Water flakes, St. Petersburg, Russia

I also like shooting water flakes. They can be quite interesting in terms of deviating the real shape of a building for example or of a person through the riddles of the water. They can be also intriguing due to their mirroring perspective. I have taken a few of these water flake shots in SPB.

All shots taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Planar and using Agfa APX 400 film.

The shot below was taken in one of not so cozy neighborhood of St. Petersburg. It was shot in April when the snow melts in the city and almost everywhere you find water leaking on the asphalt as well as mud. This is due I believe to poor sewage system that prevents all this water to leak properly off the roads. This shot shows part of a man strolling his child.

This 2nd shot is off the iconic Lada car. I initially wanted to have someone as well stepping over the flake to add some dynamism to the picture. Unfortunately, I was not much lucky on this one that day. Nevertheless, it still shows some very strong icons of Russia both being the Lada car and those big cold and rubbled story buildings built in the communist era.

Spiked railings, St. Petersburg, Russia

I find myself sometime shooting railings. These can be quite photogenic in my opinion with quite various forms and shapes or adornments on them. They also show repetitions which can be of a photographic advantage. This particular railing I liked of its spiked top and complemented well with the background pedestrian panel.

Shot taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Planar 50mm and using Kodak Tri-X Film.

Yield sign on building, St. Petersburg, Russia

This yield sign caught my eye in the center of St. Petersburg. It's actually surreal to see such sign hanging on the wall of a building, instead on the street. However, it is placed underneath some greek stlyle columns and I can think the sign is related somehow to the verticalness of these columns. The facade of the building looked quite in rubbles.

Shot taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Planar 50mm & using Kodak Trix-X 400 film.

Passer-by and arched bridge, St. Petersburg, Russia

I'm always interested to catch geometrical forms or shapes and this bridge caught my eye with its croissant shape. I also wanted to include some dynamism to this picture, so I patiently waited until somebody would show up on the bridge and so this lady did. This lady also made a good opposition with the lamp post. I did not notice in first place, but some shadows on the bridge did come out pretty well.

Photo taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Planar 50mm & using Kodak Tri-X 400 film.

The tramway stop and the hair conditioner ad billboard, St. Petersburg, Russia

In this picture, I wanted to catch two completely seperate things but which somehow coexist in today's Russia. On one side the typical tramway stop sign and on the other side, the ad billboard for a hair conditioner of a western company. I felt there was enough contrast colliding between the two to allow for a shot.

Photo taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Planar 50mm & using Kodak Tri-X 400 film.

Broken drain pipe, St. Petersburg, Russia

This is a photo taken of a broken drain pipe. They are not very esthetic on a building since they are quite large and folded or broken like in this picture. Hence you are wondering in heavy rain how the water would get properly conducted to the ground. On the other hand, I found this broken pipe actually quite esthetic from a photography standpoint.

Photo taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Planar 50mm and using Kodak Tri-X 400 film.

Cables and lamps, St. Petersburg, Russia

Wire cables on the streets of St. Petersburg can become quite interesting I think to shoot. There are some lamp posts where there tend to be quite some straight and twisted cables around and going in different directions which can make it quite complex from a visual standpoint. This can provide opportunities for great graphical shots with interesting shapes & lines as well.

Photo taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Planar 50mm & using Agfa APX 400 film.

Photo taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Planar 50mm & using Agfa APX 400 film.

Photo taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Plannar 50mm & using Agfa APX 400 film.

Photo taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Planar 50mm & using Agfa APX 400 film.

Photo taken with a Leica M7, Zeiss Planar 50mm & using Agfa APX 400 film.