Antwerp Central Station is by many regarded as the finest example of railway architecture in Belgium. The original station building was constructed between 1895 and 1905 as a replacement for the original terminus of the Brussels-Mechelen-Antwerp Railway. In 2007 a large-scale reconstruction work was completed to convert the station from a terminus to a through station, with now has four levels and 14 tracks.
This station is an ideal candidate to further explore the creative possibilities of the wide angle tilt-shift lens. As mentioned in my previous post, this lens allows a photographer to make panorama images very easily while preserving the perspective at all times. This is the first example: the main hall of the station (composed of three images).

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Tags: antwerp, central station

In Oudenbosch, in the Netherlands, a small replica of St Peters cathedral has been built in the middle of the small village. It is the Basilica for Agatha and Barbara, the construction started in 1865 and the building fits sixteen times in St Peters cathedral. It is a very quiet place, with not too many people in the church. An ideal place, of course, to try out a new tilt-shift lens that I acquired this week. The concept of a tilt-shift lens, an ideal tool for architecture photography, is well explained in this article.
Tilt-shift lenses make life easy when you want to make a panorama photo by stitching two or more images together. The first two images below are composed of two photos each.

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Venice is an amazing city, as millions of tourists experience every year. Wandering around through this city of canals, bridges and old quaint houses, one can find surprises after every street corner (and there are many!). I’ve tried to capture the beauty of this Italian city in the early morning, in particular the combination of colors.

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Tags: Venice, City, Italy, canal, color, colorful, vintage, old, water

The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision looks after, and provides access to 70% of the Dutch audio-visual heritage. In total, around 700,000 hours of television, radio, music and film, making Sound and Vision one of the largest audiovisual archives in Europe. Sound and Vision is the business archive of the national broadcasting corporations, a cultural heritage institute (providing access to students and the general public) and also a museum for its visitors. The Institute is settled, since 2006, in a award-winning landmark building in Hilversum with huge colorful glass walls. Photographing is allowed everywhere in building, a rare phenomenon for photographers. There is a group in Flickr, albeit a small one, centered on the building of the Institute. I fortunately had the chance to dwell along the corridors of the building, which are normally closed for public. Here’s my contribution.

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There are many famous locations in Rome. You probably know them. Warm, stuffed with tourists. Not many people know how beautiful these locations are in the very early morning, with the sun just woken up. This blog is meant to provide all of the long sleeping visitors of Rome with a view of Rome in the early morning (-.

1. Castel Sant’Angelo, a symmetrical view. This image is also added to my gallery with symmetries.

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Tags: Rome, City, tourism

Coming back to Rome, here are some night shots of both the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo. I’ve also added these images to my gallery of night shots.

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Tags: Rome, night

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in Rome, just for photography. The main reason was that I was invited to photograph a wedding (pictures in progress), but I also had some extra days in this beautiful city. One of my favorite activities is waling in cities very early in the morning. Not much people around and, even more important, beautiful light. I have made lots of pictures, and this is my first series: the Colours of Rome.

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Tags: Rome, Cityscape, City, Roman, Italy, colourful