Tag Archives: cityscape

A Rockefeller Center Christmas

Posted on December 24th, 2015 by

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve to be exact. I just visited NYC a few weeks ago for business and I had never been at Christmas time. I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and walked down the east side of the Park by Bergdorf Goodman’s Window Displays, but one stop was really in my head…The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree! I of course have mixed feelings about this New York tradition. I hate to see such an old being killed, but perhaps as my wife said, its purpose is to bring millions of people joy this season.

The crowd was maddening, but not as bad as I had expected, and truth be told…you can’t help but smile. It’s raw size makes you feel like a tiny child staring up in awe of perhaps the biggest and brightest tree you will ever in your life see. Not because of its size, but because of your smallness in a crazy big world. You are again a child standing under an enormous beautiful and bright beacon of hope, brought to life by sacrifice. Merry Christmas everyone!

A Rockefeller Center Christmas
A Rockefeller Center Christmas

Photo Technical Info

Tokyo Sunrise

Posted on June 1st, 2015 by

Big, Big City

The sunrise endlessly is interesting to me, it’s just SO incredibly difficult for me to get up for. There are two problems. First, I am not a morning person, though this is frequently aided by jet-lag. Hawaii is a great example…I am usually awake by 3 or 4 am easy. The second problem is breakfast. If you want to eat at the hotel (one of my economizing tips) you have a problem. Generally there is not a pre-dawn buffet and if you get out, it’s often difficult to make it back in time to partake of the (in my case) free food! Sure this gives you a great opportunity to sample cafe’s, but I tend to like to save that for an economical lunch (free breakfast, econimical lunch, then a dinner wow). This sunrise was captured from the hotel breakfast! Since I was on a really high floor, it was the perfect compromise!

Tokyo Sunrise
Tokyo Sunrise

Photo Technical Info

Veins of a Dark City

Posted on November 27th, 2014 by

Dark City

I visited Tokyo almost a year ago and I long to return (spoiler I am at least twice in 2015). It is a vibrant place with more energy then one city should be allowed on its own, but I don’t think Tokyo could be any other way. This rendition is from the window of my hotel room, looking over a city that never seems to end. The highway struck me and I was looking for a way to make it stand out more in the photo as it did when I was there.

Veins of a Dark City
Veins of a Dark City

Photo Technical Info

2014 Instagram Favorites

Posted on September 25th, 2014 by

Traveling Takes a Toll

I am just returning from Beijing, China today and as chance would have it, I decided it would be a good time to share a few of my favorite Instagram posts so far in 2014! I usually do a review at the end of the year of my favorite Instagram photos from the entire year, but there are just SO many fun shots I thought it was a good idea to do regular reviews. I maybe should do one every quarter! Instagram for me is a sketch book. I usually take a good deal of time to work on photos and they are not from where I just returned, but a conglomeration of where I have been on ALL of my travels. As such, Instagram lets me stay connected with friends, family and fans and let you all know WHERE I am right now! If you haven’t followed me before, follow me on Instagram now! Before you ask, yes this is all this year…actually January through May. I even visited Hong Kong twice! I really like to travel…Enjoy!


Lighthouse in Honolulu

Sunset in Venice, Italy

My Wife Pamela and Me

Tan Tien Buddha Hong Kong

Landscape Washington State

Point Zero Paris

Buddha in Bangkok

Wisteria on Lake Como, Italy

Lenny Kravitz at CiscoLive!

Greenspace in Hong Kong

Embarcadero in Reverse, San Francisco

Jumbled Buildings in Hong Kong

Posted on July 17th, 2014 by

So Much Going On

Big cities are always interesting to my small town mind. I grew up in a city of less that 7000 people and when I look back I longed for the “Bright Lights of THE Big City”. I remember collecting maps from National Geographic magazine. Those maps were the only part I recall looking at and I would pour over the details of the Amazon or some medieval European city. We didn’t travel much as a family, for one reason or another, which might well explain my life-long fascination with travel. As a child, travel seemed a magical journey, fought with excitement, and peril. As an adult, I can’t say much has changed in those old attitudes, but one thing I do know…THE Big City is an exciting place to see.

Jumbled Buildings in Hong Kong
Jumbled Buildings in Hong Kong

Photo Technical Info

Overlooking Hong Kong from VIctoria Peak on a Clear Night

Posted on June 9th, 2014 by

The Weather is Unavoidable

When you fly halfway around the world for a photo, the least the location can do is cooperate when it comes to the weather! Truth be told, I have been extremely lucky the past few years (knock on wood!!!). Whether it was January in Geneva Switzerland or the constantly fantastic weather in Hawaii…most of the time I have at least a few good days of mostly sunny (with some pretty cloudiness) weather. Our first trip to Hong Kong was an exception and we kept putting off Victoria Peak because of the blanket of clouds. We chose well as our last night was a clear as it got!

Returning to Capture What I Missed

Sometimes I end up going to a place I have been before. The secret of cheap travel (are you ready for this revelation?) is to go where the fares are inexpensive, not necessarily where you WANT to go. If the fares take you to Milan, Italy two times this year, then just take the train to Venice. If you missed a clear Victoria Peak shot on your first try in Hong Kong…maybe the second try will pan out!

Overlooking Hong Kong from VIctoria Peak on a Clear Night
Overlooking Hong Kong from VIctoria Peak on a Clear Night

Photo Technical Info

  • Aperture: ƒ/8
  • Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • Taken: 25 May, 2014
  • Focal length: 16mm
  • ISO: 200
  • Shutter speed: 6s
  • Title: Overlooking Hong Kong from VIctoria Peak on a Clear Night

Waibaidu Bridge Shanghai China

Posted on March 27th, 2014 by

Wandering in the Dark

I arrived in Shanghai after a 16 hour flight and made it to the hotel around 4pm in the afternoon. I took one of the fastest commuter trains in the world from the airport. We traveled at over 300km/hour…this is the slower speed they run the train. I was exhausted, but I left the comfort of my hotel to venture to the Bund the first night to wander alone in the dark with 1000 strangers.

Today’s Photo – With a bit of Soul Searching

I have been thinking quite a bit today about pushing myself. The constant moving has taken a physical toll on me lately, but every time I process a new photo it makes me recall the journey. I recall how alive travel makes me feel and how I find glimpses of childlike wonder on the road; a wonder I once though forever lost. There is something out there I am searching for, I know not what, but my soul has seen glimpses, even in the most usual of subjects.

Waibaidu Bridge Shanghai China
Waibaidu Bridge Shanghai China

Photo Technical Info

Pudong at Night

Posted on November 14th, 2013 by

Night Walking

Walking at night is easy in Asia since we Westerner’s land with a 12 hour out-of-whackness built in to our circadian rhythms. Today’s photo is of Pudong, a very new area of Shanghai. So new there is a gif created about the last 26 years of development … it is stunning. I particularly liked the raided pedestrian walkway above the street that went all over by my hotel, the mall, by Oriental-Pearl-Tower, etc.

Pudong Gif
Pudong at Night
Pudong at Night by W. Brian Duncan

Monument to the People’s Heroes

Posted on November 4th, 2013 by

China

My first night in Shanghai was spent wandering The Bund’s promenade with tons of other people. It’s a wonderful space to walk and take in a spectacular view of Pudong (where I was staying). You see the subject of today’s photo walking up and down the length of The Bund. It sits on a point which aids in its visibility. I had no idea at the time what it was for, but I got the idea walking around. The circular wall surrounding the tower is sunk below the Earth and its quite a wonderful experience because the sounds of Shanghai fade abruptly away. I really loved Shanghai…for many reasons, it wasn’t at all what I expected which is one of the things I love most about travel.

Monument to the People's Heroes
Monument to the People’s Heroes by W. Brian Duncan

Big Ben and Parliament

Posted on September 16th, 2013 by

LOOK Kids…

When I go places there are a few shots I know I want to get. This one of Westminster Bridge, Big Ben and Parliament was one of those. I took tons of shots, but you almost can’t argue with just after the sun goes down and blue hour gets to moving. There is a dynamic stature to the light. I shot a bit, Pamela and I went to dinner and I can back for this beauty!

HDR Photography
Big Ben and Parliament by W. Brian Duncan