There is something very comforting in walking around in a city after sunset. Contrary to popular belief, most of them don’t turn into cut-throat places and it’s not like you risk your life at every block. Quite the opposite actually. People tend to be more relaxed after a stressful day.
I’ve been in love with night skylines since I lived briefly in a very tall building in the heart of Kowloon in 2001. French cities are beautiful by night but rarely have skyscrapers to offer a good vantage point. Besides, electricity must be more expensive in France because there aren’t as many night lights—good for the environment I guess, but terrible for photographers. When I arrived in Hong Kong, I couldn’t take my eyes off the skyline. I used to sit by the window for hours in the evening—from the 33rd floor, we had a huge bay window and we overlooked most of Hong Hum and part of Victoria Harbour.
When it comes to night skylines, Toronto has it all—tall buildings, wide and busy streets, condos with lights at all windows, and good vantage points. Throw in a clear sky, a warm night and the funky CN Tower (timing to catch the lights is tricky though!) and the deal is done. It was pitch dark when I shot these pictures at the waterfront, but thanks to long exposure and a laser beam (?!), the sky looks purple and the clouds are like pieces of cotton candy.
Amazing photos Zhu. I’d love to have a condo with a skyline view 🙂
.-= Agnes´s last blog ..India, a tryst with destiny* =-.
The condos (what actually is a condominium, apart from an apartment? is it something to do with how the apartment building is owned/administered? here we have leasehold, in which case you pay yearly service charges but the landlord is liable for roof repairs, or share of freehold, in which case if the roof goes in, even if you live downstairs you can be liable to pay £1000s….) yeah anyway they look like the yuppieflats in London’s Docklands… the illuminations are nothing like London though, we don’t really have much stuff like that…. neither do we have trams, apart from one line in South London, which I’ve never been on ~ and I wish we did
.-= Gledwood´s last blog ..Scots and Frisian =-.
There are certain places where I would never walk alone at night but generally speaking Toronto is a safe & beautiful city – and you captured its beauty at night with your photos!
.-= Beth´s last blog ..Temporarily (?) Stalled =-.
I haven’t been to Toronto in over 30 years. Wow, the place sure looks different! 🙂 I agree, though, about being in big cities at night. One of the things I like best about midtown Manhattan is walking around after dark, especially in the summer. Now that I live so close to the city, I should take this up again – maybe take some pictures, even.
.-= Ghosty Kips´s last blog ..Empty Space =-.
Beautiful night skylines, no wonder you fall in love with it! That was an awesome spot you had in HK for the night view!
.-= micki´s last blog ..Ximen, Red House =-.
CN Tower is great…
Thanks for sharing 🙂
.-= khengsiong´s last blog ..The Violinist =-.
I love being able to see all these wonderful places through your photos.
.-= Soleil´s last blog ..Connection =-.
I love your photos 🙂 Everytime you post pictures of Toronto, it makes me quite sad that I have not been there yet! Maybe next time I go to Montreal.
.-= Cynthia´s last blog ..Un régime ? Non merci ! =-.
Amazing, super clear night shots!
Looks like you’ve got lots of tall and modern buildings in Toronto, something we don’t get to see so often in central London…
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your photographs are beautiful! i love the slightly unreal look of the last few, especially the last one ‘across the water.’
night has a different energy from day. even late at night, when fewer people are out, city streets still feel lively. people become more interesting. nightime strips away some of the anonynimity (lol is that a word??? i meant anonymity) that daytime features.
.-= Seraphine´s last blog ..Perfect Resume =-.
@Agnes – You bet – I wish too!
@Gledwood – Condos are a North American things as far as I know. And yes, on top of the mortgage, you do pay hefty condo fees (can be as much as the mortgage almost!) to use the various perks, such as the gym, the swimming-pool etc.
@Beth – I also find TO pretty safe, especially for a large city. Any place you avoid specifically? Just curious, I haven’t noticed any bad neighborhoods really, although I wouldn’t linger for hours in dark alleys of course.
@Ghosty Kips – NY by night must be wonderful… I should go one day.
@micki – I was lucky in HK, but the job was…er… demanding to say the least. 🙂
@khengsiong – Yes, it’s a cool tower!
@Soleil – Thank you! Keeping fingers crossed for you and you will travel as well!
@Cynthia – I’m sure you will have an opportunity. On the other side, you know Paris much more than I do!
@London Caller – Yes, Toronto has a real North American skyline, lots of tall buildings. In Ottawa, the tallest one is the Peace Tower of the Parliament.
@Seraphine – I’m making anonimity a word, even if my spell-check says it isn’t 😉 You are right on, this is what I love by night!
Wow…awesome pictures.
I never truly mastered night photography 🙁
.-= Sidney´s last blog .. =-.
Tes photos sont splendides Zhu même si je préfères la nature quite à choisir 😉
Have a good day.
.-= Crikette´s last blog ..La journée de la tulipe … franco-canadienne =-.
Lovely pics! I like not seeing the winter like scenes, yeah for summer! Looks like a very busy city… 🙂 You’ve got so much to say these days…
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Another great photo report from you and it give another reason to come and visit one day 🙂
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Hmm, I wonder how much it would be to live in one of those swanky condos? That is a nice swanky view!
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