The World’s Most Beautiful Skylines: My Favourite Cityscapes
Photographing skylines is an obsession that began in Haarlem and has since sent me around the world. With my camera and tripod, I walk through cities like New York, Chicago, and Hong Kong, sometimes for miles, searching for the perfect light, the right reflection, the moment a city reveals itself.
These are my favourite skylines, captured at locations I explored myself. Every image tells a story of early mornings, patient waiting, and sometimes simply getting lucky with the light.
Rotterdam. Golden hour over the Erasmus Bridge.
Rotterdam is the only true skyline city in the Netherlands. The Erasmus Bridge, the Kop van Zuid, the skyscrapers you won't find in any other Dutch city. I love photographing Rotterdam at golden hour, when the warm light sets the bridge's steel structure ablaze and the water of the Maas lies like a mirror. This image was taken on exactly that kind of evening.
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Manhattan. The skyline in black and white.
I love photographing Manhattan in the early morning, when the city is still half asleep and the skyscrapers stand out against a dramatic sky. This black-and-white image shows the skyline the way I see it: powerful, massive, with looming clouds that make it even more imposing. No colour needed when the composition is already this strong.
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Brooklyn Bridge. The icon of New York.
Few subjects have been photographed as often as the Brooklyn Bridge, yet you keep coming back to it. The combination of steel, cables, water, and the city light in the background is timeless. I photographed this image at sunrise, when the golden light warmed the stone towers and the river mirrored like gold.
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Chicago. The city that never disappoints.
Chicago is my favourite city to photograph. The architecture is impressive, the skyline is compact and powerful, and Lake Michigan gives you the space to take it all in. On a cold winter morning, with ice on the water and the first rays of sun touching the skyscrapers, this is one of the most spectacular images a city photographer can capture.
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San Francisco. The city by the bay.
San Francisco is a city of contrasts. Hills and water, fog and sun, old Victorian houses next to modern architecture. The skyline seen from the bay in evening light is an image that stays with you. I photographed this from a spot few tourists know about, early in the morning before the crowds arrived.
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Golden Gate Bridge. The symbol of San Francisco.
The Golden Gate Bridge is the undisputed highlight of San Francisco. I've photographed it in fog, in sunshine, and at sunset. This image captures the moment the light falls just right and the bridge stands out against a fiery evening sky. An image that deserves to hang large on the wall.
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Los Angeles. Sunrise over the city.
You don't photograph Los Angeles from the street, but from above. As the sun rises over the endless city and the light turns warm and soft, you understand why people come to live here. This is one of my best-selling images.
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Los Angeles. The city by night.
Same city, a different moment. Los Angeles by night is a sea of lights stretching to the horizon. No other city in the world gives you that sense of endlessness as strongly as LA after sunset, seen from above.
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Hong Kong. The densest skyline in the world.
For a city photographer, Hong Kong is what a candy shop is for a child. The density, the height, the neon, the waters of Victoria Harbour reflecting it all. I photographed this image from across the harbour, at the start of the evening, as the lights come on and the skyline slowly lights up. Nowhere else in the world will you see so many skyscrapers packed so close together.
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More cities. More skylines.
These are my favourites, but the collection keeps growing. Every flight is a chance for a new city, a new location, a new light. Tokyo, Dubai, Toronto, London. The list is long, and the camera always comes along.
