brussels through the lens: a photographer's rain-soaked ramblings
i’ve been in brussels for three days now, camera slung over my shoulder, and i’m still not sure if i love it or hate it. the weather’s been this persistent cool-10.47°c they say, but it feels like 9.06 with that damp that seeps into your bones. pressure’s up at 1025 hpa, humidity 57%, so it’s not muggy, but it’s not dry either. perfect for black and white shots, i guess. the weather app also tossed in some cryptic numbers: 2759145 and 1528854489, probably sensor glitches, but they’re stuck in my head like a annoying earworm.
i’ve been wandering the grand place at all hours. during the day it’s a chaos of tourists shoving waffles in their faces and posing for selfies, but at night when the drizzle starts, it empties out and the guild halls glow under the orange streetlights-magic for long exposures. i shot a series last night with a 35mm lens, pushed iso to 800 because the light’s so low. someone told me the atomium is a total tourist trap, but from the outside, it’s this insane metallic spider web against the sky-i had to get a shot, even if it meant getting rained on.
if you tire of the city center, antwerp’s just a 30-minute train ride away. i went there yesterday, and it’s all about the fashion district and these old diamond bourses-totally different vibe, less chocolate, more concrete. or ghent, if you want canals that aren’t overrun by hen dos. i heard a local warn that ghent’s pubs get rowdy after midnight, so maybe stick to brussels for quiet evenings.
i’ve been eating a lot of fries. i know, cliché, but they’re good. i heard from a bartender that the best place is a stand called fritland near the stock exchange-cash only, but the fries are crispy and the sauces are wild. TripAdvisor’s frite list is mostly on point, Yelp for brussels cafes is hit or miss, and the brussels subreddit spills real tea about pickpockets in the metro-i learned that when my lens cap vanished. also, this photog board has meetups if you’re into that sort of thing.
the photography community here is weirdly tight-knit. i met a guy at a camera shop who said the best light is at golden hour, but with this overcast sky, golden hour is more like grey hour-still soft and diffused, great for portraits. i’ve been experimenting with long exposures of the european quarter buildings at night. the weather’s holding steady: min 9.41°c, max 10.57°c, same old damp. i keep thinking about that timestamp 1528854489-what moment did it capture? nothing important, probably.
anyway, i’m heading out to shoot the comic book murals. brussels is all about those giant comic book walls-if you’re into street art, it’s a goldmine. just watch out for the pigeons; they’re aggressive little thieves. i’ll leave you with this: brussels doesn’t scream beauty, it whispers it in the fog, and you’ve gotta be ready to listen with your lens, not just your eyes.
You might also be interested in:
- https://votoris.com/post/lisbons-a-blur-rain-pastel-buildings-and-seriously-strong-coffee-8
- https://votoris.com/post/bratislava-walls-that-dont-care-about-your-paint
- https://votoris.com/post/olindas-sticky-heat-and-questionable-umbrellas
- https://votoris.com/post/public-transportation-guide-how-to-get-around-montral-like-a-local-and-not-freeze-to-death
- https://votoris.com/post/bangkok-through-the-eyes-of-a-digital-nomad-who-forgot-to-sleep-for-3-days