I am thrilled to announce the grand re-launch of the new and improved ACM Photography website. My plans for this have been in the works for some time now and Andrew has been working very hard to make my ideas come to life on the web.
In addition to the updated Daily Photo blog, which now has better categories and more ways to search for images, we've created a news and tutorial blog as well. My aim is to keep this blog updated with what I'm working on and to share some of the behind the scenes work that goes into my images:my processes, my inspiration and some before and after images.
I need your help to come up with ideas for posts so if there is anything you've ever wanted to know how to do or if you are curious about something I've done with photography or Photoshop, please leave your questions and comments here or on the photo blog and I will try my best to address them.
RSS the Daily Photo Blog RSS the News and Tutorial Blog
In addition to the updated Daily Photo blog, which now has better categories and more ways to search for images, we've created a news and tutorial blog as well. My aim is to keep this blog updated with what I'm working on and to share some of the behind the scenes work that goes into my images:my processes, my inspiration and some before and after images.
I need your help to come up with ideas for posts so if there is anything you've ever wanted to know how to do or if you are curious about something I've done with photography or Photoshop, please leave your questions and comments here or on the photo blog and I will try my best to address them.
RSS the Daily Photo Blog RSS the News and Tutorial Blog
Read Euro Trip 2008 Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
We left La Benjamine, with one of
Dawn and Cédric’s incredible picnic boxes (salads, meat, cheese and of course
wine), and headed for the mountains. We traversed the peaks and valleys of the
Pyrenees, where the grass was still lush and green but the trees were the reds
and golds of autumn. It was actually one of the nicest displays of fall colour
I’ve experienced here in Europe.
The weather wasn’t exactly smiling on us. A stop for a Spanish coffee and loo-break, in a tiny mountain village, found us making a mad dash for the Prius to avoid a downpour.
Eventually, the landscape flattened out to rolling hills and then long stretches of plains and we found ourselves in Zaragoza.
Andrew had been having back problems since our return from Canada and his ability to walk long distances was severely limited so we found ourselves using buses to do our city visits. There was a slight kink in this plan however, when we reached Zaragoza. It was festival day and many of the streets were closed to traffic so there was no tourist bus.
We did a bit of wandering through
the main square and visited the magnificent Basilica-Cathedral of Our Lady of
the Pillar. After a few hours, we were all feeling a bit draggy, so we headed
back to the hotel for our picnic supper and another early morning.
The next day we set out for the flat plains of central Spain. The weather was beautiful and we decided to avoid the main highway and follow one of the smaller roads. We had incredible views of the vast agricultural lands and vineyards. We made a lunch stop, for the last of our picnic, in a tiny village with a beautiful view (and had a few stares from the locals). We even had a rather odd mystery stop…
“Are those… HAMS?!?” A quick u-turn revealed that, yes, there were dozens of hams hanging outside a factory, drying in the sun. In addition, there was a lovely rose garden that Mom and I stopped to photograph.
We left La Benjamine, with one of
Dawn and Cédric’s incredible picnic boxes (salads, meat, cheese and of course
wine), and headed for the mountains. We traversed the peaks and valleys of the
Pyrenees, where the grass was still lush and green but the trees were the reds
and golds of autumn. It was actually one of the nicest displays of fall colour
I’ve experienced here in Europe.The weather wasn’t exactly smiling on us. A stop for a Spanish coffee and loo-break, in a tiny mountain village, found us making a mad dash for the Prius to avoid a downpour.
Eventually, the landscape flattened out to rolling hills and then long stretches of plains and we found ourselves in Zaragoza.
Andrew had been having back problems since our return from Canada and his ability to walk long distances was severely limited so we found ourselves using buses to do our city visits. There was a slight kink in this plan however, when we reached Zaragoza. It was festival day and many of the streets were closed to traffic so there was no tourist bus.
We did a bit of wandering through
the main square and visited the magnificent Basilica-Cathedral of Our Lady of
the Pillar. After a few hours, we were all feeling a bit draggy, so we headed
back to the hotel for our picnic supper and another early morning.The next day we set out for the flat plains of central Spain. The weather was beautiful and we decided to avoid the main highway and follow one of the smaller roads. We had incredible views of the vast agricultural lands and vineyards. We made a lunch stop, for the last of our picnic, in a tiny village with a beautiful view (and had a few stares from the locals). We even had a rather odd mystery stop…
“Are those… HAMS?!?” A quick u-turn revealed that, yes, there were dozens of hams hanging outside a factory, drying in the sun. In addition, there was a lovely rose garden that Mom and I stopped to photograph.
Jamones Daroca
For us, the rain in Spain, stayed mainly off the plain.
What is it about boys and piles of dirt?
For us, the rain in Spain, stayed mainly off the plain. 
What is it about boys and piles of dirt?The second “STOP the car!!” moment
was in the beautiful little village of Daroca, where I photographed the
remnants of an old wall and fortress.
More photos of this lovely town will appear on the Photoblog!
Our stopping point that night was
Valencia, a city that Andrew and I would like to return to and spend more time
exploring. We did manage to find a tourist bus that took us around the city,
from which we could admire the incredible architecture which ranges from Gothic
to Art-Deco and some stunning Modern buildings that make up a new art and
cultural centre.
As we were ending our tour, the
rains came down again – in buckets. We decided to find a supper spot nearby.
Fortunately we chose wisely and had a superb tapas meal accompanied by some
lovely Spanish red wine. Then it was off to bed to rest up for the next morning’s
flight…
Our stopping point that night was
Valencia, a city that Andrew and I would like to return to and spend more time
exploring. We did manage to find a tourist bus that took us around the city,
from which we could admire the incredible architecture which ranges from Gothic
to Art-Deco and some stunning Modern buildings that make up a new art and
cultural centre.As we were ending our tour, the
rains came down again – in buckets. We decided to find a supper spot nearby.
Fortunately we chose wisely and had a superb tapas meal accompanied by some
lovely Spanish red wine. Then it was off to bed to rest up for the next morning’s
flight…
I know it's not a very Christmas-y image, but A) I like to keep things non - denominational here and B) by the end of the month you'll be sick of Christmas imagery anyway.
December's free desktop wallpaper image is one of my favorites from our trip to the Chateau Villandry in France's Loire Valley.
I hope you enjoy this month's calendar and I'm accepting requests for 2009.
Speaking of calendars - there's still time to order you ACMPhotography wall calendar by clicking here.
December's free desktop wallpaper image is one of my favorites from our trip to the Chateau Villandry in France's Loire Valley.
I hope you enjoy this month's calendar and I'm accepting requests for 2009.
Speaking of calendars - there's still time to order you ACMPhotography wall calendar by clicking here.
Read Euro Trip 2008 Part 1 and Part 2
Bright and early on the following
chilly morning, we arrived at our second Loire Valley castle – the Château de Chenonceau. This is one of the
most photographed castles in the Loire, due to its unique construction over the
River Cher.
Chenonceau was as beautiful inside as out and the gardens, although not as extensive as those at Villandry, were still blooming and lovely. Wiki has a great description of the history of the castle if you are interested.
As always, when we visit, we had
fabulous food. We visited Pau and had a trip to the market and we were
fortunate enough to eat at Chez Ruffet again. In addition, I was invited to
photograph one more aspect of the wine making process at Domaine Nigri. It has
been fascinating for me to watch and photograph this process from beginning to
end over the past year. Of course we all got to sample a bit of the wine at
several stages of the process and Mom and Dad couldn’t help but take a few
bottles back to Canada.
All in all, our stay at La Benjamine was what it always is – relaxing and full of great food, wine and company.
As always, keep your eye on the Photoblog for more images of our adventures!
Bright and early on the following
chilly morning, we arrived at our second Loire Valley castle – the Château de Chenonceau. This is one of the
most photographed castles in the Loire, due to its unique construction over the
River Cher.Chenonceau was as beautiful inside as out and the gardens, although not as extensive as those at Villandry, were still blooming and lovely. Wiki has a great description of the history of the castle if you are interested.
Look Ma, no staging...
Once we were finished touring
Chenonceau, we got back in the car and headed to our favourite place in France –
La Benjamine. I was very excited to take my parents there as I knew they would
love Dawn & Cedric, the inn and the landscape of the region.
As always, when we visit, we had
fabulous food. We visited Pau and had a trip to the market and we were
fortunate enough to eat at Chez Ruffet again. In addition, I was invited to
photograph one more aspect of the wine making process at Domaine Nigri. It has
been fascinating for me to watch and photograph this process from beginning to
end over the past year. Of course we all got to sample a bit of the wine at
several stages of the process and Mom and Dad couldn’t help but take a few
bottles back to Canada.
View of the Pyrenees from La Benjamine
Future wine...
Future wine...All in all, our stay at La Benjamine was what it always is – relaxing and full of great food, wine and company.
As always, keep your eye on the Photoblog for more images of our adventures!
