Good morning, class.
Today we will be talking about dealing with the unexpected when it comes to photography.
Let's start with an example, shall we? Do you remember that picture I loved from yesterday with the bridge over the street? Well, this is how that same bridge looked today.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2000
Yes, there were signs there blocking it off because of some construction farther up the road. If that had been there yesterday, the photo would have been ruined. That, ladies, gentlemen, and variations thereupon, is the theme of today's lesson (apologies for the comma-heavy sentence and no I will not stop with this act).
In another example, the sky yesterday was dark and cloudy but today's sky was bright and sunny, forcing me to change the style and the type of shot I was trying to get. While I was trying to make the streets feel like they were closing in yesterday, I wanted everything to feel open today. What better place, then, than the Chateau D'Angers?
My mom and I (Nico wasn't feeling well) walked downtown to the Chateau but we had to wait a bit for my dad to join us, so we went exploring and found this:
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1000
Unfortunately and surprisingly, it was closed. (Fun fact, we went back later to find it was closed again. We had gotten there too early and then too late, after it had closed after lunch.)
Continuing the theme of dealing with unexpected happenings, we continued walking around the narrow cobblestone streets. I loved it, but I also had to try hard not to replicate shots from yesterday.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/3.2, 1/800
I was given good feedback about the red flowers against the dark stone in some of the pictures yesterday, so I did my best to concentrate that into a single picture.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1600
I edited this next one half to death, but I think it works well. I like it.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2500
At around this point, Dad texted us saying that he was at the Chateau waiting for us, so we headed back. We got tour passes (apparently people between the ages of 18-25 such as myself get in free!) and audioguides, which we proceeded to ignore as we went to a restaurant in the castle instead. My dad was looking at the map, my mom was drinking orange juice, and I was taking pictures.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2000
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2500
We eventually finished at the restaurant and went off to start the tour (we had walked in the exact opposite direction from the start point). It was actually really interesting, telling the history of the castle. I mostly paid attention, I promise......I also took pictures.
This next picture contained another surprise. When I took it, I was just having fun taking pictures of the stone wall.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2000
I never even saw the little bee in the picture until I pulled it up on the computer once we got back to the flat.
Anyway, back to the tour. The next stop was the chapel.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2500
I loved the geometric designs in the stained glass. They made my job fun, with extremely high contrast and interesting color palettes (notice how blue and red are far more saturated than anything else?).
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/7.1, 1/200
Before we continued up the stone spiral staircase, I stopped to get this shot.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/500
At the top of the stairs, we found a hallway cutting through to another set of stairs. Along the hallway were covered windows, except for the last few, which just had a grate over them. That was fun.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/2.2, 1/200
Continuing on the tour, we ended up in a courtyard along the wall. The castle is built on a cliff with the river and a freeway at the bottom. I've also been continuing my experimentation with tilt-shift photography, so there will be a few of those in this post.
Fun fact, the middle boat is a pizzeria. We're planning to go there for lunch soon.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/2.2, 1/2500
I think I'm getting better at tilt-shifts, what do you think?
The next part of the tour took us to the top of the battlements. The walls are mostly slate, which has such incredible texture. Almost all of it had plants in every available nook, with things sprouting from crevasses and bright orange moss growing on almost every flat surface.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1600
RELEASE THE KRAKEN!! Yeah, I like this next one.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2500
Of course, how could I resist a shot of the Tricolore at the top?
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/4000
These guys were also hanging out with us on the battlements. I had fun with the angle, as if I was hiding in the bushes.
Attached to the battlements (on the roof of part of the castle) was a garden. It was filled with all sorts of medicinal, colorful, and aromatic flowers, and the garden itself was a modern recreation of the type to which medieval teenagers would go to be romantic and flirty (it actually said that in the audioguide, though not in those exact words).
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2000
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2500
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1600
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1600
These next two pictures were insanely difficult to get because the wind was blowing the flowers all over the place. They just wouldn't hold still long enough for the camera to focus on them and get a picture.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1250
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/640
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/4000
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/320
After spending some time visiting the garden, we decided to skip the rest of the tour and go straight to the Apocalypse Tapestry, for which the Chateau D'Angers is famous. On the way there, though, I found an interesting-looking path.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/160
I split off from my parents who didn't want to walk up the hill, and I went to see what was there.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/320
ISO 10, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1600
As I neared the top, I thought about how photography takes me places like this. I always go exploring to see what there is farther down the road or hidden in the trees. Sometimes I find something wonderful and sometimes there's just nothing interesting.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/4000
I was not disappointed.
Below you will find a photographer duel, in which we see who can take a picture fastest.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/3200
Haha! Got you first!
(Actually, I think I just walked in the way of this guy's shot. Not a duel.)
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/640
I ran back down to tell my parents about what was there, and they asked if they should go up too. When we all got up to the top, they were blown away by the view. While they were looking around, I started taking pictures of them.
It was at this moment that he noticed his son was taking pictures of him.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1600
Hey look! More tilt-shifts!
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2500
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2500
Walking on the battlements allowed for some fantastic pictures. I was having a great time.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/2500
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1250
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1600
If you can't tell from the next picture, the wind was really strong at the top of the wall.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1600
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/3200
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/1250
Being on top of the wall was amazing, but we still wanted to see the Tapestry. On the way there, however, we found these two in the middle of the path crying out pitifully.
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/500
ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/500
Unfortunately, my camera died soon after this so I never got pictures of the Tapestry (I learned from this and I will start carrying a spare battery with me). I guess you'll just have to come to Angers and see it for yourself. I promise you, though, it is worth seeing if you can.
I seem to have lost the "teacher" act while writing this, but that's okay. It was a great day in which there were quite a few surprises that really made the day what it was. I have photography to thank for allowing me to enjoy the day and for encouraging me to explore places that I would never otherwise notice.
Class dismissed,
Alec
Alec