New York City High Line

http://www.bcramponphoto.com/trips/2012-07_nychl/

Monday July 9^th we took a walk to the second section of the High Line that opened in June 7 2011. In November 2010 we had discovered the southernmost section, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, opened as a city park on June 8, 2009 thanks to our friend Ray.

The High Line is a 1-mile New York City linear park built on a 1.45-mile section of the former elevated New York Central Railroad spur called the West Side Line, which runs along the lower west side of Manhattan; it has been redesigned and planted as an aerial greenway. The High Line Park currently runs from Gansevoort Street, three blocks below West 14th Street, in the Meatpacking District, up to 30th Street, through the neighborhood of Chelsea to the West Side Yard, near the Javits Convention Center.

The recycling of the railway into an urban park has spurred real estate development in the neighborhoods which lie along the line.

The photographs of my reportage intend to show you the trail through my lens. In a very short period of time some of those pics will be history I believe!

Enjoy.

PS: for more on the High Line see Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Line_(New_York_City

Or visit the official website at: http://www.thehighline.org/

Baron Philippe de Rothschild visit

http://www.bcramponphoto.com/trips/2008-04-19_mr/

In April 2008 my good friend DeWitt invited me to go with him for a Bordeaux Tour organized by his brother Ed Cook, Director of Wine and Beer for Harris Teeter. We had a great four day visit in many well known Bordeaux winery estates.

Today I would like to share with you a few images of the Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A. visit which ended by a wonderful lunch in a Rotisserie in the Pauillac village.

Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A. is a family company located in the village of Pauillac, in the Médoc, 50 kms from Bordeaux. The history of the domaine before the 18th century is rather murky.

The first date known could be with Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur, in 1718. Joseph de Brane, purchased the seigneurie of the Barony of Mouton from the Ségur family in 1720

In 1853, Thuret the owner of the land sold the estate to a member of the Rothschild banking family. Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild.

Finally it is Philippe de Rothschild son of Henri Rothschild, in 1922 that took interest in the property. Under his leadership the great changes began at Mouton.

Premium wines are: Château Mouton Rothschild, Château clerc Milon, Château d'Armailhac, Opus One, Almaviva, Domaine de Baron'arques.

Branded Wines: Most known Mouton Cadet and many others please visit Baron Philippe Rothschild website at :http://www.bpdr.com/

Baroness Philippine Mathilde Camille de Rothschild (born in Paris 22 November 1933) is nowaday the owner of the French winery Château Mouton Rothschild.

One more word of interest in those few lines is the one regarding the labels. Baron Philippe de Rothschild came up with the idea of having each year's label designed by a famous artist of the day. In 1946, this became a permanent and significant aspect of the Mouton image with labels created by some of the world's great painters and sculptors. The only exception to date is the unusual gold-enamel bottle for 2000.

Bernard's Travels: A Sunday with my photographer's friend Ali in Pari...

A Sunday with my photographer's friend Ali in Paris.

http://www.bcramponphoto.com/trips/2012-06-10_ali/

A Sunday with my photographer's friend Ali in Paris. Ali is a very passionate and talented photographer. Ali also takes the highest risks to shoot whatever he has to bring back for his clients.

Please visit Ali's work at his website. www.photobyali.com

our week in Madeira

Is Madeira the paradise on earth? The island has the hallmark of subtropics, from blue sea costs to green mountains you get it all in few kilometers. The island is small, 57 km x 22 km, the two highest points are around 1800 meters above sea level .
So you may ask, from a photographer point of view? It is indeed a landscape seascape paradise. But Madeira doesn't give up herself easily though. Roads are generally good but as soon as you leave the cost's highways, be prepared to climb abruptly by very windy roads where stopping is not easy. The marvelous landscapes are most of the time for your eyes only. (except of course if you are prepare to walk). Although there many trails, not always well marked, they aren't generally, as a photographer stand point, where you would like them to be. A good advice if a week is all you have, make a lot of research on what you want to see and shoot and be ready to ask for local advice at your arrival.

Paradise I said, so this applies to the weather right? People living in Madeira will tell you that it is the most perfect weather in the world. Never cold never too hot. 24ºC during the summer, 17ºC in winter time (average). Not quite, if Madeira is so green is for good reasons.Clouds are omnipresent and bring a fair among of rain. Wind can be very strong. Summarizing: The island is full of small microclimates. One day crossing the national park, we left the cost with 21º and up there we got as low as 5ºC, the fog was so thick that for 20 kilometers, we could hardly see the front of our car. One last word, although we had recent guide books we found difficult to find so some of the things describe. As an example, we were looking for the colorful fisherman boats, in vain. The photograph below is the only boat we could find and I had to fight hard to find a way to isolate it from place where it was parked! 

Below few photos that will give you an overview of Madeira Island.

India October 2011

It's been a fabulous journey through the north of India, mostly Rajasthan.
Click on each day below to see the day to day reportage.
day 1       day 2           day 3     day 4     day 5     day 6     day 7     day 8    day 9   day 10

day 10-2    day 11   day 12   day 13   day 14   day 14-2    day 15   day 16   day 16-2

What to pack or not to pack!

My good friend Gerry came back a week ago or so from Big Sur California where he spent a week on the windy coast roads. He wrote about it on his blog but mostly about what a Travel.Photographer has to pack and the fear of not having the right gear.

http://blog.geraldlerner.com/2011/08/04/pack-your-camera-gear-check-it-twice-and-remember-to-bring-your-curiosity/

Below is my answer to him.

A Travel Photographer starts by packing the right gears for the job/mission with the needed accessories adjusting the absolute needed gears to the airline weight requirements. Check it twice is a good advice but in my case packing my photo bag is now second nature

True a Travel Photographer has to bring patience and curiosity for sure but, must research in order not to waste precious time on the road. This is particularly true in foreign countries and if you don't speak the language, local help is a must.

A travel photographer has to have the mind of a Boy Scout, always be ready.

A Travel Photographer on a mission doesn't sleep much.

And on.

But it is so good to be in the field!

Excellent photograph Gerry!

A weekend in the land of Don Quijote de La Mancha

Land of Don Quijote de La Mancha (link)

Just few words on Campo de Criptana's photographs.

In our way to Campo de Criptana 7pm the light was absolutely beautiful. In La Mancha all roads are straight with rare curves. So six kilometers away we were in sight of the village and finally could see the hill with the windmills. Wow what a landscape! Except that a huge black cloud was covering the site. Somehow I was disappointed.

By the time we arrived get out of the car and wandering in the village, the cloud slowly broke and gave me a wonderful sky and light.

Enjoy

Land of Don Quijote de La Mancha (link)