The tops spots page is continually the most visited place on the blog, with Prague being the number one by far. Looks like many people who like to take photos are searching for the best spots :)

And recently, I also added a suggestions for a local photographers who offer guided tours. There is one in the Prague list, and also one in the Budapest list. So if you planing a trip, and want a photographer guide, go check them out :) And don’t forget to check out the lists.

Amsterdam

 

Cesky Krumlov

 

The tops spots page is continually the most visited place on the blog, with Prague being the number one by far. Looks like many people who like to take photos are searching for the best spots :)

A really long time passed since I added a page to the Top spots category and today is the day I added a new one. This time it Cesky Krumlova and you can see there a list of all the spots I like the most in the city. There again are 5 spots for you, and this time, also a suggested path, how I think is the best way to hit all of them in one go :)

You can check the list here Top 5 photography spots in Cesky Krumlov and here is my favorite photo I took there.

And don’t forget to check all the other lists :)

Cesky Krumlov is a wonderful place for a photographer to visit. Many great views of the city, all within a few minutes walking distance from each other. So in this list, lets look at the spots I liked the most while being there.

Don’t forget to check out other available lists:

Also, if you would prefer to have a photographer guide in Cesky Krumlov, you can check out Johnny from Johnny’s Prague Photo tours, who now also offers tours in Cesky Krumlov. More about that on his website here.

1. Viewing platform near the castle

This platform gives you just the best view of the city center. It’s especially great for when you are trying to take a panorama shot. There is one problem with this location though, that it is closed at night. So you can get there from around 7 in the morning to sometime in the afternoon (I don’t remember there being opening times written on the door). The entry is free, and of course, you can use your tripod there.

View this location in Google maps. GPS 48.81211, 14.31228

2. Viewing platform in the city

This spot will be probably the first you visit as is right at the entrance to the center of the city. It gives a very nice view of the castle, and from what I have seen, they don’t close the gate to this place even at night. Be ready for it to be quite filled with tourists.

View this location in Google maps. GPS 48.81076, 14.31723

3. Over the staircase (Nad Schody) street

A really adequately named street, as to get there you have to go up the stairs from the city center. The view of the city, and especially of the cathedral in the middle is nice from here, just have a higher tripod, as there are bushes here and there in the way.

View this location in Google maps. GPS 48.80851, 14.31386

4. Parking area

Right when you are entering the center of the city, you will see a small parking area on the right side, that looks like its private and off limits. But it isn’t. Just go there, and you will even find benches under the trees. It gives another very nice view of the castle and the rivers bend.

View this location in Google maps. GPS 48.81075, 14.31926

5. Cloak bridge

Another very nice view of the city center, with one big problem. The problem are the very strong flood lights that you get right in your face. So if you want to get a photo from here, either do it during the day, or do as I did, include more of the bridge. Like this you will hide from the lights.

View this location in Google maps. GPS 48.81263, 14.31302

All these spots are very close to each other, and you can actually create a path between them, going from the 4th, through the 2nd, 5th, 1st and end on the 3rd.

The whole path is only around 2km.

Thats all for this list, don’t forget to check out all the other ones :)

Other available lists:

And we got to another Monday, so let’s get to another before/after process post. For today I chosen this photo of Dubai Marina (which you see every-time you visit this blog :) ), so let’s first take a lot at the finished, and the starting photo.

 
As you can see from the original photo, I could have probably gone even without HDR, but that’s just not what I do :). So what I needed to correct few areas, and overall color.

So I started as always, in Lightroom, correcting lens distortion, the crooked horizon and chromatic aberrations. Then I continued into Oloneo Photoengine, where I combined the exposures.

 
AFter that I contineud in Photoshop. Loading the Photoengine result, together with the original exposures. There I did the following edits (layers numbered form bottom up)

1. Photoengine result
2. -2EV exposure, to darken the strong highlight in the photo
3+4+5. -1EV, 0EV and +1EV exposures, to correct the ghosting from the moving cars
6. I expanded the photo a little one the top and filled it with the sky. This is so the buildings don’t touch the edge of the photo.
7. Merged version with few spots retouched, for instance, I got a little bit of the skyscraper I was on in the corner, which I didn’t like there.
8. Added contrast to the photo
9. First color balance to try and remove the overall purple hue.
10. De-saturated a little the yellow colors, mostly visible on the streets.
11. Second color balance to tweak highlights a little.
12. Changed the hue for the very strong neon lights in the front
13. I usually don’t use the chanel mixer, but the colors were still to purple, so a little less blue and more green in the red chanel helped here.
14. A little more overall desaturation of the blue colors.
15. And to finish a little brightening of the dark areas, using curves and a luminosity selection.

 
And that’s all I did with this image. To find out more on how I edit, check out the guides and before after categories on this blog, or check out my video tutorial series here: