Before Dawn in St. Mark’s Square, Venice
Photo of the Day
With my well-located B&B, there was only four bridges in between leaving the door and reaching St. Mark’s Square, one of the central landmarks in Venice. That made it easy for me to roll out of bed before sunrise to try to capture the square in the blue pre-dawn light. Well, as easy as it ever is to wake before dawn.
The advantage of being awake at this hour is, of course, there’s no one else around. A shot like this would be pretty tricky to get in the evening with throngs of tourists crowding every available space in the marvellous square. Instead, the only other people around seem to be photographers with the same goal of catching that elusive tourist-free shot.
In this shot, you get The Doge’s Palace on the left side of the image with the distant campanille of San Giorgio Maggiore across the water. I shot this with a long lens that has compressed the perspective considerably making the tower appear much closer than the 500 metres away that it actually is.
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Mermaid Street in Rye
Photo of the Day
The most famous street in the small medieval town of Rye in East Sussex is Mermaid Street and its most famous building is the Mermaid Inn. It’s been operating for almost 600 years and is visible on the right side of this photo.
Please visit my gallery of photos from Kent and East Sussex to see more of the area.
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Photo of the Day
If you ever drew a picture of a castle when you were a kid, chances are it looked something like Bodiam Castle. The moated castle is near archetypal in its appearance. The imposing towers, the solid ramparts, the bridge and moat. It’s all just perfect. If I had any of my childhood drawings, I could probably find one that has a castle that looks just like Bodiam.
For more images of Bodiam Castle, visit my gallery of images from Southeastern England.
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Canterbury Cathedral Cloister
Photo of the Day
The previous photo of the day showed us Canterbury Cathedral from a distance, but today we’ve moved inside the cloisters. The sunlight streaming through the elaborate gothic arches makes for quite a sight.
If you’d like to see more of my images of the cathedral, check out my gallery of photos of Southeastern England.
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Canterbury Cathedral
Photo of the Day
Just as striking from a distance as it is from up close, Canterbury Cathedral glows in the last light of the day. It’s an enormous building that truly dominates the medieval town surrounding it.
This world heritage site is one of England’s best-known buildings and deservedly so. The massive gothic building has a history that dates all the way back to 597 A.D. That kind of timespan always boggles my mind and visiting a place with so many stories in its walls is one of my biggest attractions to this country.
For more images of Canterbury Cathedral, check out my gallery of images of Southeastern England.
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City of Arts and Sciences #15
Photo of the Day
And for the last instalment of this series, here’s a shot of the other side of the opera house at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #14
Photo of the Day
Clouds gather in the evening at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #13
Photo of the Day
Curved bridges arc in front of the opera house at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #12
Photo of the Day
L’Hemisfèric looks a bit ominous in this photo of the building at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #11
Photo of the Day
The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #10
Photo of the Day
Just as unusual from the other side, here’s another shot of the Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts in Valencia.
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City of Arts and Sciences #9
Photo of the Day
Today, we have another shot of El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain. This time, the organic forms of the building are lit up in the evening.
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City of Arts and Sciences #8
Photo of the Day
Today’s photo of the day is the organic, abstract spines and ribs of the top of El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #7
Photo of the Day
We continue our wander around the City of Arts and Sciences with another shot of the strange shapes of the Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts opera house.
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City of Arts and Sciences #6
Photo of the Day
These abstract forms come from the Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe (a.k.a. the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum) at Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences.
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City of Arts and Sciences #5
Photo of the Day
Today’s photo of the day is a wider view of Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences. El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe is on the left and L’Hemisfèric is on the right.
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City of Arts and Sciences #4
Photo of the Day
Today’s image from the City of Arts and Sciences is a detail of some of the curving and converging lines of L’Hemisfèric.
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City of Arts and Sciences #3
Photo of the Day
Today’s addition to the City of Arts and Sciences series is a shot of L’Hemisfèric, an IMAX cinema and planetarium.
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City of Arts and Sciences #2
Photo of the Day
This abstract pattern of lines comes from one of the arcades supporting El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe in the City of Arts ad Sciences.
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City of Arts and Sciences #1
Photo of the Day
Today, I begin a new series photo-of-the-day posts that run for the next little while. The images come from one of the more astonishing modern architectural sights I have witnessed: The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.
These photos are actually from a few years ago and one of the buildings, l’Àgora, was under construction during my visit, so I guess that means I’ll have to go back and get more shots. What a shame that would be as I hardly had any fun at all wandering through this complex of magnificently designed buildings.
The site is designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela and looks like it should only exist somewhere in the distant future. The huge space is filled with unusual shapes and patterns, sweeping lines and giant, abstract forms. As a photographer, I felt like I was cheating – it seemed almost too east to take an interesting photo there.
This first image is of El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, an opera hall, but it might as well be the fortress of a sci-fi super villain.
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Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail Courtyard
Photo of the Day
The approach to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail is through a series of peaceful courtyards and this one stands exactly opposite the mausoleum. Photography of the Mausoleum was prohibited and I wasn’t about to go acting disrespectful in the resting place in one of the city’s most revered figures.
This little fountain was a good second prize. It was quiet enough for me to set up a tripod and do a few shots where I was able to pop off flashes so that I could highlight the edges of the fountain and give it some separation from the background.
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Singapore Esplanade Panorama
Photo of the Day
Here’s another of those rare instances where I took a panoramic shot on my travels in Southeast Asia and, yet again, it makes me wish I had done more.
This one is from Singapore, a city that has probably already changed quite a bit since I took this shot. This shot features the Esplanade (a.k.a. the Durian, the performing arts centre in Singapore) and the city’s financial centre.
If this shot wrapped any further to the left, I know it would be rather out of date by now since there has been a massive amount of construction on the other side of the bay.
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Manchester Exchange Square Panorama
Photo of the Day
Today’s image is from my current home city, Manchester and features Exchange Square and the Manchester Wheel in the evening.
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Brussels Modern Architecture
Photo of the Day
Brussels is better known for its medieval architecture than its modern (apart from the Atom, of course), but the Square Brussels Events Centre caught my eye on my brief stop there.
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Darby Sawchuk is a Canadian-born photographer who currently resides in Manchester, England. He has travelled to over 40 countries and is always adding more to the list. He creates stock for multiple agencies and is available for assignments.
+44 0790 992 8932
