I have having a hard time deciding where to spend a night in late August. I started out thinking either Bruge, Ghent or Antwerp, but then moved to Strasbourg. Then I learned that a prime photography spot (Vauban Damn - outside Petite France, above the water) is closed, which means I many not get those wonderful pictures I wanted. (Photography is important to me.) For those of you who have been to both places (or perhaps I should say all places)m which place would you recommend? I like scenery, things to photograph, and places that aren't totally overrun with tourists. I'm not big on touring the inside of museums or cathedrals - mostly just like walking around, looking for peaceful, pretty scenes to photograph.

I enjoyed my time in Ghent (Gent) but would caution that there is a lot of construction going on around St Nicholas church which makes walking more demanding and greatly reduces the opportunities for good photos in the area. Aside from this area, my friend from Amsterdam tells me Gent is much like other Belgian cities of same time but he did really enjoy the Kornmarket area [north of the church and cathedral]. If you want to avoid tourists then sadly, you should avoid Brugge. Antwerp is SO big and so much reconstruction, I'd do some research before thinking seriously about photography options there.
A real plus for me in Gent was the number of municipal car parks. And I fell in love with the canal barges.
If you do choose Gent, the pizza/Italian food place across the street from the Ibis Centrum Opera is affordable and memorable. Coffee, tea, sweetrolls, etc on same street nearby also good. Sorry I don't remember the names.

Look at this thread from a few years ago on this very topic:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...strasbourg.cfm