Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Architecture’ Category

Church in Oberammergau

Posted in Architecture, Language, Photography, Travel, Winter, tagged , , , , , on February 14, 2019| 3 Comments »

I couldn’t see the sun actually setting on Wednesday in Oberammergau, Germany, but there was a glow in the sky and behind the mountains that was particularly beautiful.

As I rushed around in the fading light, trying to get some shots, I decided to include the Parish Church St. Peter and Paul, one of the most prominent buildings in this small Bavarian village. A few hours later, I captured the second image with a long exposure made by leaning my camera on a parked car. I love the architectural style of the church and included a third image to give you a better sense of the entire church structure.

Parish Church Oberammergau

Parish Church Oberammergau

Parish Church Oberammergau

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

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.

 

Read Full Post »

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.

 

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

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.

 

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »