Sights without tourists: The beautiful emptiness

You imagine him so beautiful, the view from the Paris Eiffel Tower on the rooftops of the capital. But as soon as one is up, one thing becomes clear: others had this plan too.

And then you crowd with many other tourists on the railing, hear the loud voices of the tourist guides and can not shoot a photo without anyone in the way. It would be everyone in such a place like to be alone, to let him work in peace.

In the images of the Zurich Michele Limina this desire is heard: He selects well-known and popular places - such as the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, the Alexanderplatz in Berlin or the Arc de Triomphe in Paris - and shows them deserted, at least as good as.

Limina exposes his photos for 15 minutes to an hour. Often he has to repeat his shots or return to a place, for example, because the weather changed during the recording. "You have to be very patient, deal with setbacks and not give up," he says. "It decelerates insanely and, in my opinion, is just as efficient as meditation."

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At the center of the photos is always a well-known building, in front of it a place that seems to be leaving. Limina carefully selects the respective location, because if the position of the sun and thus the light changes, this must not be seen at the end. The photographer also pays attention to the people: "One inevitably becomes the observer of various scenes, which at times seem grotesque and funny."

Not all passersby become invisible due to the long exposure. Contours of walking or sitting figures appear almost ghostly in the pictures, but sometimes not a single person is visible. "The longer the exposure, the fewer silhouettes you see, the more and faster you move on the pitch, the less disruptive," says Limina.

In post-production, the photographer only lights up or darkens his pictures - they should remain as authentic as possible. Limina plans to visit other famous places in Europe such as the Red Square in Moscow, the Prater in Vienna or the Big Ben in London. He also wants to travel to the megacities of Asia or America.