The City Glow-Up: Magnetic Lights at Twilight

Pylon Lookout Part III: Wait a little longer after the first magical start of twilight as everything darkens and becomes more vibrant. 

The last drops of sunlight remain as the city lights turn on. 

Featured in Flickr's Explore.

The Twilight Hour: Subdued Tones & Colors in Sydney

Pylon Lookout Part II: The twilight hour approaches after the sun sets. 

The colors become muted and soft but still bright enough where sights are visible. 

The clouds have higher contrast and are more prominent. 

The skyscrapers stand tall and get ready to illuminate into the night. 

114 Floors Above: Illuminating Lights in Skyscrapers Effect

When you're 114 floors high above overlooking the city, everything looks small in comparison. 

As sunset morphs into twilight and then into darkness, the skyscrapers light up and have a translucent quality to them, creating a futuristic, somewhat dystopian society. 

I added in other effects, using colors from this shot and dropping in a distorted wave filter to enhance this even more. 

In the Islands: The Outlines of the Toronto Skyline

Postcard-perfect skies appear, ready for me to capture (and savor) the views of the Toronto skyline and Lake Ontario. 

From Toronto Island Park, you get a full panoramic view of all the skyscrapers in the city. Fresh, earthy green leaves and grass bring extra serenity and contentment to the scene.  

Purple Painterly Effect: Sensational Night Light Reflections

Singapore's Waterfront Promenade offers picturesque views of the city skyline. The unique ArtScience museum takes the lead with its famous design and vibrant purple-blue reflections over the waters. 

I used a similar color scheme as the dazzling lights to sweep the sky with a soft yet striking painterly effect. 

Featured in Flickr's Explore.

The Rainbow After: Waikiki from the Mountains

Diamond Head State Monument Part I: Windy morning showers cleared up just in time for a hike. From above, we can see the starking contrast of the sky. 

Dark, moody clouds on the left side, offering vibrant aqua-blue water hues and a rainbow on the right side of Waikiki, showcasing a much brighter mood and future.

Land of the Palm Trees and Skyscrapers in Honolulu

At the 18th floor of the hotel, we get a sweeping view of the skyscrapers in Waikiki, dramatic clouds in action, and the palm trees at the nearby park. It's been a blast watching the skies change every other minute - from rain to sunshine to rainbows and everything in between. 

Lightning Waves Effect: Singapore Skyline Reflections

The vibrant colors and abstract creations in anime and video games always amazes me. I wanted to develop digital art that blends a mix of reality with fiction and the skyline views of Singapore was the ideal starting point. 

After adjusting the colors with a blend of turquoise and salmon hues to give it a futuristic look and feel, I added in a mix of wavy lightning strikes in the sky to create the perfect finish.

Piedmont Park's Skyscrapers + Lake Reflections

Piedmont Park Part I: Even a cloudy day cannot affect the atmosphere or the views at Piedmont Park. Lush green trees, clear lake reflections, and skyscraper views from Midtown are widespread throughout the tranquil park. 

Sparkly Stream of Lights + Midnight Blue Sky Imagery

Reunion Tower Imagery Part II: You can find so much inspiration from the skyline in Dallas. I used the Bank of America Plaza as the focal point for this creation, changing this up drastically with a focus on a dark midnight blue sky and sparkly colorful stream of lights falling from above.

Silver Blue Nights + Gleaming Lights of Chicago

360 Chicago Part III: Chicago's skyline is still one of my favorites. The colors, the unique skyscrapers, and the river creates the most epic cityscape. 

I decided to add a playful spin to this skyline view, giving it a cooler blue and silver-like tone, adding in a mix of abstract light effects that resemble sparkling glitter. 

Colorful Confetti Lights in the Sky: A Night in Dallas

Reunion Tower Imagery Part I: There's so much we can't see with our naked eye when we look at the night sky in a city polluted with lights. But we can always use our imagination and create our own imagery of how we want to perceive the world. 

I love the downtown night views of Dallas, especially with the illuminating lights of the Bank of America skyscraper in the near distance. I decided to manipulate this image by adding in green and purple hues, enhancing the brightness and contrast, and decorating the sky with colorful confetti-like lights that resemble fireworks and a dreamlike reality. 

Twilight Skies in Shinjuku City of Tokyo

The 45th floor view of Shinjuku City in Tokyo, Japan. 

This view was well worth the long wait. From watching the last drops of sunlight descending into twilight and into full darkness, it was quite the extraordinary hour. 

Featured in Flickr's Explore.

Golden Cast of Light: Dallas Downtown at Sunset

Reunion Tower Part I: Extremely breezy days can't stop my attempt to catch good views. 

There was just the perfect amount of cloud cover in the sky, creating a golden cast of colors illuminating across all the modern skyscrapers during sunset at the one-of-a-kind Reunion Tower. 

Blue Vibes Ahead at Shibuya, Tokyo

The iconic Shibuya district in Tokyo, Japan with so much hustle and bustle every day. I added in a blue filter to give off a futuristic vibe for the ever-changing city.

Translucent Glass: Clouds + Skyscrapers Reflections

The clouds begin appearing in the sky in a nice, sweeping fashion, creating special reflections across all the skyscrapers in Lower Manhattan. The modern skyscrapers and clear glass blends so well with the surroundings, generating a similar hue and vibe. 

Futuristic Skies + Skyscrapers by the Waterfront

The future is certainly going to be unpredictable. Not just with the architecture, but the colors, the lights that illuminate into the sky...everything will be exciting, abstract, and futuristic. 

I decided to dramatize this photo taken in Yokohama, Japan a bit more by reducing the contrast, stripping out the dark colors, adding in hints of fog, yellow-white lights, pastel hues, and abstract designs into the sky to create an entirely different vibe of the city at night. 

Featured in Flickr's Explore. 

Vibrant Orange Sunset in Downtown Vancouver

The stunning sunset above downtown Vancouver I had to capture as the elevator was rapidly going up Harbour Center. 

Sunsets in a way are such rarities--it's hard to capture the exact same sunset and if you miss your window...it can be a completely different outcome. 

Dusk Colors Across Vancouver at Twilight

Kitslano Beach Part II: After the sun sets, you're faced with blue hour at twilight. The colors begin to mute a bit, the glow fading but still reflecting on the skyscrapers, and the mountains darken more, creating a marvelous contrast against the sky and waters. 

Featured in Flickr's Explore.

Top of Vancouver's Revolving Night Views of Lights

Absolutely spectacular night views of the city of Vancouver from the Top of Vancouver Revolving restaurant! 

The view changes every second--the lights from the city and the bay were beyond phenomenal to look at from sunset to dark.