I don’t drive. I walk, even very long distances.

And sometimes I wonder how it can be possible to put yourself in such situations where your car, in the middle of Chiang Mai (which means you can’t drive too fast), hits a curb that’s fairly high and ends up in the middle of the moat surrounding the Old City.

I didn’t really witness the accident but I photographed the whole process  of dragging the car to the edge and lifting it out of the moat with a pickup-crane. The whole scene, of course, attracted hundreds of tourists and locals quietly watching the three men working in the water. I was also quite surprised to notice that no policemen even tried to keep the crowd outside a security perimeter around the accident. I was actually standing right under the crane, next to the operator.

As far as I heard, the woman driving the car is fine (but terribly embarrassed).

Here are a few more shots of the scene.

Drive safe everyone!

A Car in the Moat ~ Thailand is a post from: Canvas of Light ~ Travel Photography. Click to check for more!

A few facts about the Notre Dame:

• It took a 182 years to complete the construction of the cathedral, which was then badly damaged during the French Revolution.
• The towers are 69 meters tall (226ft).
• The rosace (circular window on the photo) has a diameter of 13 meters (42.6ft)
• Above the portal is the Gallery of Kings with 28 statues of Judean Kings.
• The cathedral is home of an important relic: the Crown of Thorns, which is presented to the public every first Friday of the month.

Have you ever been to the Notre-Dame de Paris in France?

Notre-Dame Cathedral ~ France is a post from: Canvas of Light ~ Travel Photography. Click to check for more!

Every once in a while, I go back through my archives to check out some photos and spend some time editing again.

Photography is an endless learning process. Every week I learn something new. A new lighting technique, a different way to edit photos, a new idea.. It just doesn’t end. There is no mastering, there is just learning more.

Lately I have been trying different techniques to process my photos and so far I’m pleased with the results. Of course the more I learn, the longer I spend time editing. This particular shot took me more than 30 minutes.  Just to make it clear, this is not HDR.

Of course, some will tell me that it’s too much time spent in front of a computer and that I should focus on getting the shot right in camera. Well, I did get the shot right. But photography isn’t just about getting a shot right, copying a scene. It’s a creative process, it’s my own vision and interpretation of the scene. It’s art.

I truly enjoy editing photos and turning them the way I want them to be. Some people try HDR, some convert to B&W, some refuse to retouch their shots. Fine with me!

It’s just worth reminding that there’s no such thing as “being a purist“.

Fiery Sunset II ~ Thailand is a post from: Canvas of Light ~ Travel Photography. Click to check for more!

Culminating at over 1200 meters, Montserrat often attracts religious pilgrims from all over Spain who come visit the famous Black Virgin of Montserrat. It’s actually a very small statue of the Virgin Mary and infant Christ on her lap. Legend says that the Benedictine monks found the statue in a cave in the mountains and could not move it, so they built the monastery around the statue. On the 11th of September 1881, Pope Leo XIII declared the virgin of Montserrat patroness of Catalonia.

The statue’s sanctuary is visible in the photo, above the cross on the bottom half. Visitors walk up one by one to take photos. I didn’t have the patience to wait 30min in line to walk up the sanctuary.

During Franco’s rule, Santa Maria de Montserrat was seen as a place of refuge for scholars, artists, politicians and students.

Definitely a place I recommend, at least for a short hike to watch the sunset over the mountains.

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Santa Maria de Montserrat ~ Spain is a post from: Canvas of Light ~ Travel Photography. Click to check for more!

This shot was taken after our first night in the rocky mountains near Jabal Shams, the highest peak of Oman and also the location of an incredibly beautiful canyon.

I was awake pretty early (obviously) since I had a hard time sleeping in the cold with a strong wind blowing away my bivouac tent barely held by rocks, since I couldn’t use the stakes (too rocky).

Jabal Shams is part of the Hajar Mountains (Hajar meaning rock in Arabic) that cross the country from North-West to the South-East.  I definitely felt the hajar part in my back, trying to sleep with just a thin yoga mat on the cold floor.

Not the best sleeping experience but definitely worth waiting till the morning to get a shot of the rising sun. I took the opportunity to get silhouette shots of the twisted thorny trees with a quickly changing sky in the background.

Enjoy.

Tree Silhouettes at Dawn ~ Oman is a post from: Canvas of Light ~ Travel Photography. Click to check for more!

At the end of the year, HostelBookers came up with the idea of creating another game, but this time involving photos.

The guideline is to choose 7 of your own photos that would fit in 7 categories, with a little description and sharing it with the Interwebsters. HostelBookers started it with 7 different photographers (included yours truly) and put up a post describing the rules and guidelines.

Of course I’ll have to tag 5 other photographers. Wouldn’t be fun without bothering other people, wouldn’t it? So I tag Skinny Backpacker, Runaway Juno, FlashpackerHQ, Brendan Van Son, Drifting Focus.

If you wish to follow the game on twitter, check out the hashtag #7supershots.

So here goes.

1. A Photo that takes my breath away

This photo was taken in Mae Jo, near Chiang Mai during the Yii Peng / Loy Krathong festival in 2011. It is a festival I can’t recommend enough. You have to be there to experience it and even shed a tear or two.

The moment when all the lanterns (hundreds) are released simultaneously is overwhelming. Add in some huge fireworks and you’ll be promising you’ll attend the festival again the coming year.

This photo has also been selected as a “Daily Dozen shots” by National Geographic.

2. A Photo that makes me laugh/smile

When I was in Copenhagen in December 2009, attending the massive COP15 climate conference demonstration, I ended up bored in the evening and decided to walk around the streets with a “Free Hugs” sign. I loved the reactions of the people and I even got hugged by a gorilla-sized anti-demonstration policeman.

I got this shot in Chiang Mai, during the Saturday Night Market.  It was something I wasn’t expecting to see in Thailand. And yes, I gave him a hug.

3. A Photo that makes me dream

Finisterra is simply the End of the World. Located in Galicia, it’s the westernmost tip of Spain before jumping in the Atlantic ocean. It is also where the Camino Pagano, a continuation of the Camino de Santiago, ends.

Near this spot is an altar where you can burn your clothes/shoes as a symbol of cleanse and release after walking a 900km pilgrimage from France. This is where I burned my shoes that I’ve walked with for 2000km.

Looking at the sunset in the horizon, it was the start of my journey as a travel photographer who quit his job to travel the world. This was my inspiration and my rebirth.

4. A Photo that makes me think

Every year in Thailand, many elephants end up injured or dead due to poor conditions to entertain the tourists.

This shot was taken at one of the Elephant Camps I’ve been invited to, in order to take photos and help raise money to build an elephant hospital.  This poor little baby elephant was following its mother during a show while dozens of tourists were hypnotized by an elephant painting on canvas.

It was a sad scene.

5. A Photo that makes my mouth water

In all honesty, I have no idea what this dish is called. All I know is that it’s a Shaan dish from Burma.

South-East Asian is probably one of my favorite places to find delicious new food. I love the mixture of spices creating an explosion of taste in your mouth while you’re wiping off the sweat beads on your forehead.

6. A Photo that tells a story

Songkran is the Thai New Year, celebrated usually mid-April. It’s also known as a massive 4-day long waterfight across the country.

One of the most popular destinations to celebrate Songkran is Chiang Mai, probably thanks to the moat surrounding the old city, providing endless source of water.

This little kid was playing with its gun, splashing the few people that went by. The little sad/disappointed look on his face is due to the fact that he’s on the wrong side of the moat and missing all the party.

7. A Photo that I’m most proud of (aka my NatGeo shot)

This is probably the shot I’m most proud of in 2011. I found this little curious Dusky Leaf monkey in the South of Thailand, in the Sam Roy Yot National Park, while on a bike tour from Bangkok to Koh Samui. The baby was particularly interested in my camera.

This shot was also used by National Geographic on their front page to promote a photography contest. So yes, that’s my “NatGeo shot”.

Hope you liked the selection. Feel free to join in and share your photos!

7 Super Shots Photo Game is a post from: Canvas of Light ~ Travel Photography. Click to check for more!

A popular destination for adventure seekers, Balad Seet reveals to the visitor the secret of the Omani people’s hard working nature, culture, tradition since many centuries and their way of harnessing the local environment for their well-being.

The first car to have reached here was in 1978, when 40 residents took up the challenge to build a dirt road down to their village. Nowadays, this road is often damaged from continuous rain and water from the wadis and needs constant attention each year.

The interesting part is that this village is completely self reliant. Water is provided by the wadis that farmers channel to grow palm trees and crops like wheat, barley and even lemons, mangoes and onions.

The village by itself has a charming traditional feel, with people going about their own business. There’s only one tiny little street that leads to a dead end. Be careful not to get in with your car: it’s tricky to turn back around!

This is definitely a place I’d recommend to visit if you’re in the area. Oman might not be on the tourist trail but it’s a fantastic destination for adventure seekers, running away from the glitz and glamour of the surrounding rich Gulf countries.

The charming Balad Seet village ~ Oman is a post from: Canvas of Light ~ Travel Photography. Click to check for more!

Wishing you all very Merry Christmas from the warm weather of Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
It’s always nice to go back home and spend some quality time with family and friends, even though I miss my adopted home in Chiang Mai.

In a few days I’ll be heading out to the Sultanate of Oman for 5 days to camp in the mountains and wadis and celebrateNew Year in the deserts of Sweihan back in the UAE.

Hope you all had a good day. I leave you with some Christmas photos from around my house to get into the mood.

Cheers!

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If you are interested in purchasing any of the above photos, please follow the link below. Thank you!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas! is a post from: Canvas of Light ~ Travel Photography. Click to check for more!

In my opinion, a successful photo is one that would stop you in your tracks, make you look again and evoke an emotion or a feeling, whether it’s anger, peace, sadness, happiness, an escape to foreign lands or just a simple “what the hell?” moment.

A lot of people complain that their photos are boring. But what makes a photo boring?

It’s because too many snapshots are taken from the same viewpoint. We’ve seen photos of monuments, landscapes, or people thousands of times from the same viewpoint. Some spots even point out a specific spot for you to take the shot (that would look like a postcard).

No wonder photos end up boring.

A very simple trick to make your photos stand out is to just play around with angles, and try a different perspective.
Get down low, climb a rock, try from the left, from above.. Move around and find a different point of view.

Don’t be afraid to try new techniques, or manipulate your photos later during post-processing. Surprise the viewer, make him think, make him see differently. Grab his attention and direct his eyes using diagonals, angles, colors to wherever you want him to look.

Here’s a photo in black and white that I took 3 years ago. What is your first impression? What do you see? What do you understand?

Did you find out what I did with the shot? It’s nothing much really, I just played around with it for 5min and managed to create something different and unique.

If you didn’t figure out, it’s just a shot of a puddle with the reflection of a couple walking by. Why does it look different? Because I just flipped the photo upside down. Easy.

It’s not too late to purchase gifts for your loved ones. If you need inspiration, why not offer them a Thailand themed calendar for Christmas? I’ve created a new one with some of my best shots from this year. Click below if you’re interested!

Playing with Angles: A Photo Tip is a post from: Canvas of Light ~ Travel Photography. Click to check for more!

Waking up at 5 in the morning is never an easy thing, especially when the only reason is to go out and shoot a festival about colorful Hot Air Balloons.

However, the motivation is a little stronger when friends decide to wake up and check it out together (Thanks Dustin and Dave).

The International Hot Air Balloon festival is taking place in Chiang Mai – Thailand, during 3 days from the 25th to the 27th of November.

As expected, there weren’t many people around so early in the morning, except for photographers of course.

The whole event consisted of different groups setting up their balloons as quick as possible and fly towards the southern side of town. Every team started unpacking at sunrise, around 6AM and the last one left ground an hour later. It was a short, quick but enjoyable event to photograph, rewarded by a warm nice coffee-filled breakfast afterwards.

Here are a few shots of the festival.

The festival was taking place in the campus of the Prince Royal College, in the north-eastern part of Chiang Mai.

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At around 6Am, when the sky started to brighten up, every team unloaded their balloons, tightly packed in pick up trucks. The actual part of the balloon, as seen on the floor is called the “envelope“.

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Different teams started by either unloading the envelope or setting up the basket, also called the “gondola“, carefully attaching the burners on top.

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Different teams from different nationalities were participating in the festival. Here, they are making sure the burners are firmly attached.

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A  close up shot of the burners, propelling hot air inside the envelope. They are the “engines” of the hot air balloon.

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A farang (foreigner in Thai) opening up the envelope after preparing the gondola and the burners.

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A balloon, already filled with hot air, almost ready to take off before sunrise.

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A Thai team spreading out the envelope while other balloons in the background are almost done.

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The burners propelling hot air in the envelope. Pretty impressive to see huge flames shoot up inside the balloon.

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The first balloons taking off during sunrise with different passengers on board.

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A few more balloons already heading South, while others are getting filled up with hot air.

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More balloons with colorful patterns.

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Some of the bigger balloons were taking more time to be filled up with hot air.

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You could pay a fee to hop in one of the balloons for a ride.

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Balloons heading South to another destination, where they will land, unpack, load everything on a truck and head back to the Prince Royal College for a second round later during sunset.

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The last balloon leaving ground an hour after the event started. This one was the biggest of the festival.

Hope you enjoyed the essay.

The International Hot Air Balloon Festival ~ Thailand is a post from: Canvas of Light ~ Travel Photography. Click to check for more!