A Queen's Rest

Ah... Ireland ! Such a beautiful country..
This was taken in Carrowmore, Europe's oldest megalithic burial ground found till today if I remember well. They say Queen Maeve is buried here.
I wish I had used my tripod to get a much longer exposure with those dramatic clouds. Guess I'll have to go visit again on a rainy day!

Tour Eiffel

How can anyone visit Paris and not take a shot of the Tour Eiffel?
I was in Paris to visit some friends last winter, I wanted to take a shot of it of course but was bored of the usual angle everyone takes from. Fortunately for me, it was cloudy, getting dark and the tower had just been lit up so I had this nice dramatic shot of it. The shot was hardly processed (sharpness, curves and frame), so the colors are natural.

Aaahh Paris!

Back on track with some changes!

Hello everyone!

As I have mentionned in my last post a while ago, I went to walk on the Camino de Santiago (St. James path) in Spain for a full month. It was an amazing, thrilling and enlightening adventure and an incredible human experience. I could only advice anyone to do it, even small stretches as it is really a fantastic experience.

I will probably talk about it later, for now, I am still split with my body back "home" and my spirit still on the Camino.

Walking a full month made me realize also many things about myself and the direction I would like to have in my Life. I have taken a few "life-changing" decisions since my return and new goals are awaiting me on my new chosen path. This too I will talk about a bit later as soon as it all clears up in my head.

As for this blog, It has been inactive for quite some time and I apologize. Between my travels, and my unmotivated state (pre-Camino), I did not have the full strenght to post updates and talk about photography.
So after thinking a bit, I guess I will be changing the way I post in here:
From now on, I will be posting much more regularely (at least 4 times a week) new photos but I will not be writing long lenghty posts about the way I took the photo and how I worked on it.
Instead, I will just be posting short descriptions concerning the photo with useful information if any.
This will help me save some time and focus a bit more on my other projects which will be interesting to follow too!

But no worries, any question about the technique or technical details will be answered. I will still gladly share my knowledge with anyone who is willing to ask!

I am sorry for this sudden change but at least I would be updating more frequently.

Thank you all for following!

Cheers!

Latest News + Pilgrimage

It's been a while I haven't been very active here.. Too many stuff around that made me lose motivation and inspiration.. Sorry for all those following :(

I guess I'll gain it back very fast now!

So in 2 days, I've decided to go with a friend of mine to do the Santiago de Compostela Pilgrimage in Spain, starting from France.

A month long walk of ~800km.

I've always dreamt of doing that. Walking is essential for me, a part of me. I'm a Walker!
And walking during a month is a great way to actually get reconnected with your inner-self, which I definitely need... That will be my "theme" for the road actually: "Forgive all my past mistakes, befriend myself and carry on with Life".

Hope this will be a beautiful and enlightening challenge.

Also, if anyone wants to send me a wish/prayer/thought, I would be glad to carry it with me for you on this road. I have all the space in the world for your beautiful dreams, wishes, prayers..

See you all in a month with a new Peace of Mind and many many photos of the path!

Peace and Buen Camino!

Find Reality

"To the desert go prophets and hermits, through the desert go pilgrims and exiles.
Here, the leaders of the great religions have sought the therapeutic and spiritual values of retreat, not to escape but to find reality"

~ Paul Shepard ~

I have always found the desert to be a mystical place. It is serene, quiet and relaxing. Silence reigns like a void enabling us to hear those important voices inside ourselves.

Almost every weekend during "winter" time when I still lived in the UAE, I escaped the chaos of big cities with a few friends to find peace and refuge in the surrounding deserts.
Either camping or just desert crossing, it's always relaxing for the soul... and Fun!

I also love photographing the desert. There is something about all those forms, dunes and harsh shadows that make it very pleasing to the eye. Call me crazy but I also find all the curves kind of.. sensual and feminine.

Shooting in the desert is quite tricky. The sand here is made of very fine grains. With a slight wind blowing all the time, it's not an easy task to keep your camera clean, not to mention your eyes, ears and mouth... And the best moments to take pictures are at dawn or evening because of the light, sun angle and temperature!

Since I started traveling, it is probably one of the rare things I miss from the UAE. From desert to jungle... what a change!

Eglise St André

While in France, I had the occasion to visit a few towns around Paris. One of the cities I actually enjoyed (despite what my friend says about it *wink* ) is Reims, located North-East of Paris and hometown of the Champagne!

I had a lot of time to just walk around and snap some pictures. Apart from the famous Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral, particularly impressive, I was attracted by the beauty of this catholic church next to my friend's house: Eglise St-André.

This church was built in 1859 (ended in 1865). It was heavily damaged by bombs during the first World War and was later rebuilt. Parts of the damaged building and bell can still be seen next to the entrance though.
One unusual aspect of this church is that it faces South, unlike most catholic churches facing East to symbolize the resurrection of the Christ. I have not found out why South.

I was really happy with this shot. I got a nice, dramatic, haunting shot with a lot of details despite the annoying light rain (and the cars on the front).

"Faith is an act of a finite being who is grasped by, and turned to, the infinite."

~~ Paul Tillich ~~

Love wins

This is one of my latest shots. I got the idea while looking for inspiration on the net and wanted to try my own shot.

Valentine is approaching and everything is starting to turn red and all romantic. Although I don't like that holiday, I thought it would be a good idea to get a shot with hearts and lots of love for the occasion. This is a gift to everyone :)

We all go through difficult times in our Life. It's all a cycle, ups and downs.
In these difficult moments, it's hard to keep the courage to continue and not just give up to the problems. I personally have found that the unique and best way to keep on fighting is simply to be full of Love.
It is such a simple word yet so powerful and full of meaning. Often misunderstood too: It has become kind of a taboo word. Love is not just "to love your partner", it is found everywhere, in everything. My Life's Quest is to seek pure Love and become one with it.

After running all around my house to find a deck of cards, I used this setup to give it a feel of "gambling". The cards were of course carefully chose, the coins and bill carefully placed. I used available lighting with no flash to shoot this with my 50mm macro lens.

I shot it at 1/8 sec, f/3.5 and ISO 100. I chose a small aperture to throw the background out of focus. The RAW file was then processed in Lightroom and PS to convert it into Mono and leave only the hearts in color. I chose to do this to emphasize and draw the viewer on the hearts and upside down numbers.
In case you did not notice (as a friend asked me), the cards were not randomly chosen. It is supposed to spell "LOVE". (no photoshopping required).

The title I gave to it is "Love wins", because no matter what, no matter how tough the problems, no matter what cards you have in your hand, it is Love that always wins.

Cheesy maybe, but so true :)

May every day be a valentine's day for all!

(This photo is dedicated to a good friend of mine, Serena.. Big hugs to you!).