Category Archives: UNESCO World Heritage

Beautiful Photography of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Top of the Palau

Posted on May 16th, 2013 by

Trying Times

This has been a rough week. A number of things have happened, none of them dire, but together they amass to something greater…more trying. Several nights this week I have been ready to pack it in and declare defeat. I too often let these things begin to over take over my demeanor replacing it with a negative attitude that only seeks to tear down the good things that are still around.

It’s at these times I have to remember change is perhaps the only constant in the universe. Nothing is permanent, neither the good nor the bad. Be as the river Brian.

HDR Photography
Top of the Palau by W. Brian Duncan

Spine of the Beast

Posted on May 6th, 2013 by

A Home of the Sea

In Barcelona there is a house called Casa Batlló. It is without a doubt, the most wondrous piece of architecture I have ever seen. I tend to love architectural tours and museums and will frequent as many as I can while in a new city. It gives you a wonderful idea of the past of a place and it also tells you a bit about what has shaped these people. Casa Batlló is an undulating work of genius…or perhaps madness as the two are so close. I can’t imagine the skill of the craftsmen that made this home a reality. Even the doors are curved. Not rounded at the top, but they roll, the whole home reminded me of the ocean. My only regret was that I had to shoot everything handheld. This is the entryway staircase.

HDR Photography
Spine of the Beast by W. Brian Duncan

Gaudi Schoolhouse

Posted on April 25th, 2013 by

Design School

On the grounds of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona Spain sits a simple building. It was originally conceived as a schoolhouse for the children of those working to build the (minor) Basilica. I found this work to be more beautiful than the temple itself. La Sagrada Familia is overwhelming, busy, almost ostentatious. I haven’t worked on any of my photos of this treasure of architecture because I found myself so conflicted. I am not sure how I felt visiting. I expected to be in awe, and perhaps that word is accurate, but there was more…there is a harsh difference between Gaudi’s church and the other earlier work. The schoolhouse is simple, practical, elegant. It is in many ways opposite from the site in which it sits. My only regret was it wasn’t open the day I visited the church.

HDR Photography
Gaudi Schoolhouse by W. Brian Duncan

Organic Entry

Posted on April 18th, 2013 by

Nature

I love the natural world, the thing is…sometimes I wish it was inside. It’s the forms that I love, but I could do without the bugs and snakes. I think that is why I so love the work of Antoni Gaudi. His forms are so obviously of nature. This entryway in La Pedrera looks (to me) like a cave, the door looks like a tree or a mass of vine at its entrance, the walkway could easily be a spring running through the cave. With sensibilities such as this in architecture one wonders if you would ever need to go outdoors (just kidding).

HDR Photography
Organic Entry by W. Brian Duncan

Terracotta Chimneys

Posted on April 8th, 2013 by

Up on the Roof

I loved Barcelona, Spain. I keep saying that, but honestly it’s worth repeating. The thing that made it for me wasn’t the food, though it was excellent. It wasn’t the people, though they were warm and inviting. It was the amazing architectural master works of Antoni Gaudí. Up until this point, I would have probably pointed to Frank Lloyd Wright as my favorite architect, but after visiting Barcelona I have a hard time making that absolute statement. Surely, their styles are as far apart as night and day, but in each I find a harmony and a craft that I cant help but admire.

HDR Photography
Terracotta Chimneys by W. Brian Duncan

The Sun in a Garden of Music

Posted on February 25th, 2013 by

Wonderful World

There are times where the depth of beauty and amazing creativity of the human spirit move me out of myself into another place. Most concert halls are dark and have mechanically controlled light, in Catalonia I found a jewel that was the exact opposite.

I was amazingly lucky to be allowed to time to photograph the breath taking Palau de la Música Catalana while in Barcelona, Spain. The amazing people at the Palau gave me complete access to this treasure. Though difficult to see in this image (don’t worry there are many more), the skylight of the Palau is three dimensional. It was lovingly said to me, the skylight is like the sun and the Palau is as a garden of music. A more perfect description could not exist. I only hope my photographs will do some justice to the glory of the Palau.

HDR Photography
The Sun in a Garden of Music by W. Brian Duncan

Palace Grounds

Posted on January 10th, 2013 by

Big House

The thing that impresses most (at least for me) at Versailles is the vastness of the complex. There are multiple palaces scattered around the grounds for as everyone knows the queen and the mistresses cannot reside in the same house, no matter how large. Regardless of infidelity as the king of a major country you also need to be able to get away from the main court to a much smaller and more intimate group. After all when you think about how some numbers put the number of nobles alone residing at the palace near 1000 people with some 3000 servants, there were a LOT of people milling about. We came up through the Orangerie and I was blown away by the scope of the palace. I wanted to capture the vastness of the building, how it goes on and on.

HDR Photography
Palace Grounds by W. Brian Duncan

A Planter at Versailles

Posted on October 15th, 2012 by

Angels and Demons

I am not sure what this guy (woman?) is supposed to be honestly. I used to be decent at various myths, but I am at a loss with this one. Somehow he was important enough to display in the gardens surrounding the palace at Versailles. I still don’t know what it is about this planter that caught my interest. Perhaps its the way he is perched like a handle on this pot atop the head of some other mythological creature that caught my eye. Regardless, he (or she) is forever captured for all to see.

HDR Photography
A Planter at Versailles by W. Brian Duncan

The Main Palace at Versailles

Posted on October 8th, 2012 by

Golden Opulence

It is truly staggering how much funding monarchs have. The Palace at Versailles is the perfect example of the excesses of power; its beauty and seductiveness as well as its darker side. The site was originally a hunting lodge for King Louis XIII, then was later expanded by the same monarch to a château. Major construction bringing the palace up to the scope it enjoys today didn’t occur till the reign of Louis XIV and was accomplished in multiple stages (or building campaigns). It is an incredibly overwhelming complex of palaces. If you are in Paris, I highly recommend this day trip. Enjoy the wonderful romp though France’s decadent past! As a side note, yes that is actually gold (leaf) on the roof. If you find that impressive, you should see the inner gate!

HDR Photography
The Main Palace at Versailles by W. Brian Duncan

The Seine at Night

Posted on July 19th, 2012 by

Night Night

I really enjoy photographing at night. There is just something magical about a city when the sun goes down; the whole place lights up with a certain glow. We spent quite a bit of time in the are of Paris around Notre Dame and I took several other photos I am proud of down here in the evening. I was ultimately unhappy with the first Seine photo I released which I call lovingly Big Yellow Bus, Down By the River. Why oh why did I not Photoshop that thing out…I will never know. Perhaps one day I will revisit that photo, but for now it serves, as many of my older photos do, as a teaching tool. I really feel like I caught the passion of the Seine in this version.

Technicals

This is a three shot bracket (-2, 0, +2) shot on with the camera on a Joby Gorillapod. The brackets were combined in photomatix and exported to Photoshop for editing. You have to be careful with city skies at night as they can turn a really unnatural color when photographed. I remembered the sky being Midnight Blue and color corrected in Photoshop to memory. Final work was done in Lightroom.

HDR Photography
The Seine at Night by W. Brian Duncan