San Gimignano

I have never seen so many towers in one place and I think there is no other city like this.
The towers were built during the Renaissance period by the wealthy families to show their power and unlike in other cities where such towers were brought down due to wars and urban renewals in San Gimignano the 14 towers are very well conserved. It is said that before there were around 70 towers! I can’t imagine how the city at that time looked like. With 14 towers it already looks like some kind of a medieval megapolis full with old skyscrapers.

The town itself is very cute and it’s nice to walk within it’s walls and around watching beautiful landscapes of Tuscany. We met a local guy and he told us that it looks even more beautiful in fall where everything around is colored in different bright colors. Yes, this place is definitely worth visiting for a second time.

 

From the gallery: beautiful cities in Tuscany

 

Vienna by night

It is so romantic to wake up while it is still dark outside and decide to go together to the hill above the city and watch the sun slowly rising…

But that morning there was no sunrise due to clouds. We arrived a little early and I managed to capture a wonderful view of Vienna at dusk. The curve of Danube river was beautifully illuminated with city lights.

There are a lot of opportunities for night photography in Vienna. There are so many beautiful buildings: Hofburg, City Hall, Austrian Parliament… And these buildings look most impressively at night when the sky is dark and illumination is on.

Hofburg and Historical museum

City hall

Austrian Parliament building

From the gallery: beautiful photos of Vienna, Austria

Several warm days in Florida

It was a wonderful business to trip to a beautiful place – Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida. My balcony overlooked the ocean and each morning going through my work emails I was enjoying the sunrise and the sound of waves hitting the shore.

The most beautiful houses in Florida are located on Pente Vedra Beach. I’ve found that out when I rode a bike through the surroundings. It was very neat around: palm-trees, flowers, ponds, tiny bridges… and huge sandy beaches on which from time to time I met a man walking with a dog or a  cute couple.

Ocean was inspiring me. I enjoyed the way it was gently covering the shore with it’s big waves leaving on it wonderful shells and stones… I just adored going out to the ocean during short breaks and lunch pauses, looking at it, listening to it, smelling it… I could do that forever. But I needed to go back to work.

When the working day was over and it was already dark outside I was watching from my balcony how the moon was rising. I spent there around 10 calm minutes and then I started receiving calls, emails  and went out for dinner to try delicious local seafood. These several days were like a fairy tale to me, they were a never ending sequence of interesting events, meeting, knowing something new.

From the gallery: beautiful images of Florida

Buckingham Fountain in Chicago

I somehow missed this fountain when I was in Chicago last time. Yes, it’s really difficult to miss this beauty but I’ve managed to do that. But that’s even better. So this time I had an opportunity to see something new.

Buckingham Fountain looks really cool. It is situated on a perfect spot: right next to the lake Michigan, all surrounded by skyscrapers. From this spot there is a beautiful panorama of the city and the fountain looks like an excellent addition to it

The fountain symbolizes the lake Michigan. And each of the four sea horses on the it’s sides represent four American states that border the lake.

From the gallery: professional images of Chicago

Chicago skyline

There are big waves on the lake Michigan today. I walked to the Lincoln park and went out on the pier. If the wind was not so strong I could sit here with a book from time to time looking at the skyscrapers of the city and watching the background of clouds becoming more and more interesting. I like to come to such places and spend there a couple of calm hours.

But today is not calm. There are big waves today. They loudly hit the pier and spill out into the shore touching some incautious passers-by. The wind is strong.

It is starting to get dark. I am watching the waves and I am starting to envision the picture that I would like to make. I need to go down to the sand, try to catch the moment when there will be no wave and capture Chicago skyline with the reflection of the city lights in the water. Then I need to return to the safe place where the wave can’t reach me.

I try to follow this process and the photos do look similar to what I’ve pictured in my mind. Then at the moment when I have finally captured the perfect composition my legs get hit by the wave all the way till the knees. I take my tripod and ran away.

I ran to the subway and get home. A glass of red wine helps me to overcome the cold. I look at the pictures on the preview and some of them I really like. Tomorrow I’ll try to meet the sunrise.

From the gallery: professional images of Chicago

Night panoramas of Lugano

Lugano is a very beautiful city in Switzerland. It is situated on a lake and is surrounded by mountains. You can go up in the mountains and admire fantastic views of the city from above.  The views are really breathtaking. I just stood on the mountain till the evening watching how down below the lights were slowly turning on. Wonderful sight. The photos are lacking that strong wind and that slightly dizzy feeling of the height… But they do refresh the memories. It is so nice to look at these panoramas and envision myself standing on the mountain again with strong wind playing with my hair…

And here is how Lugano looks from the water. Golden city.

From the gallery: beautiful photos of Swiss cities

Sisteron, a unique city in France

I have never seen such a miracle! Limestone strata formed in a vertical rock and this rock stands right in the middle of the town and a picturesque bridge connects it with the other side of the river. This place is called Rocher de la Baume and it is situated in Sisteron, France.

While I was in France I decided to take the Route Napoleon over the Alps and stopped to spend a night in one of the few towns that I met on the way – Sisteron. It was quite difficult to find a hotel here. Everything was closed and when I asked people passing by about a place to stay I didn’t receive any inspiring answer. We left our car and walked through the town. On some significant square we’ve finally found a hotel that was open. There were few guests and we were immediately offered a nice suite with the view of one more landmark of Sisteron – Citadel .

Citadel is also situated on the hill. And from it’s height there is a great view of the surroundings. I was imagining how the citizens of Sisteron were watching Napoleon and his at that time only 700 soldiers marching through the valley and how easy it could be to stop them. But the locals decided to let Napoleon go and gather his big army that was later defeated at Waterloo.

Sisteron is really unique and beautiful city. But in spite of all it’s beauty and interesting history there are very few tourists. I think that’s because it’s pretty difficult to get here: the road that leads here goes through the mountains and it quite empty without any significant cities nearby. The closest ones are Marseille and Grenoble and they are ~150km away. But for me unique cityscape and rich history of this town is definitively worth the time.

From the gallery: beautiful photos of cities in France

Haarlem by night

We arrived in Haarlem in rain, the streets were quiet and empty. The first thing that we saw was the famous windmill that I dreamed to see for so long. I’ve been to the Netherlands several times but I have never seen the symbol of the country – windmill. Now the windmill De Adriaan was standing just in front of me, like brand new. Like I read later it is really new, it was completely rebuilt in 2002 instead of the old one that has burnt. Through the windows we saw that inside of its building there is a museum and sometimes the windmill is turned on for the tourists’ pleasure. But on Sunday evening everything was closed. And we continued walking the streets of Haarlem in rain.

We stumbled upon a cute little restaurant on the canal but all the tables for that evening were reserved. So we just had a couple of glasses of wine in the bar, warmed up a little and went out in the rain again. It started to get dark, small houses along the canals started to turn their lights on and slowly all street lampposts started to get lit. Then I took out my camera, my favorite tripod and started to capture the beauty of the night city in pictures…

From the gallery: professional photos of the Netherlands

Antwerp by night

Origin of the name of this city is very interesting. One version comes form “hand werpen” – throwing hand. The legend tells us about a giant who took toll from everyone who was crossing the local river and of those who refused he cut their hand and threw it into the river. But the giant was defeated by a brave guy who cut the giant’s hand and threw it into the river.

But I don’t believe in this. I believe in “an ‘t werf” - on the wharf. Antwerp was a very important port city in the medieval Europe. And hence all it’s wealth and fame. The river Scheldt very conveniently connects the city with the Northern sea. Port of Antwerp is known as one of the largest in Europe.

Architecture of Antwerp is beautiful. The main square (Grote Markt) looks very similar to not so far away Brussels. The same cute little houses and a big Gothic building with a high tower. In Brussels it is city hall, in Antwerp – cathedral.

There is also very nice waterfront were it is pleasant to stroll. Beer is really good here, especially the cherry one. And of course  there are a lot of sites to take pictures of both at day and night when there are beautifully illuminated.

From the gallery: professional cityscapes of Antwerp

Cinque terre. Night.

There is very little life in these villages at night. All visitors and citizens go back to their houses or have a nice dinner in one of the local restaurant. Only crazy photographer are still running around in search of interesting angles for their pictures. This time I was running around alone and it was even a little creepy to stay on a forest trail away from the people without any light.

So I had to leave some of the very good spots for pictures because of their complete darkness and move closer to the village. But even there the views got really impressive when the lights went on and the sky got darker.

From the gallery: professional photos of Italian cities