Still learning with this shift/panorama stitching technique. This is a picture of the familiar Neuer Markt. It was a panorama made by tuning the camera on the tripod. I dont think there is a way of preventing curves when the buildings are further away. So maybe I can write this one off to experience, except to say that it shows the excellent quality of the Laowa lens. By the way, I have found that setting the exposure and focus of this manual lens by hand is not as difficult as I anticipated. By the way, four people got into the picture twice -- they must have been walking very fast!

The Capucin Church, on the left, has a crypt where nearly all the Austrian royal family are buried. I have never taken the tour...

The second one came out better than I expected. It is two shots, using the left-right shifting mechanism. The original was actually much wider, but the content at the sides was not very interesting. What I like about it is that when I look at the original image at full size, such that the vertical aspect fills my screen, moving the image around the screen gives me the impression of being there, which is what I am after.

I would be interested to have your comments, please -- even if you think these experimental pictures or the actual technique are rubbish! 😀

David

Thanks for your nice comments. Digi. In the case of the first picture, it is not possible to get further away. I think I could do better with a 35mm lens (last time I did that scene I used 50mm, but the horizontal spread was not as wide).

David

Another fascinating week has gone by.

Mocha took us on another walk along the Macclesfield Canal. He keeps coming up with new and varied things to show us there.

Rather than his usual inanimate mystery objects, Simplejoy showed us small animals, patiently captured.

Steve T creatively explored different metering algorithms with worthwhile results. Meantime, his yard continues to attract wildlife: this time turkeys and a groundhog, plus the cat. All a bit like a scene from Peter and the Wolf. He returned later with creative shots involving the full moon, and also produced lovely red flowers that we are still trying to identify.

Digirame's vacation is still yielding impressive results: this time sunset shots of Lake Tahoe.

Photobygms went to Luxembourg amd returned with very different pictures from those he can take in The Netherlands: lovely forest greenery and rocks!

Simplejoy countered with some of his green photos -- also excellent.

SandyF showed pictures of the Potomac River at Great Falls National Park in Virginia, with a glimpse of Maryland also. Another great winner from her.

There was lots of interesting discussion this week, which is always good to read.

The new weekly thread is open here. Please start using it now.

Maybe try portrait mode...

David