A winter morning...

To follow on the recent post "Portrait in winter light - Dans la pâle lumière du matin d'hiver", let me present this series with Clara, model. This photoshoot was organised by the association, Image Contact, which I recently joined.

1 winter morning, 2 models, 8 cameras, 8 photographers and plenty of fun. People had brought various props and the bright orange umbrella had caught a lot of the photographers' attention. 

Many thanks to Clara for her patience and for agreeing for this series to be published. You can discover her modeling work on Clara's site.

Always watching

Straight look

Taller than a tree

Soft orange

No need to feel blue

Embracing the natural blue colours that fill our life. Blue brings content and relaxes. No need to feel blue.

The amazing calm sea of Bjärred. Fancy a proper swim? Walk for 100 meters into the water first, as this sea is very shallow. At the end of the pier, a restaurant with sea diving facilities awaits for you.

Old traditional Swedish house by the port of Kåseberga. Near Ales Stenar (standing stones site, similar to Stonehenge in the UK and Carnac in France)

Brittany with a blue sky and a teal sea. Lovely village of Doëlan.

Tronoën beach in Finistère, Brittany, is at the same time a paradise to surfers, bodyboarders, and can also be a danger to swimmers. Beautiful long sandy stretch attracting many tourists and professional extreme water sportsmen. The current is fierce and can drag you down in no time. 

This place is unique. This famous port comprises of many wooden houses / old warehouses built on huge rocks. Smögen, situated north of Gothenburg, is popular among sailors and coast lovers hanging out during the summer. Restaurants offer a selection of fresh shrimps and other seashells.

Copenhagen in winter, under a thin layer of snow. The old port.

Rapeseed oil fields outside of Lund under a blue sky

Close to Kronborg castle in Helsingor, Denmark, fishermen find a good spot and enjoy the views of Helsingborg, Sweden. 

Falsterbo beach with varied colours & blues. The beach houses seem unstable on the sandy dunes of this very windy region.

Arty Lund

The arty side of Lund, Sweden. Lund is an impressive old town which was competing to obtain the title of European Capital of Culture for 2014 (source : http://teh.net/news.aspx?itemid=81). 

Vegetarian restaurant in the old Lund. 

Quirky corridor leading up to a street with second hand shops. 

An art piece in the middle of Lund, by the train station. 

Restored Medieval building in Kulturen Museum. The museum shows the different houses lived in at different times in history. Convenient for kids. Great place to hang out and get an understanding of the Swedish culture. 

Preparation of the famous Midsommar, at Kulturen. The art students from Lund International University had a mission to design an outfit and dress up each tree in the museum. On Midsommar day, it rained. 

Skåne countryside

Whilst living in the South of Sweden, we challenged ourselves to discover a new area each week. The countryside is beautiful, despite being very flat. It made us appreciate how close to nature Swedish people are and why. 


Our many day trips throughout the region allowed us to pick the best places to show our visitors from outside the country. 


This is a glimpse of the countryside in South Sweden...(Skåne region). 

Lund

Close to Kivik

Söderåsen natural park, Skåne region

Heart by the beach

Cow by the beach (Ales stenar)

Portrait in winter light "Dans la pâle lumière du matin d'hiver"

The photo association organised a morning shoot in the countryside with models. We were lucky as the freezing cold that Europe had suffered with was over by then. For the shoot, there were 8 photographers, 2 models and many cabbage fields.


It was an eye-opener, a very good experience. The models were perfect in tolerating the specific demands and standing in the cold, but I think they had fun too. The photos below are with Clem, model.

The set up of this photography had been put together by another photographer. 

Cold and sharp beauty

It's winter, and it's Sweden. It's cold, the wind is sharp and the views are surprising. At -10 degree C, we visit Malmö in the fog (3rd largest city of Sweden). We explore the local beach...It's the first time we see frozen sea! We take a trip to the large lake of Vattern, stay at Gränna and visit Vadstena at -15. The views are beautiful and we can't resist walking on the frozen lake. 

Malmö, city centre on a foggy day

Frozen beach, Falsterbo

Vadstena, by the lake Vattern

Vadstena, by the lake Vattern

Vadstena, by the lake Vattern

Vadstena, by the lake Vattern

Gränna, by the lake Vattern

Gränna, by the lake Vattern

Peaceful surroundings

This series of photos is about peaceful moments...your mind becoming free, a moment of inner sense.

I presented these photos to the association members and they seemed to like them, so I feel pretty safe to put them on my blog today.

Worcestershire, England

Northern west coast, Ireland

Lake Vänern, Dalsland, Sweden

Crémieu, Medieval town, France

Jujurieu, Bugey, France

Jujurieu, Bugey, France

Neuville exhibition - "Lumière" - My first exhibition!

In December 2011, I joined the photo association "Image Contact" where Amateur photographers meet once a month to discuss projects, photo techniques and latest exhibitions in the region. They organise outings to practice photography through varied photo-shoots (indoor/outdoor, day light/night time) and also provide photo software training. It's a way for the  photographers to improve on their styles and techniques, and to discover what they are made of. Each session is an opportunity to present our recent photos to each other and it allows constructive criticism to take place. 

When I joined, they were preparing an exhibition that occurs every year in Neuville (North of Lyon). The theme was "Light" and the event targets children, enabling them to explore a particular concept. The exhibition was also open to general public during a weekend. Image Contact is faithful to this event and so each photographer chose 4 or 5 photos each representing Light. Below is my selection : Bjärred (Swedish beach), Vallåsen (Swedish ski resort) and Lyon by night (Painted building). Thank you to Lyon photographer, Damien Poudret, who kindly retouched the 3 photos below.