landscape

Kuang Si Falls

*Kuang Si Falls*
Fuji XT3

I’m a sucker for waterfalls, and it’s become a point of contention with my family since I’ll spend so much time trying to get the perfect shot on my tripod that they don’t get to spend time with me. This time, in the gorgeous Kuang Si Falls near Luang Prabang, I adopted a half-way strategy that has worked well: instead of using the tripod, in most instances I used the lens’ stabilization to shoot at around 1/15s. In my experience, with rushing water that’s what delivers the most pleasing yet natural looking results. And family saw more of me and was pleased as well. This huge waterfall park is by far the most impressive I’ve seen yet, and if you go to Laos I strongly recommend not missing out on it!

Cabin in the North

*Cabin in the North*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Rollei RPX25

For my first ever attempt at shooting RPX25 I didn’t make it easy on myself: in the midst of the Nuuksio forest on an overcast day, and accounting for reciprocity failure, I often had exposure times of 30-45 seconds. As a consequence the results were hit and miss. But when they hit, it was amazing. The level of fine detail that this film retains is just amazing. This one is my favourite shot, an abandoned cabin in the woods.

The Birch is Dead

*The Birch is Dead*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Kodak Portra 160

One of the things that really impressed me in the wilderness of the Nuuksio forest was the number of fallen trees. In a forest as dense as this, it gives you a sense of the violence of the storms that must strike the forest in the winter. I was particularly stoked by the white bark of this dead birch against the deep green background of the forest.

Fertile Boulders

*Fertile Boulders*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Kodak Portra 160

There is something verging on the abstract when you’re looking at a forest from the inside with an eye for composition. Instead of trees and leaves and soil in a see of green you start seeing lines and curves and try to make do. I loved the big boulders covered in moss in Nuuksio, and so a lot of my compositions attempted to use them.

Ganagobie Abbey

*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.

Goodnight, Rhune!

*Goodnight, Rhune!*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Kodak Ektachrome E100

By the time we headed back to catch the cable car down from the Rhune, dusk was just round the corner. This last shot I took already had dimming light, emphasized by the limited dynamic range of the slide film. It’s a wonderful place though (I wish I could do a dawn from up there) and I highly recommend if it you’re in the area.

Sheep Pen on Top

*Sheep Pen on Top*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Kodak Ektachrome E100

There was a stone sheep house at the top of the Rhune as well as rocks, cairns, pottok ponies and (of course), sheep. I took this wide shot to get a better sense of how it all fit together, with a nice hazy delineation of the mountains in the background.

Pottok & Rock


*Pottok & Rock*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Kodak Ektachrome E100

If you followed the rest of this XPAN series of shots from the top of the Rhune mountain in the Pyrénées, you must have seen that it combined subdued but gorgeous colours of grass and sky, rocks and ponies. This shot perhaps summarizes the whole experience.

Pyrenean Cairns

*Pyrenean Cairns*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Kodak E100 Ektahcrome

At the top of the plateau of the Rhune, many many little stone cairns were set up. I don’t think there’s anything authentic or traditional about it, I got the impression it was just something that some tourists started doing, and others followed suit. But it gave the landscape an interesting quasi-mystical vibe that I really liked.

Grazing Pottoks

*Grazing Pottoks*
Fuji XT2 (XPAN) + Kodak E100 Ektachrome

In order to get to the Rhune summit, you can take a famous cablecar that’s been running for close tu 100 years, or you can walk. We did the former. On top is a flat, rocky expanse where the Pottocks and some sheep graze peacefully. I don’t know how full of tourists it normally is, but when we were there is was quiet and very peaceful. That’s what I tried to reflect in this picture.