My time in France is coming to an end.
I thought that going to the Arcachon Bay and making some images of the oyster parks was one of the best ways to spend that little time left, and I think it was a good decision.
The Image of the Month for November is Alpine Garden. Buy it before November 30th to get a reduced price, it will never be this cheap again!
Watch the video where I made this image: "Mt Rainier National Park, shooting film: HP5, Pancro 400 and Arista".
Mt Rainier National Park is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places in the PNW. It feels like paradise, straight out of a fairy tale in every corner.
On this trip, though, the park looked and felt a bit different. The numerous wildfires in the region covered the beautiful landscapes in a thick layer of smoke.
While terrible in many ways, fires (the naturally occurring ones) are good for the forest, and they can be good for photography as well.
This is how I made this image. I saw those beautiful peaks in the distance, with a background that was free of any noise thanks to the smoke. I just needed to find a good composition, and those two trees gave me the framing I was looking for.
One of my favorite images, at one of my favorite places.
A new image will be released every month and offered at a reduced price during that time. After 30 days, it will be sold at full price. They will never be on sale at any time in the future, the rate during the first month will be the lowest, ever.
You can find more information about how I create my images and all the details about pricing on The Art and Craft behind my prints.
It was time to leave Brittany behind, after 2 weeks. This video is a compilation of clips and images that never made into a full movie.
We visit the small town of Roscoff, in Brittany, France, as I try a relatively new lens to me: the Sigma 30mm f/1.4.
Despite having the f/2.8 version, I decided to pull the trigger when I found a good deal on this one. 2 stops faster, but what else does it offer? Is it good for video?
Find out what I think about this lens after a little montage I made using the Sigma paired with my old and trusty Sony a6000.
Casey Neistat tells us to show up every single day.
I think it was Michael Kenna who said, during an interview, that photography is something you have to do every day.
Showing up doesn't mean that we have to shoot every day. There's so much more to photography than using a camera: from developing / editing the images to publishing and promoting them, organizing your work in books, contacting models, agencies or brands, uploading stock images, planning your next trip, even cleaning your gear or posting on Instagram.
The point is: photography has to be in our minds every day, and we should make every day count, even if it's just a little bit.
Camera and Lens: Sony a6500, 16-70mm f/4 Carl Zeiss
Settings: 70mm, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/400sec
An image I made near Cancale, Brittany, France. The ocean was beautiful that morning, calm and of such a bright blue that almost looked white. I saw this boat and tried to isolate it from others around.
I've talked before about the importance of working a scene. I talk about this in this video as I make some images in Brittany, France.
"The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities." - Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
To make great images, you need to look and see. Some of us seem to lose the ability to do so when we stay in the same place for a while, when we get used to what surrounds us.
Josef Koudelka never stays more than three months in one country. He's afraid he'd become blind.
If you struggle to see in familiar scenes, try something different. Try street photography, still life or portraits. Shoot with your phone or pick a different lens. Try to make images "the wrong way" by following bad practices.
Mixing things up every once in a while helps us to unlearn some habits and open your mind.
Camera and Lens: Sony a6500, Sony 70-200mm f/4
Settings: 70mm, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/400sec
The beautiful Mount Saint-Michel in Normandy has been photographed to death. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to make your own image there, your own take on an iconic location.
I don't know if this one is original or not, but I love the way the fog was lying low showing only the higher parts of the castle, along with a pretty much clear sky.
This was one of the very few images I made that morning, I tried to enjoy the sunrise instead.
Making images that matter is not an easy task, and we can go several days, weeks or even months without making one.
We must persist.
I believe in Photography Waves: days when the conditions are perfect, or you are extremely inspired, or the Muse is on your side... whatever the reason is, you make not only one but several meaningful images in one day.
Some thoughts about photography and camera gear.
The technical aspects of photography is the easy part, do not let anybody make you believe otherwise and stop you from going out and making some images.
I believe the best art is the one that makes you think: "I could do that".
When a movie is so well directed and edited that seems it couldn't be any other way, we think we could do that.
When an image is simple -yet powerful-, we think we could do that.
Truth is, simplicity is the hardest thing to achieve.
"I could do that!" is the ultimate compliment to your art.
While exploring is a big part of landscape photography, there's nothing wrong with trying to optimize the time you spend outside.
In this video, I give you a glimpse of how I plan my shots by showing how I planned this image at Mount Saint-Michel. I did not get the shot due to bad weather, but I was very, very close.
Note: I have an audience of one in mind when I write these kinds of posts - me. While some might find them useful anyway, it's me writing to myself, about things I struggle with.
I rarely get a good image from a trip that didn't require a big effort from me, so big that it made me feel miserable (unfortunately, it doesn't work the other way around: feeling miserable doesn't guarantee that I'll get a good image).
My best images were made on days where I had to push myself beyond not only my comfort zone, but also what I thought were my limits.
I love the feeling of exhaustion after a whole day of shooting, looking at those negatives or RAW files, and finding out you captured what you saw.
It's ok to be miserable. It feels good.
Sometimes, you just need to leave the camera behind and enjoy the moment.
One of the hardest lessons I had to learn as a photographer and videographer, is to toss away images and footage that won't be used.
A photograph is not just a photograph for the person who pressed the shutter, it comes with feelings attached. It might have been a costly photograph to take, and a lot of time might have been invested in the process.
There's no reason to keep those images or videos around if they didn't turn out the way we wanted and they won't be used for any project.
Upload them to a service like Google Photos if you like, but they should be let go from your working catalog.
There are many things you might not know about me.
I'm 36 years old and I quit my well-paid job last year to become a full-time photographer and videographer.
There's more to my story, watch the video if you want to know more.
Photography is not linear. No matter if you've been a photographer for a month or for a lifetime, we all are just one click away from our best image.
Think about that the next time you pick your camera.
One click away.
Today could be the day.
Camera and Lens: Sony a6500, Sigma 30mm f/1.4
Settings: ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/60sec
It rained quite a bit on our first day in the Parc National des Pyrénées. We made it to the impressive Cirque de Gavarnie, but couldn't reach the waterfall due to the torrential rain.
Rain can make photography very hard and challenging, and it can ruin your gear in seconds. It also offers some of the best light you'll ever get (even better than sunrise / sunset) and the mood is unbeatable.
This is how I made this image.
If you haven't watched the video of this adventure, you totally should!
Again, I got sunny and clear skies in the Pyrenees, so I thought it'd be nice to use a vintage lens that I'd been wanting to try for landscape photography.
The lens is a Minolta Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 mounted on a Minolta MD/MC to Sony E adaptor.
I shot it wide open and stepping it down. The results were soft when wide open but I love that look. It's a sharp lens when stepped down.
Still, the focal lenght when mounted on a crop sensor camera like the Sony a6000 makes it a less than ideal lens for landscape photography. And I mean, as the only lens. 90mm can be a very nice focal lenght for landscapes when you combine it with something else.
Below, you can see some of the images I got and that I show in the video.
