Friday night is Pari-Roller night in Paris. Thousands of skaters gather to skate through the streets of Paris until sunrise. They leave from Gare Montparnasse and at ten P.M. on a new route through Paris each week. In Frankfurt Germany they skate through the city on Tuesday night. That didn’t stop this team of “Frankfurters” from showing up Friday in Paris ready to go. See more Pari-Roller images at my European Gallery by clicking here.
Frankfurters getting ready for Pari-Roller
Outside of vernon France about an hour from Paris is Monet’s house at Giverny. I always had the feeling that Monet was near sighted and too vain to wear glasses which explained his unique style. However, after seeing his house and gardens at Giverny I changed my opinion. I think he painted what he saw. This photo has great depth of field and is in focus, yet it is “soft” in appearance due to the willow trees and other vegetation. You can buy a print of this image at my gallery by clicking here.
The Water Garden at Giverny
Paris is like any other major city, things slow down on Sunday. In the summer people have a lot of Parks to choose from in Paris. Parc Monceau,Jardin des Tuileries and Jardin du Palais Royal are some of the better known spots. However, my favorite is the Jardin du Luxembourg adjacent to Luxembourg Palace which is the center of the French Government. It is very large with many different spaces and you can see lovers kissing, joggers jogging and some of the most beautiful gardens in the world. This image sums up Sunday in Paris to me. You can buy a print of this image by clicking here.
Sunday at the Park Paris France
Here is another one from my “Kiss” series and another candidate for my future book. This was taken outside a Cafe on the Trocadéro Plaza in Paris France. Does it qualify as a Kiss or is just a near miss? You can buy a print of this image and see others at my European Gallery by clicking here.
Almost a Kiss in Paris France
How do you watch a baseball game? I watch the pitcher and try to follow the release to the hitter. I try to follow the pitcher’s motion and the ball. It is hard when the ball is traveling almost 100 miles per hour. As a result though, I have started to the analyze the pitchers form. Each one is different and you see different things if you stop motion and blur motion. Maybe there is a book in this? What did you learn for this picture? Let me know! You can buy a print of this image and see others on my commercial site by clicking here.
The High Heat
When we visited Paris last summer we knew that there was a tradition of people putting Padlocks on the bridge at Pont de l’Archevêché. Our travels did not take us over that bridge this time but we saw the that there were also locks on the bridge at Pont des Arts. You can read more about this in the David Lebovitz article on the subject called The Padlocks of Paris.. Basically lovers put a padlock on the bridge to celebrate their love. Officials seem to be letting people do this on these two bridges and I know next time we visit we will have a padlock with us. You can see more prints of Europe in my gallery by clicking here.
We had never really spent any time in Wisconsin so we left our daughter’s house in Chicago and headed north for a couple of days. We walked along the beach of Lake Michigan, chased seagulls, had a picnic lunch and headed north to Sturgeon Bay. This lovely little town is reminiscent of New England and for Chicagoans it is like their “Maine”. We stayed at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast, The Scofield House, which was filled with beautiful antique furniture and comfortable modern amenities. We were greeted with home made cookies and Breakfast was enough to last until dinner. We highly recommend it. See more scenic views on my commercial site by clicking here.
The Scofield House in Sturgeon Bay
Big league pitchers are like Peacocks,each one is a little different. The camera gives you a unique point of view either by freezing the motion like in this shot or blurring motion. The camera sees what the eye can’t because the fastball is moving at about 90 miles an hour it is hard to appreciate the throwing motion. In this shot you can clearly see why Pitchers are on a pitch count. The torque exerted on the body is tremendous and the body requires a lot of healing time between games. This is Francisco Liriano of the Chicago White Sox showing his stuff. You can buy a print of this on my commercial gallery by clicking here.
Francisco Liriano Chicago White Sox Pitcher
Well I am back from a nice holiday with family and friends. Along the way, got to see the Chicago White Sox play the Oakland Athletics at Cellular Field. The game was great, the fans were fun and those folks know how to make and grill encased meat. In any case I started to take some blurred motion pictures of the Pitchers and it really helped me to understand why pitchers are on a pitch count. In real time, you say big deal, but when you blur the motion you can see the incredible torque of the throwing motion. Some parts of their body remain perfectly still while the rest of their body is in high motion. You can buy a print of this image at my commercial gallery by clicking here.
The Pitch at U.S. Cellular Field
Our last stop in Europe was Orléans France. We had had a number of great pan asian meals in Paris including awesome Sushi. As we were touring Orléans it was way past lunch time and we were studying our map to try to figure out where all the restaurants were. A beautiful young French woman asked if we were lost and we said,no just hungry. My wife wanted to speak French to her and she wanted to speak english to us. She told us she was headed towards “restaurant row” and she would guide us. After walking with her and chatting for about ten minutes we came out in an area loaded with restaurants. To our surprise we found this wonderful Thai resturant and had a great lunch in Orléans. Visit my Europe gallery to seed more images by clicking here.
Siam in Orleans, France