Cityscapes

Collecting a Top Ten of your hometown is never an easy process. I came up with a harbour heavy Top Ten that also has quite some black and white shots in between. Hope you enjoy it - leave a comment if you like.

Tallinn is known to be one of the best preserved medieval cities in Northern Europe. This Baltic beauty was once home to merchants from Germany, Denmark and other European countries. The name Tallinn or Tallinna is Estonian and is thought to be derived from Taani-linn(a), meaning 'Danish-town'. Its old town is a bustling place especially during daytime in the season when thousands of cruise tourists flood the inner city during day time.  Cobblestone lanes following a 13th century path and iron street lamps, gothic spires and medieval markets, cappuccino and Wi-Fi: The old town has it all.

Whenever I am in a big city street photography becomes part of my daily shooting. What I love about it is that you easily can integrate it whilst walking along the touristy spots. It doesn't even matter that you shoot during midday since the houses and streets have plenty of light and shadow for you to play with. I spent a week in Rome during March 2017 and it was my first time in Italy's capital. This blogpost features my street photography this beautiful old city. If you are interested my other articles on Rome check here for St. Peter's Basilica, Castel Sant'Angelo, My Top Ten Rome pictures, my Colosseum blogpost and my Rome gallery. 

I enjoy spending time on my own shooting. Especially at night after a busy day. This night out at Castle Sant'Angelo (Castle of the Holy Angel) was much needed after the first full day in Rome in March 2017. I took my tripod, one camera and one lense and just had to walk 10 minutes from our apartment near Vatican City. A perfect little start into a week of photographing the eternal city. Castel Sant'Angelo is located at the west side of the river Tiber and just a few hundred meters away from St. Peter's Basilica. It is a towering cylindrical building shielded by a citadel originally designed as a Mausoleum for the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his family in the 2nd century AD. The connected bridge called Pons Aelius or Ponte Sant'Angelo, also built by Hadrian, is as beautiful as the castle and they make for a stunning architectural combination.

Much later the popes converted the Mausoleum to a castle, starting in the 14th century. The connecting wall to St. Peter's Basilica was built by Pope Nicholas III in 1277. It is about 800 m long, has a fortified corridor and is called Passetto di Borgo. It served as an escape route for popes in danger. During these times Castel Sant'Angelo was used as a prison as well as a refuge. Today it hosts a museum and you can enjoy the views around the Italian capital from its roof.

I started taking pictures down at the river bank of the Tiber. Is was a warm and dry evening and I very much enjoyed this calm end of the day. Later I finished my shoot on the bridge. The scene felt a bit like Charles' bridge in Prague.

During our last day we visited Castle Sant'Angelo from the inside. You will find these pictures in the second part of my blogpost. If you make it to Rome, make sure to pay a visit to this beautiful piece of ancient architecture.

I never made it to Rome until March 2017. Europe has so many things to offer, but the rest of the world also does. So I generally tend to go intercontinental in my long vacation since it is easier to endeavor Europe's beauty later in life. Anyway, after a two hour flight from Hamburg it was time for almost a week in the capital of Italy. I had time to reflect on the trip to come up with my Top Ten Rome Pictures this week. if you like what you see make sure to check my other blogposts on Rome: St. Peter's Basilica, Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome Street Photography and my Rome gallery. 

I had some hours to kill in between two business appointments in Berlin end of March 2015. Went to the Holocaust Memorial, the former Tempelhof airport and finally back to the central station. Decided to do the pics all in black and white since I had to shoot in the middle of the day. Take a look!