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.
Night at Moulin Rouge
A long exposure from the Moulin Rouge in Paris, France…..such a gorgeous city and a gorgeous location for photography!
Ah, lovely Paris at night! So gorgeous there!
I love Paris as much as the next person does - maybe more. I have so many photos from there and even the bad ones are beautiful in some way...that's just Paris. It's all gorgeous. One night while there on my last visit I headed over to the Moulin Rouge. I was hoping to get a long exposure of it because I know the windmill blades turn, so I thought if I could get it right it would be a nice big blur...and it worked great!
Night at Covent Garden
Covent Garden in London under the cover of darkness…
Here's a pair of pics from lovely London, one of my favorite cities anywhere. Covent Garden is a great place to hang out and shoot, although at times the security guards get all fired up about tripods. So you have to be stealthy and quick to get it done! ;-)
The back alleys of London
The Shad Thames in London is well worth a stroll, day or night. It’s an industrial warehouse sort of area but it’s quite interesting and photogenic!
This is an interesting part of London!
When I visited London back in January, I made it a point to visit the area known as Shad Thames on at least a couple of occasions. It's an old industrial warehouse area and in my opinion it is quite awesome! I strolled through here during both daytime and at night and found it equally beautiful both times of day. There are some shops and eateries but mostly it seemed somewhat empty (although that could have been that it was January).
It's right by the Tower Bridge, which everyone visits anyway, so if you are going be sure and swing by here. It's on the south side of the River Thames, just off the bridge. Ask around and you can't miss it - and you will be glad you strolled through here! Oh and bring the camera! :-)
London lights
A car passing me in London was a perfect chance to capture some interesting light trails…
Oh how I love to capture light trails!
I know it's probably a bit of a cliche, but capturing light trails from passing cars is just plain fun. You are always trying to time it just right, and sometimes you miss, so you keep trying. But when you get that one perfect shot when the light trails curve out of the frame in the distance, well then it's all worthwhile! I only had one chance for this one, as the street was really empty, so I was quite happy when I saw it on the back of my camera a moment later!
Dark nights in London
A dark night in London, and I was out with the camera capturing shots of this lovely city.
An evening out and about in London with the camera - took home lots of photos!
I wandered quite a bit when I was in London back in January. Being there by myself - instead of with the family - meant I was free to do whatever I wanted, and whenever. So basically I just was out shooting all the time, which was great. I captured this one over by the Tower Bridge, on the south side of the River Thames. You can see part of the bridge way in the distance. There are quite a few office buildings there and it's a great place to wander with the camera...just sayin'! :-)
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. :-)
Rothenburg sunrise
Sunrise in Rothenburg, Germany and I was out in the streets firing away...
So much beauty in Germany!
I love Germany - it's just such a beautiful country. When I was there last year, I spent 2 nights in the little medieval town of Rothenburg. It was like being in a fairytale village. The architecture is beautiful and the little streets just beg to be photographed.
I got up early one morning to wander the streets at sunrise, and it was well worth it. I had the town to myself and walked away with a lot of images that I just adore. So fun!
A Vatican sunset
A stunning sunset in Rome, captured with the Vatican in the distance...
A Roman view that I never tire of!
When we were in Rome, we passed by this spot countless times, and each time I stopped and took a few photos. It's an amazing view and when I arrived here at sunset one evening, I was pleasantly surprised to have some beautiful light to go with the beautiful subject matter!
I find Rome pretty fascinating, with all the history and architecture. There's just so much to enjoy about it, and of course so much to shoot! You can never see it all, but it's fun to try! :-)
In fact, I compiled a list of what I found to be the best places to take photos in Rome, which is right here on the blog: https://nomadicpursuits.com/top-photo-spots-in-rome/
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?
It's just so British!
A quick snap I took while wandering...it just looked SO British to me!
I was wandering in a neighborhood in London, just checking things out and taking some photos as I strolled. I had no real destination and the only plan was to just look around and see what I might see. I love days like that.
Eventually I wandered down this street and saw this gorgeous hotel. As I was setting up to take a shot, this taxi pulled up, let out a guest, and just sat there. It just looked so British to me that I couldn't resist taking the shot!
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.
Nights at Shepherd Market
Night falls on Shepherd Market in London...
Such a cool little spot in London!
This little side street was just around the corner from my hotel in London, so I popped over here a couple of times to shoot (and I admit to spending an hour or so inside the pub, too). I was out and about with my buddy @murphyz and he knew this place, so we headed over here one afternoon for a pint. I liked this tiny little corner of London so much that I had to return later for some photos. It's just one of many little tucked away corners that are just so charming. I love London, such a beautiful city. Sure, all the "big" stuff is cool, but I really enjoy these little hidden gems just as much, if not more.
Going vintage in Marylebone
A street scene from my recent trip to London, done up with a texture and some color adjustments.
My recent trip to London resulted in me returning home with literally thousands and thousands of images. I am working to get a lot of them edited and posted to Instagram and Flickr, and of course they will slowly trickle here onto the blog as well. Here's something that I had fun editing. It's just a single exposure street shot that I captured one afternoon. I just liked the scene, but wanted to do something a little different. So I added a texture and did some color adjustments too. I thought it came out pretty cool.
Winter evening in Paris
The streets of Paris on a cold winter night...
A quick snap from a winter night on the streets of Paris!
I absolutely love Paris, and I love street scenes, so when I can get both in one shot I am a pretty happy guy! This was one winter evening when we were visiting Paris and out shopping and generally just enjoying the amazingness that is Paris. As is often the case, my wife and daughter were in a store somewhere and I was prowling the street outside, firing away. I'll take that trade any day!
This is a 3 exposure HDR created in Aurora HDR and then I took the image into Luminar to add some filters and make general color adjustments.