Paris

Last stop on my inaugural European Tour 2018 was Paris. Before I left on this trip my daughter told me that Paris would change my life, and it did. To call a place a "shooting gallery" as some photographers do I find distasteful, but in Paris there is a picture EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK. From the sublime architecture expressed in its monuments, museums and notable buildings and parks to the stunning yet every day street scenes to the people with their Parisienne style and openness, to spend time in Pais as a photographer is to be in nirvana. I had a week there and wish that it was longer, in fact, like a lot of people who visit the city of light I'm plotting on how I might live there! I stayed in a hotel in Montparnasse which was a short, downhill ten minute walk to Saint Germain, the Seine River, the Louvre and all that the Ile de la Citi has to offer. I have chosen more photographs then usual and I'm not sure that my selection still gives a cross section of my experience in this beautiful city.

My next, and last, blog post from this trip will include some long exposure photography in both Paris and Portugal. Stay tuned.

My room with a view. Parisienne architecture. Montparnasse.

A typical French waiter takes a break.

Arc de Triopmhe.

Liberte. Egalité. Fraternité.

Uber cool Metro signs are works of art in themselves.

Coals to Newcastle. Italian lingerie comes to Paris?

Self explanatory.

Three red blinds and the Seine.

Cafe Society.

Old meets new. Montparnasse.

And a good time was had by all. Musee Rodin.

Part of the magnificent interior of Sainte Chapelle Church.

Damed social media updates!

The Louvre.

Two of my favorite places.

Is it just me or is the guy on the scooter Mandy Patinkin?

French advertising. Oh lala!

Sunday morning Saint Germain Chic

Lisbon, Portugal.

Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is an easy city to love. Straddling the banks of the Tagus River just inland from the coast, it is a city brimming with character and history and charm, and did I mention that the food and the light is to die for?

I spent a blissful week in Lisbon wandering the cobbled streets of this wonderful city, stopping for a coffee or a pastel de nata here and there (and everywhere). Despite the seven hills Lisbon is a great walking city and when your legs finally do give out it is never far to one of the city's atmospheric trams. Who does cities like this?

The light in Lisbon is beautiful for photography.

Lisbon architecture reflected.

Price do Comercio

25 April Bridge and the Tagus at low tide.

Goodness in a can. All manner of canned fish!

Of cobblestones and reflections

The Santa Justa Elevator

Color and texture in Alfama.

Lisbon on the move

Typical Lisbon architecture. The outside of a building covered in azulejos tiles

Carmo Convent. One of the few central Lisbon buildings to survive the earthquake of 1755.

Statuary in the square

Anyone for a 1934 vintage port? Make mine a double

Tourism happens

I left my heart in Tavira.

Next stop on my Portuguese journey was the quaint little town of Tavira, in the Algarve region, a few hours by fast train from Lisbon. This was my first small town experience in Europe and it will be a hard act to follow. With a population of around 25,000 people this beautiful little town straddles the Gilao River with the opposing sides of the town connected by an ancient Roman arched bridge.The town is home to many beautiful churches and prototypical colored buildings. Nearby there are beautiful beaches and islands. I just loved this peaceful and picturesque little place and can't wait to return.

The Gilao River and Roman Bridge at sunset. Tavira, Portugal.

Peak hour in Tavira, Portugal.

And while I'm at it!!!!! Tavira, Portugal.

Riverfront architecture. Tavira, Portugal.

Tending the salt farm. Tavira, Portugal.

Blue skies smilin at me, nothin but blue skies do I see. Tavira, Portugal.

Starting young. Tavira, Portugal.

Dinner time (almost). Tavira, Portugal.

The Gilao River and Roman Bridge. Tavira, Portugal.

The Salt Farm. Tavira, Portugal.

Coimbra, Portugal.

Coimbra is a delightful riverfront city in central Portugal and was once the national capital. It is a beautifully photogenic city that is famous for one of the oldest universities in Europe as well as for medical facilities that draw patients from all over Europe. It is an architecture and street photographers dream.

The Old Town.

Which Wa To Go

The University is perched on top of a hill overlooking the city.

A Break In The Pattern.

Fruit And Flowers.

An amble through Portugal

I kicked off my first ever visit to Europe in Portugal where I spent three weeks having an unscripted wander. I started in Porto and made my way to Coimbra in the centre of Portugal. From Coimbra I Travelled to the delightful little town of Tavira in the Algarve. I left my heart in Tavira and went to the capital of Lisbon before flying to Paris for a week of street photography.

Portugal is such a cool country. Great scenery, amazing food and friendly people. There is nothing not to like about this beautiful country.

What was in my bag for this 4 week wander? I took very little in the way of camera gear, trying to be as minimalistic as I could be. My entire kit consisted of: One Canon 5D Mark iii camera body, a Canon 24-105mm f4 lens, a Canon 50mm 1.4 lens as a backup in case I dropped the 24/105 and for low light situations, a circular polarizing filter, a three stop and ten stop neutral density filter and a small cleaning kit. For a tripod I took a knock off Gorillapod that I bought in Vietnam for $15USD before I left to which I fitted a ball head that I already had.

This kit served me well. Everything that I needed and nothing that I didn't. The 24/105 had enough zoom for most situations. I would have preferred to take my 24/70mm for the faster f2.8 aperture but I knew that 70mm was going to be just too short. The "gorilla pod worked well when I needed a stable platform but given it's cost I made sure to keep the camera tethered to my arm when I was shooting with it on bridges or near water :)

Below are a small selection of my favorite shots from my first stop in Porto, Portugal.

A building decorated with Azulejo tiles glows in the light of a Porto sunrise.

Porto city is dominated by the Tower of Clergies, one of only four oval shaped churches in the world.

Romance lives.

Portugal's national sweet the mouth waveringly delicious Pastel De Nata. #mymy

Portuguese clothes dryer. A common scene through Portugal is washing hanging from windows.

Porto city and the Douro River.

Abbey Road meets Harry Potter. University students in their traditional black capes cross the street.

A change of scenery.

As I mentioned in my last post I have just returned to Vietnam from a month traveling and shooting in Portugal and France. I will be posting some "travel photography" from this trip over the coming weeks as a visual change of scenery :)