France

Paris It is hard to write about Paris when so many have written so much about this city. You meet people who are in love with Paris and those who absolutely hate it. Whether you are delighted or disappointed with Paris all depends on what you want to see. It is a city with many unique features. During my visit my primary interest was architecture and historical places and Paris has plenty of them. I feel you need to photograph this city in black in white to reveal its soul. No matter how long the queues are a visit to the cathedral of Notre Dame is a must. The whole atmosphere inside has not changed for centuries. It's dark and gloomy and still functioning. Climbing a few hundred steps by an ancient stair case you finally reach the first observation area. It offers visitors some spectacular views of the city. Looking left and right you can see gargoyles - stone sculptures of the mythological creatures the purpose of which was to scare away the evil spirits. There is not much colour to the building, only the shades of grey. Visiting early in the morning or late in afternoon would be my recommendation to get the sun to light up the dark corners of this majestic building. As Notre Dame is located on an island in the middle of river Siena, there are some fantastic opportunities to take pictures of this building from the outside and present it in an unusual way. My preference would be to shoot in B&W. Another great site would be the Eiffel Tower. A nice shot from bottom up with a wide-angle lens can help to fit the whole tower in the picture. The same applies to the Arc de Triomphe located the high end of the avenue Champs de Elysees. You can also get good photos there by placing a context to the Arc. It might be a group of people in front or the long stretch of the avenue leading your eye to the Arc. One of the nicest places to relax would be Jardin du Luxembourg - a beautiful park located near the Luxembourg Palace. Fountains, statues and flowers meet its many visitors. This location offers many opportunities for taking photographs. Proceeding to the suburb of Montmartre, you are likely to encounter the twisted narrow streets with lots of shops and cafes. Eventually, you will end up on a square where you are likely to see the local artists painting and selling their work. Here is a great opportunity to make some colourful "people at work" portraits. If you like fine historical palaces, head to the outskirts of Paris to the famous Versailles Palace. It is built in baroque style and is very well decorated on the outside. For those who want to see Paris from a different angle, catching the river cruise might be just what the doctor ordered! Tours & Loire Valley As I left the busy streets of Paris and travelled south by a Super Fast Train, I wondered how the old capital of France would venture by comparison. The city of Tours according to Wikipedia is the largest city in the Central France. My primary interest was in its close proximity to the Loire valley - the famous Valley of the Kings, where French monarchs and their nobility have built beautiful castles over many centuries. Staying in a cute and small family run hotel was an adventure it itself, but everything was clean and comfortable there. In Tours the only place I found interesting to photograph was the bridge over the river Loire. We hired a car so we could visit at our own pace the castles that were of interest. Driving in the French countryside on its narrow roads is a challenge. Despite the speed limits set at 60 km/h, the French like to speed and we've been overtaken constantly. It made me wonder how many fatalities occur in the area. Most of the local towns were planned and built in times when there were no cars around. And there is little room available for pedestrians and sometimes the road is essentially shared between cars and people. We have visited a few including Chateau de Chenonceau, Chateau de Chambord, Chateau de Blois, Usse and Villandry. All of them present a spectacular sight. I kid you not, my hands automatically went for the camera when any of them became visible in the distance. The castle of Villandry is especially famous for its uniquely designed magnificent gardens. If the light is right, those castles present magnificent photographic opportunities, no matter how many postcards depict them already. Speaking of postcards - one can learn from postcards how to take better pictures. To sum it all up, France gets my thumbs up!