Topic: Wherein limr and 02Pilot go to the south of France

[02Pilot]

As I have mentioned here, limr and I went to France this summer. Our trip was planned long in advance, as these things are, but the timing of it was such that we arrived at our destination - Nice - less than a week after the Bastille Day terrorist attack. We never considered cancelling, but many others did; according to the locals we talked to, tourist numbers were way down. As the days passed, we did see more people - hopefully the downturn was short.

In any case, we set about our vacation. We purposely did not rent a car, preferring to stay mostly in and around Nice, using trains (and in one case, a boat) to get around when not on foot. We explored some of the neighborhoods, took day trips to Monaco and up into the mountains, and swam in the Mediterranean. We had a proper vacation, albeit one that ended a bit sooner than we would have liked, but that's not unusual.

Still, it was impossible to ignore the aftermath of the attack. Heightened police presence and soldiers patrolling the streets were unavoidable, as were the memorials, which were everywhere, large and small. Unsurprisingly, people were still on edge, and it showed - the street behind our hotel was evacuated for several hours for some reason, cordoned off by police for several blocks. We walked that street everyday, as we did the Promenade des Anglais. Our hotel was three blocks from where the attack began.

From a photographic standpoint, there was an added dimension to the subject matter at hand. Along with taking the usual sorts of photos that one might take in a place like the south of France, there was the need to document the immediate aftermath of the attack, both directly and indirectly. I had two Leica bodies with me: a IIIc with a Canon 28/2.8 and a IIIg with a Summitar 50/2; I also had a Canon 100/3.5 for occasional use. We shot a lot of pictures - 24 rolls for me, 17 of HP5+ and 7 of Portra 400. We're both still working on get them finished.

Here, then, are the first of my photos. They are grouped sort of geographically and temporally, but it's a loose organization. I'll get a few more batches up as time permits, and I'm sure limr will add some of her own when she can.

















More to come....

[Kai-san]

These are very nice 02, I especially like the way you use shadows in you pictures. Keep them coming! 

[02Pilot]

Thanks, Kai. I do have a mild addiction to photos with shadows.... 

[Urban Hafner]

Beautiful images! And I have friends that live in Nice. Luckily nothing happened to them that day. And the aftermath is still going on. We were in Strasbourg a few weeks ago and saw soldiers patrolling with big guns. :/

[02Pilot]

Thanks, Urban. While I'm sure the overt security presence is jarring to some, between New York City these days and my experiences of going through European (both East and West) airports back in the 1980s, it seems a bit odd when I don't see it. And what I saw in Nice didn't really fill me with confidence.

Anyway, I should have the next set of photos up this weekend. Stay tuned....

[limr]

And for my first batch...

Here's the one I posted in the weekend thread:


rAround and around by limrodrigues, on Flickr


We both got a little obsessed with the shadows and stairs:


rA bird and those stairs by limrodrigues, on Flickr


rRailing by limrodrigues, on Flickr


Some street scenes:


rVouta et Coundamina by limrodrigues, on Flickr


rAfternoon coffee by limrodrigues, on Flickr


Some from the make-shift memorial to those who died in the attack:


rBunny by limrodrigues, on Flickr


rRoller skates by limrodrigues, on Flickr


rCandles by limrodrigues, on Flickr

[imagesfrugales]

Glory and grief so close together. Thank you for showing.

Love and peace

[Indofunk]

I like the alley shot (afternoon coffee)! I'm a sucker for alleys. Also, nice pictures of the memorial. So sad.

[02Pilot]

OK, here we go with the next batch. These are all centered around the beach and the Promenade des Anglais, the main boulevard that runs along it. It's sort of the center of activity in Nice, with hotels and restaurants all along, and the wonderful old town down at one end. Of course, it was also the site of the Bastille Day attack. The juxtaposition of the touristic and the tragic was jarring, but it seemed as though people were making an active effort to return to something approaching normality.

I have enough photos that fall into this group that I'm going to divide them up. I'm posting the color first; the B&W will come in due course. Enjoy.

[Late Developer]

Lovely set of photos. as a 15 year old (mid 70s) I went from the Spanish border to the Italian border on a Peugeot 175cc scramble bike.  I must go back to the south of France soon.  We camped out on beaches both ways and got very rough treatment in places like St Tropez, Nice, Cannes and, in particular, Monaco.  I'll probably give those places a miss (or at least just get through them as quickly as possible). St Maxime (not far from St Tropez) was a real fave as the locals were quite welcoming and not as stuck up as the some of their bigger-name neighbours. 

[hookstrapped]

Late light shadows! Real nice.  I especially like 02's grain working with the texture of the walls and streets

[02Pilot]

Thanks guys. Paul, I saw a few people beach camping in Nice and no one seemed to be paying any attention. I'm sure it would be different in Monaco, but then Monaco struck me as sort of a very wealthy Disneyland: very sanitized, full of tourists, and quite image conscious. I have some photos from there too, but they're not ready to go yet, so in the meantime here are the B&W photos from the beach in Nice.

[Late Developer]

Thanks guys. Paul, I saw a few people beach camping in Nice and no one seemed to be paying any attention. I'm sure it would be different in Monaco, but then Monaco struck me as sort of a very wealthy Disneyland: very sanitized, full of tourists, and quite image conscious.

It would have surprised me if things hadn't changed to some extent in the 40 or so years since I was there.  Generally speaking, the nearer to Monaco we got, the less welcome we felt.  Perhaps attitudes have loosened up a bit in the intervening period.

[limr]

I've been much slower in my process - I still have undeveloped film! 

But here are three more, and they are also beach scenes:


rA day at the beach by limrodrigues, on Flickr



rLanding by limrodrigues, on Flickr



rChairs by limrodrigues, on Flickr

[02Pilot]

Time for a few more. This time it's critters. As before, everything with screwmounts Leica and either the Summitar 50/2 or the Canon 28/2.8, HP5+ or Portra 400. Enjoy.