This morning, I woke up thinking about the Joburg skyline.
Johannesburg has one of the most beautiful city skylines in the world, and I’ve photographed it dozens of times from many different angles. But as far as I can remember, I’ve never written a post specifically about the skyline. So this morning I went straight to my computer, browsed through the archives and picked out 10 of my favorite Joburg skyline shots. Here they are.
1) Downtown Johannesburg at sunrise, viewed from the roof of the Carlton Centre, the tallest building on Africa. (2015)
2) Just after sunset from the top of Situation East, a building on Fox Street in Maboneng. (2014)
3) Nightfall from the 51st floor of Ponte City. (2016)
4) Another shot from Maboneng, just above the Living Room at what is now an amazing AirBnB. (2012)
5) This is kind of an unconventional skyline shot but I felt compelled to include it nonetheless. It was shot from Hallmark House, just off Joe Slovo Drive. The Nelson Mandela mural was painted by Freddie Sam. (2015)
6) Another shot from Hallmark House, looking west instead of east. (2015)
7) Joburg’s night sky shot from the top of the Orion Building in Braamfontein. (2011)
8) Another shot from Maboneng, this one from the Artisan Lofts condo building on Albertina Sisulu Street. The zebra-striped roof in the foreground is the legendary Zebra Inn. (2013)
9) I think Yeoville Ridge is my favorite place in town for photographing the Joburg skyline. This particular photo is a panoramic shot taken with my iPhone. (2014)
10) Sunset from the top of the Lister Building, which is right in the center of town on Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly Jeppe Street). I love the chaotic feel of the city in this shot. (2013)
Bonus Shot
It was too hard to choose just ten. Here is my favorite Joburg skyline shot of all, taken from the 50th floor of the Carlton Centre at sunset.
Hazy Blue Hour. (2012)
I took most of these pictures from buildings and rooftops in the city center. But there are also some great parks and other spots in the suburbs to shoot the Joburg skyline. The Melville Koppies, James and Ethel Gray Park, and the Wilds are some of my favorites.
Troyville facing Johannesburg Stadium is also very scenic
Yes! I also love that view.
Stunning! My favourite spot must be Langermann Kop in Kensington, just so sad that it is not a very safe place to go. Carlton a very close second.
I’m ashamed to admit this but I’ve never been to Langermann Kop.
Shot #5 is fantastic – I like that it’s totally different from the other skyline shots. And the artwork is featured so beautifully.
You’ve done a fab job of highlighting just how varied the Joburg skyline can be. Every single one of these are beautiful photos.
Thanks so much, Jaina. Downtown Joburg is surrounded by hills, which creates tons of great, different views of the skyline. It’s one the coolest things about the city.
What I wouldn’t give for a hill with a view. Everything is so flat in Bahrain!
Joburg definitely is beautiful in your pictures. By that, I mean the love and expertise you put to taking the shots is most of it. I have a feeling you would be able to take “beautiful” shots of just about any city, since they are all fascinating in their own way.
Aw, thanks so much! I can’t imagine a better compliment.
Just gorgeous, especially the sunset ones. Although I kind of like the murals, which are so unusual.
Thanks Autumn 🙂
loved this! The last one is also my favorite, or the last location I should say. My son went on a class trip to the Carlton Centre once with his school, and since I hadn’t been there, I compelled him to not come back without a picture. The picture he took is now the background image on my computer – I never changed it!
Thanks Sine. I love that view too.
Love no 9 from Yeoville Ridge. Is that place safe-ish to go to with a proper camera?
Thanks! It’s ok as long as you go with a group.
Impressive series
They look lovely, but the pics are quite small (or smaller than usual) on Firefox. Did you change your formatting?
Oh, weird! I’m trying to think if I’ve done anything differently…This post is the first time it’s happened?
Yes. It looks fine in Chrome. Went back thru Firefox but by your homepage and its fine. Maybe it was WP reader.
Hmm, ok thanks. I’ll check this out when I’m home. I used to be a Firefox user too but haven’t checked it in ages.
Makes me miss Jozi so much! Beautiful pics. Thanks for sharing.
Lovely, thanks so much!
My pleasure.
I always love your skyline shots and to have all these here together in one post is a real treat !
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it.
Wow… lovely shots!
Thanks!
Hi there! These photos are absolutely exquisite – they capture Jozi so beautifully. I was just wondering if I might use one of them as a Twitter header please? I’m not sure what Copyright issues there are. Many thanks!
Hi Sarah, thanks for the message. Is this for a personal Twitter account or a business account? If you’d like to discuss further, please send me a message through my Contact page.