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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Nature, Photography, Travel
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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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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Surprisingly rainy and cold but a truly amazing city. The capital of Catalonia is an heaven for history lovers and seekers of weird and inspirational architecture. The curious mix of Muslim, Christian and modern influences makes this place very unique. As a photographer, there is of course much to do in the city, I would say especially from a photojournalist point of view. There is indeed a lot of culture and a strong feeling of belonging to the catalan community.
- #2,3: 14th century cloister, there are always 13 geese in its central courtyard. Each goose represents one year in the life of the martyr Santa Eulalia.
- #5: Barcelona’s Marathon!
- #7: A birdman, an amazing number of birds was flying around him, a unique experience to be part of it.
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Not a photo shoot, just an adventure! Of course I had brought some photographic equipment “just in case” but the main point was to experience the Alps. What a great time we had, with 4 feet of snow, (I’m not kidding!) our snowshoes were pretty busy, and so valuable! especially when we got hit in a snowstorm (#3, If I had had a weather proof camera I would have done more…). Cold landscapes are always my favorites, I really have to work on them. In those places, the ambiance is so unique: harsh weather, no tourists, great sound (wind, stepping on the snow…), rare animals but very great looking when they’re around (e.g: foxes, with their great fur in winter). Stay tuned for a some real work in the Alps .
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Yes, that what Utah means in the Ute Indian language. As some point I was listening to the radio and the guys were talking in Indian, good to know that the language (and so the culture) is still alive (or kind of). The places we’re going to talk about here are Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park.
- Monument Valley [#1 to #4]: Get your guns ready, we are in John Ford’s land. The view from the Visitor center is all I saw since a sand storm prevented me to do the sunset tour and the cold prevented me to do the sunrise one (no way to get on the top less 4WD without gloves, this time, I’m really going to loose a finger). The first 2 photographs are from the same place, the first at pre-dawn and the second at pre-dusk.
- Bryce Canyon [#5 to #8]: I actually only spent a morning (sunrise) there. But what a morning! The most surreal landscapes I’ve ever seen. The famous quote from Brother Bryce is “It’s a hell of a place to lose a cow” and yes he’s very right, I wouldn’t like to have to search for a anything in there, it’s sometime even difficult to follow the trail.
- Zion National Park [#9 to #12]: Oasis in the middle of the desert, Zion is unique and a big challenge to photograph. I didn’t have the time to get to “The subway” so I stayed around the scenic drive and did almost all the trails I found. The colors in fall are really superb and add something to the already amazing landscape. The place is also well known for its wildlife, especially bird.
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What a journey! Is it still planet Earth or the 2200 miles I did brought me to the moon? The Southwest landscapes are truly breathtaking. Photographing them is a challenge since most of the places are already over-photographed and close to becoming cliché. However, with this kind of thinking you’re not doing much in life, so I decided to give it a try, keeping in mind to try something different each time. This trip will be divided into two different posts: the first will deal about Arizona and the second will take care of Utah. I will only post 4 pictures of each places I visited.
- The Grand Canyon South Rim [#1 to #4]: So big that you have trouble to really realize the distances. I went there for 1 sunrise and 1 sunset. The place is also surprisingly rich in wildlife.
- The Grand Canyon North Rim [#5 to #8]: Really a great place for wildlife and landscape. Much less crowded that the south rim and as good if not better in many ways. The curious squirrel is a “Kaibab squirrel”, which leaves only in the Grand Canyon North Rim area, so you’re not going to see anything like that anywhere else in the world. The Coyote in the snow at sunrise was the greatest wildlife experience of the trip.
- Upper Antelope Canyon [#9 to #12]: This canyon has to be visited with a guide. A very kind and funny Navajo was ours for about an hour. Let’s be frank, even if I knew what I as going to see, I was simply amazed by the beauty of the place. The only little problem are us, the people, we are just too numerous. We were about 50 in the canyon and the guide told me that in the summer they commonly have 300 people in it, so basically a line of people.
- Lower Antelope Canyon [#13 to #16]: Very different from its little brother. The cool thing about this one is that you don’t need any guide, you can basically stay in the canyon as long as you want (if it’s not crowded of course). At a certain point, I was alone in the Canyon! was a great experience. I talked to a young Navajo that was playing Guitar, we talked about the Navajo Nation, their president and how he felt about being Navajo in the US. I went there on an overcast day, a good opportunity to get different pictures since most of the picture from Antelope are a ray of light coming in it. So what I did is playing with the shade of color and with depth.
- Colorado River, the Horseshoe Bend [#17 to #20]: What a cliché! sure but how to resist? the view from above is staggering. I went there for sunrise. The pictures are from the Canyon and from the trail that leads there.
One thing to remember when you visit the Southwest in late October is your gloves. I didn’t have any in Bryce Canyon (Utah, next post) and I thought I was loosing a couple of fingers. The temperature was 25F, no sun (pre-dawn) and a lot of wind, I even had trouble to open the eyes. Beside of that and I’d say as usual in the U.S, everything is done to make your life easier, the trails are super clean, the roads in perfect shape and the visitor centers always open and glad to help.
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With my laptop being broken (actually just fixed, that’s why I’m able to write this), I ended up with a lot a free time and decided to focus on the Palo Alto Baylands Preserve. This place, just 10 minutes from where I live is a real paradise for Nature Photographers. I went there 5 days in a row from 6pm to 8pm and had a lot of fun playing with the silhouettes of the Avocets. Please note that no color corrections have been done on those images, I didn’t even modify the white balance chosen by the camera (auto mode). I particularly like the picture #6 because it really shows the grace and even the femininity of the Stilts. I have been working on this shot for 3 days before getting it. At exactly 6:45, the light in a specific place of the Baylands comes through a tree and light just some areas, which result in a subject having some parts in the light and the rest in the shade. Here is a small selection of the pictures, courtesy of mother nature.
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