Some of the most beautiful sights in the world need to be seen in both daylight and night shadow to truly appreciate them, but unless you plan to stay in one place for eight hours, that’s not easy to achieve.
But a new edition of a stunning photography book captures stunning landmarks and locations from around the world as the scene shifts from day to night in a single image to create a “living, pulsing account” of different landscapes.
Stunning views from Trafalgar Square in London and the Eiffel Tower in Paris to the spectacle of elephants, zebras and bison gathered at a watering hole in the African Serengeti during a drought, have the entire range of the day captured in a single photo.
The book, day to night by award-winning photographer Stephen Wilkes, which retails for £60 from Taschen publishing house, features 60 epic panoramas from Venice to Vietnam that were created between 2009 and 2002.
The editors say, “If you were to stand in an iconic location for 30 hours and just watch, without closing your eyes, you still wouldn’t be able to capture all the detail and emotion found in a Stephen Wilkes panorama.” Photography.’
American photographer Stephen Wilkes has fused together hundreds of different images of the same place to create a “living, pulsating tale” of different landscapes. If you look closely enough at this image, you can see a couple embracing in the flow of pedestrians in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Wilkes captured the historic moment of President Barack Obama’s inauguration in Washington DC in 2013
Gondoliers take to Venice’s Grand Canal in 16th-century-style boats and regalia for the annual Regata Storica. Wilkes took the image in 2015.
Animals gather around a watering hole in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, during a drought. Wilkes said that to capture the image, he spent 26 hours hanging out at the location in 2015.
Each image in the book is made up of more than 1,500 exposures taken at a fixed angle from dawn to dusk by American photographer Wilkes.
After taking the photos, he “distills” the visual information in his studio by carefully composing selected frames into a single image.
Incredible sights in the book also include the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, the Grand Canyon, Stonehenge, Trafalgar Square in London, and Times Square in New York.
Wilkes even waited more than two years for permission to photograph Pope Francis celebrating Easter mass at the Vatican, eventually producing a vivid painting in which the pontiff appears 10 times.
The book also features extraordinary detail – works of art in their own right that highlight the stories contained in each image.
A bride walks through Central Park; in Rio de Janeiro, surfers come and go as a man holds a sign that reads “No more than two questions per customer.”
“It’s exactly these little stories, these details, that draw people to the photographs,” says Wilkes. Once discovered, these mini-narratives give each composition a personal and heartfelt touch.
He even captured historic moments, like in 2013 Wilkes photographed the inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington DC with the help of the secret services.
Wilkes said: ‘Five days before the Opening I got a call from the Opening committee office wanting to meet with me. I was in Washington DC and I literally ran to their offices. I was very excited when they told me I had been given permission to photograph Barack Obama’s inauguration. When I photographed the second inauguration of him, I was placed in a 50 foot scissor lift centered over The National Mall. The forklift driver had to be investigated by the Secret Service as did I and my team.
Wilkes spent 18 hours capturing Paris’s heavily trafficked Champs de Mars and Eiffel Tower hanging from a 40-foot-tall hoist. He said: ‘I photograph from places and views that are part of our collective memory. Working from a fixed camera angle, I capture the fleeting moments of humanity and light as time passes, then select the best moments from 1,500 images.
A magical shot showing Stonehenge in all its splendor. Wilkes said of the image: “In the late afternoon, I noticed people dressed in elaborate 18th century dress within the circle. The clouds had almost begun to replicate the physical structure of Stonehenge. All of these things came together in the most magical way .
The photographer had always wanted to visit Iceland and was forced to take photos at the Blue Lagoon in 2019 due to its unique geothermal water that effectively creates “free energy”.
Wilkes spent 18 hours capturing Paris’s heavily trafficked Champs de Mars and Eiffel Tower hanging from a 40-foot-tall hoist.
He said: ‘I photograph from places and views that are part of our collective memory. Working from a fixed camera angle, I capture the fleeting moments of humanity and light as time passes and then select the best moments from 1,500 images.’
Wilkes envisioned animals such as elephants, zebras, and bison gathering around a watering hole in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, during a drought.
Wilkes said that to capture the image, he spent 26 hours hanging out at the location in 2015. He reflected: “All these competitive species shared a watering hole, and they never growled at each other.” They seemed to understand the act of sharing.
Also in the book is a magical shot showing Stonehenge in all its glory, showing people in beautiful 18th century gowns in the circle.
Wilkes said of the image: “In the late afternoon, I noticed people dressed in elaborate 18th century dress within the circle. The clouds had almost begun to replicate the physical structure of Stonehenge. All of these things came together in the most magical way .
A bride and groom can be seen in the foreground of this image capturing the Manhattan skyline. Wilkes took the photo from Brooklyn Bridge Park in 2016.
Wilkes photographed the Pont de le Tournelle in Paris from day to night, showing rowers gliding across the water.
Day-to-night photo of the Ban Gioc-Detian Falls on the Quây Sơn River, which straddles the China-Vietnam border
Award-winning photographer Stephen Wilkes’ Day To Night, retailing for £60 from Taschen Publishing, features 60 epic panoramas that were created between 2009 and 2002
The photographer had always wanted to visit Iceland and was forced to take photos at the Blue Lagoon in 2019 due to its unique geothermal water that effectively creates “free energy”.
Of the landmark, Wilkes said: “Iceland has always been on my must-see list, with its otherworldly landscapes, gorgeous snowy vistas and, of course, the Northern Lights.” What drew me to Blue Lagoon is the fact that it has a unique combination of geothermal water from a nearby plant, which creates essentially free energy, along with its by-product of therapeutic waters that create heated pools just like Blue Lagoon.
His desire to represent a living space in a still image is typified by the photo of London’s Trafalgar Square where, if you look hard enough, you can see a couple embracing amid the flow of pedestrians.
Stephen Wilkes’ work has been featured in such prestigious magazines as Vanity Fair, Time, Fortune, National Geographic, and Sports Illustrated and is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum of the City of New York, The Memorial Museum of 9/11 and many others. further.
The photographer’s awards and honors include the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Magazine Photography and TIME Magazine’s Top 10 Photos of 2012.
