Travel and photography go very well together.
I don't think some people go on a trip and don't take at least one photo, especially now that everyone has a camera in their pocket (put in their smartphone).
Some take more photos, some take fewer. Some take more images of what they see particularly in the new places they visit... others take more of themselves but still with a background where you can see something of the location.
I take photos wherever I go, whether on a walk in the city center or a beach holiday in a foreign country. My wife isn't happy with this and tells me I don't see what I visit anymore because of the photos... That's not true, but she is upset that I somehow leave her alone, as I am busy looking for the most interesting pictures to "steal" with my camera.
I've often wondered what I am, a traveler who photographs or a photographer who travels?
The answer to this question is unfavorable because I know well that I am neither a great traveler nor a true photographer. I can say that I am an amateur in both aspects, as I travel less and less and do not possess the technical and practical knowledge to photograph professionally. I travel when I can and shoot by ear!
I don't know if this expression I used is understandable. It is a paraphrase of the expression that someone "sings by ear", that is to say, he does not know the musical notes and sings only as he hears.
I most like to take pictures during my travels, to remain a memory harder to erase than the memories in my head. The second reason, no less important, is because I like to write about my travels and that can't be done without photos.
Those travel blog photos posted in specific travel communities are seen as adding to and demonstrating the truth told through words, they are not the most important part of the story.
On the other hand, many of the travel photos are good photos or at least the author who would like to confirm this belief may think so. Confirmation can only come from a community of photographers or photography lovers. In this case, the photos are most important in a post, not necessarily the story.
With the above in mind, I will try to show many of these photos just for their own sake and not as a travel blog.
A small part of downtown Iasi in Romania.
That's all that's left of an old church wall and I'm glad they didn't tear it down and leave it there for those who see it to think about the past... to think about the passage of time and what's left after us!
On the right of the wall is the Palace of Culture, a symbol of the city and one of the most beautiful urban castles in Europe.
On the left is a shopping mall, not coincidentally called Palas, although it should have been Palace.
The special part is the park next to the mall and behind the Palace of Culture. This park is more like a garden...
A place of freedom!
This statement will probably surprise you I have to explain. In the communist past of Romania, where I lived for over 40 years, walking on the grass in the parks was forbidden. Ignoring this prohibition led to paying a fine for an arrest and spending a night in a Militia cell (the name of the police in those days).
The image of these young people so relaxed, each doing their own thing, fills me with joy. Young people born after the revolution!
The part near the mall is more commercial
Terraces, a carousel, and many small shops that bring joy to children and sadness to parents...
Before this mall was built there was a pit here. Few good architects have managed to transform a wasteland into a splendid garden.
The Garden
Behind the palace, there could only be a splendid garden. It's the place to play and walk.
I hope you noticed this garden's trees and how they are pruned. They are very decorative and... photogenic. A place where there is a lot to photograph, but the proof will be in another post.
