Tag: France

Reflections on water

Posted on by SteveH
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

The early part of 2022 has seen a lot of rain. The river Seine is rising once again and puddles are everywhere. The wide well maintained easy walkways are turning into muddy cross country challenges. Water is an unpredictable medium and can give surprising images. On this day I decided to focus on reflections on water. I returned to the Étang de la Galiotte and walked around the parc du peuple de l’herbe. I have published a post about this park before when I visited in June 2021. This post is here and here you will find information on how to get there.

Today I was travelling light, no tripods, filters, spare objectives, and went by chance just to see what the river was doing at the end of the day following a lot of rain. As I have said before (in my post on Urban Settings) I like to set myself a theme so today it was reflections on water.

The Étang de la Galiotte

The lake is separated from the river Seine by a thin strip of land. This forms part of the walkways around the park. The first photo is taken from the viewing platform here looking away from the river. The second from the northern pathway looking towards the south and the floating buildings.

River Seine

Looking the other way, to the west is the river Seine. Paris is upstream (left) from this point. As it’s been raining a lot the river is rising and encroaching on the river banks and viewing platforms.

The parc du peuple de l’herbe

Heading back inland and trying to stick to my theme the paths were wet on sometimes underwater. There are many seating areas and picnic tables and these would be great for summer days out. But in winter after a lot of rain these chairs and their reflections should give you an idea of the general state of the park.

You will find other photos of reflections in many pages, for example Beautiful Landscapes, Using a zoom lens, Spring walk along the Seine.

Some of my photos are available for purchase on my store.

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Late evening sunlight

Posted on by SteveH
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

The late fall/autumn evenings announce the arrival of a sun that is lower in the sky and gives a warmer glow to your images. Late evening sunlight is often enhanced by a sprinkling of cloud in a crisp blue sky. I particularly like it for creating silhouettes, sunbursts and warm panoramic scenes.

The sunlight early in the morning is also a desirable commodity and gives wonderful lighting to your photographs. Late evening sunlight, like early morning sunlight, takes a different, longer journey through the atmosphere before reaching the subject of your photograph. The blue light tends to get dispersed on this longer journey leaving more red and oranges.

The Golden and Blue hours

As the quantity of blue light is reduced the Late evening sunlight has a more golden colour, and this gives rise to the popular term of the Golden Hour. The golden hour occurs shortly after the sun has risen and before the sun sets. As the sun sets and sinks below the horizon all those red and orange lights are fired over our heads and the light turns bluer as we head towards night. Likewise in eth morning, before the sun rises the light has a blue tinge to it. It isn’t difficult to understand why these periods are known as the blue hours. It’s worth noting that neither the blue, nor golden hours actually last rigorously an hour. Their duration depends on the time of year and where you find yourself on the planet.

Position of the sun

The lighting around dawn and dusk are determined by the position of the sun. During the golden hour the sun’s position is low. The late evening sunlight of the golden hour gives you :

  • more reds and oranges
  • longer shadows
  • lower intensity light
  • side or straight on lighting

The midday sun would be the opposite lighting. The sun gives

  • bright whites and dark blacks
  • short shadows
  • bright bleached washed out colours
  • top down lighting

So the golden hour is the prefer time for many photographers.

Morning and Evening

There are two golden hours each day. In summer, the closer you live to the poles, the earlier or later you have to be out taking photographs. That can be a considerable advantage of the winter golden hours for the late risers. Taking advantage of the both golden hours is not always required. Choose the best one for your subject. The sun won’t be totally opposite in the morning and evening golden hours but if the sun is the wrong side of your subject in the morning, there is a good chance in the late evening sunlight you will have the shot you are looking for.

As the day turns to night the photographs are transformed with the changing light. The last few minutes of the late evening sunlight give beautiful sunsets.

Some of these photos are available for purchase on my store. Or even buy your art directly below.


Other posts that may interest you

End of the day – the Eiffel tower

Low light needs a tripod and patience

Urban settings

Posted on by SteveH
Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

Urban settings can provide you with a refreshing new environment and different stimuli to get your creative juices following. On the western edge of Paris is the large urban development of “Paris La Défense”. It spreads out over three towns: Courbevoie, Nanterre and Puteaux. It includes a large pedestrian area surrounded by huge office towers, a few residential buildings, dozens of works of art and a large shopping centre. It’s a great place for an afternoon’s photography.

Urban settings provide a wide variety of potential themes and can be overwhelming. When I head to an urban setting I give myself a theme and try to use that to get myself on a roll. Inevitably I get distracted and wander off topic and that’s exactly what I want!

My visit took place on a sunny afternoon. Much more pleasant when walking around outside. But wet and cloudy weather should not be a reason to cancel. It could actually be the subject of another urban setting post if I remember.

Themes

What sort of themes can you choose to help you get going in such an environment? Well there’s no real limit. Some of the easier, and larger topics, include :

  • Reflections and Shadows
  • Curves and Straight lines
  • Art and Graffiti
  • People
  • Buildings and bridges
  • Skyline and towers

You pick your favorite and then go where it takes you. It’s very hard not to be distracted by the things that catch your eye. I think I started with curves and lines.

As you can see it didn’t take long to get into shadows, reflections skylines, and people. What is important is to be imaginative. A couple of my favorites from the afternoon out are the reflection of people and the cube, more properly referred to as the Grand Arche de La Defense.

Preparing your trip

So what do you need to do before heading out to ensure you get the best of the visit?

Time needed: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Tips to help you organize your day.

  1. Camera and Equipment

    You’ll need an empty SD card and a full battery. A zoom lens, maybe a polarizing filter. If you’re going to be there late, pack your tripod. Some protection against the weather if you have a doubt.

  2. Getting there

    There are a large variety of transport infrastructures at La defense, including many car parks. However I would avoid cars if you can and prefer Overground or underground rail, bus, or tram. The parvis is also designed for bicycles, and scooters. Which also means getting around if you are less able is not a problem.

  3. The visit

    There are no rules here. But I like to do a loop. For 2 reasons, firstly it gets me back to my transport system, and secondly I get 2 chances to photograph everything in two different periods of the day. I start at the western end, near Nanterre where the tram and overground SNCF stations are. You can do it the other way by starting near Paris in the east at the metro station Parvis de La Defense. The RER station and buses are in between these. Also note the RER train tickets are more expensive that the metro.

  4. Useful web sites

    La defense French and English with all the latest news and events, and maps
    Le 4 temps and CNIT shopping
    Public transport In English and French

While you are there

If you really want make a day of it, and evening. there are other things to do including:

  • The Paris La Défense Arena which hosts concerts and sporting events.
  • La Grande Arche, which is itself a spectacular building, but also has an exhibition area which often has photography exhibitions

I hope that helps you have a successful day.

There are some photos of bridges in my walk along the river Seine post and more of La Défense from a more recent visit.

Other photos of mine are available for purchase on my store or  below.


Walk around the Ile Grande

Posted on by SteveH
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

If you have half a day for a walk and find yourself in Brittany, north-west of Lannion, there is a beautiful walk to do around the coast of the Ile Grande. And it’s a loop so you can start and finish at the same point. Where do you start? As it’s a loop you can start your walk around the Ile Grande almost anywhere. If you are in your car almost every time the road gets close to the coast you can park and join the coastal walk there.

A classic choice of starting point for your walk around the Ile Grande would be Port Saint Sauveur in the west – a small port, with toilet facilities. So my walk around the Ile grande started there at low tide in the summer.

Port Saint Sauveur

I decided, arbitrarily, to walk anti clockwise around the ile. And this takes you past the marshland and the road that accesses the ile Grande. For almost the entire walk the path is clearly marked and easy to follow. It does get a little narrower on the north side.

As you walk around to the east there are dunes which are protected and being restored. But there also beaches and water sports should you wish to make a day of it.

East coast

There are plenty of flowers and plants to photograph too, although looking back over my images from my Walk around the Ile Grande I was clearly drawn to the sea and the majority of my photos were of the sea and coastline. Just for good measure here is a cauliflower lookalike, a Bishop’s flower I believe.

Northern coast

On the northern coast there are several historical references to the old granite quarries of the past. This includes old rail lines, statues and a short explanation. There are small hidden beaches and impressive rock formations. Also it is worth noting that the white stones are there to protect the coastline from erosion.

As I headed back southwards to my starting point I passed the bird protection centre. they use an old quarry as a very large bird cage for birds who have almost recovered. Check if you can visit it.

Back to the start

And back to port Saint Sauveur, some 7.5km and between 2h30 and 3 hours, depending on how many photos you take.

If you are interested in visiting the region there is a website, in English, run by the tourist dept here. There is also an app on google play or apple.

I am a big fan of the area. My sunset was taken nearby. As was the mist in the landscape gallery.

How to purchase

Other photos of mine are available for purchase on my Adobe Stock store, in the menu above or  via the store directly below.


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Other pages that may interest you

There is a post about my walk along the sentier des douaniers near Toulon.

Walk along the Seine from the river Oise

Posted on by SteveH
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

Last week I walked along the river Seine towards Paris, starting in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. Walking the in the other direction, towards the sea, Conflans is home to the confluence of the rivers Seine and Oise. So today I decided to walk along the Seine from the river Oise. There are few parking spaces at the confluence of the two rivers.

Both rivers have a path so you have to choose, today I decided to take a short walk along the Seine. The river Seine is a major transportation route and large barges are almost always moored in Conflans. Important road and rail links are also a feature of the town. Alongside the river, the landscape and nature I wanted to capture the transportation links.

The cycle bridge is part of the itinerary from Paris to London. The segment from Maisons-Laffitte to Chaussy, some 48.71km. The rail bridge is part of the RER A line running from Cergy le Haut to Paris and in Conflans fin d’Oise the station also serves the railway line from Paris St Lazare to Mantes la Jolie. From the footbridge you have a lovely view towards the historic town centre of Conflans Sinte-Honorine. You can also witness local birds looking for a meal.

HDR photos to bring out hidden features

I wanted to compare a colour photo of the underside of the rail bridge with a black and white version. Industrial sites lend themselves well to black and white images. I also wanted to capture the clouds and the metal structure. This called for a high dynamic range. Something that many cameras offer today. It builds a single image out of several, often 3, images of the same object. Each image is taken with different exposure settings to capture different lighting and details.

I also took a walk this spring around Villennes sur Seine, which is just a short distance away, on the way to the sea!

Going the other way towards Paris, I have a post about Urban Photography at La Défense.

Some of my photos are available for purchase on my Adobe Stock store, via the link in the menu or directly below.


Spring walk along the Seine

Posted on by SteveH
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

Spring is having a slow start this year. So when I took a spring walk along the Seine at the Quai de Gaillon, in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine there was still a wintery look to the scenery. The trees were budding and the mistletoe was still clearly visible.

I was surprised to see a snail cross my path.

The walk down to the river seine banks is relatively steep. There are several routes down from the town to the riverside. This is the rue de la Fossé du Moulin. It is for the most part inaccessible to vehicles.

But the peace and quiet of an early morning walk along the banks of the river Seine is worth it. It was a great source of inspiration for the impressionists. Camille Pissarro did some painting there in the 1870s for example this one. This was probably painted in the summer nearby, rather than during a Spring walk along the Seine at Quai de Gaillon.

Here you can see mistletoe clearly in the tress on the far side of the river Seine.

There are also many areas to stop, relax, exercise. There is no doubt in my mind, in the summer it will be busier. Get there early if you want to avoid the weekend crowds.

Next week I will explore some other area of the town. The confluence of the river Oise and River Seine.

I also took a walk this spring around Villennes sur Seine, which is just a short distance away, on the way to the sea!

I have other posts about my visits along the River Seine, for example Capturing birds in flight, or going the other way towards Paris, I have a post about Urban Photography at La Défense.

Some of my photos are available for purchase on my Adobe Stock store, via the link in the menu or directly below.


A spring afternoon walk around Villennes

Posted on by SteveH
Estimated Reading Time: < 1 minute

A cool spring afternoon was the ideal opportunity to take a walk in the park. Walk around the park and capture the quiet atmosphere at the start of lockdown. New year’s growth is just appearing. As a result; it is not swamped by the profuse summer leaves and flowers.

The small Paris suburb of Villennes-sur-Seine, in Yvelines, France has some wonderful architecture and parks. So I stayed in the centre of town and visit the Parc du Docteur Fauvel, the town hall and its garden and the river Seine. The river runs very close to town here. This spring afternoon walk around Villennes was in April.

These were taken on my Canon camera with either my 50mm or 18-135mm lens. I would recommend a Spring afternoon walk around Villennes as it shows you don’t have to be far from the city of Paris to be in lovely countryside. It’s a short train ride from St Lazare station. When you get off the train I suggest you start by appreciating the architecture of the old station building. However, If you come by car, parking in the town centre is limited and short stay. The town is not far from the A13 and A14 autoroutes.

My next walk will be a little upstream on the river Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine

Follow this link if you want to see more of my photographs of Flowers and Plants

Some of my photos are available for purchase on my Adobe Stock store, via the link in the menu or directly below.