Westlicht / Photos

There's a photography / camera museum here called Westlicht.

After German class today, I went there to see their Polaroid exhibit (you can read all about it on the link above.)

I kept wishing my buddy J. Don Cook could have been there with me; I know he would have appreciated not only the great photos, but also the fantastic display of interesting cameras they have on display.

(By the way, J. Don is a photographer of some note, nominated several times for a Pulitzer for his photography, and his new book SHOOTING FROM THE HIP: PHOTOS & ESSAYS is a must-see / must-read.)

I'd heard Polaroid made a few cameras capable of shooting 20 X 24 inch pictures; seven cameras, actually, of which five are still working and in use for special projects. I saw a number of shots from these cameras and they're stunning----no grain.

Before the museum opened, and then afterward as I roamed around, I shot some pics of life in Vienna:

Leaving the museum, I saw a guy's hand and feet through the exit at the bottom of the stairs.

Old building, partly reflected in the glass of a new building.

A clerk in an upscale menswear store.

I stopped for a beer at Cafe Alt Wien.

Another beautiful building in the light of the setting sun.

This is a video screen in the subway tunnel, at eye level with the cab of the lead subway car,
where the driver sits. He can look at the monitor to make sure nobody's in danger before he drives off.

This was a handheld exposure at about 1/2 second.
Usually I can get better results even at this slow shutter speed but I forgot and moved the camera before the image got fully recorded----but I kind of like the smeared look of the shot. Interior, Cafe Alt Wien.