Marche aux fleurs

Just blocks away from Notre Dame in Ile de la Cite is the Flower Market. The last of its kind in Paris. It was like a little oasis in the city when we were there. No tourists, no lines, just beautiful colors and smells surrounding us as we strolled through.

Notre Dame's Gargoyles

I cannot begin to tell you how long I have wanted to photograph the famous gargoyles atop Notre Dame. These gargoyles  – half man, half beast – have presided over Paris since the medieval era. They have frightened away evil spirits and carried rain from the roof of Notre Dame's Cathedral for over 700 years.

Can you imagine 700 years? The Black Death, the Hundred Years War, the French Revolution, the Rise of Napoleon, the Impressionists working on the banks of the Seine, the Industrial Revolution, the impact of two World Wars... All these events and many more have come to pass under the gargoyles' watch.

To them, whole generations pass in the blink of a stony eye. I'm a gothic romantic at heart and I felt these guys deserved a vintage look. It's sort of my homage to my elders.

Bonjour Pari!

We have returned from Paris - city of lights, city of love, city of romance. Call it what you will, but you cannot deny that this city's soul is infectious. It's a place where time slows down and worries seem to disappear. To borrow a quote from Ms. Hepburn, "Paris isn't for changing planes, it's for changing your outlook! For throwing open the windows and letting in... letting in la vie en rose."

I now understand what Hemingway meant when he called Paris a moveable feast. I love this city. Every bit as much as I thought I would. And I know that it will stay with me, wherever I go for the rest of my life.

I quite literally took THOUSANDS of pictures. Chances are good that all the blog updates for the rest of the year may be of Paris. I could think of worse things. Besides, Paris is always a good idea!

 

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Christy Found There - Part II

This is the Part II of the shoot I did where I was playing off the whole Looking-Glass/Wonderland theme. I had three concepts in mind for the header of this blog. The first one, this one, and the still-yet to-be-revealed header. Although these don't work for my header idea, I still had fun with them. The middle one is my favorite. It reminds me of the disappearing cheshire cat. How cool would it be to appear and disappear at will?

 

Lake Greenwood in August

This is part 3 of the 4-part series I've been working on this year that documents (in HDR) the changing seasons reflected in the Lake Greenwood landscape. Part 3 is Summer. Take a look at Spring and Winter. In another 3 months, after I shoot Fall, I'll showcase all four images in one tetraptych. Although, I may need to revisit Spring. It's really not a very good image. Maybe I was uninspired that day. 

Lake Greenwood in August ~ HDR (5 shots - 2 up, 2 down)

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Christy Found There - Part I

It's rather obvious that the title of this blog is a reference to Lewis Carroll's sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass.

I love this story for a lot of reasons, primarily because of the fantasy vs. reality theme. I like the idea that logic, reason, and truth mean different things to different people. Am I foolish for believing in fantasy? Or are you foolish for your disbelief? It's all about your perspective and how it changes as you change.

In the book, Alice wonders what the world is like on the other side of a mirror. She soon discovers that she can step through it to an alternative world. Since my title is an homage of sorts, I wanted to play on that theme. I was trying to create the header for this blog and this theme didn't make the cut.  But I like these images - this idea that I'm looking in from an alternate reality.

You can find me in the club

Here is part 2 of the night shoot I did at City Walk. These are shots from inside a club. Another first for me. I'm not as thrilled with these, but the experience was interesting. It was the end of the night, I was hot (sweaty), and getting a lot of stares from the employees. Apparently they're not used to their patrons bringing in DSLRs on tripods.