Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Don't travel

Copyright for text and photos: Jan Krcmar 2009
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Because, after all, if you look close enough, everything looks the same everywhere. This is a simple exercise in selective reception. Look only at what seems familiar and realise that there is no substantial difference between, let's say, Prague and Montreal. I will post more and more examples to prove my point. Here's a few views from Prague, which might look the same everywhere else.



But then again, why should there be a difference between buildings or streets built by people of the western civilisation? And how different can buildings and streets be? How many really different styles can survive in the absence of indigenous design?



So next time you walk down a road and you see a courtyard or a wall or a construction site, take a while to think about what really is specific to your country or your cities. Because whilst making my point, I am of course vastly exaggerating.



And I'll leave you with two more examples from Prague. The idea is, that in the future I will mix these with images from other cities and I will not even tell you, where the photos were taken.



And this is where I have to admit I have cheated slightly from my original plan. My idea was to publish and compare only photographs taken with the same lense (old russian zenit 42mm). But sadly, often I carry only my camera with one lense around and the only photo in this series taken according to my self-imposed rules is the last one with the empty fridges. But expect loads more to follow.

Don't go too far

Copyright for text and photos: Jan Krcmar 2009
As always, for better viewing open the post in a separate window. To do so, click here.


This is a very simple thought. Next time you walk down any road, any street, anything, take a look at the buildings. But up close. I mean, take a look at the surface. You will be amazed at the beauty of the texture, the colours, the simple joy from the unwanted (in most cases) design of the walls around us. Here's a few examples, all from Prague.




Or is it just me? There are surfaces which look like a beautiful painting, especially on buildings from the middle of the 20th century, and - this is a bit of a stereotype I have to admit - socialist buildings. And what especially takes my breath away is if the surface is in perfect combination with a vent, a fan, a window, etc. Look at this and tell me if it is just me, who likes this.