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Watercolors
I’ve always loved watercolor painting but it’s something I haven’t really kept up with. When I was in France, I was so enchanted with all the doors and took tons of pictures of them. I had the idea there to do a series of paintings of them. I finally got around to doing one. But at this point it’s been so long since I’ve painted, that I tried the same door three times, to try to get a sense of the style I wanted to use. These are not great – I am really rusty – but it’s progress! So for the next one, maybe I’ll choose a simpler door design… The first one, I felt like the ink lines were too thick, plus I totally missed that the windows on the door had arched tops. The second one, no pen outlines, and the third, a finer pen. I’m not sure which I like the most. Leaning toward the no-lines one. What do you think?
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Cyanotypes
I started seeing these posts on Facebook or Instagram or somewhere – you know, the ones you didn’t ask for and they just keep spamming you with it – of a person doing cyanotypes with digital negatives and a UV light. So, after seeing so many, I decided it might be fun to try it myself. So I got the chemicals, made some digital negatives, and got a UV light and did it. They are not great, but I don’t know, I kind of like them. This is the first batch – planning on printing up another set of negatives in the next day or two, so we’ll see.
I used Photographer’s Formulary cyanotype kit, liquid so I didn’t really have to mix anything except Part A and Part B together. I got a Everbeam 50 watt UV light from Amazon, which was highly recommended. I just used my cheap Epson 4205 for the negatives, which turned out fine, I think. I was a little shocked that it worked, but I did have to tape the transparency paper to a plain sheet of paper so the sensor in the printer would see it. The first few I tried only printed about 2″ and then stopped. So that was an easy fix. I used some random cheap watercolor paper I have around – it was just leftover pieces so I’m not sure what kind it was. Most of my exposures were about 7 minutes. I used a box that I cut a hole in the top of for the light, putting the light at about 9″ I think from the paper. Used a clip frame to keep the negative and paper together.
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Farmer’s Market
I had a 52 Frames assignment to photograph in the style of another photographer, so I chose Elliott Erwitt. I love his dog photos and his juxtaposition and humor. I am definitely no Elliott Erwitt but I set out at the Farmer’s Market to find some dogs to photograph, trying to emulate him in some small way. Here’s what I got:
All photos were taken with my Ricoh GRIIIX and custom black and white recipe.
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Just Random Stuff
The 52 Frames assignment a week or two ago was “what is it?” and I used a macro lens to try to get something. Here are a few outtakes from that assignment. It was fun!
All images taken with Nikon Z50ii and Z 105 2.8 MC lens.
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70-200 Practice
Gary and Hazel got to practice their modeling skills and I got to practice my shooting skills with the Nikon Z 70-200 2.8. Not the newest model of the lens, of course, but this lens is a really beautiful lens, and yes, heavy, but takes amazing action photos. We were just in the backyard so not too much for the scenery. I would like to take this combination to one of the trails and try letting them run there and see what we get, so hopefully that’ll come soon. In the meantime, way too many pictures as usual but it’s Gary and Hazel so it’s ok.
All of the following photos taken with Nikon Z50ii and Z 70-200 2.8:
And then a few with the Z 50 1.8 lens:
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French Doors
I am obsessed with the doors in France. I have no idea why; I’m not that interested in them in the US I don’t think. Those and cafe chairs. And that’s probably because we don’t even have many (or really any) of those. But the doors, I don’t know. I remember being fascinated by them in Belgium and in Montreal and in Italy. Maybe it’s just because they’re so different or maybe it’s because they fit neatly into a frame. (I also love the numbers.) Blue doors are a feature of Brittany architecture, so there are plenty of those! Anyway, the doors themselves are way more interesting than anything I’m going to write about them so here are a few of my favorites.
All photos: Nikon Z50ii with 18-50 2.8 DX lens. Highly recommend for travel photography or just everyday!
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Seaside in Bretagne
We visited the coast twice this trip. The first time, we picnicked at a beautiful spot that we had not been before, and then on another day, we walked GR34 again; same section, still as beautiful. The picnic day was pretty cool, but it still was so nice eating our baguettes with prosciutto and cheese, and the walk was on a simply stunning day, full sun, just gorgeous. I really could have walked for hours. It’s just so invigorating and special there. I tried to get photos of the waves crashing into the rocky coast, and got a few with some spray. That was kind of fun. I just really love this place. I was so happy to be back!
All photos taken with Nikon Z50ii and Z 18-50 2.8 lens.
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Quimper, France
The last of the Brittany cities we visited, but it’s a favorite. And SO MANY creperies! But we enjoyed walking around, visiting the Quimper Cathedral. So many old (like 1400s to 1800s) saints, I guess, there. Also we stumbled across a tropical botanical garden, Jardin exotique de la Retraite right in downtown Quimper. Very interesting and fun place!
All photos taken with Nikon Z50ii and Z 18-50 2.8 lens.
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Lorient, France
We went to Lorient this trip so it was our first time there. It was a typical city but had a nice waterfront area where we walked and came across le Tour de la Découverte, a lighthouse that was reconstructed between 1785-1786. While we were walking by, a man was playing bagpipes outside of it; it sounded like he was warming up for something. It was pretty fun to see and hear. We had lunch and walked around. A nice, seaside city.
All photos taken with Nikon Z50ii and Z 18-50 2.8 lens.
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Concarneau, France
We really enjoy visiting Concarneau. It is a city with two distinct areas, and also with a lot of interesting things. I’m sure we just scratched the surface but we visited the Ville Close, which is a walled town on an island in the centre of the harbor. This area was a shipbuilding area and parts date back to the 14th century; but now, it’s set aside for tourists mostly with restaurants and gift shops, along with the walls that you can climb stairs to get to the top of and see some really nice views of the harbor and all the boats.
The modern part of Concarneau is a nice smaller sized city but with everything you need. We tried to go to an excellent local restaurant that we went to previously, but now that it’s March, reservations were required and we did not have one. So we found something else, and it was great, too. We also went to a few shops, saw some Pug beer in this really nice shop, and went to a bookstore, coffee store, and friperie (vintage thrift store).
We also saw a fisherman dragging his giant nets from one boat to a van. We never did see the fish though!
All photos taken with Nikon Z50ii and Z 18-50 2.8 lens.
