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Archive for the ‘Architecture’ Category

Washington DC nightscape

Posted in abstract, Architecture, Art, Landscape, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged , , , , , on December 22, 2018| 10 Comments »

As I was walking across the Key Bridge from Georgetown on Wednesday night, I glanced down at the Potomac River and saw that the Kennedy Center was aglow with rainbow colors. I believe that the colors were part of the celebration of the Kennedy Center Honors, an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. Honorees receive a medallion that hangs from a rainbow colored ribbon.

Most of the landmarks shown here will be familiar only to locals, but some of you may recognize the Washington Monument in the middle left in the photo. In case you are curious, I took this shot with a Canon A620 camera, an old 7.1 megapixel point-and-shoot camera that I carry with me sometimes because it fits easily into my pocket. I leaned against the railing of the bridge to take this shot in what turned out to be a one second exposure.

Although I know what the subject matter of the image is, I enjoy it equally as a kind of abstract, man-made landscape, a beautiful combination of lines and shapes and colors, with some of them reflected in the dark waters of the river.

Kennedy Center Honors

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Night lights in Vienna

Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Travel, Winter, tagged , , , , , on December 17, 2018| 6 Comments »

I have returned from my week-long trip to Vienna, Austria, but thought that I would share images of some of the night lights of the city on my final night. On a cold winter evening when snow was lightly falling, Vienna gleamed like one of the brilliant crystals from Swarovski.

As you can see from the first photo of one of the streets in the central pedestrian zone of Vienna, the city lights are amazing. The second shot is of of the clock tower in one of the inner courts of the Hofburg Palace. The final image shows the elegant storefront of the Swarovski store.

Thanks to my readers who have stayed with me this past week as I deviated from my normal wildlife and nature photography. It is enjoyable to mix things up a bit and a fun challenge to photograph entirely different subjects. I am heading out in a short while and with a little luck will have some new wildlife images to share tomorrow.

night lights in Vienna

night lights in Vienna

night lights in Vienna

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Last night in Vienna

Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Photography, Travel, Winter, tagged , , , , on December 15, 2018| 9 Comments »

Last night, my final night in Vienna this trip, I had a chance to walk by Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral), an incredible building in the center of the city.

The beauty of Vienna is magnified at this time of the year by wonderful decorations and lights everywhere.

Stephansdom

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Merry Christmas from Vienna 2018

Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Photography, Travel, tagged , , , , on December 14, 2018| 3 Comments »

My short trip to Vienna, Austria is rapidly coming to a close and I want to leave you with this image of the entrance to the outdoor Christmas market at the Rathaus (City Hall), the tall building in the background.

My busy work schedule and the rainy weather this year have conspired against me and kept me from getting new photos. I decided to reprise a photo from a similar posting that I did in 2016. I did have a chance earlier in the week to visit this Christmas market and, as always, it was amazingly beautiful, despite the bustling crowds and often commercialized decorations and merchandise.

Best wishes to all for a “Frohe Weihnachten,” German for “Merry Christmas.”

Christmas 2018

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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From my Vienna hotel window

Posted in Architecture, Landscape, Photography, Travel, tagged , , , , on December 12, 2018| 8 Comments »

Sometimes the most mundane scenes capture my eye and prompt me to photograph them. On Monday morning, I looked out of my hotel window and was captivated by the way that the early sunlight was falling on the dome of a building in the distance. As I started exploring the scene I saw lots of wonderful details, a wonderful juxtaposition of elements of the old and the new, of historical buildings and new construction.

This is not my normal style of photography, but I thought it would be fun to share with you a couple of images that give you a sense of the feel of that early morning in Vienna, Austria. I had hoped to take some additional photos of the city, but the last couple of days have been cold, wet, and windy. With a little luck I will be able to take a few photos of the Christmas markets to share with you before I depart this beautiful old city.

Vienna Austria

Vienna Austria

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Nightfall in Vienna

Posted in Architecture, Photography, Travel, Winter, tagged , , , on December 13, 2017| 1 Comment »

In the middle of December, it starts to get dark really early in Vienna. As I was exploring one of the Christmas markets late in the afternoon a few days ago, my eyes were drawn to the interplay of light and shadows on the top of the building of the Museum of Natural History (Naturhistorisches Museum). Natural light was rapidly fading and the artificial lights began to come on, highlighting some of the architectural details of this magnificent building.

Folks passing by probably wondered why I was staring at this scene for an extended period, sometimes with my camera to my eye and sometimes with my naked eyes. We photographers are a peculiar breed.

Museum of Natural History

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Framing a shot

Posted in Architecture, Art, Gardening, Photography, tagged , , , , , on May 16, 2017| 8 Comments »

Most of us have probably tried to frame a shot by using an archway, foliage, or other natural or man-made object to draw the attention of our viewers to our main subject. Yesterday I decided to try something a little more elaborate  during a visit to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia.

The Korean Bell Pavilion at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna,VA is an amazing structure. It was made by hand using traditional methods and houses an enormous bell. How could I highlight its beauty? I started off by taking some conventional shots of the structure and they were ok, but probably the same as hundreds of other visitors have taken.

Korean Bell Pavilion

As I was exploring some of the other buildings in the Korean Bell Garden, I noticed some beautiful carved wooden openings that faced the bell pavilion. By half-kneeling and half-standing, I realized that I could frame a view of the pavilion through the opening.

Korean Bell Pavilion

I liked the shots that I was getting, but the “frame” seemed to be a bit too dark, so I decided to see what would happen if I used my pop-up flash. As I expected, the flash helped to reveal some of the beautiful grain and color of the wood without affecting the rest of the image.

Korean Bell Pavilion

As I stood up, I saw another wooden opening and tried a similar approach, resulting is a panoramic-style shot.

Korean Bell Pavilion

Of course, it is always possible to add a frame to a shot after it has been taken, but for me it’s a lot more fun to try to frame the image while I am taking it. At a minimum, it’s worth the extra effort to try to find new angles and perspectives for a shot.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

 

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