Mt St Michel

I mentioned earlier that the Eiffel Tower was even more impressive in person than I’d imagined, and that it lived up to its reputation as an icon, and did not disappoint. I would have to say this of two other things I’ve seen so far on this trip: the paintings of VanGogh, and the island citadel of Mt St Michel. VanGogh’s paintings are far better in person, the colors much richer and brighter than their reproductions, and stumbling upon them in the Musee d’Orsay was a delight that brought tears to my eyes.

Then there’s Mt St Michel. I’d heard of it before, but knew nothing more of it than that it was an abbey/cathedral situated on a rock off the French coast. And that Michael Kenna had been given special access to the place and created incredible images there.

When we saw the spire of Mt St Michel from a distance of several miles, this dark, spiky lump on the horizon, it immediately was impressive. So unexpected was it that we all let out exclamations in the car. As we drove toward it, it slowly began to tower over the cow and sheep pastures and bay (and parking lot) that surrounded it.

The tour was well worth the time, as we were able to see the insides of the abbey, cathedral, the village, the columns and arches that undergird the abbey, etc. The light inside the buildings was fantastic, as well, making me wish I could orchestrate a portrait session of some sort there.

Like so many places we’ve visited, it only makes me want to read up more on my European history. We were told that, during the 100 Years’ War between England and France, Mt St Michel was the only part of northern France that did not fall into the hands of the English, in spite of a 30 year siege.

It is, somewhat like the Cimitierre Perre Lechez, a place right out of a fantasy novel or sci-fi flick. Its similarities to Edoras and Minis Tirith in The Lord of the Rings was unmistakable.

I love being a travel and editorial photographer!

St Malo, France

We're in Spain at the moment, spending some quiet time catching up on things. I'm doing a lot of editing from our time in France, and even some from England.

Today's post includes a few images from St Malo, a 'pirate city' on the west coast of France. We spent an afternoon there with our friends the Drouets, walking the walled city, watching the rapidly rising tide, ducking the rain. Above, an image of the little castle on the rocks off the shore of the main city. This little archipeligo of rocks and castle was accessible by foot when we arrived, and within no time, the water rose and everyone made their way up on the walls of the fortified city. I ran rather quickly back to a vantage point and shot swiftly when I saw this little patch of sun highlight the fort.



An image with clear Cartier Bresson undertones. Or overtones. I don't know which.



Being a travel and editorial photographer is so interesting!

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is, of course, the icon of Paris, and perhaps of all of France. More often than not, icons of that sort don't really stand up to much scrutiny in person. However, I must say, the Eiffel Tower is actually quite impressive in person. Its graceful and massive lines, especially the base arches, are quite lovely. And when the sun goes down, and the lights go on, well, you can't help but kiss the person next to you.

I love being a travel and editorial photographer!

Cimetiere Pere Lachaise

Paris has a famous cemetery, the Cimetiere Pere Lachaise, known primarily for its famous residents, such as Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde.

We went there on the recommendation of my friend Ben Poundstone, who visits France whenever he can get away. So we headed out to the cemetery, only to discover that it is one of the most fascinating places in Paris. At least for me. In fact, it was the one place that I found truly inspiring and interesting as an artist.

As we explored, I photographed, and am just now working with the images to realize the vision I had for them. The gravestones are little shrines, either for families or individuals, right out of a Tim Burton movie. Shannon and I were postulating that we could imagine the residents of this cemetery coming out of their fantastic little houses at night, after the gates are closed and locked, gathering together for potlucks, getting cranky with each other, returning home before daybreak.


As I’ve worked on the images the past couple days, meditating on them, there are other themes emerging about death and life, light and darkness, mortality and immortality, the temporary and the final.

A sample image from the set:



Visit my fine art photography website to see more personal work like this.

The Dada Children

We just had a whirlwind tour of Britagne with family friends of Shannon's, the Drouets. I took a lot of stock photography, and also some nice portraits of their daughter and grandchildren. Like England, the light has mostly been flat and gray and cloudy, but the last couple days the light was fantastic, especially in the evening. And it stays light here until 9:00pm, when we eat dinner. And yes, it's a big, late meal, replete with wine, cheese, and dessert. Good times. We're exhausted.

But I still love being a travel and editorial photographer!

Trash the Dress in the Columbian

The Vancouver, Washington newspaper The Columbian just published an article on the Trash the Dress phenomenon, and included an image and quotes from me. You can read the article online. It's a lot of fun to photograph people doing something crazy with their wedding or prom dress (or any dress, for that matter), and also fun to be interviewed about the process by the local press.

See more of our Vancouver, Washington wedding and portrait photography on our website!

Paris

We’ve been in Paris for almost a week now, and are finally feeling acclimated to the place, culture, and language. The expense and exchange rate I’m still not accustomed to, but I’ll get over it. We’re in Paris, for heaven’s sake. The food is wonderful, and I’m enjoying that and the people we’ve met as much as I’m enjoying the sights. In fact, there’s so much to do here, that I have whittled down my expectations: see a few major sights, enjoy the street life, and leave the rest for next time. And that’s sufficient. With so many major museums and tourist attractions here, it can be overwhelming. I’m finding sufficient pleasure in walking the streets, watching the people, and sampling the goodies at the patisserie on every street.

The parks here are the other wonder we’ve enjoyed immensely. Tuileries, Luxembourg, Versailles. The enormity of Versailles is staggering, and we didn’t even go inside the buildings. We’ve read that King Louis XIV had Versailles built to showcase the splendor of the French kingdom. He moved his court from Paris to newly constructed Versailles, including his retinue of 6000 people. You can begin to see why the French Revolution occurred. Considering that none of these lavish parks were publicly accessible, I’d have been pissed if this is what my taxes were paying for, and I couldn’t even go see it.

Here are some things I have seen. I’ve been shooting stock images, and now and then something personally interesting comes along:

In Versailles.

A couple images on the Metro.

This is the courtyard in which our little apartment is located.

I love being a travel and editorial photographer!

The Winter Olympics...

Look what I just woke up to! I don't believe it. I'm supposed to be out in London taping the Olympic Torch Relay with a couple producers who just flew in from China. And we will be. In many many layers of clothing, hopping from tea shot to tea shop to keep warm. In case you can't see it, that's not only few inches of snow, but it's coming down fast and heavy....

Evening Update:

You can read about today's London Olympic Torch Relay chaos via many news links on Google. It's a bit odd reading about it all, having just been in the middle of it all a couple hours ago. It really was an odd day: cold, wet, police everywhere, helicopters overhead, crowds packed together, the press (me included) enclosed in our media pens.

The relay was quite a mess, really, with Free Tibet protestors and not-the-finest-planning-by-the-city-and-PR-company making it a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants affair. Nobody official could ever really tell you what was going to happen until after it happened, because it all kept changing. Furthermore, all the Olympic Torch runners were absolutely surrounded by police in their yellow jackets, so you couldn't see the runners or the torch. That kind of chaos is far from the Olympic ideal of freedom, beauty, grace, unity, and strength, making for a day that felt more like a paradox than a parade.

One of our big stops was supposed to be at St Paul's Cathedral, where an Olympic medalist was supposed to run in, present the torch to the Lord Mayor of London, and hand it off to the next runner. Instead, the runner was tired of having people jump at him from the crowd, and refused to finish his run. He hopped on the bus, and drove off, with the hordes of police following like a swarm of bees. So the Lord Mayor, Royal Guard Band, the press, and a couple thousand onlookers were left with nothing to see or do on the Cathedral steps.

In the end, however, we did get some shots we needed, and we did get an interview with runner Danny Crates. And just as we packed up from that interview, the sky cleared, the sun came out, and it felt like an entirely different day. We came home feeling positive and satisfied, in spite of everything.


I love being a travel and editorial photographer!

Stories from London Town

This is London City Hall, with the Tower Bridge over the Thames in the background. I attended a press briefing at City Hall this morning, for the Olympic Torch Relay, which will happen this Sunday through 30 miles of London. I've been hired by a firm in HongKong to shoot video of the torch relay for a production they are creating on the life of Olympic champion Eric Liddel, of Chariots of Fire fame. Should be an exciting day of tromping around the city through the crowds, and getting some interesting images for their documentary. I'm excited. And I get an official press badge.



After the press briefing, I wandered over the Tower Bridge to the Tower of London. It's the famous tower/castle/armory/palace/warehouse/torture chamber/menagerie of medieval London, begun in 1066 by William the Conqueror. Perhaps it is most famous for being the place where kings imprisoned and eventually executed such 'traitors' and enemies of the state as Ann Boleyn, Thomas More, Henry VI, Guy Fawkes, Lady Jane Gray, and child Princes Edward and Richard sons of Edward IV. It is the latter, the child princes, that I find most interesting at the moment. Especially because, outside the Tower, in what used to be the moat, there is now a colorful but entirely forlorn playground. I can't help but look at it, and think of those two boys who were imprisoned and eventually murdered here, never to be seen again....
Speaking of children, London tourist attractions are filled with children, most from England and France. Sometimes, as I wander about reading signs, looking at the sights, and taking photographs, kids will tentatively yell out, "Hello!" And I say hello back. And then, if they are courageous, these French students will try a few English phrases on me, as these high schoolers did. We talked for a few sentences about where they were from, how long they are here, where I am from ("America! Oooh, a long way."). I even got to practice some of my French on them, saying, "I do not speak French" quite fluently. We were all pleased.


Being a travel photographer in London is...pretty much the best job in the world.

Chloe

Good light has been in short supply while I've been in England. Most days the skies are a blank gray canvas covering the city. But. . .when the light is good, it's very good.