*Peace and Quiet*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Fuji Velvia 50
At the heart of Lyon’s Hôtel Dieu is what I’m assuming used to be a cloister. It’s now a very quiet and quite lovely park with lounge chairs for passers-bu. I tried to capture the width and quiet of it with the XPAN.
*Ganagobie Abbey*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford Pan F
Ganagobie abbey is an old monastery and abbey located in upper Provence. It’s lost in the middle of the dry, sparse forest characteristic of that region. I’m not sure it was all olive trees and lavender, but that’s what the legend would probably say anyway. I was quite taken by the alleyway leading to the majestic entrance, and I wanted to give it the XPAN treatment, so there you go.
*The White Lion*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford Pan F
I can’t remember exactly where I shot this (apart from obviously, it was in London). It may have been on Euston road this summer. I quite like the tones of the Ilford Pan F when it works (I’m told it’s a fickle film…)
*Anonymous Lounging*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Fuji Velvia 50
Lyon’s Hôtel Dieu is an ancient hospital that has been decommissioned and rehabilitated as a series of indoor parks, hotels and shops. Its classical architecture is both monumental and sparse. I took a few shots in there, taking advantage of the great light. Despite my chronic underexposure of the Fuji Velvia, some of them came out really nice, like this picture of a friend lounging anonymously on a deck chair in a courtyard.
*The Old Tower*
XPAN + Kodak Ektar 100
Lyon is a beautiful city to walk at the best of times, and when the weather is that gorgeous, the photographer is happy. I was walking along the Rhone river opposite Bellecour when I saw this tower, apparently part of an old hospital building. The sky was fantastic, looked like the skies in Toy Story. And the Kodak Ektar did a bang on job to capture those summer colours.
*Encased*
Fuji x100f
Having taken a photo from the inside of an open courtyard in Vienna (Skywards), I did the same a few days later in Lyon. What I like about this one is that the angles are all a little skewed. It feels less geometric and a little more haphazard.
*Stairwell Contrast*
Fuji x100f
I spent a day in Lyon back in July and walked around the old city despite the brutal heat. What I loved there were these narrow winding passages (called Traboules) that connect the streets with encased courtyards. As we were exploring one of these I saw this little staircase on the side. I loved the way the light hit the top of the stairs…
*Skywards*
Fuji x100f
I’m not sure there’s anything typically Viennese in this vertical view of a building’s inside court. But I really liked the perspective it offered and the geometry of the courtyard itself, the windows and the way the light hits them.
*Gloria in Excelsis Deo*
Fuji x100f
As I think I have said before, I’m not a believer in any faith, but I am fascinated with religion as a social construct and as a photographic subject. One of the things that always (in my mind) represents a tension is the amount of effort and money that has gone (historically) into representing the glory of god. In Western Europe this is mostly true of Catholic churches, but of course it applies equally in other parts of the world and to other religions. Still, as a photographer it’s hard to deny that these displays make for good subjects!
*The Girl with the Goose*
XPAN + Kodak Ektar 100
Walking down one of Vienna’s main commercial arteries I stumbled upon this fountain with a statue on top, called « Gänsemädchenbrunnen », litterally the fountain of the girl with the goose (I think). I tried several different approached to capture both the statue and the perspective behind, and the width of the XPAN is what finally got me there. I wish the building at the back on the right hadn’t been wrapped, but what are you gonna do?
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