"C'est beau une ville la nuit... Bruges" photo

From the ever giving stock of photos from my recent holidays in Europe, this one comes from the beautiful city of Bruges, where I stayed for a few days. One night, armed with my tripod, I went for a big walk, and enjoyed the city without its hordes of tourists, and its illuminations. A beautiful city to discover after the sunset indeed.

This is an ultra classical view of Bruges, taken from the most popular spot - I had to wait a few minutes to get a premium location for me and my tripod, but it was worth the wait.

I had to do a bit of editing, as the strongly illuminated belfry tower in the back was overexposed, compared to the rest of the image. You can also glimpse the moon crescent, just above the roof of the left building. I'm quite happy with the result, translating well the ambiance of the place.

"C'est beau une ville la nuit... Bruges"

As usual, I've also posted it (and made it available for sale) on my +500px portfolio, link below:
https://500px.com/photo/114074025/c-est-beau-une-ville-la-nuit-bruges-by-gilles-royer

Thanks for stopping by

"Morning in Melbourne - With Balloons" posted on my @500px gallery

I've now posted on 500px the second photo highlighted in my previous post (http://australianlightseeker.blogspot.com/2014/07/morning-in-melbourne-posted-on-my-500px.html)

The link is below:
http://500px.com/photo/76953623/morning-in-melbourne-with-balloons-by-gilles-royer

Thanks for your visit!

"Morning in Melbourne" posted on my @500px gallery

The series "Morning in..." continues with this shot from Melbourne CBD. Amazing what motivation can do to me - waking up at 6am for a morning photo shoot seems easy that the same on the Monday morning to go to work. Go figure....

When I got the car out of the garage, I also noticed that it as a beautiful full moon, and once again, a perfect crisp clear sky, typical winter morning. So I headed off closer to the city this time (see my previous posts in St Kilda, Bolte Bridge, and Swan St Bridge), precisely on the St Kilda road bridge.

I set up my tripod, went to Aperture priority mode to get long exposure (I wanted that smooth/mirror effect on the water), and the remote control, and started to shoot, fine tuning to get the best angle and composition. First shots are a bit too dark, not enough light yet, but I got this one at about 7.05am, so technically, just before the first lights. The moon was full, and on her path to disappearing behind the foot brings you can spot in the background.

I was soon joined by a few other photographers and iPhone snappers, so it must have been a good spot!

Here's the shot I selected to post on 500px gallery (http://500px.com/photo/76655195/morning-in-melbourne-by-gilles-royer):

As the sun rose behind me, a hot air balloon appear on the left, in the background, soon joined by a couple more, and they made their way towards the Rialto towers (those 2 towers with an electric blue light at the top - quite a landmark in Melbourne), but it was hard to get both a long enough exposure, and the hot air balloons sharp enough.

Anyway, it was worth fighting the cold (must have been one of the coldest mornings so far) to get a decent shot

Thanks again for visiting!

Not one but 2 prizes received!

I entered the "Architecture" competition on kujaja.com website, and got 2 prizes, which I'm quite exited about!

• Curator's choice - for "ArtScience Museum in B&W"

Note I have previously commented on this photo on this blog: http://australianlightseeker.blogspot.com/2014/06/new-post-artscience-museum-in-b.html

• Special mention - for "NY Sculpture", being a close-up shot of the Red Cube sculpture by Isamu Noguchi in New York

Check those photos, as well as other winning entries, at the following link: http://www.kujaja.com/en/photo-competitions/winner/Photographic-Competition-architecture-21-6-14

"Morning in Docklands" photo posted on @500px

Another photo from the series "Morning in..."

Winter is cold down here, and quite wet, but this is also a great time of year to get out early and catch the first lights, whilst the air is very clear and crisp. I went last weekend around Docklands (check the other post from the Bolte Bridge: http://australianlightseeker.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/new-post-on-500px-gallery-morning-at.html), and made my way along the river towards the city. 

By the time I arrived in Docklands, the sun was up, which gave me a beautiful warm light. I took this shot of the marina near Webb Bridge, and opted for a long exposure (6 seconds) to enhance that calm mood, and get the smooth effect you can see on the water:

I've also posted it on my 500px gallery, at the following link: http://500px.com/photo/76077427/morning-in-docklands-by-gilles-royer

Thanks for your visit!

New Post on @500px gallery - "Morning at the Bolte"

Inspired by the One Minute On Earth 2014 challenge a couple of weeks ago (please check kujaja.com for more information on OMOE 2014, and here or here for photos taken during that photo shoot), I decided to wake up early again today, and head towards Docklands, to get a view at the City from the West and at the Bolte Bridge (below).

This time of year (it's winter here in Melbourne) is great, as first lights are not too early, and the mornings are very crisp (which also means very cold, but those things I do to get a photo!), which lends itself very well to this type of landscape photography.

So here is the shot I posted on my 500px gallery (http://500px.com/photo/75673433/morning-by-the-bolte-by-gilles-royer) - I decided to go for a B&W edit, to enhance the mood and highlight the lights on the bridge.

Below is the actual original shot in colour

This is obviously a long exposure shot (5s). I also tried to use a new ND filter (+4), but the images above are shot without it, as I'm not yet 100% of the result. But I have a variable ND filter in the post, due any days now, so I'll give that one a try and keep you posted.

Let me know which version of the image above you prefer, and thanks for your visit

New Post on my @500px gallery

I've just uploaded on 500px (http://500px.com/photo/72917479) another view of the ArtScience museum in Marina Bay, Singapore:

I'm really fascinated by this architecture, and I remember first discovering it years ago on the Megastructure TV show, which was documenting the building of the Marina Bay Sands hotel and the associated area. It is actually a technical prowess to build a building in such a shape, and it looks really beautiful from any angle

Thanks for your visit!

New post - ArtScience Museum in B&W

Just posted a new photo in my 500px gallery, titled "ArtScience Museum in B&W". You can see it here http://500px.com/photo/72633735

This is obviously a photo from the iconic ArtScience museum in Singapore, in the Marina Bay Sands area. This is an amazing architecture, shaped as a lotus, and is an engineering prowess too.