London nights
Night time in London and I am wandering around with my camera…
I find London to be an exceptionally photogenic city. It seems at every turn I come across something that I want to photograph, even if I have photographed it before. Especially when it gets late in the day and the lights are coming on, it just takes on a kind of beauty that I just adore. I was just wandering in Westminster one evening and came across this intersection, and just had to shoot it!
Carnaby Nights
Night in London along Carnaby Street…
Evening in London, and I found myself along Carnaby Street. It’s a gorgeous and lively part of London, and it was my first visit there. so glad I made it!
The Scoop
A night time shot of the Shard and the Scoop, in lovely London. My kinda town!
Oh man, I have so many London photos. Just. So. Many.
I love London and when I was there earlier this year, I literally fired like a maniac. I came home with 9,000+ photos from a 10 day trip. And honestly, I could have done more but I got tired, and sometimes I get lazy. Yeah, I love to travel and take photos but we all get tired at times. Regardless, I came home with a LOT of shots that I like and that I will be sharing here over the coming days/weeks/months/years. There’s just a lot. It won’t all fit in 2018, or even 2019. So, how about you keep coming back? :-)
Night in Strasbourg
A dark night in a little town in France…
Oh boy do I love to wander in European cities at night!
When we visited Strasbourg, France a while back, I made a point of wandering as much as possible. It’s a gorgeous town and even the newer, more modern parts looks great to me. I captured this towards the end of my wandering, as this tram was pulling up for a stop.
Night at the Tower Bridge
Night at the Tower Bridge in lovely London…
More from London, and plenty more still to come!
Even though I visited London back in January, I have a long way to go towards sharing all the photos I took there. Altogether I came home with something like 9,000 photos. Now of course most of that is 3 exposure brackets, which really boils down to about 3,000 photos. Still, that's a LOT and will take me a long time to sprinkle them here onto the blog. You see I enjoy variety and therefore I don't share a lot from one place in a row. I simply get bored talking about it. In other words, I may never get them all onto the blog. :-)
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! ;-)
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'! :-)
Passing lights in London
Light trails in London, such fun especially when you have a gorgeous background!
Just a simple shot, really - a few seconds when the traffic is whizzing by!
I have grown to love long exposures and especially light trail photos. They are easy to do and often come out great, or at least interesting. I just set up in a spot where I know there will be passing traffic, and wait. Once I see traffic coming, I start a long exposure and hope for the best! Sometimes it takes a few tries, but usually I get something useful.
This photo was a combination of a double-decker bus, some cars and a taxi or two. That's what is so great about doing these in London - the busses! Their lights are higher than on cars, obviously, so it helps fill the frame with more light trails. Fun, right?!
It also helps that St Paul's Cathedral is in the background. If I can find a great background, it's just a matter of time before the traffic streaks by, and I can capture it.
An evening in Paris
A lovely night scene in Paris...
The last time we were in Paris was a while ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. The city just embeds itself in my psyche and doesn't let go. I love it there. While there are so many landmarks to visit and photograph, I get an equal amount of enjoyment from wandering the streets and shooting the little, overlooked scenes.
Today's photo is a perfect example of that. I had been shooting Les Deux Magots, which is a famous cafe where Hemingway and others hung out back in the day. Afterwards I just strolled around that area for a few minutes and saw this scene, which just begged me to stop and shoot. There's just something romantic and ethereal about nights in Paris. The architecture, the little plazas, and even the lamp posts just all draw me in.
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?
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.
Moonrise in Bandon
Capturing the moon, the sun, and the night sky at all the same time...
Here's something I rarely ever do...
I almost never shoot after dark, and rarely have the opportunity to capture the night sky. So when we were in Oregon this past summer, I took advantage of a great opportunity.
We were in Bandon, which is a tiny little coastal town. I spent my time capturing all the amazing rocks along the coast and generally just having fun. But when night came, I was back in the hotel room and chilling. Then I looked outside and saw the moon coming up. I knew I had to shoot a little bit more.
So I grabbed my gear and stepped out onto the balcony. I took quite a few shots but felt this was the best one. The moon is rising and casting a glow down on Face Rock, while you can see the last gasp of sunlight on the horizon. Pretty cool stuff. I may have to do this more often!
Moulin Rouge at night
A long exposure of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, taken after dark one evening...
This place is magical after dark!
I love neon signs when they are all lit up at night - I just find it gorgeous. On our last trip to Paris, I made sure to get over here to the Moulin Rouge one evening so I could capture it. On our previous trip, I ended up here during the day which is definitely not as exciting.
So I arrived after dark and set up on a little pedestrian island sort of in the street, trying to keep people from standing in front of my camera while I took this long exposure. Generally they were considerate, which is great, and I was able to capture exactly what I wanted.
Yes, that windmill thing atop the Moulin Rouge does turn, and that was my goal - to capture a long exposure so it would blur out and look like it is spinning pretty fast. Done!