La Défense

Within a Paris setting, La Défense is fairly weird, and even more so when viewed through a fisheye. It's great fun seeing what can be done, a really photogenic spot.

Star trek meets the EDF tower

Not often you see all of la grande arche from within the arch.

both sides

Imagine being able to see on both sides of your head... With a fish-eye, one can, almost. The world doesn't look altogether what one is used to. The new addition to the family is a Samyang 8mm f/3.5 lens (here's a review). So, using a DX sensor, this gives a 180° field of view on the diagonal with its stereographic projection. Or, in normal speak, a very wide angle with lots of distortion. Whatever it is, it's fun, and in my opinion makes for photos that are either interesting or rubbish, depending on how it's used, up to you to decide.

Wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley. RATP security guys always look like they have a different night jobs.

Crossing over after the Tour de France. Here the horizon is mid photo, hence straightish. 

Solferino, amongst other things, home to the Socialist Party HQ. Here you get a nice feel for the fish-eye distortion where only the lines passing through the centre are straight. Less obvious in the metro tunnel where straight lines are few and far between to begin with. In my opinion, it is for this reason that the distortion works. If you look very carefully at the edge of fluorescent lights, you'll see some chromatic aberration, which I haven't processed out. Just one of those things that comes with squeezing such a huge angle into view.

So now you're in for the occasional fish-eye, let me know if it is rubbish or not.

Tour de France

It is impressive to be at the side of the road when the riders of the Tour de France come by. It has been a long hot tour, and yet even on the last day their strength is remarkable.

Positioned at the quayside, next to the Jardins de Tuileries, it was fun to try capture some of the action. Yes one could up the ISO, or open up the aperture to freeze the cyclists, who must be doing 50 - 60 km/h. Instead, it seemed more fun to try get some motion blur of the background. I won't let you know my success rate, but it wasn't high. Good thing they did eight laps of the finishing circuit around the Place de la Concorde and the up the Champs-Elysées.

Here are some efforts that came out OKish.

Is that Daniel OSS (46) of LIQUIGAS-DOIMO?

Difficult to be sure, but perhaps 153, Anthony CHARTEAU of team BBOX BOUYGUES TELECOM

 Francesco BELLOTTI (42) of team LIQUIGAS-DOIMO 

Maxime BOUET (82) of team AG2R LA MONDIALE

 Steve MORABITO from BMC RACING TEAM

Christophe RIBLON (89) of team AG2R LA MONDIALE

Boulogne fireworks

Music by DJ Omatic

fête nationale

13 July

The 14th of July is nearly upon us in France, which means fireworks in front of the Eiffel Tower. Outside of Paris however, fireworks night is the 13th. Here are a few shots from the Pont de Sèvres, looking down the Seine at l'île Seguin.

Elsewhere most people seem to refer to the 14 July as Bastille Day. In France, I'm not sure I've ever heard it called that, here it goes by "La fête nationale", or just plain "quartorze juillet"... The meteo predicts rain for the 14th in Paris... hmm is that what's called a damp squib?

Montpellier

It is hot in the South! Summer is here, even at 11pm in Montpellier.

She sells sea shells...

Very cooperative models by the seaside, although sitting still isn't their thing.

Wishing you sun and salt water.