Yesterday I’ve been scouting for a good location to shoot lammergeyer and royal eagle. I went there with a guide and his dog, a typical mountain dog. We have good reason to think that we found a good place since we’ve spotted several eagles and a lammergeyer, as well as countless chamois and other bird like the common raven. Working with local people is priceless, in addition of helping you getting better pictures, it gives you a whole cultural background and anecdotes you would have never thought about.
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Nature, Photography
Whether it’s a chance of not, The Regional Camargue Reserve is located in the “French Riviera”, very close from one of the most touristic place in Europe during summer. Tons and tons of tourist (and as a kid, I used to be one of them) are coming from everywhere in Europe to enjoy the sun and the beaches. The reserve, a temple for mosquitoes, is pretty much empty most of the time, excluding hunters, that are supposed to respect the division of lands, which means only hunting in places that are not part of the reserve, I have strong doubts about their ability to differentiate what is part of the reserve and what is not. Anyway, I enjoyed spending some time in the marshes, among busy Egrets and kingfishers.
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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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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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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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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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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
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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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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