Have a crack at dawn

In the early morning, the light is low and changing, throwing shadows and glowing on stonework

The trouble with visiting famous sites is all the bloody tourists who get in the way.

Of course, if we’re there, we’re part of the problem. It’s like the absurdity of sitting in a car complaining about the traffic.

But there is a way of dealing with this, which is worth the effort for a host of reasons. What you do is to creep out of your hotel room at the crack of dawn and roam the streets as the town wakes up and goes about its business, while all the other tourists are still sorting themselves out for the day’s battle of queues, crowded cafés and hassling for a clear moment to get that uncluttered shot of the bridge.

They are still eating their breakfasts while you get to see the residents using this early morning window of normality to get on with their daily activities – parents taking children to school, businesses opening up and locals enjoying a quiet coffee with the morning paper before the visitor tsunami hits the streets.

In the early morning, the light is low and changing, throwing shadows and glowing on stonework.

For the photographer, empty squares allow a selection of angles and easy passage. It’s also very peaceful.

Friends, or are they associates, can be seen stopping for conversations then moving on to their workplaces or the market. You get to see them apparently more relaxed, maybe less irritated by the solitary photographer.

As the streets start to fill, you time your run to find a table for that coffee and pastry that will be your breakfast, hoping the barman who still believes this town does indeed belong to him, is still good humoured.

Then back out to the streets, once more part of the problem. Better take a walk in the hills before the sun gets too high.

Here are a few photos from such a morning in Trogir, Croatia.