Nature reminder

Many photographers will tell you that having a camera with you, all the time, is of great value. You never know when life can bring to you as a photographic opportunity. When I was young, I enrolled for one year as a boy scout. Our motto was “Scout always? Ready!”. That was funny and I had a great time with the other guys during the outdoor activities we had. But the lesson I learned is exactly that: always ready.

A couple years ago, as a photographer, I began to bring a camera with me wherever I go. I already discussed that in an articles on my website. The fact is, opportunities pop up without warning and the worst for a photographer, pro or amateur, is to find himself without his camera when he needs it or sees something interesting.

I strongly believe in that. And it proved to be true at many occasion. This article is about one I had no so long ago while I was in Juan Les Pins, on the French Riviera.

When I was young, I enrolled for one year as a boy scout. Our motto was “Scout always? Ready!”. That was funny and I had a great time with the other guys during the outdoor activities we had. But the lesson I learned is exactly that: always ready.

A couple years ago, as a photographer, I began to bring a camera with me wherever I go. I already discussed that in a articles on my website. The fact is, opportunities pop up without warning and the worst for a photographer, pro or amateur, is to find himself without his camera when he needs it or sees something interesting.

I strongly believe in that. And it proved to be true at many occasion. This article is about one I had no so long ago while I was in Juan Les Pins, on the French Riviera.

It was a bit windy and raining that morning. Not exactly what we would consider ideal conditions for a photo shoot. Even worst, this was not planned as a photo shoot, but merely meeting with someone there and I knew I had to wait in Juan’s area for an hour or so. I had a quick breakfast there and an espresso to convince me it was a good idea to get out, for a walk, an expose myself to opportunities. I like that statement. Cool, isn’t it?

Anyways, I started to walk down the road following the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Rain. Wind. Cold. But still there were more people there than I expected and I could feel some kind of energy or activity going on. It took only five minute before I understand what was going on. The sea had been very active and strong during the last 24 hours and damaged a lot of the infrastructure on the shore.

As a contrast, I was in Nice on La Promenade des Anglais the day before and got plenty of gorgeous shots of the waves hitting the rocks just before the Port of Nice.

Anyways, going back to Juan. There was a storm and waves in the area that night and I was amazed to find out what happened to the bars and restaurants over there. These were closed for winter, but the infrastructures always stay there. I have been told this is a regular problem because nothing should be left there for winter. Everything should be setup in the summer as seasonal installation and completely removed for winter. Apparently a law should be enforced, but its application is on the soft side of things. Beside the fact it’s a pain to re-install every year, I still don’t understand why the owners leave their setup there. They get hit by the waves every year anyways!

A little further on the beach there were no installations, but object moved by the waves, creating strange vision. You can image the beautiful and busy beaches of the area in the summer, which is a huge contrast with what I had in front of me that morning.

Leaving the road and getting my feet on the beach was a great idea. It allowed me to see thing from a different angle: from the water. I could also hear and feel the owner walking there, evaluating the damages. There was a huge silence there, but still a couple words here and there. Facial expressions had a lot more to say.

While this event happened in January, I decided to combine it as a small reportage on the event and the fact that you should always have a camera with you. If photography is a passion, of course. I think more and more people are doing it now, with the advent of cellular’s camera, and particularly the convenience of the iPhone. But these are still low resolution camera. It might change with the upcoming iPhone 4G or other phone like the Android or BlackBerry. The ever increasing number of photo blogs is a perfect example of photography for the masses.

Good Light!

Norm

© Normand Primeau