Personal Favorites from France

[NorthernFocus]

I had plans to put together a couple of posts organized either chronologically or geographically from our trip. However when I process my images I don't work that way. I tend to scan through and pick out a few favorites then take weeks/months to finish culling the rest. So rather than wait weeks/months, I figured I'd go ahead and post of few of my favorites from the trip. So what constitutes a favorite? Well regardless of how many photos I take, I still have emotional attachments (for various reasons) which cloud my judgement on what may be generically considered a "good" photo. But it's my thread so here goes.

One place we visited was the Clinique van Goch in St.Remy de Provence. Formerly known as the Saint-Paul Asylum, this is where Vincent van Gogh voluntarily admitted himself after cutting off part of his own ear in 1889. Originally a priory, some of the buildings were built in the 12th century. They are constructed of the locally quarried limestone/marble. We were on a guided tour led by an historian who has spent years studying van Gogh and his work (frankly when I look at his paintings I understand why he was in an asylum but that's for another discussion). Whether done intentionally or by chance, the lighting in some of the exterior halways was just beautiful. Plus I was struck by the thought of van Gogh and heaven knows who else had walked on these same stones over the past eight centuries. I attempted to capture the lighting. This was shot at mid-day. The yellow tones are due to the light reflecting off of the stone.

This is one of the times during the trip I regretted not having better gear with me.
Nikon V1, 24mm(65mm equiv), f/8 @ 1/50, ISO 400, handheld


My other favorite was shot in the harbor in Cassis. For one thing, having been on/around the water all my life I'm a boat nut. I actually learned to walk aboard a ship which I blame from my life long affliction (i.e. boat lover). We were in Cassis four days/three nights with mostly varying degrees of overcast skies. Our last day cleared up and that evening I got the lighting I'd been looking for to shoot some boats. These are working fishing boats. There are probably 30-40 of them in the harbor along with various more modern craft. Had this been morning light the one boat name would have been a perfect title. Aurore is French for dawn.

NIKON V1, f/11 @ 110 mm(300mm equiv), 1/500, ISO 200, CPL, handheld

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[Donald]

I appreciate, from earlier posts, that the V1 is not on your list of recommended 'must buys', but the evidence shows that if you put it in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, then the results can be pretty impressive.

Two wonderful images.

[Mike Buckley]

Two thumbs up for both images. That presents a problem because I don't have four thumbs.

[John 2]

Two really good images. The light in the first is beautiful and the reflections make the second.

[Smudger]

Agreed. Both are wonderful images. If I had to choose, I think I would lean towards the second. Now that one is awesome in my opinion. I love the tones on the white boats but I also love the vibrant colors and yes, the reflections do really add flavor to this beauty.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the comments, folks. I also worked on a B/W conversion of the first image. It shows more details in the stonework but obviously loses that soft, creamy glow and the rich colors of the wooden door. It may be another learning opportunity to post it for C/C, but definately a case IMO where a lot is lost without the color.

I appreciate, from earlier posts, that the V1 is not on your list of recommended 'must buys', but ...the results can be pretty impressive.

Donald it's not that the V1 isn't capable of producing nice images. I always say it is about on par with sensor performance of the Nikon D200. In adequate light it does fine. And it captures RAW images so there is plenty of room for PP. It's the handling and controls that are the issue. Given plenty of time to set up and fuss around with the controls it's OK. But in a hurry I'm totally useless with it.

[Digital]

Dan, really nice captures.



Bruce

[deetheturk]

Another two lovely images Dan!

[Manfred M]

Dan - these are great shots, in spite of the limitations of the tools at your disposal.

I'm going through a similar learning experience, and your pain made me realize I had better be able to deal with the idiocyncacies of the gear before we head off on a trip, so I'm practicing lots (and cursing the camera).

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the comments, folks. Provence was definitely a target rich environment.

Manfred, that's a good idea practicing a bit with the new camera before any serious usage. The layout and design of the controls is so poor on the V1 that it was still frustrating even at then end of over two weeks of daily use. I believe Nikon has corrected some of the major issues on later 1 version bodies. One really has to wonder if the engineers/designers at Nikon are shooters themselves.

[bnnrcn]

I like both of them very much Dan

[Manfred M]

Thanks for the comments, folks. Provence was definitely a target rich environment.

Manfred, that's a good idea practicing a bit with the new camera before any serious usage. The layout and design of the controls is so poor on the V1 that it was still frustrating even at then end of over two weeks of daily use. I believe Nikon has corrected some of the major issues on later 1 version bodies. One really has to wonder if the engineers/designers at Nikon are shooters themselves.

Unfortunately, it's not just Nikon (or Canon). I think that this problem is pervasive throughout the industry. The functionality and the ability to manipulate all of the critical camera controls just by feel, while looking through the viewfinder seem to have become obsolete. I some was I suspect the issue is that the small mirrorless cameras simply don't have the real estate on the camera body to allow this to happen. I find that on a full-frame body, there is the real estate there so that all of the important controls have been properly landmarked and the shooter can work by feel.

In the grand old days of camera design; the main players would bring in an strong, external design lead who, based on a set of requirements, would sit down and deliver an end-to-end camera design. Unfortunately, gone are the days where Canon would bring in a Luigi Colani to develop an new. Nikon brought in Giorgetto Giugiaro to design the D4 and D800. I rather suspect the others use in-house teams that work in their silos, and I also suspect that Canon and Nikon use their in-house teams that are likely over-ruled by their marketing departments and other internal stakeholders.

So we end up with a camera designed by a committee, and the end user suffers. I also suspect that these small cameras are tying to be everything to everybody. A pro camera body is going to be designed for a pro shooter. An amateur camera body is more likely going to be designed to appeal to a very wide audience; anything from a rank beginner with lots of money (someone who believe a more expensive camera is going to automatically make them a better photographer) to a serious amateur who wants a more portable solution. These vastly different end users are going to result in a schizophrenic design; the camera will work well enough, but the opposing design parameters are going to drive both extremes in users crazy!

[Brownbear]

Just to say the image of the arches is especially beautiful!

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks, Binnur and Christina.

Manfred, I think another thing that influenced at least the V1 controls is the addition of the viewfinder. The controls are reasonably designed if one is holding the camera away from the face and using the LCD screen. Putting the eye to the viewfinder and keeping it there while manipulating controls is where the problems begin. Then again, some of my pain is self inflicted. I shoot exclusively in manual exposure mode which requires constant manipulation of both ss and aperture. So in effect I guess I'm blaming someone else for my own problems

[Mike Buckley]

I guess I'm blaming someone else for my own problems

I do that regularly by blaming my wife and don't appreciate you publicly posting the idea that anything could be wrong with that.

[NorthernFocus]

I do that regularly by blaming my wife and don't appreciate you publicly posting the idea that anything could be wrong with that.

Sorry I must have typed that in a moment of weakness. To set the record straight, it ALL THEIR FAULT

[Manfred M]

Thanks, Binnur and Christina.

Manfred, I think another thing that influenced at least the V1 controls is the addition of the viewfinder. The controls are reasonably designed if one is holding the camera away from the face and using the LCD screen. Putting the eye to the viewfinder and keeping it there while manipulating controls is where the problems begin. Then again, some of my pain is self inflicted. I shoot exclusively in manual exposure mode which requires constant manipulation of both ss and aperture. So in effect I guess I'm blaming someone else for my own problems

That is sort of the same issue with my GX7, I think the designers figured that the camera would primarily be used in fully automatic mode. The tiny controls are a bit of a challange, but I am getting better at finding them without taking my eye off the viewfinder. I'm just glad I don't have larger hands.