Notre Dame, textured
That lovely cathedral in Paris, all done up with a texture...
Do you ever use textures on your photos? I've been having some fun with them.
Up until about a year ago, I rarely ever used textures on my photos. I'm not sure why, but I didn't really care for them back then. But now I love them and have been collecting quite a few of my own textures.
So when I was editing this shot, I thought it might look good with a texture on it. I had already processing a few shots of this scene without a texture, so I figured why not? Even though it was an overcast morning, the texture and my edits afterward give it a nice golden, almost vintage look. I'm rather fond of it!
Part of the reason I use textures now is that with Luminar, it's just so easy to add them. If you want to learn about using Luminar, this is the page for you!
Gallerie Vivienne
Gallerie Vivienne, a beautiful little spot in Paris...
A quaint little scene in Paris...
I love this little spot in Paris, having walked by and photographed it on a couple of trips now. It's a short walk from the Louvre, just past the Palais Royale. I'm not really sure how I came across it in the first place. I think I was wandering with my wife and daughter when we happened upon it. It was love at first sight! ;-)
Blue hour in Strasbourg
A lovely blue hour in Strasbourg, France...
Still a lot to photos to get to from last year!
Boy, my travels have been a bit crazy, and there is more right around the bend. Last Fall we spent a couple of weeks in France, which included a long weekend in Strasbourg. It's a beautiful town right on the border with Germany, and it is really photogenic.
Although it is in France, the architecture looks very much like Germany. There's an old section of town known as Petite France and I spent one evening shooting over there. I loved this little street with that gorgeous half-timbered building in the background. So cool! I spent a while here, waiting for tourists to clear the scene, but finally got my shot!
Arc de Triomphe
A sunset shot of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and some thoughts on shooting famous spots in a city...
A landmark in Paris - and a must see spot!
I know some photographers only want to shoot things that are "original". That is, they may avoid the common subjects in a city they visit because those things have been shot before, and literally millions of times. While I completely understand that line of thinking, I don't agree with it.
I like to go shoot the "famous" stuff, even though everyone else does too. I just like the stuff - it's famous for a reason. Usually it's beautiful, interesting or some combination of both. I see nothing wrong with capturing something that is well known. It's great to view these things.
So when I travel, I make sure and stop by and see as much of the well-known stuff as I can. To be clear, I also seek other the lesser-known spots, but I definitely don't avoid the big famous ones. I'm happy to be there and I want to return with photographs of it. It's fun right?
La Station Rambuteau
A nice little cafe that I walked by every day when I was last in Paris...
A little cafe on the sidewalks of Paris...
When we were in Paris, I walked by this cafe every single day. It was near our rented apartment and we basically had to pass it en route to everything we were interested in seeing. I never stopped there, but I sure took quite a few pics of it!
I have a thing for French cafes, and European street scenes, so you can imagine how much fun I had walking around in Paris. These things are EVERYWHERE, and I did my best to shoot them all. But, I won't turn this in a French cafe photo blog any time soon. You might get bored with it! ;-)
Vintage Notre Dame
A vintage approach to Notre Dame in Paris...
Sometimes I just have to go a little old school on a photo!
If you have been here before, you know I love my colors. Big, bold colors are just lovely to me. So it's not often that I delve into Analog Efex Pro by Google/Nik Software, but when I do I am always glad that I did.
The vintage/film/analog looks you can get from this program are pretty awesome, and well since the software is free, you might as well get it, right? It does allow you some fun options when deciding to go for a slightly different look.
Yes, I still love all my Macphun goodies, esp Luminar and Aurora HDR, but sometimes I need to switch it up to get a very different look. I never use any of the other Google/Nik stuff anymore, just Analog Efex Pro. It's kind of got a special place in my heart.
Anyway, I was shooting sunrise at Notre Dame in Paris and the sunrise was well past by the time I took this one. I loved the scene though and the fact that it was a very different view of Notre Dame than you usually see. So I opted to treat it a bit differently in post, and here you go!
Golden hour in Strasbourg
A stunning golden hour in Strasbourg, France...
A lovely view of a lovely town!
Late one afternoon back in December when we were in Strasbourg, I headed out with hopes of capturing some golden hour and sunset shots in the historic quarter of town known as Petite France. It's a wonderful and scenic part of town and one that I thoroughly enjoyed exploring.
From our rented apartment, I meandered through town until I got to the river, and then followed that to Petite France. It was a worthy detour and I stopped a lot along the way to take shots. My wife and daughter opted to skip so I was alone and in my element. As you can see, the light turned out pretty awesome and I was rather happy to be there firing away!
A street scene in Montmartre
The beauty of a simple street scene in the #Montmartre section of #Paris, taken during blue hour...
Paris is just so beautiful. Literally, every street is photo worthy!
I love wandering in Paris. I find all of it beautiful. It really is an incredible city. On our last trip there we spent one evening in Montmartre. I was chasing a few shots, which I got, and in between them we just wandered. It was spectacular. The blue hour was gorgeous and the temperature was just right.
I actually find wandering in a city to be one of my favorite pastimes. There is always something interesting to photograph, and it helps you get a better sense of the place that you would otherwise. I try and get out for these random walks on every trip. I captured today's image that evening in Montmartre as we were making our way out of there. It was hard to leave, not just because of the beauty but because I kept stopping about every 20 feet for another shot! :-)
Napoleon drank here
A typical Parisian scene, rendered at twilight...
Ok, that may not have actually happened. :-)
When we were in Paris, one of my targets was Les Deux Magots, which is a cafe that was once a hangout for the literary and intellectual elite. Hemingway was said to be a frequent visitor, for example. I had shot it before, but I frequently revisit spots and shoot them again.
Anyway, after doing so I wandered a little bit, and literally about 100 yards away is this little cafe/bar known as Le Bonaparte. I spent quite a while shooting and just observing the place (and I stopped in for a beer, too). Something about it just caught my eye.
I have a thing for neon signs and European street scenes, so getting them into a single shot is always a good idea in my book. And no, I really don't think that Napoleon ever stopped by this place, likely because he died in 1821 and I really doubt this cafe was around then. :-)
The only one out shooting
An early wakeup one morning in France gave me the opportunity to photography Notre Dame without another soul around...and it was perfect!
Early morning is the best time for travel photography.
I absolutely love to get up early and go shoot. Everything is quiet and still and you can enjoy a place without all the distraction and noise of crowds. It's just the perfect time of day for me, photography-wise.
When I travel, I always try to get up at least once so I can get out and shoot sunrise. I tend to be a morning person anyway, so it's pretty easy to do, although I will admit it can be hard to drag yourself out of bed at times. But, it is always worth it.
On our Paris trip at the end of last year, I got up really early one morning and walked over to Notre Dame. Literally, I was the only one there. I had this major tourist attraction to myself. I wandered all around and shot it from lots of different angles. It was great.
On your next trip, try doing this and see how it goes. You might need a little caffeine later, but you will be happy with the shots you get!
A stunning sunset in Montpellier
A pair of shots from an incredible sunset in Montpellier, France
This was one incredible sunset!
I visited Montpellier, in southern France, a couple of years ago. One evening I was wandering in their old town and happily firing away. I could see the sunset was coming together and it looked like it might be pretty nice. So I did what anyone would do - I looked for a place with a decent view.
Luckily, that wasn't hard to find. I was near their Place de Peyrou, which was perfect. There is this large arch there and since it's a park there is a lot of wide-open area. This sunset just got more and more intense, so I stuck around for a while and captured a LOT of shots. It was one of those nights that you just don't want to end, you know?
The best sunset in Strasbourg
Gorgeous light on an incredible evening in Strasbourg, France - so worth braving the cold for this!
This sunset just kept going and going!
Don't you love it when you get to shoot a lovely, colorful sunset? I do, and it's what most of us are hopeful for when we head out with the gear. It's always about the light, and good light is a great thing.
On one of our evenings in Strasbourg, I headed out with hopes for some nice light. The clouds had been interesting all day, and that always gives me hope that the light will break through and sometime beautiful will occur.
I spent my time wandering to and around Petite France, which is the historic quarter of Strasbourg and the part of town that you likely see a lot of photographs from. It has that awesome, half-timbered architecture and there is a canal that runs through it. Really, it's just gorgeous.
Sunset began and it was gorgeous, and although it was cold, it just kept getting more and more intense, and I just couldn't stop shooting. I have hundreds of shots from this sunset. Even though my fingertips were frigid, I just didn't care. It's not like you can just come back tomorrow and finish up. It was prime time, and I wasn't going to miss ANY of it.
Eventually blue hour descended and of course that was amazing too, with still a bit of light peaking through and me firing brackets like a maniac the entire time. It was honestly one of the most enjoyable evenings of photography that I can ever recall.
The Chocolate Shop
There are chocolate shops everywhere in Paris, but this one really captured my imagination.
So many chocolate shops, so little time!
While walking around in Paris, we kept passing this particular chocolate shop because it is near the apartment we rented. I shot it just about every time I passed, because I thought it looked pretty awesome. I love the look of the signage and the little cart out front.
But this photo, although it looks like it was taken at night, was actually taken during daytime. I took this into Luminar and with the generous use of gradient masks, filter, and a preset, was able to craft this sort of vintage night time look. It's quite easy in Luminar, and I even made a video about it if you would like to learn this technique. Enjoy!
A good morning in Paris
A lovely pre-dawn shot of Notre Dame in Paris, that most beautiful of cities...
Isn't every morning a good one to be in Paris? ;-)
I absolutely adore Paris. It's beautiful, photogenic, walkable and the food and people are just great. There, I said it. The French people are NICE. Honestly, in the US there are always comments about the French being rude, but over several trips to Paris I have yet to experience that. I think people just need something to complain about.
Anyhoo, the city is fabulous and while we were there, I headed out early one morning to get started. I had several shots in mind and the only way to really get it done was before most people got up. So, sunrise it is!
I walked to Notre Dame from our rented apartment and was quite happy to have a little haze in the air. I like that stuff, because I think it adds a little drama and interest to a scene. While the sunrise itself was somewhat non-existent, it was still wonderful to be up and out shooting in the pre-dawn hours. It feels like you have the entire city to yourself, and that is a great feeling.
La Pointe Saint Eustache
Another textured shot from Paris, a city that is full of incredible sights.
A little more texture fun from Paris!
If you saw my recent video about using textures and presets together on a photo, then you know I have been having a lot of fun using textures in my recent photos. It's not really "my thing" but I definitely find it more interesting than I did in the past.
This photo, for instance, felt like a good use of it to create some art from an otherwise flat shot. This was a quick grab while wandering somewhere in Paris, and while I liked the lines and the general feel of the shot, the colors and everything else were just off. No matter what I did to it, the result was the same: it was boring.
So, I decided I would try a texture and some presets (you can find my presets here), and while this is obviously in the "art" category, I like it. It's certainly more colorful and interesting to me than anything else I could come up with!
BTW, here's the video about using presets and textures together, if you are interested.