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JOYEUX NOËL

MERRY CHRISTMAS

A quick photo sharing before Christmas Eve dinner. I took this shot last night at La Place Des Cocotiers, where the City of Noumea has it’s Christmas illuminations. I have to say, they’ve done a magnificent job this year. I went with my friend and her two girls, and they were so excited and happy. You could feel the magic of Christmas, it was wonderful.

Now for those interested, this photo was taken at blue hour with a long shutter speed of 3.2 seconds. Everything is sharp at ƒ/11 except the crowd but that’s expected with shutter speed used. ISO 100 to keep things clean. Not one of my favourites, something is bothering me in this image and I don’t know what it is. The edit was pretty quick, nothing fancy. But all that doesn’t matter.

What matters is I wish every single one of you a very Merry Christmas. Whether you called it that or something else, whether you celebrate it or not, it doesn’t matter either, my wish to you is a merry one. And whether you spend it with your family, friends or strangers, I hope this moment together fills you, and them, with joy and happiness. And don’t forget the little ones, for this time of the year is magical so help them dream and be in awe. Let’s all be merry.

MERRY CHRISTMAS | HAPPY HOLIDAYS

SHIBUYA

Tokyo, Japan

As this is our last evening and opportunity to do some shopping in Japan, we decided to spend it in Shibuya. Apart from the shopping, there are a couple of other reasons we wanted to come here. The world’s busiest crossing and the world’s most loyal dog.

And you find both at the exit of one of the busiest train stations in the world, Shibuya Station. A popular meeting place and a symbol of enduring loyalty and fidelity, the Hachiko Statue is of a Japanese Akita dog. It’s the story of the dog, Hachiko, that gives significance and importance to the somewhat unimpressive statue. Every day at Shibuya Station, Hachiko would be waiting for his master from his commute home. This continued until the Akita’s death, nine years after his master, Hidesaburo Ueno, died at work from a cerebral hemorrhage. An endearing story that has been turned into movies and books.

We got very lucky when a lady showed up with her Akita to pose in front of the statue. What a gorgeous dog. She was hoping that he would sit still long enough to snap a photo in front of the statue but he was too excited. You can’t blame him though. With hundreds of people in front of the statue, snapping photo after photo, there was no way he could be calm. So glad I got this shot though.

Shibuya’s Scramble Crossing is probably the world’s busiest pedestrian intersection. At peak hour on a Friday or Saturday evening, there can be up to 3000 people crossing this mind boggling intersection at once. It’s quite an experience being in the middle of it all too. The start of the crossing happens fairly quickly with people darting in all directions and you think to yourself “It’s not so bad, there’s plenty of room”. Nearing the centre though is a different story as the pace slows drastically, almost to a halt. People avoiding collision from every direction and now your thinking “There’s no way we make the other side before the cars get the green light”. After what seems like minutes have gone by and you haven’t moved much, the pace pick up and people disappear in different directions. And no joke, cars were already on their way across the intersection as we stepped onto the footpath. Never thought I’d get excited about crossing an intersection.

There are places all around the Shibuya Scramble Crossing to watch the chaos. The Shibuya Station footbridge, the Occitane Cafe, Starbucks, Mag’s Park, just to name a few. We got a coffee at Starbucks and settled on the second floor to capture some images and footage. Also got a quick time-lapse from the footbridge on the way back to the hotel.

Not only a commercial and business centre, Shibuya is also a huge shopping district, a major nightlife area and one of Japan’s fashion hubs for young people. It’s just one of those place you have to visit.

JINRIKISHA

Himeji, Japan

Leaving Miyajima, we headed to Hiroshima Station to catch a Shinkansen to Himeji to visit their famous castle. Surprisingly, you can see castle from the Himeji Station. From their you just follow the main street straight to the castle. Easy-peasy.

Along the way though, we saw these beautiful jinrikisha, literally meaning man-power-vehicle. Or rickshaw in English. Women pulling rickshaws are very rare, apparently, I haven’t seen any and the men I’ve seen were very fit and young. We saw jinrikisha here in Himeji and in Kyoto as well. Specifically around the bamboo forest. We didn’t try them out but saw Japanese in kimonos and tourists use them.

I edited this image with my favourite split-tone. The jinrikisha, the castle and the old stone and chain barrier lend itself to an old fashion photograph. Well, my take on it anyway. Editing these kinds of images I always set my white balance first before converting to black and white. Then I edit the monochrome image to my liking and finished off by adding my split-tone preset over it. Tweak it and that’s it.

53 mm, 1/200th second @ ƒ/11, ISO 100

ITSUKUSHIMA TOWN

Miyajima / Itsukushima Island, Japan

The staff at Hotel Kikunoya, where we stayed, were very friendly and helpful. Really can’t say enough great things about this place. They have their own onsen and restaurant. We had dinner in this street though, in Itsukushima Town. The town pretty much shuts down after sunset and only a small handful of restaurants stay open for tourists. It looks very empty here but I promise you it’s packed with tourists and locals during the day. We wandered down this little street and ultimately back up to a restaurant called Mametanuki. The owner speaks English and is, maybe, British but the restaurant is very much Japanese.

Though this is a long exposure photo, I had a couple walk in the frame and stopped just long enough to appear as ghost figures. So I used the first shot I took of the street to mask them out of the frame. Otherwise, it’s a single exposure.

It’s these types of streets and alleyways that really make me feel like I’m in a different country, a different world. We both wished we’d organised, at least, two nights here. So much to see and visit.

41 mm, 25 seconds @ ƒ/11, ISO 50

BANKING ANOTHER SUNSET

So let’s stay on architectural photos and head over to Docklands (Melbourne, Australia). With it’s glass facade and splash of colours, the National Australia Bank (nab) building is a delight to photograph. I was walking through the Etihad Stadium heading back to the hotel when the sun decided to show itself. I hadn’t planned on photographing at sunset as it was very cloudy and it had rained. As I reached this area, the sun decided to show itself, just before dipping below the horizon. Beautiful light appeared and disappear just as quickly. I think it lasted five minutes. Maybe ten but not more than that. I took a couple of photos. Horizontally and vertically. This was the best one.

I knew this shot needed a long shutter but I didn’t have my tripod with me. So I placed the camera on the edge of the cemented fence/railing and used the lens cap and cloths from my bag to prop it up to the right angle. Set the two second timer after the setting the exposure and that’s it. I always made sure the focus was good overtime I changed from horizontal to vertical shot.

1.6 sec @ ƒ/8, 29 mm, ISO 100

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTOctober 4, 2018sunset, australia, street, photoshop cc, road, pines, eos 1300d, nab, bank, buildings, canon, architecture, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, long exposure, docklands, melbourne, victoria, tram stop, vic

ANCHORED IN AIR

I was heading back to the hotel, one late afternoon, and spotted this anchor decoration in mid air. I was more interested in the Etihad Stadium (Melbourne, Australia), which was just behind me, but then I saw the street lights. They reminded me of black & white architectural photos that I had seen with street lamps. Since I wanted to take a photo of the anchor, adding the lights made the photo more interesting. Including the buildings on the bottom and left, it framed the anchor in mid air. I was going to remove the cables holding the anchor but I thought you would think this image was a composite. This is a street photo and what I want to come across.

1/400 sec @ ƒ/3.5, 18 mm, ISO 100

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTSeptember 13, 2018anchor, australia, b&w, black & white, buildings, canon, decorations, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, etihad stadium, lights, lit, looking up, melbourne, monochrome, photoshop cc, secured, street, tied, vic, victoria

MELBOURNE'S CHINA TOWN

I had never visited Melbourne’s China Town so I though I’d take a quick stroll through it’s main street. The photos show what really caught my eye. First of all, the entry arch is so beautiful, colourful and the work that’s gone into it is just amazing. If you didn’t take the time to look, you’d probably miss seeing the numerous restaurant in the small alleys. And I’ve never seen so many signs on a building wall before. I love restaurants where you can see the cooks at work, preparing your meal. It’s all part of the dinning out experience, in my opinion. Those enormous, wooden arches are very impressive. Especially the carvings and roofing. And so are the marble carved creatures guarding the entrance. Just beautiful. The dome ceiling, I just stumbled upon. Loved the symmetry and colours. Had to take a shot. Glad I wandered through there. I got some nice souvenirs shots.

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTSeptember 9, 2018advertising*, alley*, alleyway*, asian, australia, b&w*, black & white*, canon, ceiling*, china town, chine town, christophe robert hervouet*, cook*, cooking*, cuisine*, day*, dome*, eat*, eating*, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, entrance, entry, eos 1300d, food*, gates, glass*, hanging*, interior*, lanterns*, levels*, lion*, looking up*, melbourne, monochrome*, panel*, panorama*, photoshop cc, restaurant*, road, roof*, sculpture*, signs*, statue*, street, vic, victoria

RESIMAX

I had almost walked by this alley when I turned my head and I have no idea what made me stop but I’m glad I did. There’s so much to look at, so many interesting things that I had to take a photo. My favourite thing is the beautiful wooden sculpture. I’ll let you find it yourself. What about the guy jumping? I was lucky to shoot at that precise moment. I find everything interesting about this photo. The bar in a small alley. The group of men (and a woman) standing outside the bar. The couple on the right. She’s kneeling, he’s jumping. The different lanterns on both sides of the alley. The signs. The paved strip in the middle of the alley. There are even surveillance cameras. And not to forget that gorgeous sculpture that blends itself with the tree in front of it. Just amazing.

Love the scene but unfortunately I missed my focus. I was pretty sure I had nailed it on the group of men but it looks more like it focused on the 10 km/h street sign. I have no idea how that happened. Not happy though. Black and white was the obvious choice to go with here for me as there’s a lot of contrast in the scene.

1/80 sec @ ƒ/5.6, 55 mm, ISO 800

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTAugust 30, 2018pedestrian, victoria, resimax, vic, alleyway, bar, monochrome, club, canon, black & white, street, b&w, avenue, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, alley, eos 1300d, photoshop cc, australia, melbourne

THE CAUSEWAY

These are the little alleyways full of cafes and restaurants that I just love. One of many of course. This is The Causeway (Melbourne, Australia) at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Quite a busy alley and a lot of people already seated for dinner. My mum and I had lunch here that afternoon, in a little Italian restaurant, delicious! Just after I took this photo, we had coffee at the french patisserie the other end of the alley. I had been at this french place before and, oh boy, you’re so tempted to try everything you see. Anyway, one of my favourite little places to visit when in Melbourne.

For the shot, I had to bump up the ISO quite high for the lack of light in the alley but even that wasn’t enough so I stopped down as wide open as possible to let more light. It was enough for me to get the shot I wanted.

1/50 sec @ ƒ/5.6, 55 mm, ISO 1600

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTAugust 27, 2018alley, alleyway, ambiance, australia, busy, cafe, canon, causeway, christophe robert hervouet, dinner, eat, eating, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, food, full, lots, lunch, melbourne, menu, pedestrian, people, photoshop cc, plenty, restaurant, street, vic, victoria

BANK PLACE

I just love these kinds of little alley ways with restaurants, cafes, bars and outside seatings. I’m the kind of person who like to sip an espresso, watching people walk by. And on rare occasions, I like to write. Bank Place, Melbourne, Australia. There are many of these alleys in the city. At lunch time and after work they come to life with hundreds of people. They get so busy, it’s hard to get from one end to the other. Great places.

I went with my own version of sepia on this photo, only because of the old buildings and the stone pavement. Most of my street photos contain only one, maximum two, colours. There are always exceptions. It’s just my way of appreciate the scene more.

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTAugust 25, 2018alley, alleyway, ancient, antique, australia, bank place, bar, cafe, canon, christophe robert hervouet, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, melbourne, old, past, pavement, pedestrian, photoshop cc, rain, restaurant, split tone, street, time, vic, victoria, vintage, walk, wet

THE OTHER SIDE OF BOURKE

Once you cross the Southern Cross Station bridge it splits left and right (check out my last post). This is the other side of Bourke Street. It leads straight to Docklands (Melbourne, Australia). A beautiful area and a must visit. I couldn’t resist shooting this view straight down the street.

Again, I went with a cinematic look. I think it suits quite well certain street photos. That and black & white.

1/320 sec @ ƒ/8, 25 mm, ISO 800

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTAugust 19, 2018australia, bikes, bourke street, canon, cars, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, from above, intersection, looking down, melbourne, photoshop cc, rain, raining, road, split tone, street, symetric, symetrical, vic, victoria, wet

BOURKE'S HAND

After I took the panorama (see my last post) I continued along the Bourke street bridge (Melbourne, Australia) and saw these interesting lamps. I liked them so much I too a shot. I think adding artistic necessities, such as these, not only renders a place beautiful, lively and different but also changes the mood of an area. Making it more inviting. Peaceful. I think it even boosts moral of the population. Mayors should work more on making their cities more beautiful and colourful. Not just for tourists but the people of the city too.

1/320 sec @ ƒ/8, 55 mm, ISO 800

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTAugust 16, 2018artistic, australia, bourke street bridge, bridge, canon, damp, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, grey, lights, melbourne, overcast, photoshop cc, red, street, vic, victoria, walk bridge, wet

BOURKE'S BRIDGE

I mentioned only last post that the photo was taken atop the stairs of the Bourke Street entrance to the Southern Cross train station. Well turn 180º and you get this view. A walk bridge with a small shopping mall on the right side and entrances to the station on the left. The bridge passes over the rails that cut Bourke Street in two. You have a great view of the railway tracks and the station from the bridge.

Because of the lack of colours in the photo, I went with black & white and added the slightest of blueish split-tone to it. The photo is cooler and darker with a slight silver tone. I really like this effect. It doesn’t work on all black & white photos though.

1/80 sec @ ƒ/5.6, 55 mm, ISO 800

BOURKE'S TRAM

While we’re on street photography, I took this photo from atop the stairs of the entrance to Southern Cross train station, opposite Bourke Street (Melbourne, Australia). I was hoping for a very busy intersection with cars, trams, people and even though it was already half pass nine in the morning, it wasn’t that hectic. And if it wasn’t for the rain, this photo would be quite bland, I think. The wet grounds reflect a lot more light and colours which makes for a more interesting photo. I really like this photo though. It reminds me of the tram trips I took through this intersection.

1/125 @ ƒ/4, 18 mm, ISO 800

TREASURING MUSIC

Continuing on with street photography, I took this shot fairly quickly to capture this guy listening to… well, I’m guessing, music. His posture alone would make you think this scene was all set up but not at all. That’s what I love about this photo. I wasn’t going to photograph this building at all and I had actually walked by it only an hour before hand. Seeing this guy with headphones, taking in some sun I had to take a shot. But I wanted to make sure the image showed where he was without photographing the whole building. Unfortunately and stupid me, I was so concentrated on getting the inscription plate in the shot that I focus on that instead of my subject. Silly, silly me.

If you’d like to know more about the Old Treasury Building which is now a museum (Melbourne, Australia), just check out http://www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au

1/250th @ ƒ/5.6, 55 mm ISO 200

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTAugust 1, 2018architecture, australia, b&w, black & white, canon, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, melbourne, monochrome, museum, old treaury building, photoshop cc, street, vic, victoria

LA TROBE TRAM

Trying my hand at cinematic street photography. After taking sunrise photos, I was starving and needed a nice hot coffee. I had taken photos at the Docklands marina and thought I’d just walk towards the city to find a cafe. I didn’t go very far. As soon as I turned around I saw this scene and just had to capture it. I was there for a while, taking photos with trams heading down, up, in the middle, near the lights… and in the end chose this one.

I used the rails as leading lines to the tram and the wet ground gives the foreground more interest and a nice starting point. I made sure to include as much of the trams cable lines as possible, I find very interesting and I think they add a bit of chaos to the photo too. Golden hour blended itself perfectly with the orange lights of the street and tram. I love this photo even without my personal edit done. I should’ve gone with a higher ISO to get a faster shutter speed but I think I was just too hungry and wasn’t thinking straight.

So after getting the shots, I was feeling weak and not too well. I had to find a place for breakfast, fast. I found a Greek cafe not too far. I can’t remember the name of it but it was on the corner of Bourke Street and Waterview Walk. A very nice place, nice people, nice food and I loved watching this old lady working dough with her hands. It was amazing. Anyway, now that I was feeling better, it was time to head back to the family.

0.4 sec @ ƒ/8, 55 mm, ISO 100

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTJuly 27, 2018australia, canon, dawn, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, golden hour, la trobe street, lines, melbourne, morning, photoshop cc, rails, street, tram, vic, victoria

MELBOURNE TRAM LOOP

Continuing on the tram theme, on the way back to the hotel this scene captured my interest. I didn’t think much, I just took out the camera and snap the shot. My settings weren’t ideal but the photo turned out the way I saw it. A little reminder of the times I traveled on the Melbourne trams. The free inner city loop is a fantastic idea and money saver.

I particularly like the really old trams. And if you’re ever in Melbourne, you must try The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant. Check out the link. I loved the whole experience. A must try. I didn’t photograph any of it, I didn’t even bring my camera along. The evening was time with the family only.

1/40 sec @ ƒ/8, 55 mm, ISO 800

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTJuly 24, 2018australia, b&w, black & white, canon, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, hand, hanging on, hold, loops, melbourne, monochrome, photoshop cc, ride, street, tram, trip, vic, victoria

XANGO MUSIC

Walking through La Place Des Cocotiers (Noumea, New Caledonia) on carnival day, I heard these guys playing music. So I went over to listen and take some portrait shots. I love those those traditional instruments. A big shoutout to Christopher Schyle who asked if I could tag him, Yvan Vaquijot and Xango Capoeira Caledonia. It's a pleasure to do so. I'm not sure if they're all members of the martial arts but they do play beautiful music together. Thanks guys.

New CaledoniaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTSeptember 23, 2017xango capoeira caledonia, place des cocotiers, noumea, province sud, south province, new caledonia, nouvelle caledonie, fujifilm, x-m1, xc 16-50 mm f/3.5-5.6 ois, photoshop cc, christophe robert hervouet, music, musicians, street, portrait

PUSHING WHEELER

I was wandering around Anse Vata (Noumea, New Caledonia) when I thought I'd try my hand at panning. I only had a 70-300 mm lens on me and this was as far back I could get at 70 mm. This was my best shot out of a dozen. Not the best image, I know.