Brasserie Ommegang in Brussels, Belgium

A few visuals from an incredible dinner at Brasserie Ommegang in Brussels, Belgium.

 

Wolfsburg Volkswagen Plant in Germany

Constructed in 1938, the Wolfsburg Volkswagen Plant in Wolfsburg, Germany is the headquarters of the Volkswagen Group and the birthplace of "the people's car". Visible from the right hand side of the train when heading west towards Hanover, the Wolfsburg Volkswagen Plant is a unique structure to catch a glimpse of, if for no other reason, because it's the largest single automobile manufacturing complex in the world. 

Archival image of the Wolfsburg Plant in the 1950s.

Unpacking a Suitcase of Travel Shoot Souvenirs

While the experience was undeniably incredible, I'm currently feeling a bit overstimulated and numb from this last month of travel shoots around Europe. It really was the adventure of a lifetime. A lot of this content won't surface until 2023 now, but I'm enjoying rediscovering all of the random bits and pieces I've brought home as I unpack and reorganize. 

Here are a few early highlights.

1. Kitschy French singles from a Parisian thrift shop.

2. Various pieces of the Berlin Wall.

3. A mini bar's worth of different Scotch from Scotland.

4. Belgian comicbook souvenirs - with an emphasis on finds from Tintin and Lucky Luke.

5. Retro inspired merch from Euro Disney's 30th anniversary - now known as Disneyland Paris.

6. A handcrafted "willy warmer" from Amsterdam ... for dressy occasions.

These were clearly all must haves in the moment lol.

Queen Elizabeth II's Funeral in London, United Kingdom

With a series of travel shoots across Europe organized and scheduled months in advance, I can't say that I expected our arrival in London, England to coincidentally line up with the passing and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. From the memorials and crowds to the media coverage and profound focus that such a singular event manifested, our visit to London unexpectedly provided a front row seat to a defining moment in British history.  

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest reigning monarch in British history and celebrated her Platinum Jubilee in 2022 marking 70 years of service. Her funeral was held at Westminster Abbey in London on September 19, 2022. She was 96 years old.

 

How I Ended Up With the Eiffel Tower All to Myself

Upon reflecting on some of my most memorable travel shoots during a recent discussion, I was reminded that one of them was actually from a shoot during the height of the pandemic in 2020 that I still haven't published yet. This is the brief story of how I ended up with the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France all to myself for a moment.

Not long after getting back from France in late 2020 I recapped the general experience of trying to follow through on a travel shoot that had been planned before the world started falling apart. I won't rehash all of that again, but you can read that original post here. The important detail is that I was in Paris and travel shooting in October 2020.

Not surprisingly, this was a weird time for a lot of reasons. Reservations for everything were more complicated, various rules were being modified weekly, and just a few days after I arrived in Paris a nightly curfew had been implemented across France's largest cities.  

I purchased a timed admission to the Eiffel Tower before I arrived in France, as naturally, visiting one of the world's most recognizable landmarks is always a must for travel shoots. My ticket was for a midweek opening and I anticipated getting some early morning shots across the city. What I didn't plan on was a national curfew reducing the hours of every business, including pushing the opening of the Eiffel Tower to a time that was now a few hours later than my ticket.

I was already comfortable playing everything by ear at this point considering how complicated just getting to France had been. I showed up at the revised time with my original ticket, and this is where I stumbled into a random bit of good luck.

Everyone across Paris was still adjusting to the newly imposed curfew and as I made my way through security at the Eiffel Tower I found myself in a rather engaged conversation with one of the employees about everything that had been going on. Then I mentioned I was a professional travel photographer visiting from Canada. 

You have to remember that this was taking place not only when international travel was at a stand still, but my visit was within this weird window of time when Canadians were allowed back into France, but a lot of other countries like the U.S. and others were not. This detail became a talking point pretty much anytime my passport was visible, as unless you were up to date on all of the rules, a lot of people were still skeptical about how I got there.

In any case, our introduction was a positive one, and she offered to take me up on the first elevator with the employees as the Eiffel Tower opened. Obviously, I jumped at the chance.

For about 10 minutes I lucked into having the Eiffel Tower all to myself. 

No crowds, no people, no one in my shots. Of course, I was happy to capture the decks filled soon after as those were the images I was after from the start. But, I can't quite explain how surreal it was to be standing on an empty deck of the Eiffel Tower and feeling like I was the only person seeing it like this at that very moment. It's not everyday you get a world landmark to yourself, but what a way to put an exclamation mark on an already unforgettable experience. 

Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France

A few visuals of the Pyramide du Louvre / Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France.