Category:Travel
Tate Modern is one of our regular stops when my friends and I visit London. Their new wing—with an observation deck in the 10th floor—recently opened. I love the elevator hall on the ground floor. I can see myself doing a photo shoot there: great location for a beautiful model in shiny black latex…
The Tate Modern in London recently opened a new wing which offers a great view of St. Paul’s Cathedral across the river from the museum. When the sun hits the majestic building just right on a cloudy day, it stands out from the rest of the city.
I will never pass up an opportunity to visit Legoland. I loved Lego as a kid, and I am still a big fan. Obviously, Legoland Danmark had to be on our itinerary on our trip to Copenhagen. I can spend hours, possibly day at miniland gaping at those awesome models just made of Lego bricks. I actually don’t care about the rides. Give me my camera and I will be happy as a kid in a candy store.
The Star Wars models where so cool. I was happy that I had a GoPro and a selfie stick with me. It allowed me to get really close to some of the models and take pictures from angles I would not be able to reach with my dSLR. And I eventually end up doing a photo shoot with the local talents of course. Even when they are made of Lego bricks.
Rome is a birthplace of classical culture. As a kid, I went on one of those school trips in my senior year of high school that are popular in Belgium. I remember being overwhelmed by all those great monuments in Rome. I also remember I had gone through al lot of my film stock before we got to Rome and did not make too many photos. Since then I’ve returned to Rome a few times on business and never had time to make pictures.
Going back there to see Springsteen a few weeks back, was the perfect opportunity to get pictures from those famous places I did not make as a young man. And honestly, I am happy I did not take any of those shots back than since my photo skills were zero in those days.
When we think about Rome, we usually think of ancient Rome, back in the days when Julius Caesar ruled the Roman Empire. Days when the Romans build the famous Forum Romanum, the Coloseum and many triumphal arches.
But even in more recent times, man has build marvelous monuments in Rome. The St. Peter’s Basilica of which construction began in 1506 and the Altare della Patria–constructed between 1885 and 1925) are must-see monuments when you get to Rome.
I became a Springsteen fan at the age of 14 with the release of the Born in the U.S.A. album back in 1984. So I’ve been a fan for 32 years now.
I attended my 1st Springsteen concert on April 23, 1993. I was too young to go to one of the Born in the U.S.A. shows. And I have always regretted not seeing any of the Tunnel of Love concerts in 1988.
Since that 1st concert in 1993, I’ve attended 41 more concerts in 22 cities and 10 countries including the US. I’ve heard Bruce perform 211 different songs. And since Springsteen almost always plays Born To Run, that is the song I’ve heard the most; 31 times in total. I have heard 49 of his 50 most played songs all-time.
I’ve seen Bruce perform with many guest artists, including Elliott Murphy, Brian Fallon of Gaslight Anthem, R.E.M., John Fogerty and Paul McCartney at the infamous Hard Rock Calling 2012 show.
I have heard all songs on the albums Born In The U.S.A., Born To Run, In Concert MTV Plugged and Devils & Dust. But I still have not heard all songs on Tunnel Of Love and The Rising–my 2 favorite albums–live so I have to go to a few more shows I guess.
On the 2016 The River Tour, I saw 4 concerts and 61 different songs: Madrid, The Hague, Copenhagen and Rome. And much to my surprise on those 4 shows I heard 8 songs for the 1st time ever: Jersey Girl in The Hague and New York City Serenade in Rome are my most memorable moments on this tour.
(statistics courtesy of bosstime.nl)
It get dark surprisingly fast in Rome. Although I’m sure dusk lasts 45 minutes or so, it seems like the sun sets in a matter of minutes. I had planned to shoot a couple of momunents at dusk, but with the sun setting rather quickly I could do only 1 per evening.
On the 1st night, I found out that the Coloseum was not lit as I had hoped.
On the 2nd night I had set up on the hill overlooking the Forum Romanum. Around sunset, I was getting kinda desperate and frustrated as the lights were not turned. And just as I was ready to give up, on came the lights. Just in time to save the photo.
I always use a Bruce Springsteen concert as a good excuse to travel. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate holiday. And I don’t follow him around on his tour. Just a couple of days off to go see a Springsteen concert and explore the city he’s playing, is all it takes to get me excited.
Last week, Springsteen rocked the roof of of the Telia Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. So me and a couple of friends bunched up in the car, drove to Denmark, saw Springsteen and wondered around the city with our camera. And I came home with good memories and these cityscape photos.
I spent a weekend in Madrid: seeing Springsteen in concert and shoot some photos around town. And a beautiful town it is! The city is full of monuments and beautiful architecture. Way too many to photograph in just 4 short days, so I picked these 3:
This is a little throwback to last summer on my trip to Spain. I am part of a team photographers… Well a group of friends actually. And this summer we took a trip to Spain for fun, food, drinks and relaxing. We invited a couple of models to fill up the rest of the time with photo shoots.
On one of the photo shoots, Marie was kind enough to wear this latex bathing suit by William Wilde.
The skyline of lower Manhattan is probably one of the most photographed sights of New York City. And with One World Trade Center being finished since my last visit, I can not pass on that iconic photo.
The best way to get that shot? Take the Staten Island Ferry and about halfway between Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, you’ll have this amazing view.
The main terminal of Grand Central Terminal is another of those iconic views I just had to go and make a photo. Not really easy to do since you can not use a tripod without a permit there. But I think I caught the mood of the terminal in my picture just fine.
