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France - Paris to Prades (12 pics)

The SwedeThe Swede Registered Users Posts: 8 Beginner grinner
edited October 16, 2007 in Journeys
A few shots from a 14 day trip to France starting in Paris and traveling south to Toulouse, Carcassonne, Prades, and Albi.


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1. Inside the Louvre pyramid. D50, Sigma 10-20


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2. Leg of the Eiffel Tower. D50, Sigma 10-20


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3. Sacre Coeur is a church on the highest hill in Paris. The adjacent neighborhood is touristy but full of lively restaurants and was home to Henry Toulouse-Lautrec. D50, Sigma 10-20


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4. The Orsay Museum picks up where the Louvre leaves off (1848-1914) and is much smaller, thankfully. The building is a converted rail yard, and is often more impressive than the art. HDR, D50, Sigma 10-20


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5. Versailles Gardens. Naval battles were reenacted in the lakes in the distance in the days of Louis XIV. D50, 50 f1.8


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6. Carcassonne is said to be the best preserved medieval walled city in Europe. During the afternoon when we arrived it was crawling with tourists, just as promised. But since we were staying the night, the day trippers cleared out, and we found a nice restaurant. The morning rewarded us with vacant streets until 10 or 11. D50, 18-70


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7. We visited 2 castle ruins on the way to Prades, Peyrepertuse and Queribus. They used to guard the Spanish/French border, before it was moved south. D50, 18-70


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8. The cottage where we stayed in Prades. It was rather rustic, but most of my time was spent sitting outside, drinking wine, and eating olives. Prades is a small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees, and doesn't get too many tourists. D50, Sigma 10-20


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9. Inside Abbaye de Saint Michel-de-Cuxa. This abbey was a 45 minute walk from the cottage down the Napoleonic-era irrigation ditch trail. D50, Sigma 10-20


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10. View of Mediterranean between Collioure and Banyuls, a few miles from the Spanish border. There was a tight winding road between the two towns, with spectacular views that are difficult to capture. D50, Sigma 10-20


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11. Hotel courtyard in Couiza, HDR, D50, Sigma 10-20


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12. Albi Cathedral - This was built as a testament to the power of the Catholic church, letting the Cathars know who was in charge. D50, Sigma 10-20

Thanks for looking :D, more shots can be found here - http://tasteslikeburning.zenfolio.com/p601145309

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    jthomasjthomas Registered Users Posts: 454 Major grins
    edited October 15, 2007
    These are excellent.

    Can you give a few tips on how you did the HDRs? Quite impressive.
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    Moogle PepperMoogle Pepper Registered Users Posts: 2,950 Major grins
    edited October 15, 2007
    Awesome shots! I like the Carcassonne shot!
    Food & Culture.
    www.tednghiem.com
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    ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,911 moderator
    edited October 15, 2007
    Wow! Those are some very pretty places. Can you tell us a bit about them?

    Thanks!

    Ian
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
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    The SwedeThe Swede Registered Users Posts: 8 Beginner grinner
    edited October 15, 2007
    jthomas wrote:
    These are excellent.

    Can you give a few tips on how you did the HDRs? Quite impressive.
    Thanks. Both are 2 stop bracketed exposures. I loaded the 3 raw files into Photomatix (I don't remember if I used details enhancer or tone compressor), saved as a tiff, and adjusted levels, curves, and added sharpening in Photoshop.
    ian408 wrote:
    Wow! Those are some very pretty places. Can you tell us a bit about them?
    You're right, I was rather brief. I have added a bit more description in the original post.
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    CalfeeRiderCalfeeRider Registered Users Posts: 258 Major grins
    edited October 16, 2007
    All gorgeous shots, but I love #3 (Sacre Coeur) Thanks for sharing!
    Jack

    http://www.SplendorousSojourns.com

    Canon 1D Mk II N - Canon 5D - Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM - Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM - Canon EF 85 f/1.8 USM - Canon EF 100 f/2.8 macro - Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
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    saurorasaurora Registered Users Posts: 4,320 Major grins
    edited October 16, 2007
    Wonderful shots! Makes me want to pack my bags! I like your compositions in framing such large structures. Very nice! thumb.gif
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    nicoleshillidaynicoleshilliday Registered Users Posts: 549 Major grins
    edited October 16, 2007
    Thanks for posting. These shots brought back some great memories. :D
    Nicole
    D3, and other Nikon goodies
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