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Window Shopping In Bordeaux

No kidding, this was the neighborhood grocery store where we were staying at in Bordeaux. If this was my local grocery store, I don’t think I would ever keep anything in the pantry at home. I would visit it everyday, shoot some photos, and grab a piece of fruit and coffee on my way to work. In the evening, this hub of commerce flashed back to the days of the Salon when the local youth would come out to enjoy the surrounding cafes and discuss the day’s topics. It was the heart of the neighborhood, and just the down the street from our hotel.

Travel Guides: When I get back from visiting a town, I try to put together a quick travel guide that usually includes a map of photo locations and a quick list of things to do, places to eat, and where to stay. You can find all my travel guides, including the Unofficial Definitive Guide to Cozumel, over here:

http://www.hossedia.com/travel/

I hope to be publishing my guide to France very soon. Stay tuned!

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

The Old Vineyard

The Old Vineyard

I’m pretty sure I committed an international crime by not sampling any wine while driving through the vineyards of France on our way to Bordeaux. I guess I am more of a Leffe Brune type of guy. Boy, that is a good Belgium beer!

Google suggest that our drive from La Mongie to Bordeaux was around 3hours. We decided to stay off the interstate and take the back roads, which added about 4 hours and an untold number of stories to the drive. Well worth the extra time. One of the the vineyards we passed had an old monastery on its property. As you drive through the French countryside, you get used to seeing quaint villages surrounding a cathedral rich in character. If you stopped at everyone one, it would would take you a week to drive 300km. But this one, I couldn’t pass up. I will post the abandoned monastery sometime in the future. For now, I really liked the gate that led me to it.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Nikkor 45mm PC-E
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA film

Aperture f/4.2
Focal Length 45 mm
ISO Speed 200

Processing Notes:

Capture – 7 images @ 1EV
Photomatix – HDR Tonemapping
Photoshop – Global Curves Adjustment
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour Glow (2x)
Nik Color Efext Pro – Tonal Contrast (selective)
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com

Tip: If you schedule a day to explore the countryside into your trip, use it. Don’t rush to your destination. You will get there, but take time to fill your life with what is uniquely everyday.

3rd Time’s A Charm

Saint-Andre Cathederal Bordeaux, FR

Now that I have fully recovered from my jet lag induced haze, I can get back to sharing some images from my recent trip to France. The trip began with a 5 day stay in the little town of La Mongie nestled in the Pyrenees. We rode our bikes over some of the most famous mountains in the Tour De France (Col de Tourmalet, Aspin, Soulor, Aubisque as well as Luz Ardiden). It was both humbling and inspiring to measure yourself against the times of your heroes. They are much faster than I am, but the throngs of fans who were camped out along the mountain roads cheered us on as if we were in the Yellow Jersey. It was an experience I will never forget.

As for this image, once we left La Mongie we traveled to Bordeaux to watch the individual time trial. We arrived a day early which left us plenty of time to explore the town. In the center of the town is the massive Cathedral Saint-Andre. I walked around it several times, both day and night, trying to decide how I wanted to make an image of it. It wasn’t until my 3rd lap that I noticed this small diorama of the cathedral itself. I then realized that this is the image I had been looking for.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Nikkor 17-35 AFS
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA

Aperture f/4.0
Focal Length 35 mm
ISO Speed 800 (oops)

Processing Notes:

Capture – 9 images @ 1ev
Photomatix – HDR/ToneMapping
Photoshop – Curves Adjustment
Photoshop – Vibrancy/Sat Adjustment
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com

Cance, Cance, Cance, Cance, Cancellara…..

Fabian Cancellara

The Tour is coming to a close, but not before World Time Trial Champion Fabian Cancellara puts his stamp on the final time trail.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Nikkor 80-200 AFD

Exposure1/5000 sec
Aperturef/2.8
Focal Length200 mm
ISO Speed200
Exposure Bias0 EV
FlashNo Flash

Processing Notes:

Capture
Adobe Camera Raw
Nik Viveza 2
Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 – Tonal Contrast filter (sliders at 5%)
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com

Tip: Make sure you remember that the final riders in the Tour de France time trial, leave at 3:00min intervals, as opposed to 1:00min intervals. It will surely help with your planning.