I'm now on Instagram!

OK, that was a slightly misleading title. It's an image of a monument. But what a monument!

It's always nice to meet the people who buy my prints and get to know them a little better. This past week, I got to meet Lauren as she got one of my prints from Minnewaska as a gift from her husband Robert. They drove up from NYC to pick up the print, and Robert asked if he could take a picture of Lauren and me holding the print. Of course! Although I'm not used to being on that side of the camera.

Just today, I put up one of my images from Corsica at the Dyson Breast Center, a cancer treatment facility associated with Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie, NY. They are decorating their new center, and I am honored to have this print hanging on the wall in their waiting room. Their goal is to have peaceful, tranquil images for patients and their families to see while visiting the doctors. Considering the emotional and physical trauma that cancer puts people through, they hope to make the visit to the doctor as calming as possible.

The image, which was taken from the Tour de Capitello beach, looks out towards the city of Ajaccio, Corsica - the birthplace of Napoleon. Here is a link where you can order the image for yourself.

http://www.northernlight.net/store/art_print_products/sunset-and-rocks-tour-de-capitello-beach-corsica-france?product_gallery=878&product_id=241619

I usually photograph landscapes and architecture - the pretty things in life, but now and again, I am caught by a more somber subject. This one is a war monument to those who gave their lives in the two World Wars. As years go by, it is easy to become further removed from the loss of war, especially when wars don't take place on your own soil. In Pezenas, and much of Europe, the wars are all too present, literally and figuratively.

The buildings have stood silent sentinel over one army after another, claiming, losing, liberating in the most priceless "currency" we have - human lives. As I was setting up for, and creating this image, I noticed a group of teenagers in the background - you can see them just off to the left. At first, I was hoping they would move on so that the image would be all about the monument, but in retrospect, I am glad they didn't. The monument was all about the people, so why shouldn't the people be in the image?

I make no judgement on the teenagers - I don't know them - but they make a strong juxtaposition to the monument as well as complimenting it in a way. Just a few decades ago, they problably would have been facing the same fate as the names on the monument. Let's hope they don't ever have to.

One last thought: I have two versions of this image. The first is in color, and the second in B&W. Feel free to let me know which you prefer and why.

Color: http://www.northernlight.net/store/art_print_products/lost-in-the-wars-pezenas-france?product_gallery=877&product_id=309126

B&W: http://www.northernlight.net/store/art_print_products/lost-in-the-wars-pezenas-france-b-w?product_gallery=877&product_id=309122

Sometimes, I see the big picture, and don't notice the "little" picture until later. That happened just recently with a VR image I made in #Pezenas, #France. I was exploring this VR image I posted recently - https://www.360cities.net/image/courtyard-staircase-pezenas-france - and realized the view straight up was pretty cool. So, I loaded the image into PTGui, the software that I use to stitch images, and extracted the view looking straight up. Here's what it looks like: http://www.northernlight.net/store/art_print_products/courtyard-staircase-pezenas-france?product_gallery=877&product_id=292592.

But wait! What would this look like in B&W? Here is what the B&W image looks like: http://www.northernlight.net/store/art_print_products/courtyard-staircase-pezenas-france-b-w?product_gallery=877&product_id=292590.

Some images work better in color while some work better in B&W. Which do you prefer, and why? I'd love to hear from you!

Mark

As I transition from the old web site to the new one, I'll be updating this blog. Today, all of the images from our trip to Utah - Zion National Park to be precise - are now up! For those of you who feel I have a bias towards Europe - and France in particular - well, you're right! However, that doesn't mean I don't absolutely love the tremendous landscapes we have here in the U.S.

Enjoy!

http://www.northernlight.net/store/art_print_products/the-narrows-zion-national-park-utah?product_gallery=1010&product_id=274359

While this site is all about my print based work, I also do Virtual Reality (VR) photography. This is where you can click and drag on an image and look around in all directions as if you were standing there. I recently published an image I took in Provence, France this September and would like to share it with you here;

https://www.360cities.net/image/telegraph-tower-fort-de-valros-valros-france

I was driving somewhat aimlessly through the area, scoping out possible locations for a fantasy(?) retirement when I decided to take a left turn up a road that had a historic marker. Really, in France, what road DOESN'T have historic value? What I found was this really cool early form of a telegraph station. Have a look at the image, click and drag around, and don't forget to go fullscreen - it really is a lot of fun to explore when it fills the screen!

You can see more of my VR work at my other site: www.virtual-travels.com.

Here is a selfie I took while there. Photobombing my own pictures!

Mark

While exploring Corsica, we took a random turn off the road to find a restaurant for lunch. As we descended into a little valley, we drove past this tiny chapel in the woods. It all felt like Hansel and Gretel, only without the kitchen scene.

Once again, we were amazed at the variety of scenery and feel that Corsica had. Had we been dropped here blindfolded, we would have thought we were somewhere in an alpine forest, not an island in the Mediterranean. 

After I worked on the image, though, I found myself not really feeling the same way about the picture as I did about actually being there. Then it hit me - B&W. To me, this conveys the mood that we felt wandering around this forest in the middle of an island in the Mediterranean. Enjoy!

Today, www.northernlight.net went live on a new platform that brings much needed functionality and ease of use, particularly for ordering prints. I really like the new style as well as the ability to preview what a print will look like on various walls at various sizes. Feel free to browse around and check out the new site. Tweaks and updates will be happening over the next few weeks, and any suggestions you have will be greatly appreciated.