Sunday I went into Downtown Lyon (France) to relax and act like a tourist in my home town, something I happen to enjoy a lot. Lyon is a place with tons of hidden places and secrets. A tiny street through a building can lead you to another one, that connects to a square which leads you to an interesting monument (got it ?).
I’m not playing around with digital processing with my nature photography work, everything has to be achieve with the camera. However, I happen to play a lot with it when it comes to portrait or street/architecture photography. These examples taken from my yesterday’s session are just that, examples.
Here is some thoughts:
- Sometime, an advanced processing is just a way to “add” something to a photograph that hasn’t any particular interest without it. I’m particularly watchful on this.
- With all those tools all around, the temptations has never been so strong for the public to play around with their digital photographs.
- In the same time, it can be a playground for creativity.
- I guess it has to add something to the story/feeling you’re telling with your photograph.
- It’s also a matter of style and personal choice. I’m personally not that much into digital processing, I think it has to be done with parsimony and a lot of care.
- Some photographers are particularly gifted with digital tools, however I think we’re here getting closer to “Digital Art” than “Photography”.
Those Monday nights’ thoughts are pretty far from being engraved on marble, they’re here for you to discuss. 
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Lyon, Photography, Tehnical Stuff
There are places you just can’t get enough. Mont Jallouvre in the Bargy chain is one of them. Although the place is pretty busy during weekends, it is still very generous in wildlife, especially at dusk when everybody’s gone. After years and years of wildlife persecution, most of the Alps’s historical inhabitants are back and it’s a pleasure for the eyes. Naturally, climbing up Mont Jallouvre with all my gear (including a 1D III) was an intense pain in the XXX but fortunately it was rewarding. The place offers a unique view on the whole Bargy chain (#6) and at dusk in the background, the Mont Blanc (#4) even says goodnight.
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Nature, Photography 17-40, 1D, 5D, 70-200, Alps, Canon, f/4, gear, ibex, III, jallouvre, Mark II, Mark III, mountain, Photography, wild, wildlife
Ibex, chamois, deers and even the rarest among the rarest bearded vulture (not in the pictures) and their huge and consistent environment, what else could a photographer ask for ? Something I’m really keen on is how everything is linked together artistically. Colors, shapes, temperature, even sounds and scents, a wild environment just makes sense, it’s not there for to please you, because its “handy” or because A+B=C, no, it’s just there, you’re allow to pass through it and that’s it.
For curious people, entire trip made with a Canon 5D II + 17-40L + 70-200 f/4 IS, best quality/weight ratio, which is the most important in the Alps .
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Nature, Photography 5D, 70-200, Alps, Canon, europe, f/4, france, frog, gear, ibex, jallouvre, lac, lake, lessy, Mark II, mountain, Photography, trek, wild, wildlife
3 days, almost 6000 ft (1800m) incline from the start, only freeze-dried food, a heavy duty sleeping bag, a super light tent and a 5D Mark II, these 3 days of hike in the Alps were magic. Hiking among the ibex is a pretty cool feeling, those guys are really curious about what’s going on, especially for dinner. For this trip, I only took the Canon 70-200 f/4 IS (so light and sharp!) and the Canon 17-40 f/4. The problem I had is the dust that’s jumping on the sensor each time I was changing the lens. I wasn’t having this problem with small sensor cameras but the Full Frame of the Mark II is really attracting every possible dust around it. I guess next time I will take the 5D Mark II + 17-40 and the 7D + 70-200, so that I won’t have to move the lens.
- #1, #2 : the hight point of the trip, 7000 ft.
- #3, #4: Ibex in their breath taking environment.
- #7, #8: 5:30 in the morning, time to wake up for the ibex.
- #11: Mountain chain of the Mont Blanc (Mount White), Europe’s highest point.
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Nature, Photography, Tehnical Stuff
My iPhone was telling me 100% of humidity in the place I wanted to go (Saint Sorlain d’Arves, in the Alps), so obviously I thought that this god damn apple product was wrong and I went there. I was supposed to backpack there for 4 days but it was out of question with this weather. I don’t mind the cold, the snow of the wind, but humidity is not manageable. So, here is 3 pictures from the rainy day, spent almost entirely in my car.
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Nature, Photography, Travel
Back to the Camargue for a second wild session. This time, I embarked in a boat for 4 hours of bird watching offshore. The light was very good and the wildlife plenty (mainly gulls and shearwaters). Because it was the only body I had, I only used the Canon 5D Mark II. Very slow (2,9 img/sec) for this kind of usage but once you get the shot, it’s just amazing to look at it on a big screen, the combination of 5D II + a Canon 500mm f/4 is producing stunning images, I think I’ll never get used to it. Big difference with the trip I made to the Farralons last month: the sea! The Mediterranean is a bathtub compared to the Pacific ocean! there is really no way to get sick and honestly, I wasn’t complaining.
After this trip, I went deep into the marshes to sea flamingos and herons (and mosquitoes). It’s the matting season so birds are busier trying to find a mate than watching for photographers.
Enjoy the trip and plan yours, there is plenty to see in the Camargue!
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Nature, Photography, Travel
The Camargue is located south of France between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the River Rhône delta. This large and humid place (marshes) is the home of a very large number of birds, European species, but also birds migrating from Africa. The Camargue is also the home of a famous horse species, the rugged and intelligent Camargue horse (yes, same name). Honestly, this trip was magical, in only 2 days I got so many pictures that I ended up with 30 possible images for this post, so I decided to get down to 9 just to give you a taste of the place. As I always say, if you don’t have the experience, you don’t have the picture, well seeing 25 Camargue horses charging together in the marshes IS an experience, it makes your heart (well, and your camera) go crazy, a kind of “Lord of the Rings” feeling, I’m sure you know what I mean .
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Nature, Photography, Travel
You thought you already knew SF? There always something new to see or to experience, a photographer should always be looking for this new eye, try to look at things in a new way. I took advantage of these few days to walk the city and go to some new places like the California Institute of Science. What an amazing museum! They really didn’t mind the spending, the whole building is by itself an experience with its original architecture and curious sub-divisions.
#1, #2: Flying over Greenland and the Davis Strait.
#4-#6: Institute of Science.
#7: View from the Hyatt Grand Hotel in Downtown SF, magic hour.
#9: View of the Golden Gate Bridge from below (a boat).
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Photography, Travel
I actually happen to be in San Francisco these days (I just got back to France) so I naturally decided to spend some days in my great old Point Reyes to see if my friends the vultures, bobcats and owls were still doing great. As usual, a very few sleep, a lot of hiking with my 40 pounds backpack and some great moment in the wild. With 30 degrees in the night and a sun rising at 6am, nights were pretty short. I arrived during a storm and had to sleep in the car for a night, but after that, the weather was very clear, I had rarely seen Point Reyes like this. All the hills that are usually burnt and yellow in the summer were all green, I kinda felt I was in Scotland I also did something I had never did before, take a trip to the Farallon Islands. Fascinating (and painful cause seasick) experience.
As usual, I hope those photographs will make you travel and dream about those wild places.
#1: A coyote hunting on the shore at dawn.
#2: A Clark’s Grebe. No digital modification on the water, the black is achieved with the camera setting.
#6: A vulture looking for something to eat.
#7: Thousands of Common Murres are nesting on the Farallon Islands.
#8 (goes with #11): A mule deer in its environment at dawn.
#10: For me the shot of the week, a vulture looking for food at dusk with the Estero bay in the background. Picture taken from a high point with the Canon 5D II + 500mm f/4 + 1.4X. I’m usually not using the 5D for wildlife but in this case it was making sense (too close for using a small sensor camera + needed high ISO).
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Nature, Photography
Have you ever tried to take a Canon 500mm f/4 into a very touristic zoo on a sunny Sunday afternoon? Well, this is what I did today. I knew it was going to be tough but I really wanted to take my big zoom out, it was itching too much. It turns out to be quiet interesting, flamingos are such beautiful subjects, very graphical and with amazing eyes. It actually took me a while to come back to the zoo. Indeed, when you have spent so much time in places like Point Reyes National Seashore or Point Lobos (Californian reserves), you really can’t think about doing anything in a zoo. However, zoos are important for many reasons, they contribute to conservation, science, veterinary research and are for many people their only source of contact with the wildlife world.
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Nature, Photography
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