Golden Hour

Dawn falls on the medieval citadel of Sighisoara

 The “golden hours” of photography are dawn and dusk. Maybe 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after. That doesn’t stop me from shooting at other times. When you are on a trip, you have to get as many photos as you can.

I didn’t delete many of my shots while I was touring Romania with Daniel Gheorghita, my photographer/guide. Daniel was merciless in deleting any he didn’t think came up to his standards. After all, Daniel would be back again and again, God willing.

The morning I shot this landscape, Daniel and I arose at 5 or so and drove to the hill opposite the citadel. I was dressed for cold weather, wearing long johns, woolen knee sox, and four layers of ski undershirts, sweaters and jacket. I was toasty, ready for cold weather because I had once been told by an English woman that her mother’s maxim was, “There is no such thing as bad weather, there are only bad clothes.” Daniel wasn’t so well prepared although he insisted that he felt no discomfort since he was ‘trained’ as a tour guide. It seemed to me that Daniel thought a tour guide was similar to the Navy Seals!

Sighisoara’s citadel was begun in the 12th century and enlarged in the 14th. The square is surrounded by orange, green and blue stucco buildings. They seem to be warped as if reflected in a fun house mirror. The citadel is much smaller than that of Sibiu and can be walked in an hour or so. I stayed in a small hotel in the center of the citadel. So cozy! I could sit at a table on the square to enjoy some papanash with coffee and soak up the atmosphere.  To me, sitting in a cafe is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

For your own photo tour or other type of tour, contact Daniel:  covinnus@covinnus.com