Czech Republic | Prague Skyline

A view of Prague’s skyline – shot from one of the bridges crossing the Vltava River, looking towards Charles Bridge and Prague Castle. Taken at blue hour using a Hoya NDX400 filter and a 3 minute exposure.

Paris | Arc de Triomphe View

Paris, you beauty – what a shame you’ve become a zoo with all the mass tourism these days! Still – with a little bit of elevation and framing you can almost forget the crowds around you 🙂

Berlin | Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market

It’s suddenly a lot colder here in Berlin again – not even going above freezing during the day. Spring is probably not far away now, but with these cold temperatures it makes me think of dark evenings, snow, and Christmas markets – like this one on Gendarmenmarkt.

Berlin Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market

December is always a dark month here in Berlin – and the clouds make things even worse! But at the end of November the Christmas markets start to open up across the city, and it just wouldn’t be the same without them. My favorite one is on Gendarmenmarkt in the center of the city. It’s a beautiful square and the market is always exceptionally well decorated. There are lots of stalls selling arts and crafts, and plenty of good food as well.

Potsdam | Schloß Sanssouci Blue Hour

Yesterday I went to the 19th edition of the Potsdamer Schlössernacht – an evening where the gardens of the palaces in Potsdam are open and there are various musical and theatrical performances. The highlight is seeing the palaces lit up at night, and at the end there is a firework display as well. Unfortunately it draws massive crowds (unsurprisingly), so it can be difficult to photograph without thousands of people in the shot!

This picture was taken with a 1 minute exposure using a Hoya NDX400 filter – this way as people move they don’t appear in the frame (unless they don’t move of course!) and it always accentuates the beautiful colors at blue hour.

Prague – Vltava River, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle – Blue Hour

A view of Prague’s beautiful castle and Charles Bridge, reflected in the Vltava River, taken during the evening blue hour.  Shot with a Hoya NDX400 filter and a 2 minute exposure.

Dusk Over Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is full of tourists, in particular in summer, but take the cable car up to the top of Srd Hill behind the city, and you can get away from the crowds (at least some of them) and have unrivalled views at the same time.  I went up just before sunset, to allow me to take some shots with sunlight and some at dusk.