Window Photography: A View From My Eastern Window

A split image shows four weather scenes: a sunset with an orange sky, blue sky with clouds, a rainbow over trees, and a nighttime thunderstorm with lightning above buildings.

You don’t have to climb mountains or travel halfway around the world to photograph something spectacular. Nature often creates remarkable scenes right in front of you, where you live.

This is my view from an east-facing window in my apartment. It’s a seemingly boring scene of grey buildings and a few trees, nothing special, one might say. Or is it? Let’s find out.

A panoramic view of a cityscape with several apartment buildings, leafless trees, parked cars, a large empty paved area, and red rectangles labeled IMAGE1 through IMAGE8 highlighting different sections of the scene. — Panorama view from my East facing windows with marked images from below.

When I started learning photography, I occasionally began photographing the sunrise from this window. To my surprise, after a few years, there were some genuinely decent images of a beautiful sky and unexpected scenes.

A city skyline at sunrise or sunset, with layers of orange and yellow clouds above industrial buildings, cranes, and silhouettes of leafless trees in the foreground. — One of the first images I took of a nice cloud pattern during sunrise.

Sun rays break through dark, dramatic clouds over a silhouette of dense trees, illuminating patches of the sky and creating a serene, moody atmosphere. — Rays of sunlight through small gaps in the clouds.

As I improved my compositions and editing skills, photos taken from the same window started to look better and better. The lenses I used varied, sometimes wide, other times focused on a small portion of the scene with a telephoto lens. Let’s say between 50mm and 200mm.

A vibrant sunset sky with orange and purple clouds spreads above silhouetted trees and rooftops, casting a warm glow over the landscape. — This cloud texture is rarely seen from my location.

A dramatic sunset sky with thick, dark clouds spreads over a large, rectangular apartment building. Sunlight peeks through the clouds, casting a golden glow and creating striking contrasts. Trees line the foreground. — Majestic cloud formation on top of the large building, the bird was spot on.

My inspiration came from Alexey Kljatov, who created absolutely incredible snowflake photographs from his balcony using a very old camera and lens. There is something so rewarding about staying still and watching the world change from a single vantage point. You don’t need to move an inch to see a masterpiece; you just have to be there, camera in hand, ready to catch those moments when the light hits just right.

The sun shines brightly through dramatic, golden clouds above a dark, silhouetted rooftop with a few small structures visible along the edge. — Sun right above the building with nice cloud texture.

Vivid orange and purple sunset sky with dramatic clouds above a cityscape, trees in the foreground, and a tall apartment building on the right edge of the image. — This scenes wake me up in early morning so I usually take them in my pajamas.

This project is meant to be a series. Part 2 will explore my west-facing window, and Part 3 will focus on the small, easily overlooked moments that have unfolded over an 18-year span of this spontaneous window photography experiment.

Generative AI might be around every corner these days, but it only makes me appreciate the ‘real thing’ even more. To me, photography will never be dead because it’s about being there. Whether it’s from a mountain top or your living room window, there is so much beauty in hitting that shutter button ourselves. Join me in reclaiming the fun of the craft and just enjoy the art of the process.

Colorful evening sky with orange and blue clouds above several mid-rise apartment buildings, partially obscured by a row of trees in the foreground. — This morning was hazey but with nice cloud formation above 6 skyscrapers.

Apartment buildings silhouetted against a twilight sky with glowing clouds and a bright comet or meteor streaking diagonally above the horizon; trees line the bottom of the scene. — Comet C2020 F3 NEOWISE with noctilucent clouds, very rare event.

Dense autumn trees with leaves in shades of green, yellow, and orange, bathed in soft, hazy sunlight. The scene appears misty, with sunlight filtering through the branches and highlighting the foliage. — Fog and autumn create some great textures.

A dark night sky with bright lightning striking behind a large building, its windows illuminated. The moon is visible in the upper right, and trees are silhouetted in the foreground.

Apartment buildings and trees under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds and wisps of cirrus clouds.

Leafless trees stand in a dense blue fog, their dark branches silhouetted against a misty background, creating an eerie and atmospheric woodland scene.

Large, dramatic cumulus clouds are illuminated by sunlight against a darkening blue sky, with silhouettes of tall trees and dense foliage in the foreground.

A double rainbow arcs across a partly cloudy sky above a large, rectangular apartment building surrounded by trees. Sunlight highlights the building, contrasting with the dark green foliage below.

All the images are taken from the same window. The full gallery can be found over on my website.

About the author: Neven Krcmarek is a Croatia-based commercial product photographer, editor, and dedicated astrophotographer. A versatile all-around photographer, he is passionate about sharing knowledge and inspiring new photographers to grow and create. You can find more of his work on his website and Instagram.

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