Closed for business

The first time I came by this desolate scene in a Brussels suburb, I did not have a camera with me... So when I knew I would be passing nearby a good week later, I came fully equipped and planned for the extra time.

Don't ask me exactly what it is that 'does' it for me with this image. The textures (concrete, asphalt, metal, various types of stone...), the weeds, the spray-painted graphics: they all contribute in some way by adding their own bit to the overall story.

Looking at this 'installation' face-on presents an intriguing but not really interesting picture, as seen above (I slightly desaturated the colors to add to the dullness).

So I went looking for a better angle and perspective. That day the sky was overcast and dull: good soft lighting, but nothing fancy happening 'up there'. That's what led me to experiment with HDR (in this case: detail enhancement starting from a single RAW image).

Sometimes, it takes a lot of effort to make visible what you see (or feel) from the beginning!

Gear notes: D300, 18-200VR

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Vive la France!

What better subject could I pick for today's post but something from France? So here's a few more from last March's Paris trip. We had fair and dry spring weather with cold and clean air: ideal conditions for some night shots!

To start, a classic view on the Notre-Dame cathedral, taken from the Pont Saint-Michel. The light was great: colorful reflections on the water of the Seine, and just enough fading daylight left to leave some color in the sky and light on the buildings (it was around half past seven). At left, you can see an enormous canvas hiding scaffolding, and depicting various aspects of police work.

I used my favorite lens for night photography, an AF-D 35mm f/2.0. Being light and compact, it's a great walk-around lens well suited for unobtrusive shooting. With a little exercise, you can frame from the hip: you just have to remember that at this focal length the width of the image (on film or full-frame digital) will be about equal to the distance to the subject.

And nothing adds more 'mood' to urban night shots than a little black&white...!

Gear notes: D700, 35/2.0

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Frame Zero

I was born into a family of professional photographers. I spent time in a darkroom before I could read and write... As a youngster, I used various cheap film cameras (120 and 127 format rolls and later 35mm), and from time to time was allowed to touch the 'pro' stuff. Then I received my first 'own' SLR - a still very dear Nikkormat FT - and I learned about the urge to acquire more and better glass.

When I left home, access to a well equipped darkroom became difficult (and I was too spoiled to accept a small and simple one at my own place). So I went on to shoot 35mm slide film mostly. From time to time, I treated myself to another piece of equipment. But as both family and professional obligations increased, photography slowly faded away into a vacation thing. Until...

One day in 2002, I had the opportunity to add a few sightseeing days at the end of a business trip to Australia. It wasn't practical to take along my 35mm gear, so I bought a small digital compact for the occasion: a tiny silver 2 Mpix Nikon Coolpix 775 (I prefer not to remember what the going prices were at the time...!). And all of a sudden, photography became a big part of my life again.

My frustrations with the limitations of that first compact made me move on to a more capable bridge camera, a Coolpix 5700, until finally the D70 brought me back 'home'.

One day, I will get back to the original JPEG files from that first digital trip, to see how much more I can make out of them now that my post-processing skills - and tools! - have improved. But today I look back with pleasure to the souvenirs of the trip that restarted it all.

Gear notes: Coolpix 775

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