Cycling across historical center of St.Petersburg

This is a post to go with #WednesdayWalk challenge by @tattoodjay

Yesterday's weather turned out to be an exception in a string of cloudy, rainy, cold days - the sun kissed the townspeople, and I took advantage of this for a big bike ride to the city center. In fact, I had an important business - buying an audio cable (I need a 3.5 jack to 2 RCA adapter to connect the amplifier to the computer) ... anyway, I took a camera with me just in case - and did not in vain! The meeting broke down, we could not contact - such a banality! - due to a dead phone).

Well, since I was already in the center, I parked my bike and decided to take a walk and take pictures of my favorite genre - street. Unfortunately, cycling and photography don't go well together, but when the bike is stationary and I'm walking apart from it, everything is great! The evening was warm, I was in no hurry, and the walk lasted two hours: from Sennaya Square along Grivtsova Lane, the embankment of the Moika River, to St. Isaac's Square and back.

St. Isaac's Square is located in a fashionable area of the city, named after the cathedral of the same name; it is a visiting card and one of the most fashionable tourist-oriented places.

#img #srs

Suffice it to say that in addition to St. Isaac's Cathedral, the perimeter of the square is decorated with the historical hotels "Angleterre" and "Astoria" (the latter in 2007 was included in the list of the most romantic hotels in the world compiled by Forbes magazine), the Horse Guards Manege (various exhibitions are held here), a monument to the emperor Nicholas I, Mariinsky Palace (currently the seat of the Legislative Assembly of the city). The cathedral itself is not only a museum, but also the best viewing platform for contemplating the urban landscape - its height is 100 meters, in the imperial era it was the tallest building in the city, all views of the city were equal to it, it was forbidden to build higher).

The square in front of the cathedral is a wonderful place for the townspeople to walk, as well as a favorite spot for photo shoots overlooking a beautiful historical place. No wonder that while I was circling around the square, I met three weddings, more precisely, three wedding couples escorted by photographers :)

You can see a wedding pair in the frame, posing to photographer. They did at least 4 takes crossing that spot, while I was around :P

The photographer gives away valuable instructions to his wedding victims, describing the script they should perform. Photos will be completely staged... and that is also a good, legit genre!

Well, as for me I prefer #reportage and #streetphoto, even some spying on folks and their activities, sometimes even from the back, as you see here. Those who claim that street photography is possible without the eye contact are absolutely right! And what is your opinion on this issue?

This is not a great photo - overexposed, and taken contra-light :) but it gives you overall impression of how huge it is...
On the left in this frame - a piece of the little garden in front of the Mariinsky Palace, on the right - a slice of Astoria Hotel.

Here, everything is located on the daily basis and the largest parking lot of royal and baronial carriages (ok, I did not compare, perhaps there is even more parking on the palace square).

If you want to see a live horse, or ride in a carriage among the traffic, or your desire is more modest - just take a couple of photos - on this square your wish will certainly come true ... I think that even on a rainy day :)

The flowers baskets are everywhere; walkers enjoy the blooming season on its peak, and cant pass by without taking a selfie. 😎

Tourist-attractive spots are usually "served" by such costumed people who are trained to lure tourists into a photo session (which naturally monetizes in their favor). They usually don't stick to folks with big cameras (like me) - they feel that we are their natural rivals :) besides that, I simply don't smell with a lot of money...

When I arrived, they were already leaving - probably, their "working hours" might have come to the end; otherwise I would have taken more photos. I love to see such costumed re-enactment of history on the streets of the city, I am a big fan (especially when it does not cost me!).

Access to the lawn is open, and the lawn does not stay empty. People lie down on the grass, chat, smoke, listen to the music, read books, drink their drinks, draw sketches, have fun, and of course take a lot of pictures...

...especially the wedding pairs, as I've mentioned above.

If I will not forget I will include this “happy click” in my best shots of 2023 list. I have captured a luxurious moment of life here, isn't it? This pair have forgot that there is a war going on, a war between rich and poor, between black and white, between those who know there is a war and between those who dont...

Some sparrows frolicked next to the roses; I very rarely have captures that combine in one frame both birds and flowers - so I tried to take a few close-ups, but didn’t particularly succeed - yes, 200mm is not 500mm, simply does not rank, and besides that these sparrows did not want to let me get closer, and generally had a strange craving for changing places. :)

And it turned out I was not the only observer! look whom I noticed on a tree, hiding in the shadows... (but without a camera, actually, like me).

At the opposite end of the square - next to the Mariinsky Palace - there is another spot, a tiny mini-garden perfectly adapted for all the usual evening needs of city habitants: bench-sitting with a beer or other drink, smoking, chatting, and of course taking selfies.

By the time I got there, it was already covered with a shadow from the late setting sun, which of course did not contribute to warm and sunny photographs. But I still took a few shots for the report. I don't remember when this garden appeared here, but it didn't exist before. Yes, the city changes with every decade, year, and even day. This happens gradually ... and every day a simple reporting trivia, as the present sinks into the past, becomes more and more valuable. Let me round up at this note. 🤗

Thanks for walking with me, hope you enjoyed all the summer life and architectural visuals. See you next time!

All images taken by me, copyright (c) @qwerrie

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