Bubba, The Aliens Have Landed

 OK so the aliens have not really landed but this Croquette vendors stall does look quite other wordly. Having eaten a substantial breakfast followed by a delicious waffle with chocolate and strawberries I didn't have enough room left to sample the croquettes but the stall certainly seemed popular with the locals. I have used a masking technique to make the vibrant colours stand out.

Having focused on  landscape and architecture for most of the week I decided to try a few street shots. Finding and capturing interesting shots of street life is not as easy as you might think. I like to capture candid images because as soon as people realise a camera is pointed in their direction their behaviour changes and you lose the spontaneity and natural feel. I tried to get some shots of a market trader who was calling out enthusiastically and his actions as he sold his wares were larger than life but he caught me watching him and his movement became more self conscious so I gave up and moved away.

I thought I liked the second image but looking back at it I am not so sure, I like the lighting but there is not really enough going on.

Probably my favourite of todays images is the one of the old man and his bike. His face mask is an indicator of the times we are in and his stooped posture seems to emphasise the burden of just getting on with normal life. I got this from a low angle and I have used a preset in lightroom which I think makes for a standout image.

The fourth shot is of a couple visiting a pharmacy, I was actually stood waiting outside and thought they were nicely framed by the doorway and  the old laytout of the shop.

The final image is of the shop window for a lace shop, this is the store I mentioned in my post a couple of days ago. Inside there is a wonderful selection of new and antique lace, some pieces several hundreds of years old. I spent a long time in the store learning a little about the history of lace making and the decline in the industry, as well as a little about the history of Belgium, and some of its past rulers.

It's A Fairy Tale

 I told you in my last blog that Bruges is like a fairy tale city and at night that is even more true as you can see from the images above.

These buildings are all in the region of 500years old, they have so much character and charm and at the end of the day when the traffic has left the city it is easy to imagine this part of the city as it was when it was new.

I love the lights and reflections in the colour images, as the canal is mirror calm. Lots of people were admiring these views and I have used long exposures to really capture the reflections but also to "erase" the people who were walking by.

I have used black and white for the images of the market hall as I think that best suits the structure. I tried to imagine these stalls fully occupied with traders (even the following day there were only a handful of stalls in use) and the variety of produce that would have been on sale.

I loved visiting Bruges and having the opportunity to capture its sights at night. 

In the coming days I will share some more abstract images and some street photography as I explored the city on a busy Saturday morning so be sure to look out for those.

A Room With a View

 On the drive back from Alsace I had decided to break up the journey with a stopover in Bruges. I had visited the city before but had never stayed overnight and I wanted to see it after dark; It really is a fairy tale city and I hoped to capture some of the magic of the beautiful architecture and the reflections in the canals.

I booked a room in what was once a brewery and I paid a supplement for a room with a canal view and the images above show the view of the canal and the courtyard below both in daytime and at night.

I love the architecture in Bruges. The city has a really interesting history and is famous for the production of handmade lace for hundreds of years. The street on which my hotel was located (Wollestraat) is very old, it is a busy thoroughfare with lots of shops one of which is a fabulous lace shop. The shop was built prior to the Napoleonic era when Belgium was under the rule of the Napoleonic empire. A curious hangover from that era is the window tax. I say curious because the tax is still applied today but only to buildings that were in existence at that time, so the owner of the lace shop has to pay an annual tax on each of her windows but the shop next door which was built slightly later is not liable to the tax. 

Anyway, over the next few days I will share a few more pictures from my wanderings around this beautiful city which I hope you will enjoy.

Around Bruges

I've posted several pictures from Bruges before today and for today I have chosen some examples of the fine architecture which I am sure you will agree is really quite beautiful and worth a look.

Inside the Belfort

A major landmark in Bruges is the Belfort, the belfry tower overlooking the main square it houses a clock and carillon which regularly sounds over the city.  It provides an opportunity to see the workings and hear the bells up close but it also give fantastic views across the city and I have shared some pictures of the rooftops of the city in a previous blog.

As well as the clock and the bells the tower used to be the repository for the cities guilds important documents.  These were kept safe in secure chests which were themselves locked behind heavy wrought iron doors.  The first two of today's pictures show detail from two of these doors.

The third picture shows a view of some of the stairs to the upper level inside the belfry, steep, narrow wooden spiral stairs that are tricky to negotiate but the effort really pays off.

The final picture is an abstract view which focuses on the security netting at the top of the tower and I think it is a really effective image.

Please leave your comments about today's selection below and please share the blog with your friends...

Four Horsemen

These sculptures are the work of the Belgian artist Rik Poot and they stand in Arendts Gardens in Bruges.  They represent the four horsemen of the Apocalypse "Conquest", "War", "Famine" and "Death" (I don't promise the pictures are displayed in that order though).

They are pretty gruesome and menacing, but then with the subject matter I don't think I could expect anything else.

Up on the roof

Three pictures today, taken from the Belfort or belfry of Bruges.

I really like the colours of the roofs and the house fronts, I also like the style of the buildings with the steeply pitched rooftops.

I think getting up high provides a unique perspective on the city.

The road trip begins

Here is a mixed selection of fairly random images, all taken with the camera on my phone, as all of the images for the next few weeks while I'm traveling round with my eldest son on our European road trip.

The first shot is of the odometer prior to setting off. It's purpose really is to help me work out the overall mileage.  Today I covered 539 miles at an average of 56.4 mpg

The next picture is taken in our stylish hotel room home from home for the next two nights in Amsterdam.

The third is a somewhat abstract shot of a display in a chocolatier's window in Bruges. I deliberately merged the display with the reflection of the tree and buildings to create an interesting image.

The final picture was taken in the underground car park in Bruges as a record so that in my sleep deprived state I could find the car again.

Anyway that's all for today. Keep looking over the next few days for some more random road trip pictures.

Two From Bruges

Last year I went to Bruges twice, the first time in July and the second in November.  In July the place was hot and heaving with tourists and day trippers like me and in November the city was gearing up for its big Christmas market.  It really is a beautiful place to visit and as  Ralph Fiennes says in the 2008 movie In Bruges "It's like a fairytale".  

There were plenty of pictures of the canals and stunning architecture that I could have chosen to share but I thought I would post a couple of pictures which I feel show the fun side of the city. 

Around the city there were lots of buskers of different genres including string quartets, soloists and as in this picture some very colourful figures.  I was really pleased with this image as the guy half posed as he played what I assume was a traditional song.  I happily threw a few euros into his kettle... 

Busker
Canon EOS 6D EF 24 -105mm F4L @ 98mm f5 ISP125

Being quite small, with narrow streets and relatively little traffic Bruges lends itself to cycling and there were lots of bikes everywhere I looked.  This second photo is of one of many bicycles which have been decorated by their owners to stand out.  

Bike
Canon EOS 6D EF24 -105 mm f4L @ 45mm f9 ISO 125