Pere Lachaise

 I have been lucky enough to visit Paris many many times over the years, the first time being in 1972 when I was only around 9 years old. It has been a city that I felt drawn back to and where I have always found something new to keep my interest alive.

One of the places I had wanted to see was the Pere Lachaise cemetery but until a trip in 2023 I had never really had the opportunity to do so. I knew it was the resting place of many famous people and this draws many tourists to visit and when you go in you are handed a map showing where many celebrities from the worlds of literature, philosophy, music, art and fashion are buried. While I was curious to a certain degree to see the final resting places for some of these famous people I was more interested in the scale of the cemetery and the air of calm in the heart of a city. It was like a small town with streets and alleyways, paved and marked with street signs. There was birdsong and squirrels, the colours and scents of autumn and rather than hunt for famous graves I looked at the memorials for ordinary people and reflected on what their lives might have been like. I didn't photograph Jim Morrison's grave or Oscar Wilde's, or Edith Piaf's but I reflected on the other 70,000 people whose life journey had ended here.

I shot these images in black and white because on a bright autumn day the colours didn't really suit the atmosphere I wanted to convey. This is a calm but sombre place and where I have used colour it is to highlight detail in some of the crypts that were open or damaged in some way.

I am glad that I finally got the chance to visit the cemetery and in some ways I am glad that it took me so long to get there. Perhaps, had I gone when I was younger I may have been drawn more to the celebrity graves rather than being able to appreciate the serenity and beauty of the place. I won't say any more about the individual images but hope as you look at them you will get a sense of what I mean and how I felt. If you feel so inclined why not leave a comment. 

lily

 Here are four views of a water lily. They are all the same flowerbut the first monochrome shot is from a different angle, the other three images are different treatments of the same original shot. I have cropped them differently and adjusted the exposure and white balance.

Initially I had really liked the final image, then I thought I liked the second of the three variations however on reflection I think I much prefer the first of the three images with the whole flower in shot as it has better balance and I love the colours.

I think the monochrome image is really effective but for a subject like this I think colour definitely wins out.

The Passage of Time

 So today I was all set to share some of yesterday's pictures from Dunham Massey but with the weather being so good I was out with my camera again and I got a load more photos and I have decided to work through those before going back to the Dunham Massey shots.

Today I went to Chirk Castle, near Wrexham in North Wales. It is one of my favourite castles and I have shared numerous pictures from there before as I have had some great days out at Chirk in the past. Each time I go however I try to find something new, even if it is just a different angle to photograph the castle or perhaps a detail in one of the gardens.

And that is what I have focused on today, the theme of "Time" is appropriate for today and so the sundial in the small rose garden caught my attention. I don't think I have ever photographed it before and even if I have I am sure that I have never shared the pictures here before.

Luckily by the time I arrived at Chirk the sun was out and the sky was clear so there was no difficulty in telling the time today; you will see that it was just a few minutes before midday when these photos were taken and I can confirm that having checked the time by my watch the sundial was spot on.

Given that it is still so early in the year there are no roses in bloom at the moment but come the summer this little garden will be awash with colour and the scent of roses and will be the perfect place to relax.

Dining Out

 Just a few street shots from Florence.

The bustling cafes around the Piazza del Duomo are in black and white, the other shot in full colour was much quieter and catering for locals and students.

You Choose

 In my last post the colours were limited to mostly shades of blue so today I have decided to go with something much brighter and more vibrant but also to provide some balance I have used exactly the same image and edited it in black and white.

This is a street scene from the island of Burano in the Venetian lagoon. Like the main city the island is crisscrossed with little canals but by contrast there are more open spaces and the whole island has a brighter aspect with the tiny houses and shops painted in vibrant colours. It feels like a lively and welcoming place and for a photographer there is so much to see and to capture.

This was shot fairly early in the day, before the cafés and restaurants started filling up and before the main crowds of visitors arrived for the day. 

Most of the pictures I have from my visit on this occasion are full of colour and with more people too and in my opinion they look better in full colour (that is not to say I won't give some the black and white treatment) but for the picture above I think it works a little better in black and white. perhaps it is the angle from which it is taken, the buildings are not the main feature and so the row of tables and the people walking away in the background don't need the full colour, in fact the bright buildings are a bit of a distraction.

What do you think? If you have a view it would be good to hear your thoughts on this. And if you like this please look at some of my previous posts or make sure to come back to see what I post next time.

About Venice

 You wouldn't think it from these pictures, that Venice in summertime is a heaving mass of people. In fact around St Marks Square and the Basilica,  the Rialto Bridge and other famous landmarks it can feel quite stifling as you have to weave between throngs of people. However you don't have to go far off the beaten track to find a little bit of calm, a slower pace and a sense of what the city is really like.

Narrow streets with shops and restaurants, not just those filled with tourist tat and churning out crappy food, but nice boutiques, workshops, book shops and fine dining are there to be explored.

The tall buildings provide shade and a real atmosphere that is quite special. Of course you are never far from the hustle and bustle or from the canals but there is plenty of space in the city to find peace. 

I loved visiting the market, and the fish market, especially early in the morning as the traders are setting out their stalls and it was fun listening to the banter as they shouted to each other across the market hall. 

It is worth noting that the guy laying on the jetty is actually breaking at least two by laws and could face a hefty fine for his behaviour, perhaps he was lucky though and did not get pulled up.

Candid

 Here are a few candid shots of people out and about in Vienna and Graz.

It can be fun to capture images of people while they are absorbed in something and not posing for the camera. Sometimes they are aware of the camera but don't seem to mind as in pictures 1, 3 and 6 and in the others they are totally unaware.

The guy on the step was taking a break from the kitchen where he worked. The guy in the Wookie onesie seemed quite pleased to have his picture taken and he raised his hand to acknowledge me, I think he was a bit down on his luck, however he did not seem to be low in spirits.

Getting Around

 I can't really say why but I really like trams and one of the things that I enjoyed about my road trip back in 2018 was the number of cities that had tram systems, some of them really old such as these in Prague and Vienna, also in Gothenburg but I don't have any pictures ready to upload and others like in Copenhagen which were super modern and fully automated. Amsterdam has a mix of old and new and somehow they fit with the city which is itself a mix of old and new.

As I say, I am not really sure what the appeal is, maybe it is the mixture of sounds; the rumble along the tracks, the electric buzz or the clanging bells but whatever it is there is something special about this form of transport.

Of course driving around these cities and having to negotiate the trams can be a bit of a challenge given that there are so few cities in the UK that have tram systems. In some places there are dedicated tam lanes and in others cars and trams share the same streets and so extra vigilance is needed.

Tasty Treats

 I found this retro snack van irresistible, the idea of hot drinks and fresh donuts on a cold day, yum yum. However, tempting as that might sound the stall holder probably wished that s/he'd stayed home as there were no takers, at least while I was around.

It really is a striking colour too, certainly impossible to miss. I also think the scene looks good in high contrast black and white with the lights spelling out the word Donuts actually standing out as lights rather than painted on blobs of colour as they appear (to me at least) in the colour picture.

Christmas at the Dock

 Here's hoping that everyone has had a good Christmas and is looking forward to a happy and successful 2023.

These shots are along the colonnades at Liverpool's Albert Dock (once home to Granada TV studio and the famous floating weather map). Tate Liverpool is also here now along with the Maritime Museum, shops, cafes and bars. Usually it is very busy along here but on a frozen morning, midweek in December there were few people around and it had quite a calm atmosphere.

Kings Dock, Port of Liverpool

 There is a nice contrast in these images of the historic architecture of the Albert Dock Warehouses (now the Merseyside Maritime Museum) and the modern architecture of the newer developments on the Strand showing how investment in Liverpool over recent years has helped improve the city centre and make it an attractive place to live, work or visit.

Even on a cold day this is a popular place for families to visit and explore Liverpool's rich history, to reflect on the positives and negatives and also to enjoy the sights and sounds of the waterfront.

Cool Metallic Reflection

Firstly, I know I said in my last post that I would share some pictures from inside the Museum of Liverpool, specifically I was going to show some pictures of the cool curves of the spiral stairway, however when I looked at the images this morning I wasn't convinced I liked them enough to share so I have decided to go with something different.

The images above are almost identical except for the fact that one is in full colour and the other is monochrome. The exposure and contrast are slightly different in each image too.

The buildings in this image are along the Strand in Liverpool overlooking Kings Dock. There was a thin film of ice on the water which the bright sun had not managed to melt. The sun reflecting off the side of one of the buildings gives the water a metallic quality which I think is really nice.

I hadn't noticed at the time I took the pictures but the pillars supporting the building in the centre of the shot are much like the pillars which support power station cooling towers.

 

Shine On Harvest Moon

I love shooting the moon and last night's harvest moon was a brilliant opportunity. Brilliant because the sky was clear so I had an unobstructed view but brilliant also because the moon was super bright.

Because it was so bright I was able to shoot at quite a fast shutter speed and low ISO so the image is pretty sharp. 

The first image shows the moon pretty much as it appeared and in the second shot I have adjusted the exposure and white balance creating a more monochrome image which fits with how we more usually see the moon.