Late Summer Light
Bruges and Ghent, Belgium
15 October 2015
By the time October rolls around, Central Europe is used to changing skies, downpours and the slow but sure onset of winter.
Autumn is a brief flurry of falling leaves and an explosion of colours as trees turn crimson, a brief blaze sweeping through forest. Humans, meanwhile, have to start waddling themselves in layers of clothes as the skies above begin to lose their warmth.
But for now, there is still sunshine. And while there are blue skies, the light falls sure, cutting through the crisp, clear air on warm afternoons and gentle evenings.
Here are a selection of images from the gorgeous cities of Ghent and Bruges in Belgium. Some of my favourite spaces included wandering the courtyard of the beguinage (like a nunnery, from the Beguines) in Bruges and gazing in child-like wonder at wooden huts sitting tranquil on the trees.
There was always a multitude of waterways and old, stately buildings in both cities, and because every canal is equally beautiful, it became a challenge to frame reflection, journey and a sense of history into one image.
One of my most exciting moments involved sneaking into Vooruit to take a 30-second photograph of their theatre. Vooruit, meaning ‘forward,’ started a hundred years ago as a festivities hall, a giant building for thousands of unionised workers. Today, it is a vibrant cultural centre. I could almost feel a company of invisible actors watching me from the stage as I huddled over my camera in near darkness, waiting for the exposure.
"Tree Huts in Bruges", an installation by Tadashi Kawamata in the Beguinage for the Bruges Triennale 2015
