On my last day in Zurich, I decided to photograph Grossmunster again, this time from a different vantage point. This time, I wanted the statue of Hans Waldmann in the shot.

June 2016, single image, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 16mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 5 seconds, ISO 64, tripod.




A hero of the Burgundian Wars, Waldmann led the Swiss Confederates to victory against Charles the Bold. From a humble background, Waldmann eventually became one of the leading citizens of Zurich and was elected mayor of the city.

The statue, of a lordly Waldmann on horseback, would have been unthinkable at the time of his death. Though once a military hero, Waldmann’s imposition of high taxes made him unpopular and in 1489 he was overthrown by peasants from the surrounding villages. In April of that year, he was sentenced to death and beheaded.

By the twentieth century, Waldmann’s reputation improved. A number of Zurich citizens saw his death as little more than a political assassination. The statue of Waldmann, which overlooks the Munsterbrucke, was unveiled in 1937.

I went back to Grossmunster early in the morning. This time, I wanted to photograph the church will all the lines leading to it, making it the focal point of the photograph. The bridge, its railings, and even the eternally riding Waldmann all focus the viewer’s attention towards Grossmunster.

At night, Zurich sheds some of its serious, business-minded facade.

June 2016, panorama from 3 horizontal images, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 26mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 15 seconds, ISO 64, tripod.




Though it’s a city of more than three hundred banks, it’s also a city which has been transformed by youth movements in the latter half of the twentieth century, and Zurich by night is a far different place than Zurich by day.

Still fascinated by Zurich, I decided to take another photo of the city’s skyline, this time from a different angle. I wanted a view of the city at night, with light reflected in the Limmat River. I found a spot further along the river, from a different bridge, with a more distant view of the city’s landmarks.

Though taking the photo from a different vantage point, I again framed the shot so that the iconic steeple of Fraumunster is central. I used a long exposure to smooth the water of the Limmat so that the light is reflected nicely. Against a deep blue sky and gathering nightfall, I found the city particularly lovely, with just the suggestion of the energy that hums beneath its staid exterior.

After spending several days in Zurich, it’s a bit strange to me that it doesn’t get the attention of other European cities.

June 2016, panorama from 4 vertical images, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 16mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 8 seconds, ISO 31, tripod.




It’s Paris, London, and Barcelona that the tourists flock to. Even in Switzerland, Zurich is often unfavorably compared to Geneva, Lucerne, and Lugano. Perhaps it’s because of Zurich’s role as the country’s business and financial center; there is no mistaking the city’s buttoned-down, serious vibe. But I found the city to be lovely and was charmed by it immediately.

After photographing some of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, I decided to return on another evening and take a panoramic shot of Zurich at dusk, when clouds and the fading daylight made for a particularly lovely light. In my research on Zurich, I’d found few panoramic shots from the river, which is an especially beautiful view of the city.

I wanted to capture this beautiful city and its landmarks in one photograph, and frame it in such a way that it’s those landmarks that viewers notice, rather than the sky or the river. I wanted the verdigris spire of Fraumunster and the iconic double towers of Grossmunster to be the focal point of the photograph. To capture this view, I used a 5-stop ND filter to achieve a long exposure so that the river would be smoothed, focusing the viewer’s attention on the skyline. I am happy with the results of my experimentation, and I think viewers can see why I find Zurich so charming.

While I found Zurich enchanting by either early morning light or in the faint shadows of early evening, on this day I chose to photograph the city in midday. I chose to set up my tripod on Lindenhof Hill, the famous point that overlooks the city.

June 2016, single image, focal length 16mm, aperture f/6.3, shutter speed 251 seconds, ISO 100, 15-stop ND filter, tripod.




Lindenhof has been the site of a Roman fort and palaces built by a grandson of Charlemagne, but now it is one of the city’s most popular spots. It offers one of the best views of the city and is almost always crowded with people — locals and tourists alike — enjoying Zurich from its best vantage point.

Although it was midday, the weather was overcast and heavy, lavender-gray clouds hung low over the city. They made a dramatic backdrop for the city skyline. I wanted to make the most of the dramatic sky, so I decided to use a very long exposure of about 250 seconds. To get the shot, I used a 15-stop neutral density, allowing 32,000 times less light into my lens. With such a long exposure, the hustle of a city at midday is barely noticeable; instead, it’s still and ethereal. The river is mirror-like and the clouds are blurry and evocative.

After photographing Fraumunster Church by twilight the day before, I decided to go back and photograph it again in early morning light, before the city awoke and the tourists descended.

June 2016, panorama from 2 horizontal images, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 17mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 13 seconds, ISO 100, tripod.




It’s difficult not to be impressed by the lovely church, its spire instantly recognizable over Munsterhof Square, a lovely public space built improbably on the site of a pig market.

Aside from its blue-green spire, it’s the windows of Fraumunster that capture you; long, thin panels by Marc Chagall, each done in a predominant color. A person can’t help but be awed standing underneath those windows, bathed in blue light created by the hands of Chagall.

I woke early, while the city was still dark, and while most of Zurich still slept, I carried my equipment along the Limmat. The sun was beginning to break by the time I reached the Helmhaus and began to set up for the shot. For this one, I wanted a wide shot with the Helmhaus in the foreground and the lovely, green-spired Fraumunster in the background. Shooting from a slightly elevated position, I used a panoramic technique to capture the old city from this vantage point. In the faint light of a new day, the church was particularly charming.

It’s not the largest or most elegant church in Europe. It pales next to Notre Dame or Westminster. But among the churches of Zurich, it is certainly one of the loveliest and most recognizable, its thin spire dominating the skyline over the Limmat River.

June 2016, single image, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 16mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 5 seconds, ISO 64, tripod.




The church has occupied this spot near Paradeplatz since AD 853, when it was built by King Louis the German as an abbey for aristocratic women. Perched at the west end of the Munsterbrucke, the pedestrian bridge crossing the Limmat, Fraumunster is a landmark in the medieval part of Zurich.

Though the church has ancient origins, its most characteristic feature (aside from its verdigris spire) is the stained glass windows by Marc Chagall installed in 1970. The artist was in his 80s when his five windows were installed in the church, each one depicting a different Biblical story. Each long panel was created in a dominant color, which has the effect of bathing the church in brightly colored light.

In the late evening, when I came to Fraumunster, the bridge and the church are draped in the soft glow of twilight against a backdrop of dramatic clouds. I photographed the church from the behind the gentle curve of the Munsterbrucke and let the church’s spire form the focal point of the photograph, with the lighting of the bridge and the street for subtle illumination.