City of Dreams

Lisbon, Portugal

This was captured just as twilight began to settle over Lisbon, a city that always seems to come alive as the sun dips below the horizon. I had been wandering through its winding streets all day, captivated by the layers of colorful buildings stacked on the hills, each one a piece of the city’s intricate puzzle. As the evening set in, I knew I needed a high vantage point to capture the transformation from day to night. After some searching, I found myself on this rooftop, looking down at the city bathed in the warm glow of streetlights, knowing the timing was perfect to capture this magical moment.

To get this image, I set up for a long exposure—4 minutes and 16 seconds at f/19. I knew I needed that long exposure to smooth out the lights, to capture the stillness of the city while hinting at its underlying movement. The challenge was to balance the soft blue twilight in the sky with the warm golden lights spilling from the windows and street lamps below. As the shutter stayed open, the city became something dreamlike, the long exposure blurring the bustle of life below, giving the scene a peaceful, almost timeless quality.

What struck me most was how the long exposure brought out the richness in the terracotta rooftops. The buildings, stacked on top of one another in Lisbon’s iconic way, seemed to glow, their colors deepening as the lights illuminated them from below. Each layer of the city—the old and new buildings, the streets winding through them like veins—came to life in a way that felt both serene and vibrant. You could feel the energy of the city, but with the exposure stretched out over time, it also felt calm, as if Lisbon itself was taking a breath.

As I stood there waiting for the exposure to complete, I realized that this wasn’t just a photo of a cityscape; it was a portrait of Lisbon’s evening pulse. The lights from homes, cafés, and shops spilled out into the narrow streets, the golden glow reaching up to meet the darkening sky. In the distance, the hills and the castle on the horizon stood watch, while the soft glimmer of the Tagus River added a final touch of magic to the scene. The 4-minute exposure captured more than just the city—it captured the passage of time itself, the shift from day to night, from motion to stillness.

This image, with its long exposure and careful settings, feels like a true reflection of Lisbon’s essence. The way the light wraps around the buildings, the way the city unfolds beneath the sky—it all comes together to create something more than just a snapshot. It’s a story of a place where history and the present are constantly blending, where every corner holds a piece of life waiting to be discovered. For me, this shot is a love letter to the city, capturing the stillness of the moment while preserving the life and vibrancy that runs beneath it all.

23 Artist Proof | 319 Limited Edition

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