I was walking the quiet backstreets of Kotor’s Old Town with no specific photographic intentions, just waiting for compositions to come to me – and that’s what’s happened here. What first caught my eye was the worn, uneven textures and patterns of the cobblestones leading uphill, framed naturally by the buildings either side. This wasn’t a planned composition. It was a reaction — a moment of inspiration. You kind of feel it before you think it.
It’s the details that kept me looking: exposed cabling clinging to ancient walls, a satellite dish oddly at home among the exposed stonework, those old wooden shutters, and staircases worn down by generations of feet. It’s a tangle of textures, lines, and fading colour — but also very harmonious. The more time you spend looking at it, the more layers you see. There’s a raw, rustic charm that photographs very well – The untold stories and social history that has soaked into these stones. That’s what made me lift the camera.
Framing was instinctive. I used the two walls on either side to guide the composition, with the steps and the slant of the cobbles pulling the viewer in. There’s no sky in this image – deliberately so. I wanted all attention locked into the depth of the scene. No distractions. Just texture, form, and the feel of that textured old stone.
How I processed it
This wasn’t a photograph about colour – but colour still mattered. In Lightroom, I pulled back the saturation and used the tone curve to give it a more faded look. I didn’t want too much punch or contrast; I wanted atmosphere. The muted palette helps your eye settle onto the surfaces – the cracked plaster, the worn steps, the shutters – without being pulled away by anything too bold. It’s a shot about detail and age, not bright colours.
Let me know what you see
Every photo tells a story, but often what you notice first isn’t what someone else will notice. Drop a comment below – what stands out to you in this image? Any questions on how it was processed, or something you’d like to learn more about? Always happy to share more.
