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In 2002 I added a digital camera to my writer toolbox.
I have used it to illustrate my articles and web sites.
While I had some experience with film-based photos, I was completely new to digital images. Most of the things I knew were still valid, others I had to re-learn. There was (and there still is) a lot of new material as well.
As I'm learning, I thought it would be interesting to publish an online album, or online photo gallery, with my work. I have also put down some thoughts, comments and I'm building a growing library of tips and tricks... only in French for the time being.
A word of warning: you will find that most galleries are available in French only. Don't let that stop you: the pictures need no translation :-)
Let's start with the pictures themselves : Metz, the Loire Valley, Champagne.
Other galleries are coming. Share your thoughts.
These are the first two in a new series of "photo comics," i.e. short stories illustrated with lego cubes.
It's a lot of fun to create and shoot these photo comics. I got the idea from watching Thunderbirds
(let's be clear, I don't compare myself with Gerry Anderson) and from browsing lego fan sites.
This small galery presents the first few months of shooting with a digital camera (English comments).
It's mostly learning material: learning Photoshop Elements as well as the unique features of digicams
such as the screen and the free film.
Views from Metz is a set on the French city (French comments only).
Metz is a charming city not too far from the Belgian border. This set was taken in July 2002.
Loire Valley is a set on the French royal valley (French comments).
In the XV and XVI centuries, the French Kings moved from Paris to the Loire valley. For 200 years, they ruled over France from the valley. Consequently the valley is home to hundreds of castles build by the Royal familly or ministrers.
When travelling from Belgium, the valley is a short distance from Paris. This set was taken in September 2002.
I took advantage of a leraning journey in Champagne with the Belgian Oeno Institute to create this gallery (French comments).
It features the making of the world-famous Champaign wine and landscapes around Epernay.
The rest of this page summarizes my first comments on digital photography. These were written at the same time I was building my first digital gallery. I have a more extensive set of tips and tricks on digital photography but in French only.
I think there are enough other English web sites that discuss digital photographry that it is not worth making the whole material available in English.
Overall I find digital photography is a lot more fun than traditional photography (that was already a lot of fun). I can share my pictures with friends almost immediately and I now have a fully equipped darkrom called Photoshop Elements. It rocks!
As I'm becoming more proficient with Photoshop, I learn to fix old photos as well. The "phone home" picture was taken with a 35mm SLR camera, scanned and improved with Photoshop.
After a little while the digicam, I'm starting to take photos for the sake of manipulating them with Photoshop.
The digital camera has some unique tricks under its leaves. Instant replay is not only fun but it helps build a relationship with the subject.
I shoot the picture of an anchor (Red Chain) primarily for the rich tones of red, Photoshop enhanced it further.
© 2002-2004, Benoît Marchal. All rights reserved.
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