PhoTophe

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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 tree
HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Place de la Marne, Noumea

I hope everyone’s had a fantabulous Christmas. Wishing you all a safe and memorable holiday season. May the joy and happiness continue through to the new year.

This is  another photo taken at La Place De La Marne. I prefer the Christmas tree in this photo than in my last post. Maybe because it seems more traditional in green. Another long exposure, 5 seconds this time at an aperture of ƒ/11 and ISO 100. A vertical shot which I like quite a bit. I left out all the distractions and captured just the tree and it’s illuminations. I got this shot at the very end of blue hour and was lucky no one was in front of me. Post-processing was very basic too. Nothing fancy, brought up the Shadows, dimmed the Highlights slightly, a bit of Texture and Clarity, a slight Camera Calibration and that’s it. Quick and easy. Very glad everything was captured in-camera.

Take care over the holidays everyone. Have fun but be careful on the road and, please, don’t drink and drive.

New CaledoniaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTa7 3, a7 III, blue hour, christmas, christmas tree, christophe hervouet, christophe robert hervouet, crowd, evening, illuminations, lights, long exposure, new caledonia, noumea, nouvelle caledonie, place de la marne, place des cocotiers, province sud, sony, south province, tamron e 28-75 mm f2.8 di iii rxd, tree
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

New CaledoniaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTa7 3, a7 III, arbre, blue hour, christmas, christophe hervouet, crowd, joyeuses fetes, lights, new caledonia, noel, noumea, nouvelle caledonie, people, photophe, photophe.com, place de la marne, place des cocotiers, province sud, sony, south province, street, tamron e 28-75 mm f2.8 di iii rxd, tree
SAFE TO FEED

Kyoto, Japan

It’s quite amusing seeing the monkeys in the Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama, especially the young ones. Quite funny watching them lean over the edge of the pond, trying to catch the carps without getting wet or worst, fall in. Then there are other moments like this, where there’s a lot of tenderness.

My wish came true when the little one turned his/her head and stared at me. I took the shot and left. I didn’t want to interrupt his/her lunch. During the visit, I quickly realised a 70-200 mm lens would have been perfect for this place. Not only to avoid getting too close to the monkeys and interrupting their activities but also to capture some close portrait photos. I would’ve like that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to walk amongst them but you tend to scare them off when approaching to capture a moment. A long lens would’ve avoided all that.

75 mm, 1/2500th second @ ƒ/2.8, ISO 800

JapanCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTa7 3, a7 III, arashiyama, arashiyama monkey park iwatayama, baby monkey, christophe hervouet, christophe robert hervouet, discover, explore, feeding, japan, kyoto, monkey, mother and child, photophe, photophe.com, photophejapan, tamron e 28-75 mm f2.8 di iii rxd, tree, trip, wander
A DAY IN THE SNOW

My friend decided to kill two birds with one stone by visiting Sydney for the first time and keeping her promise to her daughters that they would see and play in the snow. So we headed down to Jindabyne, just south of Canberra (Australia). We stayed two nights there so as to have a whole day in the snow at Thredbo.

These are the only photos I took and I’m the first to admit they’re not very good. I was busy taking souvenir snapshots of the kids. The first couple of photos were taken on the beach at Jindabyne Holiday Park. The rest are from Thredbo.

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTaustralia, b&w, black & white, canoes, canon, christophe hervouet, christophe robert hervouet, cold, creek, cub island, dead tree, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, island, jindabyne, monochrome, mountains, photoshop cc, river, snow, stream, summit, tree, vic, victoria, water, widows creek
STROLLING VIVIDLY

Who remembers Vivid Sydney? Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to photograph the iconic buildings during this event and I’m sure you’ve seen them either in person or through social media already. I managed a few photos. We (my friend, her two kids and I ) had decided to check out the lights in Circular Quay on the way down from Woy Woy since it was the last day of Vivid Sydney. We had spent the day up there visiting my sister and her little family. It was thanks to a man that had struck a conversation with me, while I set up for my first photo, that I found out about the Botanical Gardens. Well, we had to check it out. I was disappointed I wasn’t able to take many photos along Circular Quay. It was just too crowded. There were thousands of people doing the same thing as we were. It was a lot better once we entered the Botanical Gardens though. And I’m so thankful to the man that approached me as the stroll was just magical. There is so much to see, hear and do during Vivid Sydney that I’ll have to dedicate a trip back just for that. The little we did was such a great experience.

Just a quick shout out to my friend and her kids for their patience. I know it was exhausting for them to wait while I set up my gear, waited for the right moment to capture an image, reviewed the image and do it all over again if I wasn’t satisfied. Especially after an already long day. Thank you very much to all three of you.

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTaustralia, blob, botanical gardens, canon, children, christophe hervouet, circular quay, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, evening, events, illuminations, jelly fish, jelly, kids, lights, long exposure, new south wales, night, nsw, opera house, personage, photoshop cc, pond, show, shrub, spectacle, sticks, sydney, sydney harbour bridge, sydney harbour, totems, tree, twins, vivid, vivid sydney
THREE BAY SUNSET

I notice this area couple of years back while scouting for another photo. It’s a small, waterfront park in Kaméré (Noumea, New Caledonia). I had found two very nice compositions but unfortunately their foregrounds were littered with cans, bottles, wrappers and even a tyre. It’s a shame to see such a beautiful area ruined like that. Luckily I found this bare tree overlooking the bay. 

Sunset was absolutely gorgeous! I took dozens of photos but this is my favourite out of the lot. I love it for three reasons. The colours in the photo, the long exposure effect on the clouds but my number one reason is the light painting. There are different ways to light paint but in this case I used a small torch to paint light on the tree and the bushes. It’s hard to get the right exposure the first time out but after the third or fourth try I finally captured a photo I was happy with. I will definitely try this technique again. It obviously won’t work on all photos but in this instance where my foreground is in complete darkness, light painting can, not only, light up your foreground but add mood to your images.

So there you go, my first light painting. I hope you like it as much as I do.

30 sec @ ƒ/11, 18 mm, ISO 100

New CaledoniaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTbaie, baie de kamere, baie de tindu, bark, bay, beach, canon, christophe robert hervouet, dead tree, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, evening, kamere, light painting, long exposure, new caledonia, noumea, nouvelle caledonie, photoshop cc, province sud, seascape, south province, sunset, tree, waterfront
NGÉA TREE

I came to Ngea (Noumea, New Caledonia) in hopes of getting a sunrise photo with the slipway. Unfortunately, there was a vehicle park on it when I arrived. I couldn't see a boat nor a trailer so concluded they were there to... watch the sunrise. I'm not an early morning person but now that I was here I wasn't just going to head back home because my intended composition wasn't possible. So I looked around and found this tree to use to frame the sunrise. I caught this fleeting moment of colour during the selfie shot and unfortunately didn't get a decent second image. High altitude clouds were rolling in and with the sky void of colour I decided to change composition. I'd seen a puddle on the sand a few metres away and thought if those clouds catch the golden light, it could be a great reflection to capture. So I’m all set up and waiting when I see a policeman on his motorbike stopped next to my car. After grabbing his attention and making him understand it was mine, he came over. He said I had fifteen minutes to move my car or be stuck for four hours. There was a triathlon that morning and the road was closed off for the running and/or cycling part of the competition. So after five minutes I packed up and headed back to the car. And what do I see catching fire? Yep, the clouds. It only lasted two minutes but it happened. A little disappointed but not ready to give up, I headed over to Magenta Beach. But that’s another story and photo.

3 sec @ ƒ/11, 18 mm, ISO 100

New CaledoniaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTbaie de saint marie, baie de st. marie, beach, canon, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, new caledonia, ngea, noumea, nouvelle caledonie, province sud, saint marie bay, selfie, south province, st. marie bay, sunrise, tree
CLOUD FOLIAGE

Another photo taken at Naïa (Païta, New Caledonia). We strolled down to the beach just before sunset. It was a little windy and sun was setting just behind the tree line at the end of the beach. I took a couple of photos and started to head back when I saw this beautiful, leafless tree. And those fiery orange clouds against the blueish almost purple sky were just as gorgeous. It was then I realised the clouds were acting as foliage to the tree. I setup as quick as possible but by the time I took the shot, the clouds had moved slightly and the alignment wasn’t as I had seen. Nonetheless, I am very happy to have captured this unique photo.

Camera settings; 1/30 sec @ ƒ/11, 18 mm, ISO 100

New CaledoniaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTbeach, canon, dead, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, leafless, naia, new caledonia, nouvelle caledonie, paita, photoshop cc, province sud, south province, sunset, tree