Once upon a time, a man bought a magic zucchini in Diagon Alley. The secret of this fairy item was that it could turn into the finest photographic lens but only in the early morning sunlight. So the man had to wake up at 5 am to study and practice this sort of light magic. In the second half of the morning, the spell used to disappear and the lens used to become a vegetable again.
This story is actually almost true. This man is not Harry Potter, he is me, @x-rain. I really got addicted to early morning cycling with my zucchini-like telephoto lens in search of city wonders.
Let me share some of my humble findings in the old city of Saint Petersburg (full of magic and fantastic beasts if you want to know).
Vertical stripes and a pathway made of wires. People were hurrying to the offices below and I saw understanding in their content faces - they were under the same spell of morning beauty.
Hard to believe, this 109-years-old building was constructed not for serving as a train station or a city hall but a regular revenue. The clock works but it has its own point of view of time and space, and it shows what it wants, not the dull current time. (54 minutes ahead if you are interested.)
Not only monkeys but also fantastic chimneys love crowding together for watching the sunrise. Why not? In the summer, no one stokes the fireplace.
If you want a magic Zucchinnor 70-300mm for yourself, go to the North Side of Diagon Alley. There, you'll find vegetables of this kind at Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment.
This is my original story and photos for the #monomad challenge. The images were taken with Nikon D750 + Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G in July / September 2021, never published before on the Internet | My portfolio on Alamy | My Facebook.