Bruge at Night
 

I have seen many folks say that Bruge, Belgium was not a good base of operations for a few days stay in northern Belgium under the premise that there was no night life. Last night my wife and I took a hot air balloon ride over Bruge and once we returned to the town square at close to eleven pm, there were still hundreds of folks walking around, and enjoying the cafes and pubs. In addition, one block over, there were hundreds of more folks enjoying the outdoor musical/opera of Carmen. We ended up dropping a night off of our Luxembourg stay just to send a fourth night in Bruge.

The balloon company was great. www.bruges-ballooning.com

Another thing one misses if they do not enjoy Bruge at night are the great nighttime photos you can take of the landmarks around the square. Here is a link to four of the photos I took late last night.

http://www.pbase.com/bugler/bruge_belgium

Lovely photos! I've enjoyed my two visits to Brugge and would love to go back again. There are lots of cafes for a nighttime coffee or wine or beer and the people are friendly and helpful.

Bugler,

We went to Bruge a couple of years ago for one night and ended up staying five nights. It was lovely at night. We went to Ghent one day and to Ostend for a day. Short, easy train trips. Wish we had done the balloon ride. I do think I would prefer Ghent next time or even Ostend in summer.

Wonderful photos, Bugler! Thanks!

Only hope that I can take some as beautiful! My night photos usually stink.

How's the weather? I'll be arriving in two weeks.

Gorgeous beautiful pics!
I love Brugge, night/day. all ways!

Joan, I have had one really rainy day in 14 days in Europe. That was in Ghent. I had a few sprinkles one day in Bruge but it was brief. Been in the mid to upper 60s both in Norway and Belgium. I have worn shorts every day.

Joan, some tips to getting good night time shots include, using a tripod, using the timer so your pressing the button does not cause viberation, increasing your exposure compensation instead of film iso and understanding and using the histgram.

This is the first time I have used a point and shoot as my only camera on a trip in many years. Motion is the enemy of good pictures. I purchased a great travel tripod which is plastic, weighs a few ounces and is about six inches tall so it fits in my pocket. It is the Joby with the magnetic feet and it cost me $24. I can stick it to the side of a lamp post, a bike rack, etc. to get the shots I need. Today I set it on top of my car for a quick shot of my wife and I in front of a castle.

Thanks very much, Bugler! I just ordered the same tripod for $19.95 (first time customer coupon on their site).

Guess I need to read up on the other tips in my camera's user guide... LOL! Do the Night Scene and Night Portrait settings handle the exposure compensation?

Have a great time during the rest of your trip!

I loved Brugge and we only spent one day there, so it is definitely on my return list.
Your photos are just lovely!

Thanks for the positive comments on my the photos guys.

Joan, my point and shoot has a night time scenery mode which I selected and then used the live histogram to increase the exposure compensation to help draw the bell curve in the histogram more to the right to add in additional light. I also did exposure bracketing during the same shots.

Before I purchased my camera, I read a bunch of reviews by users claming it does a bad job in low light. That told me that they were letting the camera automatically increase the iso speed (which adds grain noise to the picture) instead of going to more mild version of adjusting their exposure compensation.

I adjust exposure compensation for most shots, day and night. It is a good tool to use and only takes about two seconds. I love the fact this point and shoot has a live (preshot) histogram. My SLR camera only has post shot histo. In those cases, I take a shot, review the histo, adjust the exposure comp and retake the shot.

You really should try the bracketing function as well. It is usually a symbol of three cascading boxes in your camera. It takes one photo with slighly less light than designated, one with the designated light and one with slightly more designated light, to let you choose the best one. You will end up with three photos, but with digital, just delete the ones you don't need once you are reviewing them on your computer.

Thanks, Bugler! It seems I've some studying to do!

Hi Bugler,
This was the 7-day Belgium trip, right? How many nights did you stay in Brugge?

Bugler - what kind of camera do you have? I'm in the market for a new one, and your pics are great.

I never understand the people that say Brugge is only good for 2-3 nights max. I've made three 1-week visits to Brugge and absolutley adore it. The city is pure magic when the day trippers go home.

I've mentioned that we didn't find much going on at night in Bruges - the weather wasn't great when we were there, so that probably had an affect on our impression. Glad to know that it isn't always so quiet after dark.

Stunning photos! What IS your camera? Great tips about using steadier and timer for low light.