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Photography has changed the way I see the world around me.

Through it I discover new things and rediscover old ones. Like my island, New Caledonia.

This blog is just me sharing my world through my photography.

Hope you enjoy.

Posts tagged iphone
HIROSHIMA AND MIYAJIMA

Japan

day two

Ohayo my friends and welcome to day two of our trip in Japan. Today we leave Kyoto and head to Hiroshima. From there a local train then a ferry to Itsukushima Island, also known as Miyajima.

We had a late night and thus didn’t want to get up for the early train to Hiroshima. We decided to wait after peak hour to avoid the locals going to work and school. We had breakfast at Delifrance (of all places) but ate things that weren’t very French. Delicious though and their coffee brewing method is interesting to watch.

By the time we arrived at Hiroshima Station it was lunchtime. We left our bags at a luggage holder and went looking for something to eat. One of the dishes my friend, Géraldine, had on her to-eat list while in Japan was the famous Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. To our great surprise we saw advertisement for the dish everywhere as we were walking through the station. A couple of floors up and we found a corridor of restaurants with two or three of them specialising in okonomiyaki. We picked the one with the most crowd, Goemon Okonomiyaki, and sat right at the counter in front of the hotplates. A very memorable experience. From watching them prepare the dish in front of us, to tasting the meal, to seeing every single staff member saying goodbye to every single client leaving the restaurant. That was amazing. It was quick, delicious and surprisingly fun.

With our stomachs full, we started our long walk to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial or more popularly known as the Atomic Bomb Dome. Though long, it was nice to see a little of the city along the way. The landmark is quite impressive in itself but to see how everything has been rebuilt around it, is just a amazing. It makes you wonder if there ever was a atomic blast. Walking around the park felt like I was on religious grounds. I’m not a religious person but I felt an inner calmness and peace. A respect for what had happened here and the courage and strength the people of Hiroshima, of Japan, had to get through it. And build a park that evokes peace. A well named park.

On the way back to Hiroshima Station, we walked by Carp Castle, better known as Hiroshima Castle. Actually, it’s the castle’s second compound that you see here. The original castle was, obviously, destroyed in the atomic blast and a replica built in it’s place. Now though it serves as a museum of Hiroshima’s history before World War II. We didn’t get to visit as time was short to get to Miyajima before sunset.

Back in Hiroshima Station, we jumped on a local train to Miyajimaguchi to catch a ferry to Itsukushima Island, better known as Miyajima. This is a gorgeous place. Little town atmosphere on the shores of Hiroshima Bay. The old and the not-so old architecture. The Itsukushima Shrine is amazing and it’s Torii is just a wonder. We got here in time to drop our bags at the hotel before heading straight back down to the torii. We stayed about two and half hours taking photos of it and the shrine, and watching the sun set. What a beautiful sunset it was too. Then we made our way to the town to have a look around and find one of the very few restaurants still open. Both Géraldine and I loved the main street of Itsukushima Town for it’s old look and atmosphere. It gave us the impression of being in a different era. We chose to eat at Mametanuki restaurant. A wonderful little place where the owner is, I think, English but the cuisine definitely Japanese. Very friendly place with good service and delicious food.

Once full and warm we made our way back to our hotel, Kikunoya. A beautiful hotel with a restaurant and onsens. When we told the receptionist we weren’t going to have dinner there, they happily showed us the locations of restaurants that were going to be open and advised not to eat to late as their kitchens close quite early. Very friendly and helpful. Oh and they have a foot spa at the front entrance.

Well that’s it my friends. The end of another wonderful day in Japan. Hope to see all of you for day 3. Oyasuminasai.

NEW ZEALAND: NORTH ISLAND

PAIHIA

day 3

Good morning and welcome back for this third video in a long series. I must warn though the quality of this video is… not great. Not as bad as day 1 but not as good as day 2 either. I tried to do slow-motion videos but I just couldn’t stop the focus from jumping around. So you may feel a little queasy sometimes. You’ve been warned.

Picking up from where we left off on the last video, where we decided to camp on a free site which led us to a town called Kaikohe. A town about 45 minutes west of Kerikeri. Today, we were heading to Paihia but I wanted to visit Kaikohe before doing so. I got up early and headed for Broadway, the main road. I bought a cup of coffee to accompany me on my little visit. A charming town and lot bigger than I thought. I saw these beautiful murals in a small alley. There are only a couple in the video but there were a lot more. I had a very nice conversation with a couple of retirees. A Maori woman and a Kiwi man, friends enjoying each other’s company, watching people walking by. They were sitting on a bench and said hello as I walked by. I said hello back and before we knew it, 15 minutes had gone by. Wonderful people and great conversation.

Once brekky was over, it was time to hit the road. We had one stop before Paihia and that was Haruru Falls. Not the largest of falls but worth a visit as the surroundings are beautiful and calm. You can kayak your way up to the falls and have a picnic, if you wish. A lovely little spot and worth a stop over.

We had booked a small cruise/ferry to Motukokako Island from Paihia. We were going to see the famous Hole In The Rock and with a little chance go through it. The return trip takes about 3 hours so we had lunch before the 12:30 departure. On the way up to and back from Motukokako Island, the boat stopped off at Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island. A gorgeous little bay with a restaurant. Plenty to do on this little island. As you arrive at The Hole In The Rock, on your left side you can see Cape Brett’s hut and lighthouse. Then you notice the huge rock formation, Motukokako Island. It’s a tight squeeze but once up close and personal to The Hole In The Rock, the skipper will direct the boat through it. Unfortunate, the waters were choppy that day and thus weren’t able to experience that. Unlucky us. The return to Paihia is the same trip in reverse. So we headed back to Otehei Bay and just before arriving in Paihia, we noticed four dolphins afar. Not sure if they were playing or fishing. Lucky us.

Back on land we headed straight for St. Paul’s Anglican Church, just across the road from the beach. I’m not a believer but the stone building is just amazing. I had to photograph it.

Anyway, it was late afternoon and we had about three hours before sunset. We were having problems with our camper-van thus decided to make our way back towards Auckland and stop somewhere halfway down. We were heading to The Coromandel the next day anyway so the extra couple hours would be used to stop at the Camper-van Hire to get some help. We pulled up for the night at the Sheep World Caravan & Camping Park. A wonderful, funny and straight-talking old man was there to welcome us. Very helpful too. I didn’t film anything once there because of the problems with the camper-van and we were just tired from the long day. I got the last photo from my friend Alain. The quaint, little common-lounge. You could even exchange books. What a wonderful idea.

Well that’s it for now and thank you for watching. The next video has animals and… what problems? Goodnight.

Oh before I go, I want to thank my friend Alain for letting me use a couple of his photos in this video. Thanks mate.

NEW ZEALAND: NORTH ISLAND

A STROLL IN AUCKLAND

day 1

Before our New Zealand trip around the North Island, I thought I would start videoing my holidays. Maybe not the greatest idea after reviewing the footage but it’s too late now, I’m already back home. Sometimes I’d forget to record and other times I’d record things that were maybe not necessary. I quickly realised that filming on the go can be quite difficult. Nonetheless it was an experience that I will continue and try to improve upon. Well, I definitely have to improve. You’ll know what I mean if you decided to watch the video.

Now the video is very basic. There’s no narration or voice-over. That’s partly due to me not being comfortable in front of a camera and the other is, it would have taken me many takes before I would be happy with what I had to express. I’m hoping that will change as I try to improve my videos. The video starts at the backpackers place where we stayed our first night in Auckland. Yes, the video doesn’t start at the airport. I was so excited about the trip and getting to Auckland that I’d forgotten to even take out my phone out of my pocket. By the time we settle in our room it was nearing 6:30 pm. We decided to stroll down Queen Street to the waterfront. Along the way we stopped at Aotea Square for a quick photo of the beautiful arched sculpture. Mistake on my part, I used it for the thumbnail of this video but didn’t include it in the video. A reminder for next time. Then we walked through the night market where we stumbled upon a french patisserie. Once on the waterfront near Viaduct Basin, we settled for dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Frida Cocina Mexicana & Tequila Bar. A must if you’re ever there. We then strolled back up Queen Street to our room.

For those of you who are interested, everything was recorded with FiLMiC Pro on my iPhone and edited with LumaFusion on my iPad. They were the most recommended applications I found for filming and editing on mobile devices. Though I’m still in the learning curve, I really like the use of both of these apps. I didn’t have a gimble so the footage is quite (very) jumpy. Sorry about that.

If you haven’t been tortured enough, stay tune for my next video where we head up to Kerikeri.

TL - BURTY'S NEST

A sunset time-lapse over the 5 km cemetery in Noumea, New Caledonia. I've wanted to photograph this cemetery for a while but got round to doing it. They're well maintained and with all those gorgeous, colourful flowers on the tombs, I find it beautiful. The cover photo was taken the day before the video. I went back the next day for a different composition and the time-lapse.

The passing away of my friend this week seemed the perfect reason to photograph the cemetery. It also gave me the opportunity to reflect and remember him.

May you rest in peace my friend.

TL - KUENDU BEACH SUNSET

A time-lapse of the sunset at Kuendu Beach (Nouville, New Caledonia). The hut construction on the right is part of the Kuendu Beach Resort (IN RENOVATION NOW). I even captured a cruise ship passing by. I was disppointed at the time of filming but seeing it on the time-lapse, I like it.

A time-lapse of the sunset at Kuendu Beach (Nouville, New Caledonia). The hut construction on the right is part of the Kuendu Beach Resort. I even captured a cruise ship passing by. I was disppointed at the time of filming but seeing it on the time-lapse, I like it.

FP - THE LAST DANCE

First off, I have to apologies for not catching the name of this group. This was the last performance of the day and unfortunately the other dance videos of this group didn't turn out at all. They were very jumpy and choppy. Don't know what happened there but the videos weren't usable.

This is another Wallisian, and I think Futunan, dance group. Very different dances compared to Pacifika. You'll notice at the bottom of this video, on the ground, some wood-carved weapons. They used them in their previous dances but, as I mentioned above, those videos aren't available. Just like Tahiti Nui, this group had their own musicians. 

FP - PACIFIKA

Here's the second video from last weeks post, Fête Paroissiale. I have one more that I'll post in the next couple of days.

Pacifika is a Wallisian dance group. Male and female dancers of all ages here unlike the Tahiti Nui group. Some of the male dances are very powerful and can even seem aggressive. One of the dances seem to depict a confrontation of two groups. It also reminds me of Kata in martial arts. Looking at the female dances, you'd be mistaken to think there's only upper body movement. But pay close attention to the feet movement in some of the standing dances. They're small and subtle but have quite an impact on the dance. Pacifica dance to traditional and more modern music. An impressive group to watch.

FP - TAHITI NUI

In last week's post, Fête Paroissiale, I said I was going to share a couple of compilation videos of the dance groups.

This first of three videos is of Tahiti Nui. A Tahitian dance group with their own musicians. You'll see that they have very young musicians and dancers, as young as four years old. An all female dance group with beautiful costumes

LA MAISON CÉLIÈRES À L'ÉPOQUE MÉDIÉVALE

The Célières House In Medieval Times

The Sci-Fi Club in Noumea (New Caledonia) organised a medieval day in the Maison Du Livre (Book House). Also known as Maison Célières, named after the original owners of this beautiful colonial house. It's now on the heritage listing and owned by the Municipality. It was a beautiful, warm, winter day (no, that's not a typo). They had people in clothes from the era, food, dishes and cutlery from that time, spiced wines (an acquired taste). Weapons, armour and flags. You could also learn and participate in dances from back then too. They even had a corner for kids to create their own coat of arms. I went with a friend and her two daughters and the kids absolutely loved it.

TL - MONT DORE SUNRISE

Not a very good morning for spectacular sunrise photos but the video make you see things in a whole different light. I wasn't very impressed when I got up that morning and saw the sky overcast. Since I was already up, I convinced myself to head out anyway. I'm not an early morning kind of person so it wasn't an easy decision to take, you know. Glad I did though. Came back with this time-lapse and a photo I like very much that I titled Searching Mont Dore.

ETTALONG GLASS WORK

I stumbled upon these gorgeous stained glass windows while walking around Ettalong (Central Coast, Australia). I saw an entrance to quite a large complex that includes the Cinema Paradiso and the Ettalong Boutique Markets. Restaurants, bars, boutiques and even a tourist resort can also be found there. These stained glass windows were along a corridor leading to a reception or conference room of some sort (if my memory serves me right). It's a beautiful building to wander around. With small alleys leading in different directions, small open courtyards and tiny foot bridges. My first impression walking through I felt I was in a little Italian village. I was there mid afternoon thus very quiet and secluded. I'm sure it gets very busy in the evenings and weekends. A must visit if ever on the Central Coast.

KOU-BUGNY SHADE

A lazy afternoon under the shade at the Kou-Bugny bar/restaurant in Kuto, Isle Of Pines (New caledonia).  Situated on the beach of Kuto Bay, the view is just magnificent. Sunsets are magic. A must visit if you ever get the chance. You can get there either by boat (2 1/2 hrs) or plane (30 mins) from Noumea. Both offering a unique view of New Caledonia.

KOU-BUGNY PATH

I was heading out to dinner when I noticed how gorgeous the light against the flowers and the wood was. I turned around to take a photo with my phone and was stunned how beautiful this pathway I had just walked down was. This is the hotel Kou-Bugny in Kuto, Isle Of Pines (New Caledonia). It's situated very, very close to the beach and it's bar & restaurant is, well, on the beach. With gorgeous views of sunsets and Kuto Bay. A paradisal spot. A must visit. You can get there either by boat (2 1/2 hrs) or plane (30 mins) from Noumea. Both offering a unique view of New Caledonia.