Sunset in Salford Quays, with the new footbridge and part of the new and developing MediaCity UK. I can't ask for a better light than this and the winds were good to me that night. It was definitely one of those fulfilling shoots where the conditions were all perfect, and you pack up for the night smiling.
I’ve shown you its softer side, but I still prefer the Salford Quays in blue. [...See more photos here!...]
I waited quite a while for the area to be empty but the chance never came. It was nearing sunset when I finally decided to use a 10-stop filter, and not only was I able to "eliminate" people, I also got some nice sunset hues. I could still make out a few people on the shot in the right but thank goodness, they couldn't stay still for the 2-minute exposure. (Left, late afternoon) 0.5 sec @ f/18, ISO 100 (Right, at sunset) 2 minutes @ f/5.6, ISO 100.
On Saturday afternoon in Bilbao when the temperature was in a comfortable 60′s, the area around its most famous attraction – the Guggenheim Museum – was filled with tourists and passersby. Everyone wanted to get underneath the famous giant spider and pose for a shot, which is what I would do to if I was merely there as a tourist. Also, every few minutes, the small pool in front of the museum would generate a mist, sort of part of the attraction, and that would make the tiles near the spider wet and create a good reflection. I wanted to take a shot of that reflection, but there were just too many people in that area. I quickly figured this was one of the days when you just had to work around what you have, photographically speaking. And in the late afternoon when it was still too early for at least a 30-second exposure, I tried the shot with an ND110, and that seemed to work like a charm. [...Wait, more photos here!]
Nikon D700 - 24-70mm/ f2.8 - 30 seconds @ f/10, ISO 200, +2 EV
Another city in the River Great Ouse, Huntingdon, is not very far from the Chinese Bridge in Godmanchester. This old bridge in Huntingdon is a well-preserved medieval stone bridge that connects Huntingdon to Godmanchester. The current bridge was constructed around 1332, with work starting on both banks or the river. It was intended for both pedestrian and horse-drawn transport but now serves exclusively for light vehicular traffic. There’s another bridge parallel to the town bridge just a few meters upstream, it is now used as a pedestrian bridge.
It was a quick shoot at this place, just a shoot-and-run kind of evening. The scene was quite one-dimensional and as usual, light was limited. But I did like how the textures on the stone bridge mimics that of the building right next to it, and the warm reddish-gold reflections on the water was a nice plus. [...Wait, more photos!]
The River Great Ouse viewed from Purfleet Quay.
This would be my fourth city on the River Great Ouse – King’s Lynn, a sea port and market town in Norfolk in East England. An uneventful night for me – no rain, no goose bully, no stepping on animal poop, just a still night under merry ‘ole England’s usual dreary winter skies. Enjoy!
*On a side note, I am now on Twitter so FOLLOW ME here if you will, or you can click on the little bird in the sidebar. [...Wait, more photos!]
Still early into blue hour, but since I knew the bridge was not going to be lit up, I started early while I still had some ambient light. The wind was not forgiving that night as you can see from the motion on the willow tree branches.
I found another small town that sits by the River Great Ouse, the third one in this series – St. Ives, Bedford, and now Godmanchester. And I’ve said it before, the trouble with these small towns is that most of them are very dark at night. Having seen very little of Godmanchester online, and even on Flickr, I did not have my hopes up as far as lighting goes. But I like to challenge myself that way and explore the possibilities I can come up with.
I’ve seen quite a few oriental bridges but never one like this; maybe it’s because I’m more familiar with the Japanese ones. This Chinese bridge, which is Godmanchester’s main landmark, was named so because it was built in Chinese architectural style in 1827. It has since been replaced a couple of times because of bad condition. Not a spectacular bridge by any means, as compared to the mighty old bridges of Europe, but these gems in smaller towns make photography a little less mundane and fresher to the eyes, albeit more challenging.
Bedford Bridge and the river Great Ouse. These swans were a challenge to include in the shot - I wasn't sure if I wanted them there or not. Since they moved all the time and I wanted to freeze their motion, I had to shorten exposure time. Bedford bridge was nicely lit in blue too, but at the same time, it was also hard to separate it from the blueness of the sky.
Hope everyone’s New Year started out nicely. For the first day of 2011, I thought I’d visit the town of Bedford, and there I was greeted by a group of swans by the river. Swans are known to be symbols of beauty and grace, but new to me is that they are also regarded as masters of earth, wind and water.
I thought I’d share with you this poem I came across today:
Swan of beauty, swan of grace / A queen among her ancient race / She glides across the mirrored lake / No ripple does the surface break. (Susa Morgan Black) [...Wait, more photos!]
As the year is drawing to a close, I thought I’d put together a short list of what I consider my most memorable shots of the year. The selection is based on both viewer feedback and my own attachment to a particular shot. For behind each photograph is a story to tell, a little something for me to remember them by, and some have proven to be more memorable than others. If you have not followed my work on Flickr, this is a good sampling of my work.
I’ve decided to categorize them into such : (1) REFLECTIONS (2) BRIDGES (3) FOUNTAINS (4) LIGHT TRAILS and (5) MY PERSONAL FAVORITES.
I have no criteria for choosing my personal favorites of 2010 – it does not necessarily have to be technically or artistically appealing or both, I just simply like them for whatever reason. It could be that the selection is influenced by the memory behind it, or that the shot just felt right at the moment of capture, or a part of it could be because I received good feedback on the photo. These photos make me happy when I look at them and I hope somehow they do the same thing to you.
LYON, FRANCE - St. Jean's Cathedral and Bonaparte Bridge on the River Seine. Truth is, a perfect reflection never fails to make me happy and I always pack up for the night satisfied. The Saone river that night looked like a mirror had been laid underneath the bridge. It was a perfectly still night, something you have to see to believe.
[...Click for the rest of My Favorites of 2010...]
As the year is drawing to a close, I thought I’d put together a short list of what I consider my most memorable shots of the year. The selection is based on both viewer feedback and my own attachment to a particular shot. For behind each photograph is a story to tell, a little something for me to remember them by, and some have proven to be more memorable than others. If you have not followed my work on Flickr, this is a good sampling of my work.
I’ve decided to categorize them into such : (1) REFLECTIONS (2) BRIDGES (3) FOUNTAINS (4) LIGHT TRAILS and (5) MY PERSONAL FAVORITES.
Where there’s a body of water, there’s usually a bridge somewhere. And in Europe there is a plethora of beautiful bridges, all filled with rich history and character. There are big-city modern bridges and small-town old-fashioned bridges. The bridge list is endless – suspension bridge, cable-stayed bridge, drawbridge, pedestrian footbridge, even bridges with built-in houses, shops, and a city hall.
Here are my Top Ten Most Memorable Bridges of this year.
MAINZ, GERMANY - Theodor Heuss Bridge. I had to visit this location a second time because I ran out of light the first time before I could go under the bridge. The second time I went, the river level was high so I can't go down. Wanting to be dead-center under the bridge so I can get all 4 starbursts in, I had to squeeze myself and my tripod in between a tiny spot in front of a car parked behind me and the edge of the embankment. I barely managed without falling off, but I got my shot.
[...Click for the rest of my Top Ten Bridges...]
As the year is drawing to a close, I thought I’d put together a short list of what I consider my most memorable shots of the year. The selection is based on both viewer feedback and my own attachment to a particular shot. For behind each photograph is a story to tell, a little something for me to remember them by, and some have proven to be more memorable than others. If you have not followed my work on Flickr, this is a good sampling of my work.
I’ve decided to categorize them into such : (1) REFLECTIONS (2) BRIDGES (3) FOUNTAINS (4) LIGHT TRAILS and (5) MY PERSONAL FAVORITES.
Starting off with my Top Ten Favorite Reflection shots of the year.
I love to shoot where there is water – rivers, canals, rain and puddles, fountains, moats, pools, even a baptismal font as I’ve recently discovered. So I have many photos to choose from in this category. If I had to guess, I’d say about 80% of my shots has water in it, and probably half of that involves rain before or during the shot. When planning for travel, I usually go where there’s lots of water; if there’s none, I’ll find it. Or sometimes it finds me, in the case of rain.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - View of Gamla Stan from Slussen. Stockholm is without any doubt a beautiful city, but by nightfall it loses its luster, at least to a photographer. I would have liked to have seen more light in the city. This shot of the popular district Gamla Stan was taken on my second night after a disappointing rainy previous night. Scandinavian countries have long blue hours and I must have shot non-stop for at least an hour-and-a-half this night, walking about a mile and a half from Slussen to Skeppsholmsbron with hardly any people on the streets.
[...See the rest of my Top Ten Reflections...]
Yesterday I attended a Christmas Choral Mass at the Norwich Cathedral which was a pleasant experience – the cathedral sounded like there were little angels singing Christmas songs. I was also able to catch some blue hour scenes by the other church – the St. Peter Mancroft you see below, where they had a huge Christmas tree and carousel rides by the Forum.
I’ll keep this short as I know most of you are perhaps busy unwrapping presents or having Christmas dinner, or if you’re lucky, you’re simply sitting by the fire watching the snow fall from your windowpane. It’s not a White Christmas where I’m at, but I don’t mind a BLUE one. 
Merry Christmas all.