Day Trip to Bruges: Quiet Contemplation & Spiritual Reflection

Whenever I'm in Europe, I always try to take a side trip to a nearby country, even if it's just for the day. It's so easy to do given the numerous high speed train lines that connect the various major cities and besides, I love train travel. During a recent visit to Paris, I decided I to take a day trip to Bruges, Belgium, which is just a few hours away. The train ride was beautiful and scenic and in no time at all I arrived in Bruges and started to wander around to explore, discover, etc.
For a Spring day, it became quite sunny and hot by the mid-afternoon so I decided to get some relief by ducking into a church (St. Magdalena/Magdalenakerk) which seemed to be significantly shaded by some extremely tall and beautiful trees. In stark contrast to the flurry of activity on its grounds and even on the doorstep leading inside, the interior of the church was so quiet and peaceful. In fact, it was so quiet that I tried to tread extra quietly so as to minimize the potential of disturbing anyone inside.
As I walked around, I enjoyed the beautiful architecture and the way that the stained glass windows cast such a beautiful glow on everything inside. In the foyer of the church there was a reflecting pool, which apparently is usually adorned with some type of art display created by some of the local artists. On this day, the reflecting pool was perfect in its simplicity, free from any obstruction. Given that I'm such a sucker for interesting images of reflections, I composed this shot. For a moment I thought about not doing it because I was afraid that the sound of my shutter would be too loud, but I'm glad I did.

Nighttime Explorations: Paris after Dark

One of the master photographers whose work I admire and draw great inspiration from is Brassai. He produced a great range of work during his lifetime but the thing he is most widely known for is his night photography of Paris. Apparently he was a night owl and from sunset to dawn he roamed the streets of Paris (during the 1930's) with his camera capturing on black and white film those aspects of Paris which he loved, admired and felt amused by, etc.
In fact one of my prized possessions is the Pantheon edition of "Paris by Night" which contains full-page images taken by Brassai, each one having been printed in heliogravure using Brassai's original plates.
When I'm in Paris, I love to spend every moment exploring and experiencing the city on foot accompanied only by my camera, and this is true especially at night because of the beautiful contrast that you can capture on black and white film from the lights all around the city.
I like to shoot what I find visually interesting, or quirky, etc., in fact the composition often changes depending on my mood, my surroundings, and so on. Although I'm not conscious of it, I think that deep down inside me, when I'm shooting, every now and then I try to evoke inspiration from the masters whom I admire.
On the particular night I shot this image, I think I was aided by the spirit of Brassai, or at least I would like to think so. That's one of the beautiful things about Paris: whether in the 1930's or now, the city has so much charm and character that the passage of time hardly matters at all, especially when viewing a black and white image.

Double Vision

Shadows are amongst my favorite compositions. I’m not sure exactly why I find them so appealing but in certain instances, I find them irresistible. Of course, not all shadows interest me enough to want to photograph them but the ones that do stand out in my mind long after I’ve captured them on film.

The photograph you see here was shot in London-I was walking through the Kensington area and happened to glance up for a moment which is when I noticed the shadow of the street lamp falling on the building. At that moment I couldn’t walk away without shooting a few frames.

Abre la puerta (Open the door)

I shot this image in Barcelona as I was walking along Gran Via one afternoon. In composing this image, I focused in on the door knocker since I found it to be so unique and visually interesting. I'm sure you're asking yourself if it's just a decorative element or if it's actually a fully functional door knocker...I wondered the same thing and after trying it found out that it works perfectly :)

Argentic Adventures in Europe: A Slideshow

Reflection Within a Reflection

Shot in Venice, Italy. Buildings on opposite side of Grand Canal reflecting in a mirror in a store window display.

Passage Souterrain

Night shot taken in Paris at the bouche de metro just off of Rue de Rivoli, near Jardin des Tuileries.

You Can't Rush Perfection

La Sagrada Familia, the famous cathedral in Barcelona, is considered to be Antonio Gaudi's masterpiece. He spent over 40 years of his life working on this massive project, dedicating the last 15 years of his life exclusively to it. Apparently when he was asked about the lengthy construction timetable he replied, "My client is not in a hurry." Considering the fact that the project started in 1883 with current estimates indicating a scheduled completion date of sometime in 2026, the circumstances support Gaudi's sentiment that it's really not possible to rush perfection.
During my visit to Barcelona last Spring, I had set out specifically to shoot La Sagrada Familia. On the day I shot this image, I tried to mask the scaffolding and construction equipment as best as I could by using a wider angle and incorporating the trees and shadows into the composition in order to achieve a more balanced and artistic image.