Global Eye: Bordeaux

Walking in the Mists of Bordeaux, by Joanne Hammond

Photographer: Joanne Hammond, Bribie Island, Australia

Getting the shot: I recently returned home from a three-month holiday in France and the U.K. We started in Valbonne in the south of France and slowly drove our way north to Paris, generally stopping for a week at different places. We spent about four nights in Bordeaux and I was totally enchanted by this city.

This shot was taken one morning as we walked from our hotel along the River Garonne into the old town centre. The new refurbishment of the river is wonderful—big wide boulevards and wonderful gardens and public places. I was particularly entranced by this water feature in front of the Place de la Bourse. As we sat nearby we watched the stillness of these reflected water surfaces change to water spouts that then produced a magical mist...and would slowly fade to reveal the city behind.

There were lots of people around this spot—tourists like me, snapping away, locals out for a run and their morning exercise, children were playing in the mist. It was just beautiful!

The Details: I use a Sony DSC H5, mostly with the automatic settings. The morning light was superb, so I used a fast shutter speed setting as I didn't want the blurry motion of people moving in these shots. I converted the shot to black and white using Photoshop and also played with the levels and curves a little simply to enhance the mist. That's about it. Just a holiday snap really!

IT loves how evocative the picture is, and feels like it could be a perfect postcard. Check out Jo's Flickr page for a color version of the scene, and contribute to IT's Flickr pool to get your own photos in Global Eye!

Comments

[Mike]

I love the mood captured in this!