HDR in Paris

After the Storm

As a photographer patience is a virtue. It probably is for others too, but for photographers it is a key attribute. This is an HDR photo I waited 45 minutes to get. The storm soon passed and left a very wet world. Worth the wait? I think so.

I’m having lots of fun making these HDR images. If you don’t know what HDR is Google it (easier for you then trying to read me explaining it.)

The Tuileries Gardens

Of all the places in Paris to shoot the Tuileries Garden I find the most difficult. It’s huge, wide and open and can’t be done in just one photo (not from me anyway!). This is the best I could get (I feel) of my two times trying to shoot it – never did get the dawn shot I wanted (long story involving timed sprinklers). There is always next time.

Under the EDF building

This last shot is also HDR(High Dynamic Range for those of you who haven’t googled it yet :/ ) and is a good example of restraint. You can go really overboard when doing an HDR image but sometimes just containing the contrast is enough.

Hope you had fun looking at these. Clicking on the images will allow you to download them and use them as wallpaper. Enjoy.

All the best

A summer month of Paris at Dawn

Hi All

I’m back.  Been holed up in my office working hard on getting Paris at Dawn presentable.  After nearly three weeks I’m done.  For now.  Much more work to do still.

Well – Paris was wonderful!  People ask me what it was like shooting in Paris.  I always find myself comparing it to my London work.  They are such different cities physically. Looking out at London it’s a random conglomeration of centuries of architecture, ancient pubs and glass monoliths.  Paris…well, Paris is like a giant…doll house.  If you’ve ever been there you’ll know what I mean, the sameness and uniformity.  It’s beautiful.  We plan on going back this November for a few weeks to get some Autumnal shots.  Looking forward to winter in Paris.  I don’t want to go public with all the images yet.  So, if you would like to see more email me okay.

Steps up to Montmartre

Rue de la Commerce

Greetings from Paris

Paris is such a wonderful city and regardless of what the guidebooks say July is a great time to be here.  We are staying in the 15th arr. on Rue de la Convention in a brilliant flat on the 7th floor with a view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.  It’s a really nice neighbourhood with a great street market three days a week.

I’ve been up at 0430hrs every morning, almost, wandering and exploring the city and loving it.  The weather hasn’t been great – there have been many grey mornings, but that is no excuse not to go out and try to get a shot.  When the sky is clear you can predict exactly what the effects of the rising sun will be, but when it’s cloudy it’s a gamble, and you can never tell if something spectacular will happen, a parting in the clouds with a sudden burst of rich colour stabbing through is always worth the wait and effort and that has happened twice this week.

I’m shooting 120 film with my Hasselblad so I won’t have any posts with Paris morning shots until I do a bit with the digital.  What I will do is post some non-morning photos from afternoon wanderings.

This shot has nothing to do with the dawn project.  It is just cool…I think.  What say you?

I’ll chalk this one up to my huge Ernst Haas influence.  Look him up, awesome stuff.

Sometimes it’s just the light that matters…

A Moment Unnoticed

There are many elements that are basic to a good photograph; composition, timing, colour, blah blah blah(googleit).  But mostly it’s about nice light – especially when its fleeting, a moment gone, never to return, never quite the same again.

I was shooting at Tower Hill yesterday at dawn, not a great morning, but lots of potential (wisewords: patience is a quality and attribute for all photographers). I stood there looking across the river at the Shard (hard to look at anything else really, it makes South London look like a toy landscape) rubbing sleep of my face when, bingo, the pre-dawn twilight illumed the southern sky with rainbow pinks and reds and blues (is pink in the rainbow, googleit!) that lasted two minutes then back to basic grey. Worth the wait.

Anyway, that’s not the photo I’m posting today.  Todays photo is of a book in my bedroom…, the light on the book reflected off a mirror from the light streaming through nebulous curtains from a setting sun…it only lasted twenty seconds.

I wonder how many of you would have seen it.

Weekly Gorgeousness and good feelings…

Road Out of Nowhere

Haven’t had much time to shoot any new beautiful stuff  lately (funny how being a busy photographer I don’t have time to take a photo, funny?) no, but necessary at the moment; Dawn Workshops and Paris coming up and new tenants in Lower Marsh.

Anyhoo, here’s an old one but oozing with eye candy goodness…wait wait… that IS the sun, it’s back!!!

BTW, the Create London workshop Nick and I did was FANTASTIC!!

..some one pat me on the head please, very excited.

Yeah, and this is not a road to nowhere:where ever you are is where you are meant to be.

Once more thing, a new twitter account for me @citiesatdawn

With it you can follow my travels whilst shooting Cities At Dawn starting with Paris later this month!

All the best

East London Create Festival Workshop

As you may know Nick Mortimore and I are doing photographic workshops and tours of London at Dawn.  On the weekend of  July 2nd and 3rd we are running a special workshop/tour through East London sponsored by the  Create Festival for the special price of £45.00.

The launch for the festival was last night at Broadgate Tower and I got to meet more of the awesome people at Create London who put it all together(the festival not the tower).

Here’s a rundown of the route:

Saturday-Tower Bridge-St.Katharines Dock-Wapping Pier Head-Execution Dock-Limehouse-Canary Wharf

Sunday -Victoria Park-Bethnal Green-Brick Lane-Whitechapel-Spitafields-Liverpool St.

Nick is very excited about this route due to all the grimy London history in the area.  If you’ve never walked the streets of London with a Black Cabbie(why would you?) then you can’t have any idea of the knowledge and passion involved. Chuffed mate!

Here’s a phone camera image I shot from floor 17 at Broadgate Tower.

A reflection of direct sunlight on the building made this wonderful effect

San Francisco at Dawn

Hello Folks!

Two good things to report this week.  Firstly, my next London at Dawn
workshop is June 18th and 19th. It’s going to be a small group
wandering the dawn and early morning London streets creating amazing
images. It’ll be a huge dose of information and inspiration!  (The workshops have been huge fun and the feedback from the participants is just what an ego needs…once in awhile anyway.  Moving on.)

Joining me as usual is Nick Mortimore, Black Cabbie & tour guide who will show the hidden secrets of our city. We’ll be hitting St Paul’s, Postman’s
Park, Millennium Bridge, the Gherkin and finishing up with breakfast a
Spitalfields Market and that’s just the first morning!  We’d love for you
to join us – and please tell your friends!

Info here —>www.anthonyepes.com/workshops

Last week I was in California, my home state, and had a fantastic time
going out with my nine-year old nephew and his dad for some Dawn
shooting. They were awesome, especially the kid – didn’t yawn once, dad and me… plenty. Aidan rocks!
This is the first photo from the morning near the Golden Gate Bridge.  It’s an HDR(high dynamic range) image and so much fun to do.

Have a fantastic week all.

Sunrise Shooters photography workshops

Hi All

You may not have heard by now but I am running dawn photography workshops under the name Sunrise Shooters.  The idea is based on my book London at Dawn.

My good friend Nick Mortimore(black cabbie & tour guide who helped me with LAD) and I are taking beginning and amateur photographers out at dawn to the best places in London for fantastic photos on this two day workshop.  I am imparting my knowledge and love for photography and Nick supplies anecdotal and interesting London history you could only get from a veteran Black cabbie.

Participants of the workshops can expect an increased confidence in creating stunning images with the course I have designed.  And with confidence comes inspiration.

FIND WORKSHOP DATES & MORE INFO HERE: www.anthonyepes.com/workshops

Please let me know if you’d like to join us one weekend and feel free to send to any of your photography loving friends. Most of the workshops are 2 days but I am doing one with Foyles bookshop on June 4th for one day.

Here are some nice words from participants.

“Your input was invaluable and really inspired me to get to grips with my camera and get out and about different places at different times to see what I can capture. You made everything very easy to understand and I’m looking forward to experimenting with all i have learnt.”

“Unfortunate that dawn occurs so early, but a great reason to be up to see it. Great course, particularly for those wanting to step outside of the comfort of the camera’s auto settings. Anthony’s experience, patience and instruction provide very useful insight into both technical and aesthetic use of the camera. It is incredibly interesting to see the streets of London in a ‘different light’, and the experience is made or the more enjoyable by Nick’s insights and stories of the city and it’s buildings along the way.”

“Anthony has the ideal combination of expertise, clarity and patience. His enthusiasm is infectious.”

Thanks for staying for awhile.

All the best

Anthony

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My First London Gallery

I love digital photography – the kit, the instantaineousness of it, the savings, but I still love film more.

I have only ever lost one sheet of film(negatives).  This was about nine years ago.  Today I found it.  Stored, mistakenly, with my London at Dawn negatives.  So, actually, I have never lost a neg then, just misfiled it.  This is good news people!

The images on the page are from Stoney Street in Borough market where I had my first office and the launch of my book.  This is the view from  my my office.

Website Launch

Hi All

I am happy to announce the launch of my new website in html. In it you will find a new gallery titled Desert and Forest and some old favorites like London At Dawn and the continuing Bellies Project. Please feel free to sign the guestbook and tell me what you think.

Most images are priced and can now be bought online through the website.

Please feel free to pass the link around to anyone you know who likes photography.

This weeks image is called BobnJoy, one of my favourite portraits, it can be found in the Portraits gallery of my website.

all the best