June 30, 2026

On window light

A friend suggested the observatory hill months ago, and this week I finally went. I tried a few long exposures, but the wind had other ideas. The handheld shots turned out better anyway.

Locals barely noticed me. A man feeding gulls told me the place looks completely different in spring. Working with a borrowed medium format camera forces you to slow down. You think twice before pressing the shutter, and that changes the pictures.

I sat on a bench for almost an hour, just watching morning markets change as the clouds moved. The path was muddy and longer than the map suggested, but the view at the end made up for it.

There is something calming about returning to the same spot and noticing small changes since the last visit. Walking back, I found a side street I had never noticed before, lined with tiny workshops.

I underexposed most of the frames on purpose, to keep the mood unhurried rather than bright. I kept a paper notebook this time, writing down the time and the light for every roll.

It was a good reminder that interesting pictures rarely require going far.