Dijver Canal | Weekly Photo #32
As most of the readers of my blog know, I take the vast majority of my images in and around London. If you take a look at my Weekly Photo page, you can see that’s the case but to break things up a bit, every so often I will throw in a photo from other UK locations or from my travels further afield. This week I bring to you a photo of a very popular location in Bruges, a charming and historic city located in the north-west area of Belgium.
Fujifilm XT2 | XF10-24mm | 10mm | 1 Second | f/11 | ISO200
If you have ever looked at photos of Bruges, you will have no doubt come across a similar view of the Dijver Canal as it zig-zags past the very pretty Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce Hotel. It’s probably the most popular viewpoint in the city and for those that have visited, they will know just how busy this part of Bruges can get. This photo was taken in late July, during the day and with so many people around, getting close to the river wall was a bit of a challenge as everyone wants to get a photo of this famous view.
On the day I took this photo, I got up and out of the hotel at around 6 am which is something I try to do whenever I visit a new city for a couple of reasons. Firstly, for the light. If I am going to go to the trouble of visiting these places, I want to photograph them in the best possible light. I was at this location during the day when the sun was high and the light was just too harsh. So, by getting up early, I get to capture the scene when the light is diffused and much more photogenic.
The second reason I get out early is to avoid the huge crowds that surround this area during the day. To capture a photo that provides a more tranquil, relaxed feeling, I try to present the scene free of the hustle and bustle of the many tourists. The other advantage is that I can set up my tripod in the best place to get the best composition.
So, once I found the location, I mounted my Fujifilm XT2 camera with the 10-24mm lens on to the tripod. I chose this wide composition as I like the way the boats in the foreground and the wall to the left frame the canal which appears to open out from the bottom left corner, leading your eye into the frame to rest on the picturesque buildings on the far side of the canal. Taken at the widest 10mm, I also used an aperture of f/11 to ensure the scene was in focus from front to back providing me with an exposure time of 1 second which was just enough to smooth a few ripples in the water.
If you want to see many more photos I took during my visit to Bruges, check out the following article I wrote here: On Location Photographing Bruges
Before I sign off, I just wanted to quickly mention that this is the first of my Weekly Photo posts that will be delivered directly to the inbox to anyone already subscribed to my mailing list. Those not subscribed can do so here, that way you will never miss another post.
Until next week.
Trevor
This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.