Personal Cinema; Święty Marcin

 

Personal Cinema is a way for me to look back on the images and tell the story behind some of the ones that have moved me and that have some insight to offer into how it came to be. These images really have become my personal cinema, frames from my life living here in Poland, stories that move me. I hope you enjoy this series.

In my hunting of “moments” this street in Poznan offered me more than my fair share and remained an inspiration for much of my time in the city. At one time, long before I ever set foot onto the pavement of Święty Marcin, this street was the heart of the city. But, for me, it was the heart of my journey.

Close to this street, is the Pasaz Apollo where the now infamous Bigfoot Coffee Shop that Agnieszka and I owned operated at. I spent a great deal of my days there, pouring coffee, chatting, meeting new people, making new friends and getting a really good daily dose of this new life through this contact and perspective.  Truly a life changing and invaluable experience that I am always in awe of.

But, that is a story for another time.

Święty Marcin was often the street that I would walk down into the city to get to Bigfoot and often I timed it so that I could enjoy the sunrise throughout the year, taking in the brilliant light that would pour down and cast the long shadows that I love. There is something truly captivating in how the street is laid out and runs east/west so that the sun would gain maximum exposure as it came up where the shadows would deepen and make it seem that it was from another time.  Man, I loved this.

I chose this frame from the vast collection of images I sht becasue there is this magic that I woudl often experience on this particular street and along this segment of sidewalk that truly appealed to me and my appraoch. I love the low light and shadows being cast and how there is a light mist in the air on this crisp morning. The man passed me and I wasnt aware of his approach until he had, but he offered me exactly what I needed to make the mystery of the morning just a little bit more interesting. So thank you kind sir for giving me your impression and much-needed life to my cinema.

This street alone offered me perspectives that I wouldn’t have had otherwise and gave me the chance to really embrace nostalgia. The way the street was laid out and faced into the sun setting or sun rising was one of those perspectives, giving me plenty of practice with how to best use this light for my imagery. And then it was also how the street is a little bit older, run down and filled with a misch masch of stores and living space creating a backdrop of interesting perspectives and characters to fill them. And here, on this sidewalk where I shot this image, with the stores giving slight reflections was where I really found my pace and the kind of “soul” that made my heart soar as well as fully embracing the notion of nostalgia which this street seems to have been built upon.

I usually dropped my things off at the coffee shop first, starting up the espresso machine and then head out to shoot for a while, finishing at the store for whatever was needed. More often than not, I would go back towards Święty Marcin first to have a look and see what the light looked like. If I was too ealry for it then I headed out into the city, but if my timing was right then I would stay here for a bit looking for long shadows and the people who cast them.  It didnt matter to me if I had taken simialr shots before becasue I was always in some way working to find my story but also, I simply loved the set that was laid out before me and the light that would soon fill it.

When an older tram would roll down the street and into the rising sun, I was completely in heaven watching as it moved past, grinding along and disappearing around the bend. But, usually it was the people walking to work that really caught my attention and gave me the inspiration I was after. This street taught me quite a lot about my approach and the things that would make me look twice. It taught me how to look for magic and to appreciate it once it arrived.

And although not always sunny, the street provided me with puddles galour when it rained, amazing spots of interest when it snowed and moody cinematic frames in darkness. It was the sun that really drew me in and allowed me to love these morning walks but it was this street that gave me countless moments of inspiration to draw from that I take with me now. Today, this ones clearly about the sun and shadows, a mystery of a man walking to work, but I have every season to show and every weather possible in it to share. You can see some of them here Święty Marcin…..enjoy the memory lane!

Currently, Święty Marcin, is under massive enovation and the last time I was there it was a shadow of what it was before, but I think when its done I will return to find those long shadows again and see if time travel is still possible. I am excited to see how it will look once unveiled in its next incarnation.

Until next time….Thank you for entertaining my little cinema with me today.

If you liked this, please comment or give it a like! I love to hear your thoughts and interest. It helps me gauge what I am doing and if it is at all worth the pursuit. Thank you.