Tag Archives: Europe

Wet Cobblestones in Geneva

Posted on January 13th, 2014 by

Photogs

I have long loved Brassai. A Hungarian photographer who came to prominence in Paris between World War I and II. He has taken some of my favorite photos of the City of Light by night. Interestingly some of my favorite photographs are of the wet streets of Paris. These are simple, but there is a sensual and mysterious love they seem to express to me.

Wet Stones

I can’t ever seem to get away from the depth contained in ancient wet cobblestone streets. They have been around for thousands of years and will be for thousands more if God willing, Europe doesn’t adopt the American love of asphalt and concrete; such impermanent material. The history of these old cities has slowly been chiseled into their face. They reflect it in the mist, if you just look.

Wet Cobblestones in Geneva
Wet Cobblestones in Geneva by W. Brian Duncan

The Queen’s Lock

Posted on December 30th, 2013 by

Outside Buckingham Palace

Across the street from Buckingham Palace is the Queen’s Gate. It shuts the entrance of Green Park, though honestly I am not sure to whom. The gate is easy enough to walk around, but it’s barred with heavy chains to keep the aforementioned trespassers from committing their most egregious of crime. What I most noticed was the wonderful lock that makes all of this possible. It seemed a very old lock, but the perfect mechanism for the task.

The Queen's Lock
The Queen’s Lock by W. Brian Duncan

The Barcelona Crowd

Posted on December 23rd, 2013 by

Street Photography

I like all kinds of photography, but one style I have a hard time with is street photography. It’s not that I don’t love the style, but there is a patience needed that I seem to lack. Also when you get right down to it, I hate confrontation. Most people even when they do care won’t chase you down, but even still I generally travel with a wide angle lens and you really have to get up on people.

Strange Group

I love contrasts. This photo was taken in the courtyard around La Cathedral in Barcelona Spain. The place is brimming with people and absolutely gorgeous. The man on the left is absorbed in his book, journaling his experience, but all the while missing everything going on in the world around him. The young woman suns her very pale skin. While worshiping the sun she misses the beauty all around her. The old man on the right seems aloof, but content to watch people, he is turned away from the church. The woman is my favorite. She was very happy to sit and smoke, until she noticed I was taking her picture. I caught her in a moment of surprise. Somehow she seemed the most genuine…perhaps even the most honest to me.

The Barcelona Crowd
The Barcelona Crowd by W. Brian Duncan

Lost Winter Rose

Posted on December 19th, 2013 by

Losing Details

I have said it before, but I have a tendency to forget details. I come home with a lot of shots of big buildings, but I often reminisce about things that stand out to me during a trip, only to realize I didn’t photograph them at all. Perhaps I am too caught up in the moment or the spectacle. Going forward I will be actively trying to remember to photograph things, even when these are people who do not want to be photographed. They should be remembered if only by me.

Frozen Beauty

I found this rose in the middle of winter by Cathédrale Saint-Pierre. It was lost in the snow, a forgotten mishap…something that broke, or wasn’t supposed to be, but it was there for me to see. I still recall finding it, one of those little unexpected joys to brighten your day. A beautiful frozen rose in the dead of winter in Switzerland. Perfection!

Lost Winter Rose
Lost Winter Rose by W. Brian Duncan

The Great Sequoia

Posted on December 16th, 2013 by

Giant Specimen

One of my favorite places in London is the Natural History Museum. It looks like something out of a movie and it have one of the most spectacular collections of the natural world that I have seen! One of my favorite parts was a cross section of a giant sequoia from the USA. Though it saddens me to see even a part of one of these ancient spirits no longer standing…I am glad the world can see of of America’s greatest treasures. This particular tree was around 1300 years old when it was felled.

The Great Sequoia
The Great Sequoia by W. Brian Duncan

The Cupola Room Fireplace Clock

Posted on December 9th, 2013 by

Kensington Palace

If I am being honest, British architecture is generally an underwhelming experience for me. The British just don’t have the panache of the French. I have the same problem with colonial American architecture…there is too much sensibility and little in the way of the madness of impractical beauty. One place I was pleasantly surprised was in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. The Palace has recently seen a bit of a renovation and this particular room is spectacular. This particular time piece is an insert for one of the palace fireplaces. I found it to be a wonderful bit of detail.

The Cupola Room Fireplace Clock
The Cupola Room Fireplace Clock by W. Brian Duncan

A Mansion in Park Guell

Posted on September 23rd, 2013 by

Nice Digs

I kept thinking to myself…this isn’t bad place to live if you could stand the tourists. Park Güell in Barcelona is one of those amazing places that had a bad time getting its start. Built by master architect Antoni Gaudi (he fast became one of my favorite historical architects) … it was a flop. No one wanted to live there it seems. I don’t understand why really as the views are spectacular. Gaudi purchased the site and lived there from 1906 to 1926. A number of homes have been built on the site since its founding (today’s photo being one), but the Park was converted into a municipal garden, leaving an odd mix of fabulous mansions surrounded by the best views in Barcelona, wholly occupied by throngs of sunbathers and tourists.

HDR Photography
A Mansion in Park Guell by W. Brian Duncan

A French Provincial Cottage

Posted on September 5th, 2013 by

Playing Peasant

Oh the odd, odd life of a Monarch. Heavy, it is said, is the head that wears the crown, but perhaps it isn’t all bad. Sure you have to have food tasters because you are scared someone will poison your food, but you also get to build the old world version of an Amusement Park in your back yard. This is one of the cottages in Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet at the Palace of Versailles. She went here to get away to the simple life. You know, in those peasant houses designed for entertaining. Peasants don’t need sleep after all.

HDR Photography
A French Provincial Cottage by W. Brian Duncan

The Fountain of Saturn

Posted on August 15th, 2013 by

Speaking of Versailles

On Monday I posted a photo of Salon Dorado and said how much it reminded me of Versailles. I was working on some photos this weekend and one of them happened to be of the one of the many fountains in the gardens at Versailles…The Fountain of Saturn. It was out of commission while we were there, but I was still intrigued by the slightly grotesque nature of the work.

Travel Photography
The Fountain of Saturn by W. Brian Duncan

Stone Spiral Stairs

Posted on June 27th, 2013 by

Golden Ratio

I love a spiral. Throughout history humans have been enthralled with the golden ratio and to me this particular expression is one of the best. This particular spiral staircase is one of the ultra narrow towers of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona Spain. The last spiral staircase I shot was in Paris and people seem to love the Arc de Tripmphe staircase photo. Personally I think I hit the expression of the golden ratio more dead on with this photo and I particularly like the texture. Which do you like best?

HDR Photography
Stone Spiral Stairs by W. Brian Duncan