Hofreitschule - Vienna
Another image from my Vienna file - Hofreitschule (Royal Riding School):
![[]](/blog/pics/Hofreitschule.jpg)
The interesting thing about this image is not necessarily the fact that these stunning and famous Lippizaner Stallions are being worked in what must be the world's most lavish riding hall - but how difficult it was to actually *obtain* the image.
Because you see - the facility has a strict no-photo policy. And by "strict" those Austrians really mean *strict* (the word "Nazi" creeps to mind, but I won't go there...). During the entire workout presentation, they had guards with sinister faces circulating among the crowd, yelling at you if they even sensed you were thinking about using that camera that hung around your neck. They even threatened to kick you out of the building altogether if they caught you in the act.
They claimed that the flashes of (those mostly all-automatic consumer) cameras made the horses nervous and irritable - and while I actually don't dispute that, they could have just had a no-flash policy instead of a no-photo policy. (The fact that the adjoining gift store was loaded with pretty postcards and picture books of the building and the horses probably had absolutely nothing to do with their policy either ...). After all, my 10D took a perfectly good image without flash and an almost silent shutter...
Astonishingly (and this explains the very presence of the guards), at almost any given moment during the entire 2-hour presentation, you could hear the faint clicks of shutters - mixed in with the blasting tune of Mozart's music - and see the flashes. At this point, I have to sheepishly admit to ganging up with my travel companions in keeping one eye on the guards, while we took turns sneaking our cameras out of the bag, taking a shot, and then instantly dropping it back into the bag or under the shirt.
Why? Because you see - we humans are weak. The breathtaking beauty of the hall, combined with those stunning horses doing flabbergasting things we never thought a horse could do (except in Disney movies), is simply too much for the mere mortal tourist with his camera - it simply has to be recorded. For all eternity. And of course for your friends at home to see. We are even willing to take the risk of a confrontation with one of the meanest guards anywhere just to satisfy one of our most basic urges: the irresistible need to click away.
The interesting thing about this image is not necessarily the fact that these stunning and famous Lippizaner Stallions are being worked in what must be the world's most lavish riding hall - but how difficult it was to actually *obtain* the image.
Because you see - the facility has a strict no-photo policy. And by "strict" those Austrians really mean *strict* (the word "Nazi" creeps to mind, but I won't go there...). During the entire workout presentation, they had guards with sinister faces circulating among the crowd, yelling at you if they even sensed you were thinking about using that camera that hung around your neck. They even threatened to kick you out of the building altogether if they caught you in the act.
They claimed that the flashes of (those mostly all-automatic consumer) cameras made the horses nervous and irritable - and while I actually don't dispute that, they could have just had a no-flash policy instead of a no-photo policy. (The fact that the adjoining gift store was loaded with pretty postcards and picture books of the building and the horses probably had absolutely nothing to do with their policy either ...). After all, my 10D took a perfectly good image without flash and an almost silent shutter...
Astonishingly (and this explains the very presence of the guards), at almost any given moment during the entire 2-hour presentation, you could hear the faint clicks of shutters - mixed in with the blasting tune of Mozart's music - and see the flashes. At this point, I have to sheepishly admit to ganging up with my travel companions in keeping one eye on the guards, while we took turns sneaking our cameras out of the bag, taking a shot, and then instantly dropping it back into the bag or under the shirt.
Why? Because you see - we humans are weak. The breathtaking beauty of the hall, combined with those stunning horses doing flabbergasting things we never thought a horse could do (except in Disney movies), is simply too much for the mere mortal tourist with his camera - it simply has to be recorded. For all eternity. And of course for your friends at home to see. We are even willing to take the risk of a confrontation with one of the meanest guards anywhere just to satisfy one of our most basic urges: the irresistible need to click away.
Labels: oregon stock photography, photography, travel, travel photographer
posted by Simone at 8:34 AM
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