Lens-Artists Challenge #291 – Cityscapes

This week’s challenge is brought to us by Patti. Her post with beautiful images can be found HERE. Thanks for the great challenge, Patti!

This week’s challenge was indeed just that. I don’t shoot a lot of cityscapes, at least not those epic shots of mega-city skylines like Chicago, Paris, or London. So, most of my ‘cityscapes’ are more like ‘town/village-scapes’.


My first entry was on my first real ‘photography’ trip with my new Nikon Z5. I took the trip to the Durdle Door in Dorset, England. This is from the return walk to the car park, which lies just at the end of the path. Beyond that is West Lulworth and Lulworth Cove. The field to the right was where I walked on the hike to the Durdle Door as there was a gate down on the path and it was pitch black. Not my best land navigation effort, but I was able to avoid the cow pies (for the most part).

A Return to West Lulworth:
The path down to the quiet village of West Lulworth as the sun breaks through the clouds

Next up are a couple of snapshots from a trip to the Netherlands. The first is the view of a canal (one of many) that runs through the towns and villages throughout the Netherlands. I loved the reflections and the cool wooden boat moored at the side.

Below is a photo of the main train station in Amsterdam, with a view of one of the many tour boats operating in the waters in and around Amsterdam. We took one of these tours on the vessel shown in the photo below, complete with some drinks and cheese.


I have shared a version of the next cityscape before, but this is a bit different as it is an example of light painting as well. At first, I thought myself unlucky when the police vehicle drove past right during my long exposure but the result was actually pretty fun!

Light Painting in Bergen, Norway
While taking long exposure shots of the Bryggen waterfront in Bergen, Norway, I was frustrated when a police car started down the road with the lights on right as my exposure began. However, I quickly realized the 30 second exposure might end up looking cool and I think I was right!

This is my kind of cityscape! A group of cabins just outside of Flam, Norway. Maybe a little crowded for my tastes but I am sure you can find the peace and quiet of nature not too far away.

Next up is a view of the Aurlandsvangen municipality, taken from the Stegastein viewpoint in Norway. It’s more about the fjord than the ‘city’ but I submit it nonetheless.

Stegastein Lookout, Norway
The view from the Stegastein lookout in Norway.

My final entry is probably the closest to an actual cityscape. Taken from the Cliff Railway Trail, Aberystwyth, Wales sprawls out from the coast with its castle and the Pen Dinas Hill Fort monument visible on the top of the distant hill.

Aberystwyth Viewed From the Cliff Railway Trail
A cool autumn morning hike up the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway trail led to this view of a moody sky over the peaceful town.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy my entries!


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Comments

19 responses to “Lens-Artists Challenge #291 – Cityscapes”

  1. Patrick, as Patti said, the cityscapes can be large and small, near and far. Your photos got me drooling here. The opener at West Lulworth is so inviting. One cannot resits following the road. You followed that with those stunning reflections. Really beautiful. The light painting was great, too. Like you, I am prefer that small cityscape as in the cabins you showed. Terrific post and photos!

    1. Many, many thanks Edigio! 🙂

  2. Patrick, I am sure you knew I would love this! I did, I loved all your choices. The two photos from the Netherlands made me want to walk right into your photos. Also brought back some nice memories of being there, years ago. Oh, that cheese. Nothing like it! The light painting, and long exposure truly turned into a treasure. You should send that to their police dept. Well done! Always a pleasure.

    1. So glad you enjoyed them. We liked the Netherlands but Amsterdam, while lovely, was a little to ‘party’ oriented for my tastes. The cheese was GREAT though! Never thought to send the photo to the police there, that’s a great idea. 🙂

      1. Yes. And I agree. We tend to like a little more ambiance than party in our lives.

  3. These are absolutely beautiful, I love how you have water element in all of them

    1. Thank you! I’ll pretend the water element was intentional (it wasn’t) and I am ok if you wish to believe me. 😀

  4. I did indeed enjoy your approach this week Patrick, several of the places I’d not seen before. Loved the Norway long view and laughed out loud at your comments re the cabins. I have to agree with you on that. Funny how most of the respondents, including yours truly, mentioned that they are not city people. Maybe photography draws more nature-lovers than city-goers? Thanks as always for joining us this week.

    1. Thanks, Tina! I do think many are drawn to photography and the isolation of sorts that can come along with it. Sometimes, when you are hunkered down behind your camera it is easy to imagine you’re part of the environment and are taking pictures as a silent cataloguer of events. At least, that’s what it feels like to me sometimes. As a pretty strong introvert at times, it allows a feeling of connection without having to really interact and that certainly draws me in.

  5. Beautiful images! I love the photos of Norway, especially the shot at Bergen.

  6. Hi Patrick. I’m delighted you joined us and shared your cities–some small, some large. Great variety and great images, too. I especially loved the ones of Norway. Thanks for expanding my ever-growing list of places to visit. 😊😊

    1. Thank you, Patti!

  7. Apart from Amsterdam these might not be classed as cities but I really enjoyed seeing your shots. The one of West Lulworth is beautiful, the one of Bergen very effective and I loved seeing Aberystwyth feature as I went to university there way back in the 1970s!

    1. Thanks very much! I make the trip to Aberystwyth several times a year to visit my kid who is also attending Uni there!

  8. Love that inky water in the 2nd and 3rd shots!

    1. Thank you! Inky is such a a great description!

  9. Just loved your choices – these are my kind of cityscapes. Amsterdam is lovely for photography, and Norway is my favourite country in the world – apart from Sweden of course…Beautiful light painting as you anticipated, and West Lulworth is a dream.

  10. Lovely choices. The Bryggen shot is like a painting.

  11. All fantastic but the Norway ones really spoke to me.

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