Brussels, Belgium.

Travel photography conjurs up images of restful rural places or sunny sandy beaches, however a city break can offer a variety of subjects all within a small confined place. A change of subject is sometimes as easy as a turn of a corner.

Like any other visitor to a new location, it is always a good idea to immerse yourself in the postcard views of the most famous landmarks. These however are so famous that all other photographic visitors will have pointed their cameras from the same view point putting their tripods in the same holes, they have become visual cliches. Regardless of this it is still worth taking these images first in case you never find that new creative view point or the weather deteriorates to stop photography altogether,  that way you will still have some images of your visit.

The top photograph is of Brussels fine Royal Palace (Palais Royal) it is used by the Belgian sovereign for official occasions, during August and September it is open to the public. This is part of the normal tourist route and was taken as a purely record of my visit.

The middle image is a more creative photograph of the Law courts (Palais de Justice) at Place Poelaert. They  were built between 1886 and 1893, during the rule of King Leopold the Second. I filled the frame with some of the columns at the side of the main entrance, as I thought the repeated patterns in the columns created an interesting image. Although it appears as if this were a monochrome photograph, it is indeed the original colour image the greyish stones have become almost sepia in the late afternoon light.

The bottom image is part of the European parliament building which was under re-construction during my visit in 2005. Because of the extent of scaffolding and building work I was forced into capturing small parts of the building rather than a landscape of it all, however I believe that it still captures the character of the building.