When you think of Vienna’s Prater as a non-local, first of all the Luna Park with the extraordinary carousels will come to your mind. You may almost forget that the entire huge area around, with its forests and the nature reserve, is also part of it.
Since I’m particularly impressed by the Prater’s atmosphere in winter, I thought about transferring this sad and morbid ambiance to my memory card. But why is it that the Prater looks like this in winter?
Most carousels and rollercoasters close end of October for hibernation. This results in a unique atmosphere: Fewer carousels attract fewer visitors, which creates some sort of a ghost town. A huge area with creepy figures, ghost trains, bumper cars etc., all unoccupied and in a state of hibernation, make an excellent shooting location.
Besides the location photographers can also get excited by other things in the Prater. You won’t find bizarre colors and shapes creating unique contrasts anywhere else but in a Luna Park.
As I didn’t use a wide-angle lens but my SIGMA 50-100mm F1.8 DC | Art this time, I was able to focus on several lovely decorated details. Show booths and shooting stands depend on the attention of their occasional customers, so the more colorful things are the better, and thus of course the more interesting for photographers and for my humble self as well.