We finally made it to Prague and it was totally worth the wait!
12 intrepid (and very patient) travel photographers joined KelbyOne Instructor Mimo Meidany and me for an absolutely unforgettable experience in one of the most photogenic cities in all of Europe: Prague! This workshop was initially planned for May of 2020, but then COVID hit; the Czech Republic (and most of the world) shut down for travel, but we hung in there for more than two years, and let me tell you – it was awesome!!! Everything: the food was fantastic (and shockingly inexpensive – beer was around $1.15 for a frosty mug), the weather was picture perfect, everybody came back with lots of beautiful images, and we made some new friends along the way.
I arrived a few days earlier than usual with Jason Stevens (the director of "The Grid," an accomplished photographer, very fun chill guy, and ace video guru from our video production team) to record two travel photography online courses for KelbyOne: one on how to photograph travel interiors like palaces, cathedrals, museums, libraries, etc., and then a "Part 2" on how to do the post-processing for those types of images. We couldn't have chosen a better city for a course like this, plus I was able to do some location scouting for my workshop coming up later in the week. I'll share the rest of the stories in the captions section of the photos, but I can tell you Mimo, and I were blessed to have such a great group of photographers on this trip. Most of them had been on one of my travel workshops before, so it was more like just together with old friends on vacation, which is one of the things I love best about doing these workshops: the people and friendships you form along the way.
As far as the workshop goes, here's how our days go: we start with a location sunrise shoot (our private bus leaves the hotel at 4:40 am, so we're in place 30-minutes before the 5:30 am sunrise, so we get the best light with little to no tourists anywhere in sight). We often head to a 2nd nearby shoot; then, it's back to the hotel for a yummy buffet breakfast (our home base was The Hilton Old Town – highly recommended). Next, we hit the classroom to edit the images from that morning's shoot, then each participant turns in three of their best shots from that dawn shoot, and we do in-class critiques (the participants list this as one of the most helpful parts of the workshop). Then we have class sessions where Mimo and I teach travel photography and post production. Then we head out for another shoot (usually indoors), and after that, we catch a super yummy lunch around 12:30 pm-ish. After lunch, we take a long Siesta until 5:30 pm so everybody can catch up on sleep, or do some shopping, sightseeing, etc. We meet up again in the classroom or back on the bus off to another location, and then a sunset shoot. After that, it's time for dinner and hanging out with everybody sharing stories from the day. We stay really busy and accomplish a ton, but we have so much fun every step of the way. So, now you know how our days are structured. OK, enough jibber-jabber; on to the photos!
Above: I'm starting with one of my favorite photos from the week. We always try to create special surprise shoots for our workshop folks, and in this case, we were able to hire a ballerina from the Czech National Ballet to pose for us in a beautiful multi-layered garden, and she was just fantastic. All shot in natural light (though we did use a 1-stop diffuser to soften the light in one tricky situation way up high overlooking the castle). You'll see some behind-the-scenes shots from this shoot farther down the page, but it was very special to have a ballerina in a city known for its classical music.
Prague’s Synagogues are amazing!
When I was doing my research on Prague, some of the most fantastic interior images came from two synagogues; my favorite is the Spanish Synagogue (shown below in the first two shots and the BTS), and another beautiful but with a totally different look, is the Jerusalem Synagogue (shown below those three).
Time for some Behind-The-Scenes Workshop Photos (courtesy of "The Mimo")
Below: from our "night before" get-together dinner up top, then some shots from our ballerina shoot, some classroom shots below that, and some shots of us shooting around Prague early and late. The bottom image is of us just after dawn on the famous Charles Bridge (Prague's iconic bridge, much like the Eiffel Tower, is Paris' icon or the Leaning Tower is Pisa's). Fifteen minutes after we leave, the bridge starts to fill up with tourists, and then it's packed slam-full the rest of the day and night.
BELOW: here's a nice behind-the-scenes video (thank you, Mimo) that gives you a great sense of what it's like being there first thing in the morning on the CHARLES BRIDGE.
ABOVE: When I was researching for the trip, as you might imagine, I saw many of the same types of shots of the same places, but there was one photographer whose work really stood out to me – especially his photographs of Prague in the winter. His name is Denis Poltoradnev, but his Instagram handle is @dropolto. He's a Psychiatrist and an award-winning photographer, and I was so inspired by one of his shots that I sent it to Evo and asked him where it was taken. He was sure he knew the exact hill it was taken from, so Jason, Evo, and I hiked up it. It was a relatively long and often somewhat steep climb to get there. Still, I wanted to scout it during the day before making it an optional night shooting location after our staircase shoot (four participants opted out and headed back to the hotel. We now refer to them as "the lucky ones)." We studied Google Maps and Google Earth for a closer path to get there so the climb wouldn't be as long. We were able to find a route with the bus getting us most of the way there, and sure enough – it turned out the walk was much shorter but WAY steeper, like straight up the hill. It pretty much kicked our butts both going up and back down, but we did get nice shots from that view. We now refer to that shoot as the "Scott's Workshop Forced Death March." Anyway, Denis' image is vertical, and I'm showing my horizontal view of it above, but a tip of the hat to him for coming up with this location – it's really his shot, and we're just following in his footsteps.
BELOW: Here's a short little video showing the gardens where we photographed our ballerina.
The Wonderful World of "Mimo"
My co-teacher in all these workshops is my dear friend, colleague, KelbyOne instructor, photography master, and one of the best people living on this entire planet, Mimo Meidany. No one works harder at these workshops than Mimo. He's committed to helping everyone, teaching, sharing everything he knows, and ensuring everybody comes with amazing pictures and learning new techniques. He's a joy to be around, work with, and hang out with, and he just couldn't be nicer or more patient. Everybody loves him, and with good reason. On this trip, his wonderful wife Megan came along and even brought "Mini Mimo" – their adorable (and super well-behaved) 18-month-old Nicholas. That little boy has no idea how lucky he is to have Mimo and Megan as his parents. My workshop participants know how lucky we were to have him with us in Prague. He is one in a million.
We had the power of Evo. Or Ivan. or Ivo. Maybe all three.
When I first visited Prague about 7 or 8 years ago, I met up with Ivan Navratil, a Prague-based photographer who is also a photo guide, and he took me to places I would never have found on my own. We've kept in touch over the years, so when he saw I was heading to Prague again, he offered to help me find lots of fantastic shooting locations and opportunities for my workshop participants, and he did just that. He was awesome (and he's just an entertaining guy and a great sport, and he helped make the trip for all of us). He spent days scouting locations and arranging things with us, and Mimo and I are indebted to him for all this time and research before and during the workshop. If you're thinking of going to Prague, you should contact him to be your guide. By the way, here in the US, he's called "Ivan," but at home in The Czech Republic, he goes by "Ivo" but it's pronounced "Evo." Here's a link where you can reach Ivan (or Ivo or Evo). He answers to all three. :)
Back to the images
Next stop, is the beautiful architecture of the National Museum.
More Behind-The-Scenes
Here's a quick 21-second behind-the-scenes video (below).
I leave you with…Willey.
I think this was Willey's fourth workshop with me, and he is just a riot. He's the kind of guy you want in your workshop because while he's an excellent shooter, with lots of experience, at the same time, he's 100% crazy (and I mean that as a compliment). He's such a character with a great sense of humor and an incredible attitude, and everybody loves him. Even these police officers who saw him shooting in the middle of the street. They pull up; Willey says, "Hey, is it OK if I shoot here for a minute?" Not only did they let him shoot there, they literally stopped traffic so he could get the shot. I am not making this up. Why would they do that? Because "He's Willey," and that's how life goes when you're around Willey. Thanks, Willey, for letting us be a part of your crazy, fun world (and making the workshop that much better).
Thank you for letting me share this trip with you
I had a wonderful time, I made some new friends, and I got to take a few photos along the way. I had great meals, many laughs, and so many great memories. I recorded two classes, and I've got another one soon called "Where to shoot in Prague" as part of my series on where to shoot in incredible cities. Thanks to all my workshop participants, Ivan, Jason, Mimo, and everybody who stuck with me through the whole COVID delay to make this an unforgettable journey. You are all the best! :)
CAMERA INFO: All of the large-size photos above were taken on a Canon EOS R6 with a 14-35mm RF lens or a 24-240mm RF lens (I only took those two lenses). I used a Platypod Ultra with a Colorado Tripod Company Highline Medium ballhead. I also used a Gitzo traveler tripod when shooting outdoors (I moved the ballhead from my Platypod over to my Gitzo). I transported it all in a Think Tank Photo 4-wheel roller bag but then used a Think Tank Photo Turnstile 10 sling bag as I walked around the city. My camera strap was a Black Rapid 10th-anniversary Classic strap, and I used a 10-stop and a 3-stop ND filter from Breakthrough Photography. I did not bring a cable release; I used a 2-second timer for all indoor shots, and for long exposures, I used the built-in Long Exposure tap-screen feature (which is awesome) to open the shutter and start the timer. Some behind-the-scenes shots were taken on my or Mimo's iPhone, Jason's iPhone, or his EOS R6.
Credits:
Copyright 2022 ©Scott Kelby