Round stone turret on an old house under a cloudy sky, Praktica MTL3 film, Le Gâvre, Loire-Atlantique

This One Is Mine: Shooting a Praktica MTL3 Again

My son was off to forge a knife, so I dropped him at Le Gâvre with a Praktica MTL3 and a roll of RPX 400 and went looking for something to photograph. It is the camera I learnt on in 1987: same model, same shutter noise, a different decade. The plan for the rest of the day was lunch, flowers and confession.

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Crowded bathing pool at the foot of a limestone quarry with children in the water and graffiti on the rock face, Canon AE1 Program 50mm, Nantes

Jardin Extraordinaire: This Time I Actually Looked at the Map

I headed back out with the Canon AE1 Program to capture more of the Voyage à Nantes, this time at the Jardin Extraordinaire—a hidden garden carved into an abandoned quarry. With the car at 48°C, it was sweltering, but the wandering through Chantenay and an unplanned brewery visit made the day worth every frame.

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Théo Mercier's Fossil Opera — sand ammonites and half-buried cars before the Opéra Graslin colonnade, Nantes

Voyage à Nantes: Following the Green Line

It was 46°C in the car when I set off and 40°C by the time I reached Place Graslin, which is not the weather for walking a city. But Le Voyage à Nantes paints a green line through the streets and I wanted to follow it, at least as far as I could manage without melting. The AE1, a roll of HP5+ rated at 100, and whatever the evening put in front of me.

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Haven’t Forgotten About You

I know it’s been quiet here, but that’s just the natural rhythm of accumulating material before bothering to process it properly. Jardin Extraordinaire, Voyage à Nantes, a zoo visit, and Normandy have all given me photographs and notes. New posts are coming soon.

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Twin towers of Basilique Saint-Donatien lit deep red against black night sky above Nantes street, Fujifilm X100F 23mm

Saints, Shadows and Brass: An Evening at the Festival Saint Donatien

A Friday in May, a Facebook message from an old friend, and a brass quintet about to perform at the Festival Saint Donatien in the Basilique Saint-Donatien, Nantes. I took the Fujifilm X100F, arrived early to hunt for light in the old stone streets around the basilica, and ended up inside one of the most atmospheric concerts I have attended in years.

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Black and white film photograph of crowds on the quarry rock pool at the Jardin Extraordinaire, Nantes, on a sunny April afternoon.

On Est Bien Là: Back at the Jardin Extraordinaire

A warm Sunday in April, a Canon EOS 500, and a roll of AGFA APX 100 at Nantes’ Jardin Extraordinaire. Film photography, slow days, and why it’s nice to be out in it.

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Black and white photograph of a Nantes café window with the handwritten French phrase "On ne peut pas acheter le bonheur mais on peut acheter du bon vin" — you can't buy happiness but you can buy good wine.

YOU CAN’T BUY HAPPINESS, BUT…

“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy good wine.” A philosophical photo essay exploring what Nantes, France teaches us about the good life—beauty as democracy, the right to solitude, and pleasure as infrastructure. Discover how black and white street photography reveals the architecture of everyday happiness in one of Europe’s most livable cities.

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Black and white film photograph of a person lying on a granite ledge at the water's edge in the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, trees and an urban building in the distance, shot on Ilford Pan 100 with a Nikon FE

Birdsong in Black & White: A Morning at the Jardin Extraordinaire

First visit to Nantes’ Jardin Extraordinaire meets first roll of Ilford Pan 100. Shot on a Nikon FE, developed at home in Ifosol 3, scanned on Opticfilm 8100. A slower pace, a Panama hat, and the Grue Titan in the distance. Why analogue photography still matters in 2026, and how film helps me be more authentic.

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