It was Ascension Thursday which is a public holiday in France, and as usual I headed out to Nantes with my camera. The Canon had been getting jealous of the Fuji so I acquiesced.
Killian, my son, and favourite travelling companion (have a look at the photos from Edinburgh) came with me. We ate at the Suppli Factory, which was a lovely change, and also happened to be open!
We went round the St Nicolas Basilica (photos of which will be in an other article), and then walked up towards the Île de Versailles, which is an oriental garden themed park on an artificial island on the River Erdre in Nantes.
I had previously promised him a trip out in a small boat (you can hire small electric boats that you don’t need a permit for) and it was time to honour that promise.
The following photos were taken on that boat. It was a brilliant idea and the man that had it is obviously a genius. There was just the two of us. Sometimes joking. Sometimes talking. Sometimes saying nothing but just enjoying the father son moment.
I took out the 70-300mm zoom lens, just in case we spotted some birds that wanted their photographs taken. And it turned out to be yet another genius idea.
i like the heron pics.ours are still very active,lol,dad.
I was on the river yesterday with Kate and I got a good few of the herons in flight. They’re magnificent birds aren’t they!!
[…] First of all we have to talk about what a zoom lens is. Well, it’s a lens that allows you to zoom. Sorry about that, I couldn’t help myself. On a more serious note, it is a lens which glides through a series of focal lengths on the same lens. I have three zooms for my DSLR, a 16-35mm f4, a 24-70mm f4, and a 70-300 f4 – f5.6, and the 18-55mm (24-70 full frame equivalent) kit lens for my Fuji XT2. With three lenses I am covered from 16mm to 300mm, which for me is a big deal. My 16-35mm has me covered for wide angled vistas of the Place Cambronne in Nantes, and those distorted obligatory bike shots, to general street photography. My 24-70 f4 even has a macro function offering me even more versatility. I would class it as my events lens and can double for street photography, and even street portraits. It’s a veritable work horse of a lens and was what I used when I talked about spring. My 70-300 lens is for when I can’t get near enough to my subject without spooking it, be that my children messing around next to the river, or taking shots of cormorants sunbathing on the river Erdre in Nantes. […]
[…] of my favourite outings in Nantes is taking one of the electric boats out on the river, and I have this lens with me to capture the wildlife that I know I will see. I am by no means a […]