Blog

The weekend in Mammoth was really fun. Next time, I will come and place myself on the path for better pictures. Shooting thru the windshield is not...

It has already been a year since California had a great winter, with record snow. I have been waiting for the right conditions to get to Yosemite before a massive winter storm. I realized recently that I have never posted the images from that trip. For me the right conditions are a fast moving storm coming (called an atmospheric river) bringing a lot of moisture. Ideally the storm should hit Yosemite in late afternoon and last all night. The temperature in Yosemite should be low enough to produce snow and I want at least 12 to 16 inches. The...

For the 3rd time in 5 years, I went to Cuba. This time our itinerary included Havana for two days, then Trinidad and we drove to Santiago to meet with our Cuban Salsa group: the All Stars. I knew that Cubans love music, or most exactly music is life for the Cubans. This trip did reinforce the notion to a new level. We witnessed a music video being filmed on the Malecon, people dancing in the streets and we could hear music all the time on the streets, coming from cars, apartments, phones. Havana is changing fast, we were able to get cash from...

2017 has been a year of repeat amazing experiences and checking a couple items off from my bucket list. First, I finally managed to get to Yosemite during a large snowstorm (it should be on anyone’s bucket list). Then I went glamping in an Airstream (bucket list item). Right after I went back to Fairbanks to see more auroras, it was a balmy -15F. In June, we went back camping on Angel Island. Then I went sailing in Svalbard (for the second time). Right after, I did a photoshoot for an amazing young sailing athlete while he was...

The Hanna House is located on the Stanford University campus and just reopened after a couple years of being closed for renovation/maintenance. This house is supposed to be the first work from Frank Lloyd Wright in the region. The name of this house is the honeycomb house and is Frank’s first work with non rectangular structures. You can visit the house by signing up here. At the time of my tour, I could only photograph the outside of the house, no photography was allowed inside during the tour. While I completely understand, it was...

This was the fourth time I went to Angel Island (day trip) and it’s always a treat. It’s pretty incredible that a lot of people living in the Bay Area have never been to Angel Island. Last time, I went camping (see previous post), we did get ideal conditions. This time we went later into the spring, hoping to get better luck with the fog. Overall the weather was ok but not yet as interesting as it could be, knowing the location potential. I will have to try again, until I get the image I want to make. In the meantime, here are...

Finally I made it to the Art Biennale in Venice! It has been on my bucket list for a while and I have several of my friends who go every time. Even my wife went 4 years ago without me (I was probably traveling somewhere else). This year, I spent 3 weeks in Nice and I was able to spend a short weekend in Venice towards the end of the Biennale. Like Burning Man, the pictures you see and the stories you read about this event are not complete. The Biennale is something you experience yourself and no one will have the same experience. I found the...

This last post took way more time to be written than anyone had expected. In case you are reaching this blog directly, I highly recommend reading the two previous posts about this trip: part 1: the northernmost inhabited place in the world part 2: our boat. The main reasons for me to travel to Svalbard are to see some polar bears and also capture the unique landscape of the arctic. The weather in the arctic changes quickly from the worst to the best in couple minutes. After returning from my previous trip, I learned that my favorite images...

After part one, you should now know where Svalbard is and how challenging life over there can be. Sailing can be dangerous but in most places, there is reasonable hope for help if something goes really bad. In Svalbard, you are on your own. The governor of Svalbard makes it really clear that help can take a long time to reach you and you should be prepared to help yourself. I’m not confident enough in my sailing skills so I chartered a boat with a crew. The boat is not a big one, it’s an Alubat Ovni 445, 45ft aluminum hull...

I went sailing in Svalbard last month for a week. It was the second time, I visited the small archipelago in the arctic zone. Last time I went camping and kayaking and while it was fun it did not allow me to travel long distances. This time, I chose a sailboat, first because it allowed us to travel quite a lot, secondly it was a lot more confortable, thirdly it was small enough we could get really close to any glacier. Where is the Svalbard? Svalbard (which means “cold coast” in Norwegian) is between 78 and 81 degrees north. The main town is...