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
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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Photography, Travel
Actually I spent just a morning at taking pictures, but the whole experience was great. The temperature was pretty tough (5F/-15C) but the weather was all right, no snowstorm this time. Working in such a temperature is a challenge, you really have to use gloves and the fact is that manipulating photographic equipment with gloves is a mess. More than a time I had to take off the gloves and then feel the pain when touching the metal of the tripod/camera, but I just wasn’t able to do the adjustment with them. I sounds like I need a bit of practice (and possibly more pain) to understand.
- #1/#3: Same scene but different view, which one is your favorite?
- #4: Those little dots are people, they’re about to climb a giant frozen fall!
- #6: Resting in an igloo. As surprising as it might be, it’s pretty hot in there, well, I mean in comparison to outside…
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I went back to the Golden head park to visit my buddies the butterflies but they weren’t in good shape, the glasshouse was almost empty, only something like 20 butterflies were still there. Indeed, the exposition is supposed to end the 30th of January, so they’re not planning to release butterflies anymore, they’re just waiting for the one already released to die. Those still there were of course still amazing, here is 3 photographs. The first one is taken with a wide lens (instead of a usual Macro lens), it gives a different perspective on this huge butterfly, the Yellow-Edged Giant-Owl Caligo.
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Nature, Photography
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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Nature, Photography, Travel
Yesterday I went to a butterfly exposition in our city park, the “Parc de la tête d’or” (Golden head park). I had never seen such butterflies, they were quite amazing, in size and color. It was a good opportunity to use my Macro lens and flash. With maybe 100 butterflies in a small room, the place was a photographic paradise, I spent something like 2 hours there but I could have stayed an entire day without getting bored. #5 and #8 are my favorite, they give a different view. Naturally, all the butterflies photographed are alive!
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It’s been more than a month since I haven’t posted on this blog, I’m really sorry about that. I’m now back in France and didn’t have much time to travel around and use my camera. The 5D II is back on track (thanks Canon) and the only small outing I’ve been able to do is yesterday, to the Festival of Lights in my home town, Lyon. The is not my usual kind of photography but it’s always interesting to try different things. I have been celebrating this Festival since my childhood and I’ve seen it change and grow through the years, it is now a huge event. Even if people are not religious, they almost all place candles along the outsides of all their windows, I guess it gives us a feeling of being part of something, and as a kid, the moment is quite magic.
There you go:
- #1: Inside the Fourviere Basilica, people are lighting candles.
- #2: In the old Lyon, a clown is performing in the cold.
- #3: Louis XIV statue, Ferris wheel in Background, slow shutter speed.
- #4,#5: Rose-window lit from inside the cathedral.
- #6: Terreaux Square during the show “Let’s play with time”.
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Photography, culture
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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Nature, Photography, Travel, culture
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