French countryside in the snow

French countryside in the snow

 

An image from december with the first snow on the rural landscape around my home.

A cold time at Annecy lake

A cold time at Annecy lake

 

A reminder of the very cold 2012 winter we had here.
I stayed really late on that place this evening, waiting for a deep blue hour and i still remember the cold in my bones.

Winter dusk on Pointe Percee mountain

Winter dusk on Pointe Percée mountain

 

A winter reminder with this image from march.

Pointe Percée is the highest point of Aravis mountain range with an elevation of 2750 meters.

This image was done from a remote place with a long lens mounted on a APS-C camera. Light was very nice but i had to wait a long time for the wind to stop a little and get something sharp.

 

Note : you can visit the following link to check all my images of Aravis mountains.

Dusk light on the Aiguille des Glaciers

Dusk light on the Aiguille des Glaciers

The Aiguille des Glaciers has an elevation of around 3 800 meters.
It's part of Mont-Blanc mountain range but this image was taken from Aravis mountains range.

White landscape in Valserine valley

Snow on Valserine valley - Hau Jura Natural Park

An other image from the days i spent in Valserine valley at the end of 2011.

I returned a few days in Haut Jura Natural Park about one week ago. All the snow is now gone and springtime is rainy and cold. I mostly spent my time exploring some new places between Lajoux, Saint Claude and Longchaumois and i hope to be ready for some new images for the next decent weather period.

I'm currently working hard on some new features for my main website and i'm very late in processing and publishing new images but i found a short time to post 8 new photos of Nernier 2 days ago.

Bouchoux village in the mountains of Haut Jura Natural Park

Les Bouchoux - Haut Jura Natural Park


On march 3, i went for an exploration drive in Haut Jura Natural Park.
I was surprised to discover that, excepted in Valserine valley, all the snow was gone.

The tour started when i left home before dawn. I drove through Valserine valley until Mijoux village. Then i took the mountain road to Lajoux and Bellecombe.
A little road i wanted to visit was still closed because the snow had not been cleaned since the beginning of winter. I walked on the first kilometers, and explored a little bit the surrounding forest.
Then i went back to my car and drove to Septmoncel, stopped to visit some new streams and took the car again to another place near Saint-Claude where i could make a nice walk through a beautiful forest to Horse tail waterfall or Cascade de la Queue de Cheval in french.
Back once more to the car, i drove to Saint-Claude where i stopped just a short time to visit the cathedral.
The afternoon was beginning when i left the cathedral to take the road through an unknown part of the Park. This road sent me near the village of Les Bouchoux.
Once more, i left the car, explored some forests and finally climbed a little hill for a few images of te village itself.
Some other and smaller mountains roads drove me back to Mijoux and Valserine valley. Finally, i was back home about one hour after night fall.

20 images from this day were recently added on my french website. You can have a look here.

Blue hour on Merdassier mountain

Blue hour on Merdassier and Etale mountains

Another image from my recent visit to Aravis mountain range.
The first mountain on the photo is Merdassier (elevation 2313m) and behind, you can see the top of Etale mountain (2484m).
The image was taken at the beginning of blue hour and a few time before the one i posted one week ago about Mount Charvin.

17 photos of Aravis mountain range (including this one) where published yesterday on my french website.

Winter dusk on Charvin mountain

Winter dusk on Mount Charvin in Aravis mountain range

An image from today.
I spent the afternoon on Beauregard plateau in Aravis mountain range. It was a sunny but fresh day. It was the first time i returned there since i'm back in Haute Savoie. It was impossible for me last year and i really wanted some images before all the snow was gone.
Mount Charvin is one of the main mountains of this range and i don't know why but it seems that it's other sides are really more photographed than this one.

Something different

White ghosts in Fornant river

End of winter along Fornant river

End of winter along Fornant river

It's a long time since i don't have posted anything on this blog but my main website is a little more up to date.
This time was mostly filled with making images and processing files for clients. I also had some very nice stock sales in the end of february.
I also spent some great time exploring some new parts of Jura department but with just a few pictures in result. Snow and cold are gone and the vegetation in this end of winter doesn't make the landscapes very exciting.

The image posted today comes from another recent exploration of Fornant river and was done a few kilometers from the place where i live, close to the river source.
For more than one week, daily temperatures here are between 15 and more than 20 celsius but i found some huge ice blogs along the river. The winter was really cold !

Blue hour on Geneva lake

Blue hour on Geneva lake at Nernier harbor

Although the real name of this lake is Léman lake, out of France it's mostly known as Geneva lake. One part is french and the other is swiss.
The photo was made in France and the mountains in the backgroud are in Switzerland.

During the freezing cold we had a few time ago this pier looked like an artic place with amazing ice sculptures done by the wind.
I could go there only this afternoon. I was not sure to find some ice because the weather is a little more hot for some days but i wanted to explore a little this unknown place.

Ice at Barbennaz waterfall

Ice at Barbennaz waterfall

Exceptionally, i don't provide a larger view for this image. Because of the vertical crop it wouldn't fit many screens.

Blue hour on Annecy lake in winter

Blue hour on Annecy lake

One more image from 2 days ago. So it was a great sunday afternoon.

Cold was still really strong and i spent about one hour standing with my tripod in front of the lake photographing the changes of light during dusk time.
I'll post images from time to time here but i published the entire serie yesterday on my french website.

Winter dusk on Valserine river

Winter dusk on Valserine river

An image from the middle of januray. Before the big cold wave which now freezes the europe but this valley is always very cold.

More images of this place and day where added on my french website on january 28.
You can have a look here.

Menthon Saint Bernard Castle in winter

Menthon Saint Bernard Castle in winter

I usually don't make images on sunday. I prefer spending this free time with my family and it's easier to find tranquil places during the week.
But i was alone this week end and yesterday afternoon after a big work around the house i noticed that the light would probably be nice at dusk.
I took my gear and drove to Annecy.

This castle stands proudly over the lake from about 10 centuries and is a very famous local monument. It's also registred in France as a Monument Historique.
If you want to know more about its history, Wikipedia will tell you more than me :)

Apple tree in the snow

Apple tree in the snow

A view of my garden in the early morning of february 1.

Another winter scene in Fornant river and a few words about my portfolio on Whytake.net

Winter along Fornant river

I returned yesterday to Fornant river for another visit to the place i've discovered on monday.
The wind was crazy. I spent there just an hour according to the files times on my CF card but it seemed an eternity. The goal was to make some long exposure images of this little waterfall with my Hoya ND 400 filter, once done i went back home quickly.

Some weeks ago i've started to build a portfolio on Whytake.net.

Whytake.net is a community website for nature photographers. It's nicely done with some very good features and it's a nice place to show your nature images (nature only).
It's not a place for competition where photographers run after comments and fav but it includes a kind of blog where you can post updates in your portfolio and other things about nature photography. You can also follow other photographers you like.
Want to see some beautiful images ? Have a look at the inspire page !

Snow and ice on Fornant river

Snow and ice on Fornant river

One more image from the beginning of the week done a few hours before the one i posted a few days ago.

When i arrived at the river, i was hapilly surprised to find some deep and strong ice. After a few tests, i started to walk on the ice, exploring the river for some interesting point of views. When i arrived where i made this image, i was looking for the best place to setup my tripod when the ice broke under my left foot and my leg plunged in the flow to the knee, filling my boots with really cold water.

I hesitated between continuing my work during all the afternoon with a wet foot by a temperatured really under -10 celsius and going back home. I choose the first option. Although it was really uncomfortable, this day was probably a unique occasion to make images of the cold winter here. I could work around the river until dusk and when i came back home, my foot had no trouble.

Winter impression

Winter impression

On february 1, by a really cold and windy morning without any exciting light or atmosphere i was walking in the rural landscape around my home, just breathing the air and freezing my hands.

I stopped in front of these little trees growing along the path and spent some time, playing with them and my camera.

Cold water in Fornant river

Cold water in Fornant river

First and fav image from my monday at the Fornant river.
Done in a place i've recently discovered and that i still need to explore more. That won't be an easy hike but i feel i'll found some nice spots just lower on the river. Will i be wise enough to let the banks dry a little ...