La Lune Chez Prune

My 3 months of travels in France (and a week in Germany) have now come to a close. These b&w shots of Paris by night are the last post of this "en parentheses" series. This trip was wonderful and I loved taking pictures and sharing them with you. Thank you for your support, your comments, and your questions on this blog, on Facebook, in emails, and in our conversations. They made the experience much more dynamic, much richer.

I'll conclude with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that I find expresses well my own approach to photography:

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not."

Enjoy :-)

 
 
 
 

Tango in Paris

Victoria and Leonardo, our Tango teachers for a one week workshop here in Paris, are masters of this artform and show such enthusiasm sharing their knowledge. These photos are from a demonstration they gave during an evening ball.

 
 
 

Projection a la Villette

Le Parc de la Villette was created in 1979 in the north of Paris, on the site of former slaughter houses built under Napoleon III. The huge facility offers all kinds of cultural events all year long, including free "cinema en plein air" during summer time. We went to see Cry-Baby, a parody of American teen musicals by John Waters with Johnny Depp. It's amazing how much culture is available in Paris, through events, museums or libraries, for free or very little.

 
 


 

 


 
 
 

Le Beaufortain, details du soir

 
 
 
 

Le Beaufortain, details du jour

 
 
 
 

Le Beaufortain, the big picture

 
 
 
 

Le Beaufortain

Ah, the crisp air, the pristine nature, the stunning landscapes of the Alps! My brother and I went for a 4 day trek in le Beaufortain in complete autonomy and were fortunate to have gorgeous weather all the way. I do not regret carrying the weight of my camera: every view was breathtaking.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Sete Harbor II

Same location as last post, in square formats.

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Sete Harbor I

Unless you experience it, you can only understand the power of an ocean storm with what man makes to protect a harbor. My brother, some friends and I went underwater hunting behind the dam of Sete's harbor, on the Mediterranean shore not far for Spain. Cubes of concrete form a massive modern art functional installation, backed up by huge wall. Very industrial and human at the same time, with many locals enjoying their sunday at the "beach".

Riding a glider

Fayence is a renowned place for gliders, open 365 days a year. The hilly surroundings provide upward air currents that lift the plane after it's dropped. Some go from there up to the Mont Blanc, the highest point of the Alps. We did a 25 min ride above the villages around.

The plane: so light it feels like your sitting on air.

The gauges are very simple too: how high, how fast, and how much altitude you gaining or loosing - no gas gauge.

You do have to wear a parachute and remember to pull this if needed.

My pilot and the plane pulling us.

Once the cable is dropped, total freedom.