Wandering with my camera

Even if it is very challenging to use it, backlighting has always been one of my favorite photography technics. It is a great way to make a sometimes simple subject interesting and mysterious because only its silhouette is going to appear on the photograph.

While walking around Paris with Alex, we saw these large number of birds in a tree and realized that it was going to be hard to capture the scene with the camera because of the strong backlight and the clear blue sky. But I decided to try anyway and loved the effect generated by the contre-jour. It is as if the photograph turned into a mysterious painting. It reminds me of the Hitchcock movie “The Birds”. The birds are all black and mysterious and you nearly wonder if they are going to dive on us.

Birds Against Daylight, Paris, France

I am quite glad there was a “contre-jour” for this photograph as I don’t think it would have looked as interesting if we had been able to see the details of the birds and the tree.

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France, Paris by Marylise

One of my favorite moment when I am taking photographs is to be able to capture an unexpected shot. I get totally excited about it and as crazy as it sounds, it can simply make my day! Once, I had the chance to meet a baby bear on a trail in Yosemite. He stopped and stared at us for a while so we were able to take a bunch of photos… not sure where his mom was but, luckily, she didn’t show up.

In Kauai, you will definitely not run into a bear and there are actually not so many wild animals there. You will mostly find chickens, birds and goats. Wild pigs are hiding in the remote areas and there are not very easy to spot for the random hiker. So, you can imagine how excited I got when this little baby pig walked up the trail to meet us. At first, I thought that his mom was not far but she never showed up and seeing how skinny he is, I think he sadly lost her.

Meeting the locals on our hike!

We spent a good amount of time looking at him and taking photos and continued our hike. He followed us for a while and finally decided to get off the trail and return in the bushes. I am not sure what happened to him and hope he found some food and a place to rest as he was exhausted. Nature can be really hard sometimes. I definitely never thought I could find a pig cute though!

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Hawaii by Marylise

We all know how important the light is when taking a photograph. It can completely change the atmosphere and feel of the photograph and early morning or sunset lights are usually preferred.

I think this photograph is an incredible example of how the light can enhance a shot. I didn’t edit it much… it just didn’t need any edits as the light of the sunset gave this amazing gold color to the sand.

Golden sand in Kauai

The other great element is this shot is the texture. I love the drawings the water is making on the sand after it has gone over it… simply gorgeous work of nature. I was lucky to be seating on this incredible beach and witness this magical moment.

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Hawaii by Marylise

It is Memorial Day in America so I have a extra day off for the week-end which is awesome. I have had a great time this week-end so far and I enjoying a peaceful day and remembering the meditation retreat I did a couple weeks ago.

When you go to a silent meditation retreat, it is recommended to not take anything with you… no books, no cell phone, no food, no knitting project… nothing… nothing… nothing… basically nothing that could give you a reason to be distracted from your thoughts. The idea is to focus on the essential things in life: breathing, walking and eating. It is definitely very hard to stay 7 days completely removed from the world and without talking but the positive effects you can feel after are well worth the time. Plus, the food they offer you is so incredibly tasty and healthy that, by itself, it has very positive effect too.

So, yes, I did go away for 7 days and didn’t talk… not even to Alex… but I did take my camera with me (I just can’t go to such a gorgeous place without it). I never took it out during the day… first to not disturb the other people at the retreat and also because I wanted to focus on my practice. The weather was quite bad at the beginning of the week. Then we had a couple of clear nights with nearly full moon and beautiful stars so I was able to take little adventures under the stars toward the end of the week. I went out twice. The photograph below is the first one I took. I had been hiking everyday by this statue of Buddha sitting in the grass on the side of the trail and I just loved the setting. That’s where I decided to compose my first photograph.

Buddha under the Stars, Spirit Rock, Woodacre, Ca

My central subject here was the statue and I wanted a star trail behind it. I also loved the green hill and long grass on it as a background for the buddha so I was hopeful, it would make for a perfect shot… and indeed, I am super happy with it. I exposed the photograph for 30 minutes… and the camera processed it for another 30 minutes so this single shot took a full hour. I love how the buddha is so still and doesn’t move while the grass was so shaken up by the wind. It creates a great blurry effect in the green. Finally, the stars in the sky are gorgeous and I got my star trail. I can’t describe how happy I was when the image appeared on my LCD screen… could not wait to get home to see it on the big screen.

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California by Marylise

Back from a wonderful and peaceful week-end in the California wine country… It always happens… When I take time to rest and relax, my inspiration returns naturally.

Alex and I escaped again for a wonderful week-end in Yountville at our favorite resort. Bardessono is one of these incredible places where time stops and it is just so easy to forget about the stress of our everyday life.
After a good night and delicious breakfast, we took some bikes and went to explore the surroundings. We quickly stopped to admire some happy cows in a field and while I got some nice shots of the cows, my favorite photograph is the one of the barb wire that closes their field.

Barb Wire, Yountville, Napa Valley, CA

I like the mix of depth and close up in this photograph as well as the beautiful light. The subject is very simple and there is nothing particular about it but the lines and blurry background make you wonder where it will stop and what is at the end of the road… so I will just let your imagination wander…

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California by Marylise

I always enjoyed photographing still life subjects and should do it more. What I usually look for is a different angle to capture the object to enhance one of its features or I try to play with blur effects or shadows. In this photograph, I like how blurry the knife is and how it frames the photo while we also have some blurry effect in the name written on the plate. There are not many shadows but the one generated by the fork is crisp and interesting to me… finally, the little bread crumbs left in the plate are a nice finish to the photograph. I think it would be less interesting with an empty, clean plate.

Great brunch in the sunshine

“Bouchon” is an incredible restaurant. It is located in Yountville, a little town in the heart of the wine country in California. It is like a French Bistro, has excellent food, a wonderful outdoor space and the “Bouchons” are their marquee dessert and a “must-have”. They are little chocolate cakes shaped like corks and simply taste incredible. Yum… next time I go, I promise I will take a photo of them. 🙂

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California by Marylise

Sardinia was an incredible setting to go climbing and we found amazing areas where not only the climbing was incredible but also, where I found plenty of occasions to catch great climbing shots.

When photographing climbers, you often find yourself on the ground while the climber goes up and end-up taking a “butt shot”… while it can look fun… sometimes… it is often quite boring. We found this cave in Sardinia where I was able to enjoy the opportunity to position myself at the same level as the climbers and also played with the light to capture the sea and the climber’s figure while he was on this horrendous overhang.

Climbing and blue sea

Climbing, blue see, sun, great friends… no good excuse to not capture amazing photographs.

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Europe by Marylise

This photograph is part of a set of photos I have decided to start doing to highlight some of my creations. Whether it is something made by hands or cooked, I think it is cool to immortalized it.

When I was a kid, I used to crochet a lot and also recently picked up knitting. I have created a bunch of things but never thought about capturing the final product with my camera.

I created this scarf for my little niece Emma as a Christmas gift this year. I made a little hat using the same yarn and colors last year and thought it would be a good addition to it. The little flower was made with the crochet and the rest of the scarf is knitted.

A scarf for Emma

I like the light in this photo and the focus on my favorite details in this scarf which are the fringes and the flower. I have some work to improve my still life photography skills but I need to start somewhere!

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Creations by Marylise

Here is a photograph from my night shots collection. I like it a lot because it has a totally boring subject: a lamp post… but the fact that it was taken at night with a long exposure makes it totally cool.

Imagine the same shot during the day: We would have a lonely lamp post under blue sky or if we are lucky, some crazy clouds. But, when you take the time to head out at night (when the sky is clear so that the stars can be seen), the story becomes completely different. Of course, you need the patience to wait around for 15 or more minutes to take the shot and if you have a camera like mine (I have a Canon 40D), wait as long for the camera to process the photo and become usable again! But, I think it is so worth it and I get totally excited when I come back from my night photography experiences because I usually have some unique shots.

Spinning stars, Trehet, France

To get this effect, I opened the shutter for about 17 minutes and left my camera on the floor under the lamp post. I love the results. 🙂

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France by Marylise

The photograph I wanted to post today has nothing very special technically or in its composition but it is just a picture that made me smile when I looked at it because it captured a special moment and involves 2 of my favorite people.

I took this photograph of my little niece, Emma, right after the wedding ceremony of my cousin Laurianne and her new husband Stephan. While everybody was busy taking the traditional family and group pictures, Emma escaped and went playing around with the petals we sent earlier to the bride and the groom… and she was simply adorable. She was running around between the flowers and having blast on her own. Alex joined us and as she loves flying around, he started to play with her and I took the opportunity to get some good shots of the two of them having fun.

Emma is flying, Pomerol, France

I find it so awesome to take pictures of kids because they do random things that we don’t necessarily expect and they get excited about pretty much everything… and I must admit, I love taking my little niece just because she is amazingly cute!

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France by Marylise