Sunset at The Mermaid Inn
The Mermaid Inn, in Rye, England during blue hour. It’s just so beautiful there!
I was down in southern England with a couple of my photo buddies, and we went into the little town of Rye to shoot the Mermaid Inn. The area is quaint and beautiful, and we really enjoyed our visit there (which was all of a few hours). Since we arrived before sunset, we sat in the pub inside and hoisted a few pints while we waited for the light to change. Then we popped outside for some quick shooting. All in all, a great way to spend an evening!
Sunset at the Mermaid Inn
Sunset at The Mermaid Inn in southern England…
A beautiful little town in England and a historic inn, too!
Back in January when I visited London, my friends convinced me to take a couple of days out of town with them and head south to the coast. So I did, because why not see something new and different? I'm really glad that I did too, because it was a lot of fun and I saw some things I would likely never get to on my own.
One such place was The Mermaid Inn in Rye. It's a small town south of London and the Mermaid Inn is a rather historic hotel there. I love the cobblestone streets and the whole scene. We walked around and shot the town a bit, then headed into the bar there for a pint while we waited on the light to change. When I came back out, sunset was in full swing and luckily I only had to walk a few steps to get this shot. I fired some brackets and went back in. My beer was still cold. :-)
Colorful Burano
Lovely, small and very colorful - it’s Burano, Italy!
Well you know I like my colors, so this place was fun for me!
Burano is a little fishing village/island not far from Venice - just a short boat ride away. But it really feels like you are a world away. The colors of the homes in this village are just gorgeous. I was there midday under harsh light and still thought it was amazing.
It's actually a pretty small place and thus doesn't take much time to wander around. I think we spent a couple of hours there total before catching the boat back to Venice. But it's a worthy detour, especially if you are looking to escape the crowds of Venice in the summer. Bring the camera! :-)
A moody look at Hallstatt
The beautiful village of Hallstatt, Austria under moody and menacing skies (that dumped some snow on me).
Oh, this town! So awesome!
I have wanted to visit Hallstatt, Austria for many years. I had seen countless photos of it online, and knew that I just had to get there. When we were in Germany back in April, we made a 4 day stop in Salzburg, Austria before heading on to Prague. This was my chance!
Everyone agreed we should visit, so we rented a car and spent the day there. It was amazing. It actually started snowing on me while I was shooting that evening! For a guy from Texas, that is a novelty. I loved it.
This is the classic view of the town from an elevated road, and it's a wonderful spot from which to view the town. I was here a couple of times that day, but this evening session was the most fun. Interestingly, I had it entirely to myself except for a few minutes when another guy showed up and took a few shots. Yep, all mine. So awesome!
Sunset in Bayeux
Bayeux, France is a nice little town in Normandy - a great base for all the area has to offer!
We came across Bayeux, France by accident when planning our trip over there. This was last summer (I have mentioned that I am a bit behind, haven't I?) and we were taking a family trip through London (quickly) and then on to France. There's so much to see in any country really, and France is no different. When you are planning a trip, it's easy to think "we are going to see EVERYTHING", but reality is often quite different.
Anyways, one thing for sure on our agenda was a weekend in the Normandy area. Call us tourists if you want to, but we really wanted to see the American Cemetery there (and we did). But all the guide books offered so many choices in terms of what town to stay in that we ended up just picking Bayeux based on proximity and size. It looked like it was pretty close, and it was a decent-sized town. I knew I would be driving, and we wanted to be reasonably close. Turns out it was a great choice.
One of the quaint little streets by our hotel in Bayeux. We ate at one of those places.
We arrived on a Friday evening, later than expected. We had started that morning in London. We hopped on the Eurostar from St. Pancras International Station, which took us in about 2 hours straight to Paris, after passing through the Chunnel (which is fun). In Paris we had to take a taxi to a different train station and then get in line and buy tickets for the smaller train that would take us to Caen. In Caen, we had a rental car waiting. Well, waiting is not totally accurate. We ended up having to wait for a couple of hours to get the car, hence the later arrival in Bayeux.
Sometimes the light gets all awesome, and you can't find a good spot. It happens.
I was tired but undaunted, and after getting settled in and having a meal, I wandered the streets for a few while the rest of the family wisely chose to take it easy. It's tiring to spend 12 hours traveling by way of two taxis, two trains, and a rental car, but the show must go on. Or more specifically, there were photos to be taken, so I went to take them.
As you can see, the sunset ended up being pretty stellar, but being unfamiliar with the town I was stuck wandering the streets without a high vantage point to shoot from. Oh well, at least I got some shots, and at least I was in France doing it!