Grouse Mountain at dusk, Vancouver

For a long time it had been my wish to ski at night.  Reports from friends had rated the experience at Grouse Mountain,  Vancouver, as one of the most interesting.  Snow and overcast weather in the days beforehand did not hold much promise, but I was rewarded with a break in the weather at the right time.  Even with my unrealistically high expectations I had no idea this would be such a magical experience.  The slopes were bathed with pools of light, and from at every turn you see the sparkling lights of the city of Vancouver below.  My higher vantage point for this picture was more of a challenge, especially the struggle with a loaded camera bag and heavy tripod, perched as it was on the edge of a vertical drop.  Only a panorama could do justice to this view – one made from 18 images – and the dusk light provided a perfect balance between the city lights, the ski slopes and the harbour.    Overall 1270 x 480

114

Schafberg, Austria

Having seen a picture of Schafberg before I was sure that there was some trickery to the photographer’s art – it seemed improbable that someone would build on the very edge of a precipice, and certainly not one that was this high up. But after an entertaining cog railway ride up from the town of St Wolfgang in Austria I found that even the original photo did not do justice to the view. To capture the scene properly required assembling fourteen separate images into this panorama..   Overall 1420 x 480

Next Page

Previous Page

115

113

View from Montparnasse, Paris

Such a clear view of Paris is rare, so I was lucky when the afternoon rain cleared the air and the clouds lifted.  On top of Montparnasse Tower it was bitterly cold but the reward was in getting the right result.  A picture on this scale presents several challenges.  Firstly you need to capture a wide 120 field of view.  The second challenge is achieving clarity in such a large format print.  Both of these are helped by the photographic process in which multiple images are carefully joined together using a telephoto lens to capture the detail and very long exposures to ensure that all of the image is well lit.  The process takes a long time.  Photographing the 43 images that make up this panorama took almost an hour and produced a 930Mb image file.  The result is an image which not only has interesting photographic qualities because of its subject and lighting, but it has a level of detail that makes for a great process of discovery to search across the image to identify people and landmarks.  It is a real conversation piece.   Overall 1790 x 718

112

Manarola at dusk, Cinque Terre, Italy

Rain in the afternoon and huge waves made for a foreboding picture of the village of Manarola on the Cinque Terre coast of Italy.  But I patiently waited several hours for the clouds to roll through and was rewarded when the last rays of sun touched the beautiful pastel homes above the harbour.  Once the sun had gone down and the town's lights started to appear it created an even better picture.  There is a charm to the entire scene and lots of detail to explore – waves crashing on the rock pick up the warm colour of the lights, villagers enjoying a social evening on the dock, a couple having an evening meal on their balcony and a light on the breakwall that makes the water appear like fire at the entrance to the harbour.

Overall 920 x 650

106

Gilt Mantle Clock, Palace of Versailles

This ornate gold clock is testimony to the opulence and excesses of France under its Imperial rule.  But it's hard not to admire such craftsmanship and quality of design. Rather than just a photograph of o'clock this is a window into a time past when money was no object and the overt display of wealth was the point.

Overall 250 x 330

Louvre marble statue, Paris

High up in the world's beautiful building list would be the Louvre.  Today it is a mix of the ultramodern and classical styles – with its contemporary glass pyramid entry linking the traditional gallery wings that formed part of the original palace.  The visitors attention is understandably on the vast collection of artworks so it is easy to miss looking at the structure itself.  Not only is the building of a breathtaking scale, but it features the finest materials, master craftsmanship, intricate plasterwork and painted ceilings that rival the best masterpieces on the walls.  To me the picture here exemplifies how the Louvre brings together the old and the new.  And it offers a number of additional contrasts; the white marble statue in its dark underworld; the differing light on the two levels and the juxtaposition of straight angular lines with the sweeping curves of the void.

Overall 560 x 460

103