Adventures thru the Lens - Sharing Ideas through Images

Photography and Impressionist Art in Giverny

This week I went to a very interesting lecture given by Francoise Heilbrun, Senior Curator for photography at the Musee d'Orsay. During the last few decades she has been responsible for putting together a collection of about 50,000 photographic prints and negatives from the beginning of photography to 1914. Her new book is called 'La photographie au Musee d'Orsay'. She talked about the importance and impact of photography on the late 19th century impressionist artists.

 
Giverny - Just an old wall.

With the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889, one can understand the exuberance that people of the time felt and how it translated into the vibrant palette of the impressionistic movement as well as, theater and costumes like those of the Ballet Russe. Photography studios had already been set up in Paris since the early 1850s most notably that of Felix Nadar. But as can be expected, artists started to experiment with the medium of photography rather than just using it to replace live models. Some were scared of it, some were inspired by it and some through it was not worth the time as it was not real "art". 

 

Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day from my apartment window.

One can really get a feel for this period if you visit Giverny, Rouen, Deauville, Honfleur, or Etretat.  Normandy attracted the artists of the day.  The  American Museum of Art in Giverny, has become the Museum of Impressionism and is now partnered with the Musee d'Orsay. An interesting change that now has the possibility to illustrate the larger concept behind impressionism in multiple fields and mediums.

 
Museum of Impressionism in Giverny

But interestingly it was not just the beauty of the region but the development of technology like the railway for example, which allowed the 19th century Bourgeoisie to go "en masse" to the coast, build houses and hire artists to make portraits of them. In those days art was a very practical matter of going where the money was. And the artist went.

Japanese Bridge in Monet's Garden

But of course how could the art of the impressionist not influence photographers like Steichen.

Monet's painting of the Cathedral in Rouen in the Musee des Beaux Arts

Well if not Alfred then certainly me!

Inside the Cathedral in Rouen

The Benefits of a Private Guided Photo Tour

As the photography world changes and becomes easier for anyone to buy a camera and take good pictures, it also becomes harder for photographers to communicate with their art and for the public to understand the art of photography.

Adventures thru the Lens is a program which tries to reconnect tourists and travelers with photography in an exciting way to both discover a new city and at the same time help them create wonderful photos following some basic steps to improve their photography technique. We offer scheduled half day tours with a local photographer in a few cities but private guided tours  in all 38 cities.

There are a number of the benefits of a private guided tour.

1.  By connecting with a local expert, one on one, you will feel like an insider and this lets you experience the city your visiting in a richer and more in depth way.  You become a participant rather than just an observer.

2. Often at the end of a tour, your photo guide will sit down with you in a quaint local cafe and if you brought a digital camera critique some of the photos you have taken.

3.  A private guide can start conversations in the local language, which can open all sorts of doors and experiences. I was at the Sorbonne in the 6th arrondisement of Paris.  My photographer and I met a retired doctor that gave us a private tour of the medical library and then on top of that I bumped into the same doctor twice on the streets.

4.  A private photo tour allows you discover parts of a city that are not on the main tourist routes.  For example in Paris, Passy in the 16th is not that well know an areas amongst tourist but photographically is is fanstastic.  Achitecture, people, food, cafe and so much more.  In these areas you can really see how the locals live and relax. As I live in Paris, I am constantly finding new areas with interesting photographic opportunities. But of course you have to be willing to take a chance and be a little adventurous.

5.  For a pro, a private guided tour can save a lot of time locating the best places to photograph and when you have limited time its cheaper than a fixer.

Spring / Summer in Ireland?

Everywhere is the Spring on his way to become Summer. You hear in the news about 20 degrees here and there. Everywhere? No! There is an small Island somewhere between the UK and New York - called Ireland. What does an Landscape Photographer in Ireland during spring with rain and 7 degrees.
He choose to explore new horizons. So I went to the Kilmainham Jail. On of the most interesting and best captured secrets in Ireland with around 350000 visitors every year because it is a museum.

You are allowed to take pictures inside the museum - but only while you are on a tour. Ok so far so good. At one of the tours I had everything with me Tripod and the rest of the gimmicks. During the tour the tourguide and I had a nice chat. At the end I figured out that he was the Director of the museum. After some more chats and several weeks I was allowed to move around by myself and take pictures. The whole thing ended up in a 3 month phototour in Kilmainham Jail. Here are the first impressions:

Paris Spring Time

Sundays especially ones that threaten to dampen my spirits with April showers are generally spent holed up in my comfy cubbyhole apartment in the eleventh arrondissement on the East side of Paris. I wish I could say I did something more culturally nourishing other than look at social websites and other photographers work on Gluetube. My day starts with the best of intentions, like sorting the photos I took the day before, or maybe the week before if I didn't get paid to take them. But then I promise myself just one minute to look at my emails and boom suddenly three hours has passed and I'm still on Stuckmail.com. Thankfully last Sunday was different not weatherwise but socialwise, I was meeting up with a group of adventurous lens viewers photographers if you like. The weather had been less than enticing earlier and I didn't relish the thought of smiling in the rain, and promising to turn holiday shots into hotshots with the wow factor for dampened tourists. I was reminded of the rain when I alighted from my bicycle, funny that I never notice my wet backside until I stop. As I locked my bicycle to the Metro I did get a nice smile as I thought from a pretty young Parisienne until I realised her friends and herself were having a good laugh at my damp patch.

Wet backsides are soon forgotten and I found my companions on both sides of Place St Michel for the start of our Latin Quarter tour. Introductions over "on y va" lets go and we were very soon into finding the gems that lay hidden in the narrow cobblestone streets of this tourist mecca, and justifiably so!

I do get great satisfaction from revealing the manual settings of a camera to someone who didn't know it existed, and who's then determined to master it. The downside is you end up standing in the one place for far too long. Lesson learned!

And not long after passing one of the oldest churches in Paris and rambling thru the park that sits in the shadow of Notre Dame, while in the park we were introduced to Theo this friendly but odd shaped dog, at least underneath all the hair I think there was a dog. I had the same feeling about his owner.

The lights were on but there was no one home.

Then to the oldest bookstore, I take that back because I'm Irish. The oldest bookshop in Paris, Shakespeare & Co not founded yesterday or today mind you. Good spot to look at people as well as books. Nudge nudge wink wink:) Then we took of our hats and got religious in the 13th century gothic masterpiece of Notre Dame, the light was like I'd never seen before. I was dragged kicking and screaming from the place, why waste beautiful light I say! By this time the sun was shining, my head was hot, my ass was dry as we crossed the garden behind Notre Dame and traversed the archbishops bridge heading towards the Sorbonne, Pantheon and an interesting church with welcoming parishoners.

This church is dedicated to the 4th century Saint Ephrem le Syriaque. More later!

Photographing Montmartre in Paris

View this photoMontmartre

As instantly recognisable as the Eiffel tower, the Arch de Triumph and the Champs Elysée this area of Paris that seems to have never changed or stopped (it doesn’t have time)! Since the days when the likes of Salvador Dali and Vincent Van Gogh and their other  infamous artist friends including Modligiani, Picasso, Monet to mention but a few frequented the bars between trying to sell their works of art.

It is no different today than it was back in the nineteenth century, except that the traffic that occasionaly passes today is no longer horse drawn. The most fréquent trafic is that of the electric tourist train that passes almost unnoticed every twenty minutes or so with a new batch of excited and eager tourists.

With the impressive and enormous backdrop of the Sacre Cœur(sacred heart) basilica giving onto the panoramic vistas of romantic Paris below it is a photographers dream.

 

It is this backdrop that keeps me coming back for more, and inspires me to push myself further in order to find a new perspective on a subject that I have photographed and shown many others how to photograph over and over. One thing is certain though, the light is never the same but always magical !

The other oft forgotten gem is the cemetary of Montmartre. It is the resting place of the once adored and still idolised singer Dalida, and also the Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinksy. Because there are so many photo opportunities people keep coming back !

It is a place not to be missed or rushed, sit and take your time, enjoy a coffee and watch the artists work as they did in Monet’s era. It is the best live théâtre you’re likely to see, and absolutely free.

 

St. Patrick's Day Dance

This image was taken at a St. Patrick's Day dance in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, and is part of a series on the Royal Canadian Legions that are located in every town and city in Canada.  It will be in the Contact Photo Festival that happens in Toronto every May, and the opening is on May 2nd at Gallery 44's Members Wall.  Originally the series was shot for Canadian Geographic magazine.  

The Colour Party opening an awards ceremony in the Scarborough legion of 614 to celebrate the student winners of public speaking and Remembrance Day poster competitions.  This legion is in a neighbourhood with a large population from Hong Kong that has embraced and rejuvenated the life of the legion, with many of the new members having ties to the British service.

Every Friday night for more than thirty years, Bea Blackford has been playing piano at Billy Bishop legion in Vancouver.  There is a real fear that the legion will have to close due to financial difficulties, as they are in the prime neighbourhood of Kitsilano and taxes risen sharply. The regiment plaques seen above the piano are part of a larger collection that has lead this legion to be recognized as a military museum. 

Pensive in Rome

Walking around the Campo de Fiori area I came across this chap caught up in his own thoughts, but in between putting the camera to my eye and pressing the shutter he leant forward and assumed an even more pensive mood.

Stalking Lions in Hong Kong

Lions don't really wander the streets of Hong Kong, but then again, sometimes they do..... at least in representative form. Wandering around you sometimes hear the crash of cymbals and the bang of drums. This generally means a lion dance is taking place, usually to bring luck to a new business venture, or, at Lunar New Year, to bring luck for the coming year.

Sometimes you just see these fellows. They wait patiently.

In Saint Denis Samsung Rules. OK! - Part 1

So here I was exiting the metro at Porte de La Chapelle. Sunny skies, locals on their cell phones and me gliding higher and higher on the escalator like Stairway to Heaven. For those who haven't been here before, you know it's a metro because of the big sign. See the M on the left. Not to be confused with the letter M, which the French use for Merde.

Porte de la Chapelle is only a few steps (famous last words used by hotels to describe their proximity to the center of a city when in fact they are miles away!) from Saint Denis on the outskirts of Paris. St Denis, which as you all know, has a Basilica where most of the kings of France were laid to rest. Well actually they are turning in their graves. How do I know?  you ask in that ever so reticent voice so as not to offend the writer.  I did a survey! No - really Larry?  Ok then, Look up! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No - its a Sign of Things to Come. Foreign domination in France. Mon Dieu! You cry.  Yes - its the sad truth that St Denis has new rulers. Welcome King Samsung.

St Denis has suffered numerous setbacks. It lost most of it's population during the Hundred Year War, lost it's name during the French Revolution, was run by Communist Mayors for 40 years at the beginning of the 20th century, and suffered from the economic depression of the 70s and 80s leaving its heavily industrialized base in disarray. So of course the market was left wide open for the Koreans and Japanese to walk right in and leave their mark for all to see all over the tallest washing-machine like apartment buildings in the area, which at least adds some color to the otherwise depressing local skyline.

 

A hop, skip and a jump later and you are at the door of St Denis itself.  And I mean hop, skip, and a jump because there is no pedestrian walkway from the ring road to St Denis. Yes that's right. You have to dodge 6 lanes of traffic from 2 directions simultaneously, make it across an off ramp on a blind curve next to the Bowling Alley on the the corner. And, if that's not enough, when you get to the fork in the road you have to hop over the metal barrier, walk over a bridge, skip over the trash and jump out of the way of the cars who are trying to rear end you. Ok. I made it.

Onward to my destination. Ill tell you in a minute where that is. Be patient! So where was I? Oh yes. Is this the doorway to the Valley of the Kings? No - its the local cemetery for the surfs -  like you and me.

 

Can it get any worst before it gets any better.  Well today it doesn't, despite the fact the crime rate in St. Denis is double the national average. Do I see a glimmer of hope?

 

A little way down the road at number 80 is an office/warehouse complex, which once inside, leaves you with the feeling of "Phew - I'm safe at last".  Inside the well manicured grass lawns and Hausmannian designed roads, once can find several film studios. It is also home of EICAR International Film School where the young students still show off their ever so innocent smiles and creativity is flourishing.  Could this be St Denis's answer to economic recovery? Will we see the birth of the French version  of Slumdog Millionaire.

 

This important question and more they you ever wanted to know about Paris will be discussed ad nauseum in part 2. So stay tuned Space Fans.

Photographing Montmartre in Paris

View this photoMontmartre

As instantly recognisable as the Eiffel tower, the Arch de Triumph and the Champs Elysée this area of Paris that seems to have never changed or stopped (it doesn’t have time)! Since the days when the likes of Salvador Dali and Vincent Van Gogh and their other  infamous artist friends including Modligiani, Picasso, Monet to mention but a few frequented the bars between trying to sell their works of art.

It is no different today than it was back in the nineteenth century, except that the traffic that occasionaly passes today is no longer horse drawn. The most fréquent trafic is that of the electric tourist train that passes almost unnoticed every twenty minutes or so with a new batch of excited and eager tourists.

With the impressive and enormous backdrop of the Sacre Cœur(sacred heart) basilica giving onto the panoramic vistas of romantic Paris below it is a photographers dream.

 

It is this backdrop that keeps me coming back for more, and inspires me to push myself further in order to find a new perspective on a subject that I have photographed and shown many others how to photograph over and over. One thing is certain though, the light is never the same but always magical !

The other oft forgotten gem is the cemetary of Montmartre. It is the resting place of the once adored and still idolised singer Dalida, and also the Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinksy. Because there are so many photo opportunities people keep coming back !

It is a place not to be missed or rushed, sit and take your time, enjoy a coffee and watch the artists work as they did in Monet’s era. It is the best live théâtre you’re likely to see, and absolutely free.