Exploring cities; looking for city nature

Exploring cities; looking for city nature

December 15, 2016

The last 16 months I visited some big European cities. The more cities I explore, the more I realize I am not a city person. I love sightseeing and visiting museums. I also love to dive into the city’s history and architecture, but I really dislike the crowds and the traffic. The city’s busyness doesn’t suit me. I even see it in my photography. On the boat to London I took more photos of the sunrise, the cliffs and the seagulls then I took my entire stay in the city. I’m a wildlife and under water photographer and certainly not a city photographer. Ofcourse I like to capture a city’s highlights, but I miss the thrill. With a building or an attraction, you choose the angle, pay attention to light and choose the settings of your camera and that’s it. After the iconic shot you just have to take, I look for some surprising details, but that’s it. I find so much more challenge in shooting the overwhelming beauty or scales of nature. Or in capturing the expression or behaviour of an animal.

So whenever I visit a city, I do visit the highlights and the main museum, but I also sqeeuze some nature in my schedule. Looking for nature is something I automatically do where ever I am. And you know? Each city has some beautiful parcs, gardens and forgotten pieces of nature. Here are some nature photos taken in Paris, London, Canterbury and Copenhagen.