Pre-dawn in Grand Place, Brussels
Before the day begins in Brussels, Belgium
When I travel, I always try and get up before sunrise to get out and shoot, if possible. It can be hard, but it is always rewarding, and I always return with images that I am happy with. Especially in a big city, those early morning hours are perfect for capturing scenes that would otherwise be completely full of people.
Today’s photo is a perfect example of this. I was up and out shooting at around 5:30am in Brussels some years back. I wandered into Grand Place, their amazing and beautiful city square, and had it essentially to myself.
Any other time of day, this place is swarming with tourists, but way before dawn it was quiet, empty and perfect!
Glaswegian twilight
Twilight in Glasgow, Scotland…
I always found Glasgow, Scotland to be beautiful. It’s not as popular as Edinburgh but I really like the city. Here’s a quick snap from one evening there just around twilight. I was in Royal Exchange Square and just loved the view and the light.
Le Consulat
Le Consulat in Paris, during twilight...
A nice little scene in Paris!
Prior to our last trip to Paris, I had written out a list of places I wanted to photograph, and noted where they are in the city. Atop that list was Le Consulat, this little cafe in Montmartre. I have seen plenty of pics of this place over the years, and was glad to finally get there one evening. As you can see the area wasn't too crowded, so I was easily able to get my shots without having to wait too long!
Twilight along the Seine
Evening in Paris and I was walking along the River Seine taking photos...
Paris at night is spectacular!
Actually, Paris is spectacular any time of day. But at night it really has a glow about it. I captured this shot of the Conciergerie with a passing boat one evening near Notre Dame. We had been out and about, and I was firing away happily. I saw the boat coming so I set up to capture it as it passed. Now and then I actually plan ahead - at least by a few seconds!
Faux Paris
Twilight descends upon the French Pavilion at EPCOT, and I am firing away, pretending that I am really in Paris..
EPCOT is a great park for a world tour sampler!
While I am not a big theme park sort of person, I really enjoy visiting EPCOT. The World Showcase there is a lot of fun for me, primarily because it's sort of like taking a really quick world tour. It almost scratches my wanderlust itch, since it feels like you are in a lot of different countries in a short amount of time.
The last time we visited, I made sure to be in the France area at dusk. I think they do a great job of making it feel like Paris. The architecture is just right and with the right light you can almost feel like you are in Paris. Almost. But it's a lot closer to get to than the real one!
Twilight in Venice
Twilight in Venice, Italy is the perfect time to be out with the camera...
Evening fell in Venice, and I was out exploring the streets...
Venice is a dream come true for photographers. It's full of beautiful sights at every turn, and it all seems interesting and gorgeous. Even a nearly-empty street takes on a romantic look when the day ends and night is descending. I wandered quite a bit while there and took many photos like this one. When evening falls many of the tourists are gone and the city is quiet, peaceful and easy to photograph.
Blue hour in Amboise
An evening street scene from the lovely little town of Amboise, France...
Here's one from a few years ago - I love this little town!
We were in the Loire Valley of France a few years back, checking out all the amazing chateaux that dot the countryside there. It's well worth a visit, if you haven't been yet.
If you want to see my previous blog posts from the Loire Valley, you can find them all here.
We stayed in the little town of Amboise and just loved it. Small and quaint, with a beautiful chateau atop the hill and lovely little streets just built for wandering - this town just captured my heart. This was one evening while I was out with my camera, making memories.
Chasing a storm in Sedona
While a storm was rolling into Sedona, I was standing in the road with my camera, grabbing frame after frame...
Is anyone good at shooting lightning storms?
When we were in Sedona, Arizona (which is almost 2 years ago now), we did some hiking and shooting one day at Castle Rock. It's a beautiful area and I captured a lot of shots that I like. When it got late and a storm was coming, we packed it up and headed back, but had to stop for these lovely colors.
I stood here and shot quite a few images, and basically missed the lightning every time. I've never been a stormchaser and still haven't spent any time on it. But, I still loved the colors of this image, taken shortly after sunset as blue hour was coming on strong. Good times.
The only one out shooting
An early wakeup one morning in France gave me the opportunity to photography Notre Dame without another soul around...and it was perfect!
Early morning is the best time for travel photography.
I absolutely love to get up early and go shoot. Everything is quiet and still and you can enjoy a place without all the distraction and noise of crowds. It's just the perfect time of day for me, photography-wise.
When I travel, I always try to get up at least once so I can get out and shoot sunrise. I tend to be a morning person anyway, so it's pretty easy to do, although I will admit it can be hard to drag yourself out of bed at times. But, it is always worth it.
On our Paris trip at the end of last year, I got up really early one morning and walked over to Notre Dame. Literally, I was the only one there. I had this major tourist attraction to myself. I wandered all around and shot it from lots of different angles. It was great.
On your next trip, try doing this and see how it goes. You might need a little caffeine later, but you will be happy with the shots you get!
Twilight in Boston
A lovely twilight view of the skyline of Boston, Mass...
A lovely evening of photography in Boston, Mass!
I have visited Boston a few times over the years, but it wasn't until this trip (which was over a year ago at this point) that I actually was able to photograph. All the previous trips had been quick business meetings and all that jazz, so never time for photo work.
But this trip did allow me a little leeway, and I jumped on it. I spent an evening down here with my friend Bob Lussier, firing away happily at this amazing skyline view - which I had wanted to shoot for years. In fact, I was shooting Olympus at the time (as does Bob), and he let me borrow his wide angle lens for this one (I have since shifted over to shooting Sony). It really allowed me to get all that awesomeness in the scene.
Of course, I processed this one in Luminar, and I used this photo as my "cover photo" when I launched my latest Luminar preset pack, Cityscapes. It fit the bill quite well. I just realized I hadn't shared it here on the blog...so here it is! ;-)
A good morning in Paris
A lovely pre-dawn shot of Notre Dame in Paris, that most beautiful of cities...
Isn't every morning a good one to be in Paris? ;-)
I absolutely adore Paris. It's beautiful, photogenic, walkable and the food and people are just great. There, I said it. The French people are NICE. Honestly, in the US there are always comments about the French being rude, but over several trips to Paris I have yet to experience that. I think people just need something to complain about.
Anyhoo, the city is fabulous and while we were there, I headed out early one morning to get started. I had several shots in mind and the only way to really get it done was before most people got up. So, sunrise it is!
I walked to Notre Dame from our rented apartment and was quite happy to have a little haze in the air. I like that stuff, because I think it adds a little drama and interest to a scene. While the sunrise itself was somewhat non-existent, it was still wonderful to be up and out shooting in the pre-dawn hours. It feels like you have the entire city to yourself, and that is a great feeling.
Notre Dame morning
Notre Dame in Paris is always crowded, so my solution was to get up and shoot it at sunrise. Turns out I had it all to myself!
There's just something about the early morning hours!
I have as much trouble as anyone else getting up in the morning, but it's always worth it when I am up and out shooting. On my travels, I try to do at least one or two sunrise shoots. All the famous landmarks are just so crowded during the daytime and around sunset. You often can't get a decent shot of them. So my solution has always been to get up early and do it.
Usually, it works out pretty well.
One morning on our recent trip to Paris, I got up early and made the 15 minute walk over here. I have seen and shot Notre Dame several times in my life, but never really loved the shots. There were just taken at the wrong time of day. So, sunrise was my answer.
Luckily, it was a misty, foggy sort of morning and the whole experience was just amazing. I had it to myself, and was able to shoot it from the front, the side and the back. I walked away with many images that I truly love - today's photo being one of them.
Manarola twilight
There is just so much breathtaking beauty along the Cinque Terre in Italy. Today I share a gorgeous view of Manarola, taken at twilight. I loved it there!
Ah, the Cinque Terre - so incredible!
When we visited the Cinque Terre along Italy's coast, I was pretty much like a ferret on a double espresso the whole time. I couldn't really sit still because I was just TOO excited about getting out and shooting there. It's just an incredible place, and I had to capture it.
While technically there are 5 villages in the Cinque Terre (Cinque Terre = 5 lands), there were really just three that I focused on for my shooting, pun intended: Riomaggiore, Vernazza and Manarola. Prior to arriving, I scoured various sites online trying to make sure I didn't miss anything while I was there, and I don't think that I did. I feel like I got the shots I wanted to get.
This one was taken on the trail up above Manarola, which is a perfect place to stand and get a view over this stunning little village as it seems to hang precariously over the sea. In this spot the trail is wide and there is ample space to set up, and everyone can get a pretty decent view (unlike Vernazza, where there is only really one or two tiny little spots on the trail above the town).
So I basically stood in this one spot for an hour or more, firing away gleefully with all my cameras (Sony, Panasonic, iPhone). I walked away with a lot of photos of course, but even more so I left with some amazing memories of the beauty of this place. It's just breathtaking there.
Clearly there was not much of a sunset, but nonetheless I love the photo and was quite happy with the soft blue hour light and of course the stunning view.
I processed this in Aurora HDR 2017 (of course!) with a few layers, several brush adjustments, and more. It's the best editing software there is, so if you are interested you can read about it here.
Twilight in Bandon
Catching a seascape in Bandon, Oregon one evening, just around sunset when the light gets all moody and interesting...
Such an incredible coastline!
Last summer on our epic roadtrip we stopped for 2 nights in Bandon, Oregon. We were en route to the more well-known Cannon Beach, Oregon area but I had seen many pics online of the coastline at Bandon, and wanted to check it out. We stayed two night in hopes I would get at least one good sunset out of it.
I got two!
Yep, I lucked into 2 great sunsets. The first one was gorgeous, and I knew that even if the next night was terrible, at least I would have some good shots. But then the sunset on the second night was just off the charts, so I really did leave Bandon a happy man.
If you want to see a collection of shots from that night, you might want to read this blog post.
Today's photo is a single exposure from that second night, edited in Aurora HDR. I use Aurora all the time for editing single exposures. In this case, I took a set of brackets, but I thought this single shot worked just as well, so I went with it.
Twilight at the Rijksmuseum
On my last trip to Amsterdam, I happened to show up at the Rijksmuseum at the right time for a stunning twilight and blue hour. Though sunset was non-existent, the rest of the magic hour was really beautiful!
Ah, Amsterdam - you're so beautiful!
I love Amsterdam. Most people think of it as a place to party (which it can be), but for me it's a place to load up the memory card. I love the architecture there and all the canals. It seems there is something interesting and beautiful at every turn - and there are a lot of turns in this city full of canals.
The Rijksmuseum is one of those things that will catch your eye, and it's hard to miss. It's located in their Museum Square and it's HUGE. I mean this thing is a monster. It's full of fabulous art, including some masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer (including Rembrandt's The Night Watch, arguably one of the most famous Dutch paintings ever).
There is also this excellent corridor that runs right under the middle of it, which is open to pedestrians and cyclists. You can cut through that to get to the back, which is where you find the big reflecting pool, and where I found myself one evening, firing away happily.
I would guess that is the classic photograph of the Rijksmuseum that everyone takes, and for good reason. The reflections are excellent and if you catch a beautiful twilight hour like I did that evening, you come away with some shots you are proud of!