Grand Canal during Blue Hour from the Rialto Bridge

Nothing says Venice quite like the Grand Canal! It was probably past Blue Hour, and more into Nautical Twilight, when I captured this image from the top of the Rialto Bridge walkway. The shutter was open for almost three minutes, but the raw image was quite dark; in retrospect, I should have probably used a 3-stop ND filter instead of the 10. I wanted the open shutter to smooth the water, remove the boats, remove the people walking along the canal, and to blur the clouds. I was pleased with the raw image, and elated after post-processing. It was the perfect time of day, with the sky and buildings still having that “Blue Hour” look, while the lights along the restaurants and shops in the canal were beginning to be illuminated. This photograph was named “Best Overall Image” from a Scott Kelby/KelbyOne Venice workshop in April of 2025, and was awarded five gold medals from the 2025 European and Global Photography Awards. Post processing with Lightroom, Photoshop, On1, and Luminar.