Posted in Christmas, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged Canon A620, Christmas, Christmas 2014, Christmas lights, street lights, Vienna, Vienna Austria on December 20, 2014| 9 Comments »
On my final night in Vienna, I took a long, leisurely stroll through the pedestrian district in the city’s center, enjoying the magical atmosphere created by all of the different Christmas lights that adorned the streets.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Christmas, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged Canon A620, Christmas, Christmas 2014, Christmas market, Sankta Lucia, Vienna on December 18, 2014| 7 Comments »
Although Vienna is best known for the classical music of composers like Mozart and Strauss, there is music everywhere at Christmas time, from the carols of a brass ensemble at a Christmas market to the softer sounds of a Swedish choir celebrating Sankta Lucia.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged Canon A620, Museum of Natural History, Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna Austria on December 17, 2014| 4 Comments »
As the sun went down on my last full day in Vienna this trip, the lights started to come on, illuminating some of Vienna’s beautiful buildings, including the Museum of Natural History (Naturhistorisches Museum).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged Canon A620, fog, Vienna, Vienna Austria on December 17, 2014| 12 Comments »
It was a really foggy start to the day in Vienna yesterday and the photos I took looked almost like they had been taken with black and white film.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Christmas, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged Canon A620, Christmas 2014, Christmas market, Rathaus, Vienna Austria on December 16, 2014| 12 Comments »
My daylight hours have been fully occupied during a short work trip to Vienna, Austria, but I have managed to visit a couple of the Christmas markets after dark. I took these shots at the one at the Rathaus (City Hall) with the small point-and-shoot camera with which I travel.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, Grand-Place, palace on September 12, 2014| 2 Comments »
Although I am here in Brussels for work, I did have some time to play tourist and visit some of the beautiful sights of the city, including the wonderful historical buildings on the Grand-Place, the ancient center of Brussels. Even with my old point-and-shoot camera, the details of the buildings really sparkle.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, graffiti, grate, potato truck, Tintin on September 12, 2014| 9 Comments »
What is street art? I tend to think of street art as a category that encompasses a broad range of artistic expressions in a public area. As I walked through the streets of Brussels during this trip, I saw art everywhere—underfoot, in the form of a brass grate in the street; in the air, in the form of a Tintin mural on the side of a building; and at eye level, in the form of a grafitti-covered security cover for a shop and in a stenciled image on the side of a potato delivery truck.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Photography, Portraits, Travel, Urban, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, costume, mannekin pis on September 11, 2014| 3 Comments »
One of Brussels’s notable tourist landmarks, the Manneken Pis, was wearing a different set of clothes today. The costume is that of the Red Knights of Belgium 1, the local branch of an international firefighters motorcycle club. According to a city website, “The costume was offered to honor the many firefighters, but also the American Red Knights, who vanished during the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on 11 September 2001.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged belgium, brussels, candy, Canon A620, chocolate, SUCX on September 11, 2014| 5 Comments »
You can find fine Belgian chocolate everywhere in Brussels, but if you want other kinds of candy, this is the place to go to find almost every kind of sweet treat that you can imagine. Of course, I smile every time that I pass by the store and read its name—I can’t quite imagine a candy store with the name of SUCX succeeding in the United States.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Photography, Portraits, Travel, Urban, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, costume, mannekin pis on September 10, 2014| 3 Comments »
Whenever I am in Brussels, I always try to be sure that I see the Manneken Pis, the little boy who is one of the symbols of the city. Normally, he is naked and is peeing into a fountain, but on special occasions he is clothed in one of his many costumes. Yesterday, he was wearing an athletic suit, with what appeared to be a Belgian flag, and running shoes. The statue of the boy is not very big and I am also posting a shot of the alcove in which he is located to give you an idea of his size.
I will try to check him again before I leave and see if he has changed into a different set of clothes. If so, I’ll be sure to post another photo.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Art, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged Adventures of Tintin, Broussaille, brussels, Canon A620, Frank Pé, murals, street art, Tintin on September 10, 2014| 7 Comments »
One of favorite things about walking around in the old area of Brussels near the Grand-Place is that you can unexpectedly come across giant murals on the sides of buildings illustrating scenes from the Adventures of Tintin. This series of comic books was created by Belgian artist Georges Remi (who wrote under the pen name of Hergé) and was one of the most popular European comic series in the 20th century.
Although I am fortunate to make trips to Brussels a couple of times a year, my trips are short in duration and I never get to know the city very well. As a result, it’s a real joy to rediscover a Tintin mural when I am wandering through the winding streets of Brussels, as I did yesterday, when I stumbled onto one of my favorite murals, depicting two boys walking together.
CORRECTION: It turns out that there are a lot of different comic book artists have works depicted in murals throughout Brussels and this mural from a series by Frank Pé with a main character called Broussaille, not from the Tintin series. Broussaille is the blond character on the right and his girlfriend Catherine is on the left. The mural was painted in 1991 and then repainted in 1999 to make Catherine appear more feminine—many believed the mural depicted a gay couple, given the proximity of the mural to Brussel’s gay district.
You also can see some interesting signs in the streets of Brussels, like this one, which seems to be advertising a beer by using a baby.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Travel, tagged Canon A620, Colorado, Denver, Tyrannus verticalis, Western Kingbird on June 27, 2014| 8 Comments »
Walking along the sidewalk outside my hotel in Denver, Colorado, I caught sight of a beautiful shade of yellow on the breast of a bird that flew by me. I watched as it came to rest in a nearby tree, but couldn’t identify it.
Like the Black-billed Magpie that I featured yesterday, this bird, which I am pretty sure is a Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis), is not found in Northern Virginia where I live.
As I watched, this bird flew off several times, presumably in search of insects, but returned to the same perch each time at the top of a tree. I would have liked to have watched this beautiful bird for a while longer, but duty called—this is a business trip after all.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, Urban, wildlife, tagged Black-billed Magpie, Canon A620, Colorado, Denver, Magpie, Pica hudsonia on June 26, 2014| 9 Comments »
I couldn’t help but notice Black-billed Magpies (Pica hudsonia) here in Denver, Colorado, which I am visiting on a short business trip. The magpies are loud and boisterous, even in the area of my hotel just off of a major road.
It’s particularly nice to encounter these attractive birds because we don’t see them at all in Virginia. As is usually the case when I am travelling for business, I took these photos with a little Canon point-and-shoot and not my regular DSLR.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Humor, Photography, Travel, tagged Canon A620, Exeter, New Hampshire, smoking, town hall on June 16, 2014| 5 Comments »
I couldn’t help but laugh when I spotted this sign outside of the town hall in Exeter, New Hampshire, where I attended a wedding this past weekend. I can’t tell if the message is to be careful when you are smoking, lest you be caught, or that non-smoking could be a punishable offense.
It reminds me a bit of a parental admonition, “Don’t let me catch you doing that again,” and the teenager’s response, “Don’t worry, you won’t catch me again.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Landscape, Photography, Travel, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, clouds, dark clouds, golden light, palace on June 13, 2014| 6 Comments »
During this past week in Brussels, I experienced extremes of weather, ranging from dark, threatening thunder clouds to gorgeous light late one day that bathed the palace in shimmering gold.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Landscape, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, moon, palace on June 12, 2014| 13 Comments »
Another short business trip to Brussels is coming to an end. Here are some images of this beautiful city taken during the last few days with my old point-and-shoot Canon A620.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, Travel, Urban, wildlife, tagged Canon A620, ducklings, fountain, mallard duck, Vienna, Vienna Austria, Volksgarten on May 8, 2014| 11 Comments »
As I was walking through the Volksgarten in Vienna, I was a bit surprised to encounter three ducklings, living in a fountain along with two male adult Mallards. The city had constructed a ramp so that the ducks could enter and exit the fountain and a couple of plywood platforms, where the ducklings would rest and play.
Obviously there was a mother duck involved in giving birth to these ducklings, which were no longer babies, but I did not see her at all during any of my three visits to see the ducks.
Although I had only a point-and-shoot camera with a small zoom lens, the fountain limited the movement of the ducklings and I was able to move in close for some pretty good shots, which show the personality of the little ducklings.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Humor, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged 25 Hours Hotel, Canon A620, come as you are, hotel, Vienna Austria, we are all mad here on May 7, 2014| 11 Comments »
It would be somewhat of an understatement to say that my hotel in Vienna is quirky. The individual rooms are decorated with a circus motif; just above the entrance is a sign that boldly proclaims, “We are all mad here;” and the rooftop sign for the hotel announces that you should “come as you are.”
The 25 Hour Hotel in Vienna is obviously designed for a younger, more hip crowd, but I really enjoy the vibe of the hotel, even if I am outside the target demographic. Moreover, it is really conveniently located for the work I need to get done.
It’s hard to capture the feel of the hotel in a few photos, but I hope these images give you a sense of the experience that the 25 Hour Hotel provides—it’s a welcome change from the sense of faded glory that characterizes some of the older, more traditional Vienna hotels.
Headboard mural in my room
Large sign over hotel entrance
Hotel entrance
Rooftop hotel sign, “Come as you are.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, spring, Travel, Urban, tagged benches, Canon A620, chairs, park, Vienna, Vienna Austria, Volksgarten on May 6, 2014| 8 Comments »
Vienna can be a crowded city, overflowing with people much of the time, but early morning in the Volksgarten, I had my choice of seats—both the chairs and the benches were completely empty.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Architecture, Art, Photography, spring, Travel, Urban, tagged Athena Fountain, Austrian Parliament Building, Canon A620, conservatory, Rathaus, statue, Vienna, Vienna Austria on May 5, 2014| 5 Comments »
I am back in Vienna, Austria for a short business trip and captured a few of the sights of this beautiful city on an early morning walk today as the city was coming to life.
Conservatory in Vienna
Vienna City Hall (Rathaus)
Athena statue outside Austrian Parliament Building
Statue in Volksgarten
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Architecture, Landscape, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, city hall, Grand-Place, mannekin pis, moon on January 17, 2014| 3 Comments »
The city was mostly deserted when I took a walk through the center of Brussels at 5:00 this morning, my last day in Brussels for this trip. It was a little eerie to visit some of the major tourist sites in the moonlight and to be mostly alone.
Mountains of bulging trash bags and folded cardboard were piled up outside the businesses as I made my way through the cobblestone streets of the pedestrian area. The buildings of the Grand Place were as beautiful as ever, though I didn’t really care for the series of off-and-on lights that illuminated them (and they made it tough to get a proper exposure). I finished up my early morning stroll with a visit to the Mannekin Pis, the little boy who is one of the symbols of Brussels. Occasionally I have seen him in one of his many costumes, but this morning, he was au naturel.
Despite seeing again some of the famous landmarks, my favorite subject this morning was the moon as it lit up the clouds in the sky. I tried to capture some of the feeling in the first photo, where the moon shows itself in between parts of the roofs in a downtown house.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Humor, Photography, Travel, tagged belgium, bimbo, brussels, Canon A620, fashion, humor on January 16, 2014| 5 Comments »
Words exist in a cultural context and here in Brussels, perhaps nobody smiles when they pass this sign for the “Bimbo Fashion Store.” As an American male, though, my imagination goes into overdrive as I imagine the type of clothing that would be deemed suitable fashion for a bimbo. Tight jeans and a tube top? Plunging necklines?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Architecture, Landscape, Photography, Travel, Urban, Winter, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, city hall, night photography on January 16, 2014| 6 Comments »
I really like the different types and colors of light in this shot of a portion of Brussel’s nightime skyline, taken from an overlook near the city’s Central Train Station.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Architecture, Humor, Landscape, Photography, Travel, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, disco, humor, Irish pub on January 15, 2014| 4 Comments »
What kind of music can they possibly play in a place that advertises itself as an Irish pub disco bar?
I did a double-take when I saw this sign as I was walking around in the center of Brussels and suffered a moment of cognitive dissonance—there is little room for overlap in my preconceived notions of the clientele of an Irish pub and that of a disco bar and the main activities seem different too.
I wonder if the pub has a big mirrored ball hanging from the ceiling.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Landscape, Photography, Travel, Urban, Winter, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, moon, night, night photography, statue on January 15, 2014| 3 Comments »
It rained most of the day in Brussels, but finally the skies cleared a little in the evening and the moon was visible from time to time, peeking through the clouds. I enjoy walking through this old city at night and observing the interplay of the light and shadows.
It’s a fun challenge to try and capture the effects of light at night with an older point-and-shoot digital camera and I am always looking for solid objects against which to lean to steady myself.
This was my most “artistic” shot of the evening, an attempt to balance the effect of the weak light of the moon with the artificial lights that illuminated this statue.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Architecture, Art, Landscape, Photography, Urban, Winter, tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620, city hall, snow on January 13, 2014| 8 Comments »
I am drawn to the colors and shapes and patterns in this image of the roof of the Brussels City Hall, one of the iconic buildings of the central square of this beautiful city.
I am back in Brussels for a brief business trip and have not yet had a chance to shoot any new photos. I took this shot last year in mid-January, when the city was covered with a light coating of snow. This year, it looks like it’s a bit warmed and I was shocked to see some sunshine yesterday, the day of our arrival. In my experience, the skies are usually gray and cloud-covered and it is unusual to see the sun at this time of the year.
I hope to have some new photos of Brussels soon, work permitting, which you should be seeing for the next few days.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Christmas, Travel, Urban, Winter, tagged Canon A620, Christmas, National Christmas Tree, Washington D.C. on December 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Last night I made a trip into Washington D.C. with some friends to see the National Christmas Tree. Despite the fact that I have lived in this area for more than 20 years, this was the first time that I had seen it live—I have seen the tree-lighting ceremony on the news many times.
The large Christmas tree, which is a live tree, is surrounded by 56 smaller decorated live trees, representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the unincorporated territories of the United States. Underneath the tree was an elaborate set-up of model trains, reminding me of my childhood.
It’s the day before Christmas and most of us are in high gear for the coming holy day. Best wishes to all of you for a joyous Christmas and a wonderful and blessed New Year.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged Canon A620, Christmas, lights, night photography, Vienna, Vienna Austria on December 13, 2013| 15 Comments »
The streets in the pedestrian area of Vienna have spectacular displays of lighting for Christmas that are simple and elegant. Each of the streets has its own motif that is repeated in white or gold lights. My favorites are the giant chandeliers in one of the main streets, but others are equally impressive. Do you have a favorite?
I am including a selection of photos in a gallery to show you some of the different lighting schemes—click on a photo to see the photos in the gallery at higher resolution.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged Canon A620, Hofburg Palace, night photography, Vienna Austria on December 12, 2013| 8 Comments »
There are so many beautiful, historic buildings in Vienna that I often walk around with my eyes looking upward (fortunately I haven’t run into anything yet). These are shots of a couple of elements of the Hofburg Palace, a former palace that is right in the center of the city. Vienna does a nice job of lighting up many of these buildings at night, which makes for some nice opportunities for me to hone my skills in night photography.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Christmas, Photography, Travel, tagged Canon A620, Christmas market, lights, Merry Christmas, Rathaus, Vienna Austria on December 11, 2013| 7 Comments »
The Christmas markets in Vienna are full of brightly colored lights and I attempted to capture some of their beauty at night in these photos. I did not have a tripod and my point-and-shoot does not permit really high ISO speeds, so I resorted to leaning against various objects to steady my shots. The big sign in a couple of the shots is a “Merry Christmas” sign in German at one of the main entrances to the biggest Christmas market at the Rathaus (City Hall).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Landscape, Portraits, Travel, tagged Canon A620, Christmas, Christmas market, moon, Vienna Austria on December 10, 2013| 5 Comments »
It finally stopped raining in Vienna and I was able to take a walk through the Christmas market in front of the Rathaus (City Hall). There are rows and rows of stalls set up with all kinds of products and food.
In the midst of all of the artificial lights, I was struck by the beauty of the moon, which kept peeking in and out of the clouds.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 