Meadows and mountain forest in Haut Jura Natural Park

Meadows and mountain forest - Haut Jura Natural Park


One more view of the landscape around Bellecombe on the plateau of Haut Jura Natural Park.

Beginning of autumn, deciduous trees start to change their colors while coniferous stay green ...

Electric lines in the landscape

The landscape around Bellecombe in Haut Jura Natural Park


One more image of Bellecombe plateau in Haut Jura Natural Park.

Done a few time before this other one and before the rain really starts.

I usually try to avoid these electric lines in my photos. I first walked, looking for a point of view where they wouldn't be too much present in the images but here they really cross most of the place. I finally decided not to fight more against that and tried to include all this wire stuff in the most pleaseant way.

First autumn colors on Valserine valley

First autumn colors on Valserine valley


An image from the first days of september.
It was in the early morning. I was driving back from another try in the mountains of Haut Jura Natural Park.
On my way to home, i took the road through Valserine valley and when the rain stopped i had some nice views of the very first autumn colors on the misty forest. (You can see another one here.)

Colorful mushrooms in Valserine forest

Colorful mushrooms on an old tree stump

My second and last composition about these magic mushrooms in Valserine forest.

Weekly commented photo # 37 - Mist and sun on Jura landscape

Misty morning on Jura forest and meadows

On tuesday, i woke up before dawn, saw the starry sky enlightened by the moon and took my car for a drive to Haut Jura Natural Park.
I was expecting to be there for some beautiful pink dawn hues over the green meadows around Lajoux.

I arrived in Lajoux just at dawn time but the fog was really too strong and i had absolutely no visibility on the surrounding landscapes. I drove a little more turning around the village without finding any view on anything. I took some new roads but without seeing anything i can't call it exploration ...

After a few hesitations i decided to take once more the road to Bellecombe.
It seemed to be a good idea : while i was driving the heavy fog became a nice and light mist.

Just before arriving on the plateau where i took the rainy landscape posted one week ago, i noticed that the first sun rays were trying to pass over the mountains creating some nice backlit effects on the trees and mist.

I found a place to leave my car, took my gear and literally ran on a little hilltop hoverhanging Bellecombe plateau.
There, with a long lens i could make a little serie of images like this one. The serie ended when the mist was totally cleared by the sun.

Then, i packed my camera, put my tripod on my shoulder and started to hike the hills, with some little stops from time to time to make some of my first photographs of Jura landscapes under the sun.
I continued the walk untill i was pushed out of the meadows by a huge herd of cows.

Before driving back home, i returned around Lajoux to explore the little roads i took for the first time some hours before.
I was too late for photography but i certainly found some nice places for my next times here.

Forest canvas

It could be an impressionist painting but that's really a photograph.
Done in Valserine forest with a long lens and slightly moving the camera during the exposure.

Weekly commented photo # 36 - Rain on the green meadows around Bellecombe in Jura mountains

Rain on the green meadows around Bellecombe in Jura


If you're one of my usual readers, you know that i now live not too far from Haut Jura Natural Park.
This park covers some parts of two french departments : Ain and Jura.
It's a beautiful large natural area with forests, mountain meadows, rivers and waterfalls.

So, that's a perfect place for photography but the weather there is really wet and rainy. I've started to work on a portfolio about the park some months ago but it looks it will be a very long time ongoing work.
I went there many and many times, coming back without any images because of the pouring rain.

Two days ago, i left home before dawn to drive once more to Bellecombe plateau. The most i was advancing on the road, the most the sky was cloudy ...

Arrived in Bellecombe i left my car in a hidden place so that it couldn't be on my images and started to hike the meadows.
Sky was cloudy, the atmosphere was wet, the grass was wet (and so my feet). Some people were working on fences, wearing shorts and rubber boots.

I made my first images with a long lens from a "remote high hill" but left this place rapidly because i could'nt avoid to include some of the numerous electric lines in my compositions. That's a good exercise but i also wanted some less perturbated photos.

So i walked a little more and the rain started. Looking at the sky i thought it could stop or at least, not become too strong. Effectively it remained a nice little rain during about half an hour.
I could walk a little more and make images of the forests and landscapes without any noticeable problem but suddenly the rain became stronger and then i knew it wouldn't stop before a while.

This image is the last i could do before packing all my gear and running back to my car which was a few kilometers far.
If you're interested in such details, i can add that the photo was done with a 35mm lens and a Hitech 0.6 soft GND filter.

Driving back home, the weather became better and i could stop in Valserine valley to make a few images of the forest wearing its first autumn coulours.

Mist in Valserine forest

Mist in Valserine forest


This morning, i went once more to Haut Jura Natural Park with the intention of making some new mountains landscapes for my stock website.

More i was going deeper in the mountains, more the weather was awful.
So i went down to Valserine valley where i could make a few images between the biggest rains.
The forest starts to change its colours and there is no doubt that autumn will come soon this year ...

Weekly commented photo # 35 - Magic mushroom in Valserine forest

Magic mushroom in Valserine forest

It was a few weeks ago. I was walking in the wet Valserine forest looking for photogenic trees.

Just after crossing a little stream coming from the mountains, my eyes were cought by some unexpected colours on an old tree stump.
Usuallay, these old cutted trunks are black and covered with green moss with sometimes plants and little trees growing on them.

On this one, there were two or three of these colorful mushrooms in the middle of the wood and green moss.
I hesitated a short moment. That's not the kind of shot i usually do, i wanted to explore the forest more deeply and i had no lens longer than 70mm.

A little change in our habitudes and projects is not a bad thing so i finally decided to give it a try.
Approaching the mushroom with my tripod was not so easy and i had to turn the column to its horizontal position. I focused manually on the front of the mushroom and took a few shots using mirror lockup and a remote controller expecting to get a least one sharp image.

I also did another image with a wider composition, you can see it here on my french website. Perharps i'll show it at a larger size on this blog one of these days.

Trees, branches and foliage in Valserine forest

Trees, branches and foliage in Valserine forest

A more quiet version of this image.
Both were done at the end of a long exploration of a really small part of the green Valserine forest in Haut Jura Natural Park


NOTE : From today, i will feature every month a special tag in the right column of this bog. So think to check the TAG OF THE MONTH box.
September tag of the month is FOREST.

Summer meadow around the Chalet du Sac

Summer meadow around the Chalet du Sac

The alpine meadows of Grand Crêt d'Eau mountain around the Chalet du Sac.
In the background you can devine the Jura mountains under the clouds and on the right, a very small part of Léman lake.

I've added this morning 12 new images of this area on my french website. If you want to have a look, that starts here.

Another abstract shot in Valserine forest and a few words about William Neill Impressions of Light ebook

Branches and foliage in Valserine Forest

An image done six days ago in Valserine forest after a serie of more classic photographs.

Impressions of Light ebook by William Neill

William Neill is a very well known american master of nature and landscape photography. I follow his blog and look at his images for a long time and i think his work really deserves his reputation.

Impressions of light is the first ebook i bought from Neill and the first thing i've to say is that i don't regret my 10$ 

• The photographs are really exquisites and inspirational.

• The ebook itself is very well done.
  The images are displayed on a full ebook page and look awesome on a large screen. When the reader clicks on a photo he goes to an information page where he can find a thumbnail plus a few more technical datas. Clicking on the thumbnail drives him back to the original photo page.

This ebook comes from a real paper book and you download a zip file containing two PDF files : One designed for the most convenient read on a computer display (one image/page) and one featuring the real book design.

If you have 10$ to spend, do not hesitate :)

House and tree in Jura mountains

House and tree around Bellecombe in Jura mountains

On last friday, i spent a beautiful time in the early morning around Bellecombe in Jura mountains.
It's a nice green place with many fields, forests and just a few houses. I've read that less than 100 people (and probably more cows) are living in this large natural area.

After a few images of the countryside all around, i was walking on a tiny rural road when i noticed the light on this house. I just had to climb the little hill on the other side of the road to setup my tripod.

Ghost trees in Valserine forest

Ghost trees in Valserine forest

On past thursday, i spent a nice time in Valserine valley making classic forest images for my stock.
After that, the light was low enough to have a little fun with this kind of images :)

Farms in Jura mountains

Farms in a rural landscape aurond Bellecombe - Jura

Weekly commented photo # 31 - Dusk light on the Alpine meadow

Dusk light on Grand Crêt d'Eau mountain

That's another scheduled post because i'm not at work this week. No office work, no blogging and a very few photography. I hope to retrieve a better posting rate here during next week.

As you can devine, this image is from the same serie that the previous one of my Weekly commented photos. It was done a little later and i was still around the Chalet du Sac on Grand Crêt d'Eau mountain.

Usually, chalets are built with wood logs but the word also designates these little houses used by sheperds spending summer with their flocks in the mountains.
This one is not still used by sheperds but i've read that anyone hiking there can stop here and spend the night in a safe place.
That's not difficult to devine that i will probably try that in a short time, just to be sure not to miss the first lights of the day.

The photo is a HDR one done from 5 exposures and processed with SilkyPix and Photomatix.

Why did i use HDR photography here ?
Just because that the scene dynamic range was really too high to give a nice and good result even with a very strong GND filtration.

Weekly commented photo # 30 - Alpine meadow on Grand Cret d'Eau mountain

Alpine meadow on Grand Crêt d'Eau mountain

That's a really recent image taken just a few hours ago.

After my first visit a few weeks ago, i returned this evening to the Grand Crêt d'Eau mountain. I wanted to explore a little more and eventually make photos of Leman lake and Jura mountains in dusk light.

As i left home under a beautiful blue sky, i was surprised to find such a cloudy and windy weather on the mountain. The elevation here is only 1380m but beleive me, i was happy to have a polar vest to wear over my t-shirt.

Surprised by the clouds and seduced by the light i spent the last hours of the day here, trying different compositions and lights.
After a short time, all the cows probably intrigued gave me a little visit to see who was gesticulating in the field with a big black tripod. They looked at me during a few minutes and as i'm definitely not an interesting people they returned to their place where grass was probably better.

Weekly commented photo # 28 - First visit to Grand Cret d'Eau mountain

First light on Grand Crêt d'Eau mountain - Haut Jura Natural Park

This is a scheduled post. While you read it i'm enjoying a very few days of holidays, probably around the lakes of Jura mountains.

The Grand Crêt d'Eau mountain overhangs the end of Valserine valley on the left side of the river. It's also the last (or first) summit of Jura mountains range. It also overhangs the Rhône river and it's really close to the Vuache mountain.

Visiting Grand Crêt d'Eau was a project i had for a long time. Even if summer is not (in my mind) the best season for landscape photography i decided to go there at dawn on monday. To prepare this first exploration i did a little of internet scouting looking for photos of the mountain and words about hiking there.
I didn't found any very beautiful image but some texts describing some nice walks.

So, on monday i walk up at 4 am, took my car and drove to Grand Crêt d'Eau.
Arrived at the end of the road, i left the car and follow my instinct to decide which path to take.
After a relatively short anf beautiful walk between forests and fields i arrived with the first real lights of the day on that place just before the Col du Sac.

I would have liked to look for a better point of view but i knew the light would stay like this just a very short time. So i stopped on the path took this image plus a couple of other similar ones and continued my walk.

A very short time after i arrived at the Col du Sac. The place is really beautiful and inviting but the light was ever too strong to give some very interesting images.
I pursued my explorations during about one hour in the mountain meadows trying to find nice point of views and to devine what would be the best time to come back for landscape photography.

As usual for first explorations i didn't made a huge harvest of interesting images but at least i came back with a few decent ones and more important with many ideas and a very large area to explore.

For people interested in technical things, this photo was done using a 0.9 (3 stops) soft GND filter and the raw file needed just a very few adjustments (done with Silkypix) to produce the final image.

Along the Valserine river - Haut Jura Natural Park

Along the Valserine river - Haut Jura Natural Park

I post this one in a hurry before leaving for a very few holidays.
My weekly commented photo post is scheduled for fryday :)

Weekly commented photo # 27 - Cascading water in Valserine river

That's obviously the same place than on my previous weekly commented photo and that's also one of the 36 images i processed yesterday afternoon and that will be uploaded on my french stock website in the next days.

So this week, my comments won't be about this lovely place in Haut Jura Natural Park neither why and how i took this photo. I just want to say a few general words about photographying this kind of scenes.

On several photo sharing sites i've seen many popular images of waterfalls or running water whitout any details in the water. This kind of image can probably give the illusion to be a nice photograph when viewed rapidly on a screen but they certainly won't make beautiful prints.

If a photographer wants to show the water movement there are two things he has to think about :

• Shutter speed :
  A low shutter speed is perfect for the silky water effect but if it's too low it may kill the effect. I don't know any rule to estimate the right one, it depends of the water speed and quantity and also of how is the light on the water. Of course huge shutter speeds can be used to create other effects.

• Avoiding over exposure :
  Over exposing the water can destroy a waterfall photo more surely than any other mistake and that's a mistake easy to make with rivers running under the woods like this one. Such places are often relatively darks and the contrast between shadows under the trees and white parts on the water can easily exceed the dynamic range of a camera.
  Avoiding to over expose the water at shooting time is the most important thing but the photographer must also be careful when he processes his raw files. Such files often contain a large part of dark pixels and a small part of highlights corresponding to the water. Lightening the shadows is often needed to give a pleasant image but that must done without sacrifying the highlights.

My french Waterfalls, Rivers and Stream gallery starts to be popular and i'm often asked about how to photograph moving water. These words i choose to write here today are what i answer most of time.