St Nicolas Basilica, Nantes

Posted on Jun 19, 2019Jun 16, 2019 Posted in Architecture, Nantes PhotographyTagged 16-35mm, architechture, Canon 6d Mark II, church, gothic, Nantes, prayer, saints, St Nicolas Basilica4 Comments

Do you remember me saying that in one of my previous articles that I would show you the inside of the Basilica? Chose dite, chose faite. As I say, I will do! You may be a Catholic, you may not be. I’m not going to judge anyone. You may even be a convinced, and militant atheist. I am going to present a building to you that was designed by men for the glory of God. Everything in it was made to centre on God and the presence of God in the Tabernacle.

Even though you might not share those beliefs, a church is not an ordinary building. It is not just a place. There is something special, as there is in any place of worship. We see the hopes and wishes of men being handed over to something that is a power beyond them. These are the prayers represented by the candles in the Catholic tradition, and the statues to remind us of the piety of certain saints and the symbolism that is included in the representation in those statues. The same is true in the artwork. It is what it represents to the faithful. The stations of the cross which retell the story of Jesus’ final sacrifice here on earth, and the sacrifice of the mass.

It is a place of contemplation. So let’s contemplate…

In the streets of Nantes on Ascension Thursday 2019

Posted on Jun 9, 2019Jun 10, 2019 Posted in Architecture, Bikes, Black and White Photography, France, Nantes Photography, Street PhotographyTagged bicycles, black and white, Cafe, Canon 6d Mark II, church, Nantes2 Comments

Same day as the last article, but this series is about the streets on Nantes, with some obligatory bike shots, some lovely knockers, shops, churches, and other buildings. This seems to represent part of my universe when I’m in Nantes. Or more the way I see this little area of Nantes.

I usually park in the Feydeau car park, and head through Bouffay, towards Place Royale where I’ll eat in either the Sugar Blue Café (really nice and one of my favourites) and when it’s not open I have to cross the road and eat at the Suppli Factory which is like Italian street food, but not on the street, but still really good food!

After the food, which was delicious we headed off towards the St Nicolas Basilica (photos of which will be the subject of another article) and up past the Cathedral towards the river Erdre (yet another article). Spoiler alert!!!

The river Erdre in Nantes and some birds…

Posted on Jun 5, 2019Jun 5, 2019 Posted in Landscape Photography, Nantes Photography, Wildlife PhotographyTagged birds, Canon 6d Mark II, cormorant, erdre, heron, Nantes, river, telephoto, Wildlife4 Comments

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.

Photography in the streets of Nantes, May 2019

Posted on May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 Posted in Architecture, Black and White Photography, Landscape Photography, Nantes PhotographyTagged black and white, Cafe, France, Fujifilm X Series, ijm photography, Nantes, Snapseed, Street Photography, X100F2 Comments

Now that you’ve had a bit of time to get used to me, I’m going to show you some of the usual photography I do, to keep my eye in. No fancy lenses. Just the Fujifilm X100F with it’s 35mm equivalent lens.

So basically I go into town with my small inconspicuous little camera that does the business, and, believe it or not, take some photos. I then find a café to sit in, take a few more photos just in case, and start editing.

That entails sending the photos from the camera onto my phone via Wi-Fi, and getting annoyed when I have to start again a few times… Then comes the editing on my phone with Snapseed, and there you are. Photos ready to publish on Instagram or Facebook etc.

Win I do this I have my own preset as a starting point and that allows me to finely tune the end result. I nearly always go black and white for this kind of photography. The idea being that o manage to get photos of the ordinary things and try and give the justice. You’ll be able to decide when you look through.

On this particular trip, those of you who know Nantes will be able to see exactly where I went…

Modern architecture on the Île de Nantes

Posted on Apr 16, 2019Aug 25, 2019 Posted in Architecture, Black and White Photography, France, Nantes Photography, Street Photography, UrbanLeave a comment

I remember when the words, “modern,” and “architecture,” when used together in the same sentence would conjure up images of post-war concrete brutalism. Think carparks from thw 1960’s etc.

Thankfully, this is no longer the case! Or at least I hope not. So nearly 60 years later, yes, that does give you a bit of a choc, modern architecture is no longer a dirty word, used, to put architects down.

In this series of photos you will see geometric forms, textures, walkways, and a place I would consider living if it wasn’t so pricy… Maybe in the 60’s they said similar things, but this time around, I believe them!

Today’s weapon of choice was the Canon 6d Mark II and the 16-35mm lens.

Down by the waterfront Part 2

Posted on Apr 12, 2019Apr 12, 2019 Posted in Architecture, Art, Black and White Photography, France, Nantes Photography, UrbanTagged 16-35mm lens, Canon, Canon 6d Mark II, Chantiers navals, elephant, grue titan, hangar à bananes, ile de nantes, jaune, le voyage à Nantes, Nantes, YellowLeave a comment

Right, where was I? Ah yes, down by the waterfront, the front being the Hangar à Bananes and the water being the Loire. So we’ve done the Grue Titan, had a quick look at the rings, and even looked at the Cantine where Kate and I had lunch.

Whilst having lunch I noticed a gentleman and his wife and their two boys. There’s a kind of hilly thing that the children can play on and I think I have a picture of it somewhere… It’s called the “Coline” which means hill. I get you a photo next time… Anyway. I noticed the guy had a rather nice camera and we got talking, and comparing photos and Instagrams etc. Which was nice because anyone that knows me, knows how I can go on and on about photography, and my wife gets bored of it all very quickly, but this guy didn’t. So thank you very much Patrick.

The conversation kept going and it turned out that he, and his wife had moved to Nantes from Paris in much the same way as I had moved to Vendée from Paris in 2001. So we got talking about the differences and how we both had no regrets coming out here. The conversation turned into an impromptu photo walk and it was lovely!

This is where you get to see the big Yellow Titan crane, which has become a symbol of Nantes, as well as the elephant, which is massive and definitely something that every child wants to see and go on!