New York nights
A street scene from NYC taken while strolling around there one evening…
Just a quick snap one evening in NYC as I was wandering along. I used to not like NYC that much, but now I just adore it. So much to see and shoot, you can never tire of it!
Delirium
Evening in Brussels and I am out wandering the streets with my camera…
Here’s a night scene I shot in Brussels, Belgium a number of years ago. I love the historic center of Brussels, right around Grand Place. It’s just so photogenic and beautiful. I love to wander those streets and fire away. Back then, I wasn’t as much into night photography as I am now, but still got out a bit and took some shots. Always a good time!
Darkness in London
It’s late in London, and I am out with the camera. Surprise! :-)
This shot was captured well after dark one evening in London. We had been out shooting and having fun all day, and were wandering around in this section of town, sort of the Financial District if I recall correctly. Anyway this beautiful building caught my eye so I climbed up onto the pedestal base of a statue, set up the tripod, and fired away. I have really grown to love shooting at night, something I rarely did in years past. But now it’s one of my favorite things to do, just wander in a city at night with a camera. So fun!
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!
Framing the shot
Along Carnaby Street in London late one winter afternoon…
When I travel, I generally like to find street scenes that are pretty empty. Thus that leads me to getting up for a sunrise shoot a lot of the time. But when I last visited London, I didn’t do that too much and instead shot well into the night. One late afternoon I was along Carnaby Street, which is a fun and photogenic part of London. I was mostly just wandering and looking, but of course I had my camera ready just in case. When I saw this guy taking a shot of the scene, I thought it made for a good shot as well. But I kept him in it. :-)
Before sunrise in Prague
I was up before sunrise to shoot the Charles Bridge in Prague, and I had it all to myself!
Whenever I travel, I try and make it a point to shoot at least one sunrise. This is especially true in a big, popular city, because all the beautiful and famous spots are overrun with tourists during sunset. So it can make for an interesting photo to capture a place when it is empty (or nearly so). When I was in Prague I got up at 4:30am and headed out so that I could capture the Charles Bridge without all the crowds. Success! There were only a few people there and it was pretty amazing to have this gorgeous spot all to myself!
Leake Street
An amazing graffiti tunnel in central London…
Such an amazing spot in central London! I love to shoot graffiti, it’s just something I love. When I am in London, I always take a quick detour near the London Eye and pop over to Leake Street to fire away. It’s constantly changing - it’s a public graffiti area, after all - and there is some really amazing urban art here. Well worth a stop if you are nearby!
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.
A night out in London
A night time HDR shot handheld on evening in London…
I have really grown to love shooting at night. It’s taken me a while to really embrace it, but now I love it. I used to always want to quite after sunset and blue hour ended, thinking the good light was all gone. Well, it may be gone by then but in a city there is always something interesting to photograph. While wandering one evening in London, I stopped in my tracks as I approached this scene. It’s not incredible or amazing or anything, but it caught my eye and thought it was well worth a quick stop for!
London nights
A double-decker bus speeds past me in London…
I absolutely adore London. It’s probably my favorite city that I’ve ever been to. Something about it just gets to me. I spent about 10 days back in January of this year, and had so much fun wandering all over town and taking photos. I find the city to be incredibly photogenic, and of course there is a lot to see there.
One evening early in the trip I have been out shooting for a while, and stopped in for a bite at a pizza place. After warming up (and filling up), it was time to get back out on the streets. I decided to set up and do some long exposures, hoping for a double-decker bus to pass by. Luckily it wasn’t too long of a wait!
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!
Modeling in London
A young lady was modeling for her boyfriend in front of these phone booths, so I let her model for me as well…
I rarely take photos of people, generally preferring to capture a scene when it is empty, or at least where a person is not a big part of the shot. But sometimes you have to make exceptions. In London one evening I was lining up to take some shots of these lovely phone booths, which are over by Covent Garden. As I got set up and ready, this girl and her boyfriend starting taking photos as well, with her modeling for him in front of them. No worries, I usually just wait these things out. But instead I just started firing, thinking that having a person in the shot actually gave it a little more interest. I find myself doing that a bit more than I used to, and am liking the results. Maybe people aren’t so bad after all. ;-)
The backstreets of Prague
A back street in Prague is a wonderful place to wander…
Oh man, wandering the streets of Prague is so awesome!
I love street scenes, especially in Europe, and when I travel I make it a point to try and get lost a little bit. It’s always a fun way to spend some time, and I end up finding little back streets that I think are just so photogenic. I have a thing for European street scenes, and so I am eager to get off the beaten path (and thus away from the crowds) and just wander. I always get home with images that I like and more importantly I have an excellent time exploring a new place.
Sunrise in Dublin
Sunrise in lovely Dublin, Ireland…
It’s so rewarding to get up for sunrise and walk the streets in a foreign city. I try and do it at least once on every trip, and I am always rewarded with great photographs.
The thing is that everyone likes to sleep in a bit, so if you are up and out at sunrise you are pretty likely to be able to photograph popular spots when they are empty. That is exactly what happened for me in Dublin, Ireland. I wandered around in the Temple Bar district and had these usually crowded streets all to myself. Sunrise was pretty, too!
Halcyon nights
An urban scene shot in downtown Austin, using the combination of blue hour and my Lensbaby with the star filter to add a little extra drama and interest to the scene…
Whenever I shoot in downtown Austin, I find myself nearby Halcyon Coffee House, simply because I like the look of it. I'm a fan of cityscapes and at blue hour they are especially beautiful. In this case, I was shooting with my Lensbaby Trio28 with the added fun of the star filter. This filter basically takes any little pinprick of light and turns it into a star. So when I saw this scene, I was pretty much scrambling to get the shot before that little buggy with the red lights moved!