How to photograph Hanoi's old quarter at first light: a 90-minute route for train-street and stall portraits

I have a habit of chasing light. In Bangkok that often means waking before the city fully stirs and climbing to a rooftop where the skyline reads like a living map: temples and cranes, canals and glass towers, and, if I'm lucky, a slice of sky that turns from indigo to molten gold. Rooftop breakfasts in Bangkok are a curious hybrid — some places are full-service hotel terraces with elegant breakfast buffets, others are humble rooftop cafes...

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I love wandering Casablanca’s old medina without a guide. There’s a particular pleasure in letting your senses stitch together the city: the first whiff of frying oil from a tucked-away stall, the scrape of sandals on uneven stone, a chorus of bargaining voices, the sudden flash of cobalt tile behind a wooden door. If you want to plan a sensory walking route through the medina — one that’s safe, manageable and full of texture —...

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Walking into a Tokyo depachika—the basement food hall of a department store—is like stepping into an edible cathedral. The lights are bright, displays immaculate, and the air hums with the polite choreography of shoppers sampling, comparing and carrying away gifts. Over years of wandering these subterranean markets, I’ve learned how to shop smart: what to buy, when to go, how to taste without offending, and most importantly, how to avoid...

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When I head out for a city photo walk with nothing bigger than my compact mirrorless camera, I’m thinking less like a gearhead and more like a city wanderer: what will let me move fast, stay light, and notice small details without missing the light? Over the years I’ve learned to pack not for “everything that could happen” but for the rhythms of urban exploration — sudden markets, rooftop light, wet cobbles, and a good slice of street...

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I wake before dawn in Porto because the city’s azulejo-clad facades have a way of changing their moods with the light — and I want to be there to photograph both. This one-day itinerary is built around two brief but magical windows: golden hour before sunset and blue hour after the sun dips. Between them I propose slow wandering, a few strategic stops for coffee and food, and a handful of lesser-known alleys where tiles surprise you. Bring a...

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