Budapest

A photogenic city like few others

By Hilton Luke

February 4^th, 2018

Night photography tour

The Budapest night photography tour was the second of my three planned tours for the holiday. My photo guide, Miklós from Hungary Photo Tours, delayed it by a day due to poor weather. We met at the Ritz Carlton, jumped straight into a taxi and made our way to the Citadella. After a little position jostling we set up the camera and waited for 'blue hour'.

Blue hour at the citadella

When the natural light reaches a certain level, the lights around the city's monuments and bridges turn on, simultaneously. About 10 minutes after this, 'blue hour' begins and the best photos are made.

Blue hour actually only lasts about 30 minutes so we had to work quickly to get a nice collection of photos.

The Citadella offers amazing views—from left to right: Buda Castle, Fisherman's Bastion, Matthias Church (behind the castle), Széchenyi Chain Bridge (spanning the Danube) and the Hungarian Parliament Building.

Buda castle

The view of Buda Castle from the Citadella. In the background is the Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church.

Buda Castle and the left side of the Chain Bridge crossing the Danube.

Hungarian parliament building

Chain Bridge linking Buda with Pest and the parliament building in the mid ground.

St. Stephen’s Basilica

From the Citadella looking over the Danube toward Pest and St. Stephen's Basilica.

The photography tour ends along the Danube directly across from the parliament building—simply stunning!

This is two photos blended together using Photoshop. The first photo correctly exposes the building, the second is a longer exposure to brighten the light reflecting off the water.

More photos of the Hungarian Parliament and the Chain Bridge.

Chain Bridge and St. Stephen's Basilica.

Some lights produce star shaped flares when the lens is set to a certain aperture (f-number). My particular lens produces the best results from f/11 to f/16.