How I shot these Citadel shots
Today, I tell you the story behind my geometric Citadel shots from Budapest. Just a quick introduction to the location. This was originally a fortress built in 1851. The Austrian Empire ordered it after the 1848 revolution in Hungary. Back then, it housed 60 cannons alongside a small army. This place had been a strategic point in Budapest. Later, the Soviet troops occupied it and fired on the city. You can imagine that Hungarians hated this place for long, long decades.
Today, it has been rebuilt as a panoramic meeting place at the top of the Gellert Hill, accompanied by a museum, cafe and restaurant. Being up there is a great experience, as you have almost a 360-degree panorama over the city. But, today, I don't want to show you the panorama, I'd like to show you some geometric shots of the place.
Weather
The weather forecast was changing by the hour. Sunny, then cloudy, then partly sunny with a bit of rain. I decided to go anyway, at least I can check out how they rebuilt the whole place and go back another time if nothing works. Before I headed out, I checked how the sun would illuminate the huge statue with the help of the Photopills app. Arrived there on time, and frankly, I thought the advertised huge staircase would be really huge. But, well, it's not. Not bad, but I wish it would be at least twice as long, twice as big. I had the 35mm on the M11-p and saw that wouldn't be wide enough, so I quickly grabbed the 21mm.
The right time
Of course, the sun was at the perfect position (thank you, Photopills), so after the lens swap, I decided to take the shot from the top of the staircase that leads to the back of the huge Liberty Statue. Although there was a thin cloud cover, it turned out great. The sun was perfectly above the statue. Tried a few different heights to see which one would be the best viewpoint, and the lowest position was the best. I could even use the small slit between the rocks as a leading line.
Immediately after I took the shot, I saw how great the shadow is on the stairs. The statue's complete shadow was there. But, as it was relatively early in the morning, the sun was quickly moving. I rushed down the stairs to be able to catch the enormous shadow on the stairs.
The 21mm was a perfect choice for the morning. What I love about this Super-Elmarit is the complete lack of distortion. With a usual 21mm, I would certainly compose a little wider to tame the inherent distortion when editing, but with this small beauty, I don't have to.
I don't know if it would be even better with a 16mm, for example. I seldom question the lens choice after I arrive home with the images. I don't feel the point. I feel that 16 might have been too wide for these.
The settings
All shots were taken with the Leica M11-p with the Leica Super-Elmarit 21mm lens at ISO 64, f/8, and shutter speed varied between 1/640-1/750.