Jackson Square silhouette

I love New Orleans - it's a wonderful town to visit (and photograph!).  This is a silhouette I shot one evening in Jackson Square.  Those are the spires of St. Louis Cathedral, and if you are familiar with the area, you will know that the mighty Mississippi is behind me, and the fabulous Cafe du Monde is off to my right.  Beignets - yummy!!  I am behind and am trying to catch up from a busy week of travel, which started last Tuesday and finished tonight (Sunday).  Lots more photos to share!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I really appreciate it!

Cafe du Monde, painted

I have been messing around with the painterly effects in Topaz Adjust - if I recall correctly, the setting is called Painterly - Venice, or something like that.  Anyways, it's a lot of fun.  This is the famous Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans, LA.  This is an older photo that I took about 2 years ago while visiting that wonderful town.  If you want to see the original version, you can find that here.  I don't often go back into the archives to reprocess shots - and not sure you can classify this as a reprocessing since I was going for a different look altogether - but once I started playing with the painterly effects, for some reason this old shot just popped into my mind and wouldn't leave me be until I created this version.  So, here it is, and now I can move on to something else!

Also, I absolutely hammered it in Santa Fe today, taking all sorts of shots and witnessed a fabulous sunset to boot.  Here's an iPhone shot of the St. Francis Cathedral that I took just a bit earlier tonight:

French Quarter street scene

I enjoy visiting New Orleans quite a bit, and always find myself admiring the architecture in the area.  It really is a beautiful part of the city, full of history and fun.  I was there on business and had some free time, which is nice in a place like that, and wandered around the French Quarter for a while.  I was passing from Royal Street over to Bourbon Street, and saw this little restaurant.  It really caught my eye, so I set up and cranked out a few exposures so I could craft this HDR you are looking at.  Unfortunately I never tried the food, but like nearly all restaurants there I am sure it is quite good!  In fact, I spent so much time taking photos that I never actually had dinner until I made it to a McDonald's at about 10pm.  What a shame, huh?

Cafe du Monde at night

Cafe du Monde is one of those must-visit places in New Orleans, at least to me.  They are well known for their strong chickory coffee and beignets.  Though I do not like coffee, I can speak from first-hand experience and confirm that the beignets are fabulous.  I was walking around the French Quarter, looking for various shots to take, and was at the street corner waiting to cross when I noticed this scene.  I liked all the hustle and bustle of the cafe, and of course the light trails from the passing cars.  This is a single 20 second exposure.

Night falls on Jackson Square

The French Quarter in New Orleans is such a fun place, and St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square is one of the more well-known landmarks there. It was a stormy afternoon, which gave way to a brilliant sunset. I am always looking for nice color and found it that day. This was a 20 second exposure, single image, not HDR.  I made some minor adjustments in Aperture and that's it!

The cafe life in New Orleans

Cafe Du Monde sits on the edge of the French Quarter in New Orleans.  It is well-known for its chicory coffee and beignets.  I am not a coffee drinker but I can vouch for the beignets.  They are covered in powdered sugar and taste awesome.  Late one night I was there with a bunch of work buddies and we devoured a plate of them.  As I leaned in close to the plate to take my last bite, my big friend across the table blew with all his might at the huge pile of powdered sugar, which landed on me and covered my face and hair.  I looked like Jack Frost or something.  It was funny - at least now I think so.  Anyways, if you get to New Orleans, make the time to stop in here and try the beignets.  Just don't share the plate with a jokester.

French Market, New Orleans

This is the entrance to the French Market in New Orleans, LA.  It is a cool place.  It is basically a Farmers' Market where you can buy produce and assorted things like that.  I set up across the street from it, trying to wait out all the customers that were shopping.  Finally I gave that up because it is a busy place, and just fired off my shots.  After processing the photo, I was glad that I got the people in the shot, because it adds an interesting human element with all their movement, and it perfectly illustrates the hustle and bustle of the market.

Jackson Brewery, New Orleans

This is the Jackson Brewery in New Orleans, home of Jax Beer, which I have never had.  This brewery long ago was converted into a shopping mall and now you can find it full of tourists instead of brewing equipment.  I remember being there with my family when I was 16 years old, eating raw oysters and drinking Corona.  I am not sure why I was allowed to drink at that age, but hey who wants to bring that up when you are 16?  It sure helped those nasty oysters go down the hatch though.  I think we spent a whole afternoon there, which is much better than shopping.  This time I was there alone, and holding a camera and tripod instead of Coronas and oysters.  Single image, 20 second exposure.

A walk in the cemetery

There is a cemetery in New Orleans that I have driven by many times, but never stopped.  It is just off the interstate and always seemed to get my attention.  This time, I found the exit and made my way onto the grounds.  It rained on me all the way to New Orleans, but once I got into town the rain broke and there were all these fabulous clouds and colors in the sky.  I love the look of that big mausoleum, though it seems odd to me to spend so much money on a burial chamber.