May 31st, 2026
Canon R & EF 17-40/4L
Meetings under the "Brzym"
It just so happens we’re having a long weekend here in Poland. Thursday was Corpus Christi, and usually, you take Friday off after this holiday. Yesterday, I was out shooting the procession in Lipiny, a district of Świętochłowice. The procession is a well-known photographic event, and I’ll be writing something longer about it soon. Unfortunately, my wife had a bike accident on Tuesday and broke her arm, which is why I’ve got a bit of a backlog when it comes to writing about current topics. One of those backlogged pieces is the folk culture festival that takes place every year at the open-air museum in my hometown of Pszczyna.
“Spotkania pod Brzymem” (Meetings under the Brzym) is one of the oldest and reportedly most important folklore festivals in Silesia, held regularly at the Open-Air Village Museum in Pszczyna. The event consists of two main parts and traditionally combines performances by folk groups with a fair featuring regional products and handicrafts. The event is split over two days: Mały Brzym (Little Brzym) – a showcase of Children’s Regional Groups, where the youngest present Silesian dances, songs, and dialect. My daughter performed there last year with her dance group. Then there’s Duży Brzym (Big Brzym, or the actual Meetings under the Brzym) – the main, adult showcase of folk groups from all over the region. The festival is always accompanied by the Festival of Local Products of the Pszczyna Land, where you can try traditional Silesian delicacies, take part in workshops, and buy goods from local craftsmen.
You’re probably wondering where the name comes from. In the Silesian dialect, brzym means a larch tree. And larch was a popular material for making wooden shingles. I’m making a bold assumption here that the shingles in the open-air museum are exactly that - larch.
Christ, I really didn't want to go
My buddy Michał talked me into this trip to the museum. I wasn't too keen on it, mostly because I still had last year's children's "competition" fresh in my memory. Thank God I let him convince me, because it was actually really cool. The people were incredibly friendly and, above all, used to having their pictures taken. Nobody gave us the stink eye, and the overall atmosphere was fantastic.
It's worth mentioning that this year marked a round anniversary for the event. The festival celebrated its 50th birthday. And looking at the average age of the participants, there could very well have been people there who remember the first edition from 1976 and maybe even took part in it!
We kind of blew off the market section. It was just local craftsmen displaying their goods, and after our experiences at flea markets, we pretty much know that vendors of all stripes really don't like getting their pictures taken. That's why we mostly hung around the stage, among the folk groups. But on our way back from the market area, we got accosted by two older ladies...
The Crew from Bieruń
The ladies turned out to be members of a dance group from Bieruń. They asked us to take a group photo of them with their phones. In a classic barter exchange, we took some shots of them with our cameras, too. Overall, the group was absolutely rad. We got to know their names, their ages, and the fact that they got funding to shoot a music video. I don't want to jinx it, but I might have just talked us into a BTS shoot (I had to explain what that is first, but they loved the idea). We’ll see if anything comes of it.
Caught in a Mosh by the Stage
The event was supposed to wrap up around 6:00 PM. We went to a nearby tavern for coffee and ice cream and headed back right at the tail end of the festival, just before the sun dipped behind the trees. And since the open-air museum is located in a park, there are a lot of trees, big and old ones at that.
Of course, weird stuff just has to happen when I'm around. I was peacefully taking photos, one of the groups had just stepped off the stage - the tension had clearly dropped - and one of the guys from the group walked up to one of the ladies, flipped up her skirt, and yelled: "SHOW THE MAN YOUR THONG! OH LOOK, YOU MADE THE MAN BLUSH!" Basically, things got wild. A few dirty jokes flew around. I don't have any shots of it because I was laughing too hard.
Conclusion
As per tradition, I had to screw something up. When I was looking through the photos at home, the last ones turned out a bit soft. Of course. I took the Canon R with me, slapped the 17-40mm f/4L on it, and completely forgot to set the minimum shutter speed on Auto ISO to 1/250. As a result, when the light started fading, the camera opted for a focal-length-safe 1/40s. Operating on the principle of “screw sharpness, as long as there’s no grain!” Totally my bad; when I was shooting Lipiny, I had my mandatory 1/250 dialed in and all the shots were fine. Still, the longer I use this 17-40, the more I love this lens. As for the event itself, I’ll probably show up again next year. It really was fun.
Now I have to sift through the frames from yesterday’s procession. I’m planning a long, and rather reflective, post for that one. I’ll probably manage to put it together sometime next week. Catch you next time!
We’re coming back next year!
Dużo uśmiechu i strasznie to pozytywne!