First outing in the Massif des Bauges, not a success

Massif des Bauges landscape around Les Aillons

Some days ago i went for a first outing in the Massif des Bauges natural park.
It was not a good photographic day : The light was dull, i drove a lot,i was tired, i walked, i waited but could'nt get a better image than this one.

Ice in Fornant river

Ice in Fornant river

Another one in the serie, with a different composition and different colors than the previous ones.

Ice stalactites in the Fornant river

Ice stalactites in the Fornant river

Afetr viewing and reviewing my files, i think this one will be one of the last of this serie perharps will i publish one or two more here but that's all. BTW, this one is also one of my fav.

Weekly commented photo #5 - Visitation basilica by night in Annecy

Visitation basilica by night in Annecy

I've to say the truth : i've never liked this monument. But when i arrived back in Annecy in july i saw it by night and thought it could make a beautiful photo.

I love night images but that's not what i'm doing most. I usually prefer the special lights of dawn or dusk. So that's only in january that i decided to try this image.
One afternoon i went to the lake for some dusk shots on the Imperial beach and took a long lens with me for the basilica.
When the night started to fall, i left the beach and walked along the lake until i found a nice point of view.
After one first test, exposing the shot for the highlights on the bell tower, i was sure that HDR would give a relly better image.
Keeping in one single exposure all the details in the highlights would give dark shadows on all the left part of the church. So i did 5 shots at f11 from 4 to more than 80 seconds.
As the evening was a little windy, i weighted my tripod with my bag and as usual i used mirror lockup plus a remote shutter release for each exposure. Getting sharp images with long exposures while using a long lens in the wind can be a little tricky but this night, i was lucky.
After this 5 shots, i walked deeper in the city to make images of some other monuments and also to warm me up.

I processed the raw files 2 or 3 days after with silkypix and Photomatix, trying to keep the tonemapping at a soft level.

Ice formations in the Fornant river

Ice formations in the Fornant river

An other addition in this ongoing serie.
Perharps a little more abstract thant the other ones.

Annecy - Dusk on the Imperial beach

Annecy - Dusk on the Imperial beach

After my first attempt with photographying this place at dawn, i decided to come back the day after for some dusk images.
I initialy wanted to frame the big diving board really closer but i don't know why, i changed my mind on the last minute.

Annecy town hall at night

Annecy town hall at night

Just another one to give you a night view of Annecy.

Yesterday, i spent the afternoon hiking in the mountains above Annecy lake.
The weather was really cloudy with a dull light.
I just did a few images in a dark forest during the afternoon and waited for late dusk to make two mountain landscapes. You'll probably see them one day.

Ice stalactites in the Fornant river

Ice stalactites in the Fornant river

One more in this serie from past december.
I love the reflection on the big ice ball on the right.

Oak trees in the snow on the Vuache mountain

Oak trees in the snow on the Vuache mountain

Another one from our first snow fall in november.
The tree on the right is the one shown here.

Last thing : On friday, my third Weekly Commented Photo will be about a very recent image i really love.

Annecy - Palais de l'Isle at night

Annecy - Palais de l'Isle at night

An image from this night.
I went to Annecy in the end of afternoon to make some images of the lake at dusk and when it was too late i moved to the heart of the city for a few night shots.

I you want to know more about this place and see how this place looks in day light, you can have a look here.

And for people who like this kind of information, this is an HDR work done with Photomatix from 5 exposures.

Ice formations in the Fornant river - continuing

Ice formations in the Fornant river

Another one in this serie on which i worked during the last month of 2010.
These ones are not real stalactites but were done along some tiny tree roots hanging in the river. I love how the first one looks like an elephant leg :)

Annecy lake - Winter dawn at the pier

Winter dawn at the pier

Another done at the pier of Menthon Saint Bernard on the border of Annecy lake.
Made a few hours before the one in the previous post.
I remember i turned around some times to find the right composition with my wide angle and i realized that the best solution would probably be a crop at processing time. The original image is not too bad but i really prefer this version.

2011 project - The weekly commented photo

The Tournette mountain and Annecy lake from Menthon Saint Bernard

Every post here is done with one image and a little (sometimes very short because of my bad english) text.
Sometimes i speak about the photo, sometimes about my life, sometimes about other things i've found on the web.

In 2011 i'll give me a little assignment : Every friday i'll write a post showing an image (old or new) and explaining why and how it was done.
Why will include things like personnal mood or commercial reasons. How will give some technical informations about the making of.

One year is 52 weeks so i can hope to find the time to play that little but serious game.

Cold water in the Fornant river

Cold water in the Fornant river

An image from monday morning after another serie of ice closeups you'll see soon.

I think it was a very cold monday and not only because i was tired after spending 6 hours in the night driving on snowy roads. If you don't know how to keep your feet fresh, just spend a few hours making such images :)

Winter ice in the Fornant river

Another image from the same serie that the one posted here but with different tones and composition.
I think the serie will be a little long. I've ever posted 15 of such images on my french website and as the weather is cold to death these days, i went back to the river this morning to make some new ones.

Saint Jean chapel illuminated at night

Saint Jean chapel illuminated at night

I stopped last night in front of this little chapel. The sky seemed to be black but as usual, i was surprised to see the light a one minute long exposure could reveal.

Of course if one minute was perfect for the sky, it was also really too long for the snow ...
So i did a bunch of exposures from 2 to 60 seconds. Once in the "darkroom" i choose 4 and processed them with Photomatix.

Note : There is a road just near and the people driving there last night seemed surprised to see a crazy man with a tripod and a camera standing out in the cold :)

Ice stalactites in the Fornant river

Ice stalactites in the Fornant river

For a few days, the weather is almost dry but very cold.
I went early this morning to the Fornant river with the idea of making images of ice formations around the water.
The water was still running but in many places such ice stalactites where hanging on the rocks or on tree roots. I caught some beautiful closeups in the first place where i stopped but i'll certainly return to explore a little more. If the weather stays cold of course. But i think i don't need to worry about that :)

White landscape in the mist

White landscape in the mist

Another from the same serie than the one presented one week ago.
I think this one is my favorite.

This is my second contribution to SkyWatch Friday.
Click on the image to see it larger :)

Trees in the mist and snow - First contribution to Skywatch Friday

Trees in the mist and snow

Early this morning we had our first time without any falling snow for some days.
I could grab a few images of the rural landscapes around the houses while the light was still soft. Walking in more than 30 cm of fresh and virgin snow was a real pleasure.

This image is my first contribution to Skywatch Friday.
Click on the thumbnail to see it larger :)

A very cold dawn on Annecy lake

A very cold dawn on Annecy lake

I went yesterday morning to a new place around Annecy lake. More precisely it was the pier of Menthon Saint Bernard. It was really soon and really cold. I expected more snow on the mountains but the dawn light was beautiful.

A big thank you to Nikon for making large bodies still comfortable to use with frosted fingers.