Whistler Gondolas By Moonlight

One of the highlights of our time in Canada was a sunset photo tour we took with David McColm to the top of Whistler mountain. I cannot recommend this tour enough! Coming back down the mountain after dark we spotted these gondolas silhouetted perfectly against the moonlit sky.

I’m sure our time was pretty much up by this point, but we still spent what must have been at least 20 minutes working this scene from the side of the road. That 20 minutes was probably the most fun I have ever had with my camera! It was fantastic to share the experience with another passionate landscape photographer.

That small light to the right of the moon is Jupiter, and just out of shot was Saturn also shining bright. Unfortunately we missed the aurora borealis by one night, but I can’t think of a much better to reason to go back!

David’s time lapse work from Whistler is out of this world, and if you’re interested in taking a tour you can book through the Whistler Blackcomb website. David has no idea that I’ve mentioned his tour in this post, I simply had a brilliant time!

Walkways Over Hong Kong’s Central Business District

After exploring the Central-Mid-Levels Escalators in Hong Kong I came across this fantastic overpass on the way back to my hotel. There are plenty of these throughout the network of raised walkways that connect many of the buildings in the central business district.

It’s a great place for night photography, and with the sun setting around 1740 in Hong Kong this time of year there’s no excuse not to give it a try! A scene that may look pretty dull during the day can be completely transformed with artificial lighting at night. From a photographer’s perspective it’s like exploring an entirely new location!

I was a little disappointed at first with the lack of symmetry here, but I think that it adds an element of intrigue to the image. At first glance you almost expect the walkway to be symmetrical, and the fact that it isn’t makes you look again. That’s how I see it anyway!

The Buddhas Of Wat Chedi Luang

There can be no doubt that the Buddhas of Wat Chedi Luang look their best in the dark. When dusk turns to night and the lights come on around the temple, there’s a quiet and relaxing ambiance that can’t be found during the heat of the day in Chiang Mai.

Perhaps it was because there were far fewer people, or because I wasn’t constantly on the look out for shade. Whatever the reason, this place was more magical once the sun had set, and so I spent an hour exploring the angles around the temple.

It took a while to get this shot all lined up. I was using a small mini-tripod which left me about 25cm from the ground setting up the camera. Unfortunately these things are never completely symmetrical, which I always find very disappointing!

Watching The Night Envelope Geneva

Watching day turn to night around Lake Geneva is such a wonderful experience. Soon after the sun has set behind the Jura mountain range the buildings spring to life and the town shows its true colours. I don’t think there’s a much better spot to observe the beautiful transition than this one looking out towards the Jet d’Eau.

I really wanted to capture a sense of the night enveloping the town, so I spent about 2 hours with my tripod just watching the light change. Too early and the reflection would be too weak, too late and the day’s light would have passed. Of the many shots I took this was the most balanced.

Over the course of the evening I experimented with a variety of settings in Manual mode so that I could control both the aperture and shutter speed. Getting an exposure that was both long enough to blur the water and not too long to blow out the highlights of the buildings was an interesting challenge!

Carry Me Up The Hill

I’ve just returned home from a fantastic weekend in Lisbon, my first time in the capital of Portugal. Dotted around the city are a few of these old funiculars that carry people up and down its steep hills. Although it’s a great place to explore on foot, sometimes you need a little light relief from the constant up and down of the place!

I came across this scene on our way back from dinner in the Bairro Alto district. I didn’t have a tripod with me on this trip, so it was taken handheld as I steadied myself crouching on the hill. Alongside the similarly styled trams that ferry tourists around the streets, these funiculars help to maintain an old world charm that’s difficult to resist.

Reflections At Dusk

On Friday evening I went out to shoot the sunset over Lake Geneva, which in the end wasn’t all that spectacular. However it was the first time I’ve seen the Jet d’Eau light up at dusk this year, a sure sign that spring is upon us. I have to say I was pretty excited!

I’d been out shooting for a few hours, running back and forward between different points to capture the light as best I could. When I saw the jet light up I knew I wanted to find a spot where I could get a good reflection of it in some calmer waters.

What I was not prepared for were the bats that came out of hiding, flittering about just in front of the camera lens! I was slightly concerned I might get jumpy and knock my tripod over into the water by accident, so I took a few steps back and let the long exposure work its magic.

Wat Chedi Luang After Dark

Situated in the north of Thailand, Chiang Mai offered a nice change of pace after experiencing the hectic city streets of Bangkok. Its slightly cooler temperatures were also very pleasant, despite many locals telling us it was cold! And there seemed to be a new temple to explore around almost every corner.

Geneva At Night: My First Tripod Shot

Now that I finally have a tripod, I decided to take some time up on our roof in Geneva and get to know my new toy a little better. I’d been waiting a while to take some night shots up there and was eager to see how they looked. Having never used one before I thought it might be a bit cumbersome, but I actually I had no problems at all. It was much lighter than I was expecting and very flexible from a positioning point of view.

It was so great being able to take some stable shots in the dark! Even if it was a cold night. I’m hoping to get out to Lake Geneva soon and capture the Jet d’eau as it’s lit up in the evening. Now that we’re in winter, owning a tripod opens up a whole 12 hours of the day to photography which were never available to me before. It’s pretty exciting!

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The Greatest (Firework) Show on Earth

The Fêtes de Genève always goes out with a bang, and this year was no exception. Hundreds of thousands of people from all around descended upon Lake Geneva to witness the firework display to end all firework displays. One thing’s for sure – at the end of the night they did not leave disappointed.