Nights in Bayeux
A couple of shots captured during the lovely, soft light of blue hour, in the small French town of Bayeux.
A few years ago, we took a trip to France, and one of the things we wanted to make sure to do was visit Normandy. It’s a beautiful area and there are several towns that looked interesting, but we settled on Bayeux and spent a couple of nights there. Of course, I hit the streets with my camera as much as possible, because shooting in foreign cities just makes me happy. It wasn’t crowded at all, which is great for me, and I was able to wander freely and shoot quite a bit. I just have a thing for street scenes, and doubly so when they are European. These two were captured on my wanderings. Nothing particularly spectacular about them - just everyday spots under the soft light of twilight.
Face in the fountain
Blue hour descends on Crown Fountain in downtown Chicago, IL…
On my recent trip to Chicago, I made a point of getting over to Crown Fountain, which sits on the edge of Millennium Park. It has these awesome big video screens with fountains that flow out of it, even from the mouths of the faces. It’s pretty fun, interesting and definitely unique. These kids were splashing all around in the water and having fun, so I couldn’t resist capturing them as they strolled around in the inch deep water.
Night in Heidelberg
A lovely night begins in Heidelberg, Germany…
I really love shooting cities as darkness descends on them. The lights come on and they just sparkle. Throw in a river running through it, and that is a recipe for a really happy Jim! I captured this one evening in Heidelberg, Germany. Such a gorgeous town, made more so in the fading light.
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!
Morning in San Francisco
Blue hour at the Ferry Building in San Francisco…
I love to get up and wander in the early morning hours when I travel. It’s generally always peaceful and quiet, and I can enjoy the beauty of a city without all the crowds getting in my shots. :-) This was taken before sunrise in San Francisco one morning. This is the Ferry Building, which is one of my favorite spots in the city, which is full of great spots by the way. I just love the look of this place, inside and out.
Blue hour in London
A lovely evening begins in London…
Blue hour is my favorite time of day to shoot, and London is quite possibly my favorite city. So you can imagine how happy I was when I was out shooting blue hour in London! This was alongside the Tower of London, staring at the Shard across the River Thames. Such a beautiful part of a beautiful city!
Up and out early
An early morning shot of the Austin skyline, one of my favorite views in this town…
I shot this photo yesterday morning here in Austin. I was out to scout some locations for an upcoming customer who I am touring around, and I just wanted to make sure everything here was as I expect/remember it to be. It’s all good. So of course while I was there I had to take a few shots. I mean, come on, you would too right? :-)
Twilight in Prague
The beautiful town square in Prague during blue hour…
Prague may be the most beautiful city I have ever seen. It feels like at every turn, there is a stunning city scene to take in. It makes it really hard for someone like me, who loves to shoot cities, to actually get anywhere. I stopped about every 10 feet I think. Oh well, it was more than worth it to annoy my travel companions. You have to get the shot, right?
This was blue hour one evening in their main town square, which was set up for some sort of Easter celebration. Just looking at the pic again makes me want to return!
Blue hour at the Tower of London
Blue hour at the Tower of London, and I was working the scene trying to capture all that I could. It’s a gorgeous part of that amazing city!
London is just so photogenic! I love it there.
When I visited London earlier this year, I spent a good amount of time over by the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, taking all sorts of photos. I was especially interested in capturing the area around blue hour, when the lights come on and everything takes on a romantic glow. So one evening I was there firing away and trying to get fun and interesting shots out of it. These two are a couple of my faves from that evening.
Blue hour in London
Lovely London, captured during blue hour - my favorite time of day to shoot!
Ah lovely London - I just adore it there!
I do think London has become one of my favorite places in the world. Now of course there is a lot of the world that I have not seen, but having visited London now something like 8 times or so, it's WAY up on my list. Every time I visit I see new things and even seeing the same old things is fascinating to me. I also find the place incredibly photogenic. This one was taken years ago on the Westminster Bridge, looking down there at good old Big Ben. What a sight.
As with many of my photos, I edited this one in Luminar. I recorded a video a while back about this one, so if you are interested in seeing my editing steps, here you go:
That beautiful Austin skyline
The skyline of Austin just sparkles at night, and especially during blue hour. Here are two pics from a recent excursion downtown along with a vlog of it all going down!
I still love to shoot the skyline of Austin, after all these years. I have been shooting it forever but still enjoy a night down by the river firing away at it. The river allows all those great city lights to reflect in the water and it really just sparkles! Here are a couple of shots from a recent night down there. I also did a vlog from that spot which is at the bottom. Thanks and enjoy!
Blue hour at The Anchor
Blue hour in London, and I was wandering along the River Thames and firing away...
I love to walk in London at blue hour!
There's so much to see and shoot in London, and at blue hour I just love how the city comes alive. In particular, I love to stroll along the River Thames and see all the wonderful sights (and take photos of them, of course).
I spent many of my blue hour moments in London doing exactly that. Along the river you come across a lot of famous sights (Big Ben, London Eye, Tower Bridge, etc), but you also find lesser-known but still beautiful spots like this one. I've been by and photographed The Anchor several times over the years, and pretty much make sure I do it on every visit.
Sadly though, I've never been inside! How can I stop for a beer when it's blue hour and I could be taking photos? These are the dilemmas I have to face when I travel. :-)
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.
Blue hour at the National Gallery
Blue hour in Trafalgar Square and I'm capturing the National Gallery at aglow...
More from London...this time an evening in Trafalgar Square!
There's just so much to see and shoot in London that it's hard to get it all done - but I'm trying. :-) I have a couple more days here and then I head back home. But thus far I have seen and shot nearly everything on my list, except for those spots that were not available. For example, Big Ben is completely covered in scaffolding, rendering a couple of my planned shots worthless. It happens.
Blue Hour at the Tower of London
Blue hour at the Tower of London, with the Tower Bridge in the background...
A little something from this week here in London...
I am in the middle of a photo trip to London and thus far have been having a blast. So many photos and so many photo locations - I am all over this amazing city and it's been great! It's also great that sunset is at 4pm...yes 4pm! That is great because when I have been here in the summer, sunset is closer to 10pm, which makes for a very long day. So I can get nice light all afternoon (due to the cloud cover here) and then sunset/blue hour start at 4pm and last for a while. Needless to say I have been snapping away!
So today's shot is something from the Tower of London, where I spent a couple of hours shooting, a few days ago. There's just so much to see in this area (and this city, frankly) but I am doing my best to capture it all. More soon!