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The Devil’s Sentry in Sisteron, France

Feb 032017

Setting out for Sisteron, France I wasn’t sure what I would find following the hour and a half drive there. I also wondered what the roads would be like. I was pleasantly surprised as it turns out there is a nicely paved highway running from Aix-en-Provence most of the way to Sisteron. Once we arrived there, it was immediately clear that the drive was worth it. The town is perched on the bend of the River Durance and works it way up the valley walls. At the top is the Sisteron Citadel, which has significantly hindered the efforts of armies trying to enter Provence from Roman times through to the second world war.

What you see here is the Devil’s Sentry, posted high above the valley on an outcrop of rock. It’s not difficult to understand why it earned this name, especially when you imagine winter winds whipping through the valley and directly into the sentry box.

The Chianti Region, Tuscany, Italy

Europe, Italy, Travel 108 Responses »

Jan 272014

We were making a bit of a mad dash back to Florence for sunset when I stopped to take this picture. Shortly after taking the picture, as we pushed on to Florence, I spotted a deer strolling through the vines of a vineyard near the road. I was shocked, I didn’t even know they had deer in Tuscany. It wasn’t until a half hour after that I realized it probably would have made for a good picture!

Sighisoara Morning, Transylvania Romania

Europe, Romania, Travel 6 Responses »

Oct 282013

This is an old photo, taken with my old rebel, in Sighisoara, Romania very early in the morning just before sunrise. Sighisoara is a beautiful little medieval town in Transylvania. It’s known as the birthplace of the real life Dracula, Vlad the Impaler.

Ristorante Barchetta, Lake Como, Italy

Europe, Italy, Travel 2 Responses »

Nov 142012

I wish I could say I’ve named this photo after a great experience in Ristorante Barchetta, but I didn’t hop off the ferry in this village. It looks like a nice spot for a bite though, or an afternoon beer. From the ferry I saw this lady in the green dress on her phone, while the rest of the world rushed by her. I wondered if it was an important call or if she was just having a a chat. What do you think?

3 Red Boats, Stykkisholmur Iceland

Europe, Iceland, Travel 4 Responses »

Nov 062012

I uploaded a photo very similar to this one here. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with it. I’m a lot happier with this version.

Cliff-hanging Village, Lake Como

Europe, Italy, Travel 1 Response »

Oct 072012

Lake Como is a really interesting place and I wish I’d been able to spend more time there. The lake is surrounded by towering mountains rising directly from the water’s surface. Villages are, therefore terraced up the slopes. I thought this one was particularly interesting. There was a dock at water level, but the village didn’t seem to start until quite high up the hill.

Three Red Boats, Stykkishólmur, Iceland

Europe, Iceland, Travel No Responses »

Sep 252012

In the Snæfellsnes peninsula, where we took a detour on our way to the Westfjords, is a beautiful old fishing village called Stykkishólmur. We stopped off for lunch where I had the biggest mussels I’ve ever seen. They were delicious. Then, I wandered down to the harbor for a few photos before continuing on our way.

First photo from Italy

Europe, Italy 1 Response »

Aug 142012

Failed trip into the Alps!

It seems like wherever I go, my first attempt to really strike out and take some photos failed. In Iceland it was trying to get to the most westerly point in Iceland, to photograph puffins, in one night. Today, it was an attempt to drive up a valley in the alps to see some snow-capped mountains. We set out too late, despite our careful sunset calculations and barely made it into the mountains as the sun began to drop. A great opportunity presented itself, a castle atop a hill lit beautifully by golden light but we couldn’t get off the highway to get down to it. By the time we came to an exit we decided we were too far along. By the next exit we decided to hop off and drive on the smaller roads so if any opportunities presented themselves we could actually stop. This meant guessing which roads to take. I guessed wrong and we began winding our way up a mountain with no easy way to turn around. Eventually, we got turned around and back down into the valley. By now the sun was on the verge of disappointing and panic had set in. We dashed back to the original castle. Trying to find a vantage point we parked in a town. Just as we were headed to a good view it was like a light switch had been flicked and the castle was blanketed by the shadows of the mountain. It was still a great drive, it’s just a bit disappointing coming back without a single photo!

Today’s Photo: Alice Bel Colle

My morning was much more successful. The hotel has a handy guide with a brief summary of all the surrounding towns. Alice Bel Colle caught my eye for its purpose built mound with a 360 degree view of the surrounding landscape. We rose early and made our way there. Once atop the mound we weren’t disappointed by the view, though the heavy cloud cover wasn’t ideal.

I spotted a rift in the clouds with a bit of pink light coming through and realized I could frame it up just behind this church. I shot 3 exposures at -2, 0 and +2 which was plenty to cover the range in the scene as the clouds dampened the light considerably.

The Mysterious Sunken Fence, Rwanda

Africa, Rwanda, Travel 8 Responses »

Mar 282012

Trip Planning

I’m in the process of planning my trip to Iceland in June. I’ll be going for the summer solstice so will get to enjoy photographing sunsets that run right into sunrises through the night. I’ve also got a few interesting bits I’d like to do. The top of my list is snorkeling in the rift between the North American and European tectonic plates. Apparently, the water’s so clear you can look down for miles into the Earth and feel like you’re floating in space. I also need to photograph some puffins and want to go whale watching, as well as exploring some ice caves. There’s so much to do I wish I was going for longer. It’s going to be difficult coming up with a plan that won’t leave me totally exhausted. Despite the walls of my room having had sufficient insulation, I’m not entirely sure when I’ll sleep. If anyone’s got any advice on Iceland let me know.

Fish Farm, Rwanda

When setting out on a hike through a few of Rwanda’s thousand hills it’s reasonable to expect to find something interesting around every corner. You encounter sights ranging from a young boy juggling a football made of plastic sheeting and twine, to two men using a long saw to split a log (with one man standing 8 feet in the air atop the trunk being cut), as well as the subject of today’s photo.

It’s somewhat startling to find this large, man-made pool of water in amongst the sugar cane, maize and potatoes. Initially, what it is ain’t exactly clear. Then, you notice concentric ripples forming on the surface as if the water was being disturbed by a light rain. It’s not raining so the only solution is that there must be something below. The guide confirms that it’s a fish farm and begins explaining how it works. It’s quite fascinating, particularly the purpose of the fence pictured below. I’m intrigued to see what people think it is for, so have a guess in the comments section. I’ll see what everyone comes up with then add the answer in a comment of my own if no-one guesses.

This photo employs 5 exposures bracketed from -2 to +2. I had shot 7 exposures but decided that the other two weren’t adding anything so decided not to include them.

The Basket Weavers

Africa, People, Rwanda, Travel 2 Responses »

Mar 172012

Most people visit Gisenyi for the gorillas and a lot of people will trek up the volcano to see them twice. At $500 for a day permit we decided we’d only go once. As I’ve mentioned before, we made the most of it by going to the largest, and hardest to reach, group.

The next day we went on a much easier hike. We departed Gisenyi and walked along a well used path that links villages to the town. On the route we passed numerous little hamlets, crops, and fish farms. Along the way we stopped and traded a child a football for his homemade version – crafted from plastic and twine. Further along, there were grids etched into the baked ground and upon asking about them, we discovered they were used for a hopscotch type game. The children demonstrated this to us and then got a good laugh as we attempted it ourselves.

Our first official stop was in a village to see how the baskets photographed below are made. We’d seen a lot of these baskets across Africa in curio markets. They were all made of thread. These seem more authentic as they are made entirely from dried dyed grass. They work with long grass and bind it together with more grass as they spiral out from the middle. They thread the grass though a needle and push it through the thick bundle. We all gave it a try and concluded it was pretty difficult to push the needle through. I think Shannon was the only person with any luck. After this attempt, and chomping on some delicious sugar cane, we decided to play with our newly purchased homemade football. We had another real football with us, earmarked for the orphanage we visited later and the children in the village looked on inquisitively as we shunned the real football to kick the homemade one around.

I grabbed this photo on the way out. I’ve had a lot of difficulty processing it for some reason. I was combining three exposures from -2 to +2 but the results kept coming out grungy. So, I decided to try processing this image from a single raw with Photomatix. This result came out much cleaner but some of the photo was still under and overexposed. To fix this I layered all of the photos I had in Photoshop and masked in selected areas from the other exposures.

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