Covent Garden
Night in London, and I was out shooting at Covent Garden…
Ah, lovely London - so much to see, so much to shoot! I do love London, and each time I visit I try and stop by Covent Garden for a least a quick visit. I find the main structure (pictured here) as well as the surrounding area to be quite beautiful and photogenic. I captured this on my trip there a couple of years ago, and did edits to this photo in On1 Software.
Inside the Ferry Building
One of my favorite spots in one of my favorite cities…
Every time I visit San Francisco, I make a point to get over to the Ferry Building. It’s just a lovely structure and something about it just draws me in, every time. I have shot here before sunset and after sunset, and at all times in between. Regardless of the time of day or the associated crowds, it’s just a lovely place to see and photograph. Highly recommend if you are visiting this beautiful city!
Shopping in Milan
The lovely Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy…what a sight!
Ok, I didn’t shop here, but boy did I spend some time taking photos! This is the amazing Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which is next to the equalling inspiring Duomo, in Milan, Italy. I absolutely adore locations like this, which have these beautiful reflective floors and rich architectural details. Although there were people walking around, I took this as a long exposure so they (mostly) blurred out of the shot. So worth seeing and shooting this place. Be sure to visit if you are in Milan. It’s hard to miss, being right next to the Duomo, which you will be visiting there anyway, right?
Leadenhall Market
Leadenhall Market in London - a great place to visit and photograph!
I’ve shared photos from this lovely spot in London here before, but I love it so much that I just wanted to share another one. :-) It’s really an interesting and beautiful place, and I find it incredibly photogenic as well. Though crowded during the workweek, I have twice shown up earl yon a weekend morning and had it almost entirely to myself. Of course, that’s my preference anyways since I prefer to shoot this sort of scene devoid of people. By the way, this place was used to represent part of Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter movies. Yeah, it’s that cool. :)
Darkness in London
It’s late in London, and I am out with the camera. Surprise! :-)
This shot was captured well after dark one evening in London. We had been out shooting and having fun all day, and were wandering around in this section of town, sort of the Financial District if I recall correctly. Anyway this beautiful building caught my eye so I climbed up onto the pedestal base of a statue, set up the tripod, and fired away. I have really grown to love shooting at night, something I rarely did in years past. But now it’s one of my favorite things to do, just wander in a city at night with a camera. So fun!
In the Ferry Building
Inside the Ferry Building in lovely San Francisco…
My favorite building in San Francisco is the Ferry Building, which is just lovely. I adore the place. This was taken on the 2nd floor a few years back. I just wandered up there and fired away. Easy!
Afternoons at the Duomo
A long exposure taken one afternoon in front of the Duomo in Milan, Italy…
The Duomo in Milan, Italy is amazing!
I'm a fan of European cathedrals, because they are usually pretty gorgeous, large and architecturally interesting. The Duomo in Milan is no exception. The facade is stunning and you can of course take tours inside. You can also get on the roof which is a pretty amazing experience, and well worth it. We only spent a couple of days in Milan but it's a city that I would love to return to for further exploration.
This photo is a long exposure taken with my 10 stop filter, which is why the clouds appear to be streaking across the sky. It was about a 2 minute exposure. I love using the 10 stop filter for these sorts of scenes. You get that gorgeous sky and many of the people ghost out of the image. I think it makes for some interesting results. Edited and converted to monochrome in Luminar (or course).
All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!
A view of Kings Cross Station in London, which was used in the Harry Potter movies...
Boy do I love train stations in Europe!
Every time I visit Europe, I find myself in at least one train station with the camera, firing away. there's something about them that just gets me every time. I'm sure it's something to do with the freedom of movement they spark in me. You know, the feeling that you can just jump on a train and get whisked away to some other place.
It's something we don't have nearly as much of here in the US, so there's also the attraction in that regard. It's not as common to me. But in many ways it's that I always find great lines to lead the eyes and that just makes me want to get the camera clicking.
This is Kings Cross Station in London, which was used as the setting in the beginning of the Harry Potter movies whenever they were boarding the Hogwarts Express to head off to school. I just find it an interesting place, and it was great to wander here and fire a few.
Night at Covent Garden
Nighttime at Covent Garden in London, and I'm using a tripod despite their ban on such things. But what happens when a security guard approaches? Here's my little story about that.
Yep, I'm still working through London photos, and will be for some time!
I took thousands of photos on my trip to London, and really have only scratched the surface with editing them. That's part of the fun of a big trip - so many photos to edit when you get home. But the other great thing is reliving the memories of a place when you look at the shots again.
This photo is a great example of that. I was out shooting with my good friend Michael Murphy, and we were at Covent Garden. This place has a strict "no tripod" rule, which interestingly I learned there one evening several years ago, while also out with Murphy that time. But regardless I set up my tripod and started firing away, know it may not last.
As I suspected, a security guard approached and told me that it was dangerous to have my tripod there as someone could trip over it, etc. I noticed his accent wasn't English but rather Irish, so I started asking him about Ireland. We ended up having a nice chat and he was super friendly. Eventually he told me it was fine if I used my tripod, as long as I was careful and made sure to avoid people if possible. Win!
Often these sorts of confrontations end with me being frustrated and not getting my shots, but in this case just changing the subject and having a nice chat ended up with things going my way. As they say, you catch more bees with honey, right?
Borough Market nights
An evening at Borough Market in London...
I've wanted to see Borough Market for years, and finally made it there on my recent visit to London!
I'm not sure why exactly, but I have a thing for these little markets in cities that I visit. It's not like I actually shop there or anything - well, other than buying a meal perhaps - but I am just drawn to them for some reason. So I made a point to visit Borough Market in London while I was there. In fact, my hotel was a short walk away so I visited a couple of times.
These photos were captured one evening as I was returning from shooting elsewhere. I wanted to get the entrance to the market, which is actually hard since it's on a narrow side street. So you can't really back up to frame the shot very much. Instead I used my wide angle and backed up as far as I could go. It worked, as it usually does.
Inside the Antiquarium
Inside Munich's Residenz, staring down the amazing Antiquarium...
At the Residenz Palace in Munich, Germany
This hallway, known as the Antiquarium, was the primary reason that I visited the Residenz in Munich, Germany. I do love wandering in castles and palaces but after seeing quite a few over the years, they do start to get overwhelming and a bit repetitive to me. Sure, they are amazing, but you know what I mean.
But before we got to Munich, I had looked up cool spots in the city and this one was high on my list. So we got there when it opened, and I wandered quickly around to find this place, knowing that if I was quick I could find it nearly empty. I succeeded and spent quite a while in here. It really is pretty amazing that this was someone's home. So opulent!
Sunset at The Marble Church
Sunset over the Marble Church in Copenhagen...
Ah, lovely Copenhagen - I miss you!
I dearly love the city of Copenhagen. The people are great, the scenery is fabulous and of course that means there are lots of things to photograph there, too. I've had the good fortune to visit 3 times and each trip there has been really enjoyable.
One thing I love to do when I visit foreign cities is to just wander with the camera. I always find something of interest. This is Frederik's Church, better known locally as The Marble Church, and it's fabulous. It's a stunning display of architecture and a site I try and shoot each time I visit.
I captured this one under a lovely sunset, after finishing shots at nearby Amalienborg Palace (home of the Royal Family, I think, and very beautiful too).
New York Public Library
A gorgeous reading room in the New York Public Library...
I tried several times to get in here, and it finally happened.
One several of my visits to NYC, I wanted to visit this reading room in the public library, but it was under construction. It felt like I would never get in. But finally on one of the trips, all the construction work was finished and I finally got my chance to see it.
It's pretty wonderful to see in person. I definitely think it's a must see when you visit NYC. For more tips on where to shoot in NYC, check out my list of the Top Photo Spots in NYC.
The greatest church in the world
The Vatican in Rome is simply breath-taking!
Yes, I believe the Vatican deserves that title!
Wow, the Vatican in Rome is just magnificent. It is HUGE - yes, that is all caps - and it is simply stunningly gorgeous. I could go on but I would run out of superlatives before I felt like I really got my point across! It is that amazing.
When you take a tour of the place, I believe you will constantly be saying WOW and OMG and all that sort of stuff. It's a jaw-dropper, literally. Plus, there are a million parts of it and they are all photogenic. It's a good way to spend an entire day - and yes you could spend that much there.
This is a quick snap I took after our tour, down the main aisle. It's just cavernous in there!
Just another amazing Italian church
An amazing but little-known church in Venice, Italy...
The churches in Italy are just mind-blowing.
Everywhere we went in Italy resulted in me popping my head into a church. It seems there is something amazing on every street. It's really hard to get anywhere because of it. I just have to take a look at these things!
This one is a perfect example. We had a water taxi drop us at the train station as we were departing Venice (sad emoticon). We had a little time before the train, so I popped over to this church which is next door to the train station. I only had a few minutes to see it, but curiosity won out and I ran over here.
I expected it to be beautiful, but this little church, sitting next to the train station, was literally jaw-dropping. And this isn't even a well-known church! This is what awaits you in Italy my friends. Just get over there as soon as you can!