Chasing Golden Hour in Brugge: A Sunrise Photo Story

Have You Ever Been to Brugge, Belgium?

Brugge is by far my favourite city in Belgium. I’ve visited a few times, but I never stayed overnight—until now. That meant I had never caught the golden hour, sunrise, or night scenes along its beautiful canals. This time, I made sure to change that.

This month, we took a 2-days road trip from Amsterdam to Belgium. Our route was:
Amsterdam → Antwerp → Brugge → Ghent → Brussels → back to Amsterdam.

We booked a charming hotel right in Brugge’s city centre, so that I could easily access to the canals at sunrise.

When we arrived, the skies were overcast. No golden sunset, but thankfully, the rain stopped. I headed out with my camera during the blue hour, capturing a few long-exposure shots that gave Brugge a dreamy, timeless look.

22mm — 30.0sec — f/22 — ISO 500

The next morning, I woke up at 5:30 AM—not easy, but worth it. I started with my DJI Mini 4 Pro drone (under 250g, perfect for low-risk city flying). I had pre-planned my flight path on Google Earth, so I knew where to take off and which angles to capture.

The flight was short and low, enough to avoid any complications and to stay safe. Within 10–15 minutes, I had the shots I wanted from above.

Then it was time to explore with my camera on foot. Ducks and seagulls floated above the canals, and I managed to catch a few as golden light painted the scene.

75mm — 1/1000sec — f/2.8 — ISO 500

24mm — 1/320sec — f/6.3 — ISO 500

As the sun began to rise, I looked for opportunities to catch sun rays peeking through rooftops or trees. I stopped down my focal length to f/22, carefully composed my shot and there it was. A perfect moment, light bursting through like a spotlight on the city.

75mm — 1/60sec — f/22 — ISO 800

24mm — 1/60sec — f/22 — ISO 500

After completing every shot on my list, I returned to the hotel for a well-deserved nap. We checked out an hour later and continued the journey to Ghent, where I had more photos planned.

Unfortunately, the weather was not as good as I expected, and I couldn’t get the Ghent shots I wanted. Looks like I need to plan another trip to Ghent!

I hope you enjoyed the photos and the story behind them. If you haven’t visited Brugge yet, I highly recommend adding it to your travel list, especially for a golden hour shoot.

If you would like to bring a little of Brugge’s magic into your home, check out the Belgium Collection in my store, featuring premium-quality wall art from this trip.

Until next time,
Etem