A stunning sunset in the South of France
Do you ever use the split toning feature in Lightroom? I've been experimenting with it on some images recently (which haven't been shared yet) and am really starting to like it. Just curious, and no today's pics have not been adjusted with any split-toning. These are straight-up 3 exposure HDR photos that were merged in Photomatix and then I added filters in Color Efex Pro with final touch-up in Lightroom.
Ok, on to that sunset, Jim!
So I was in Montpellier, France for a couple of days and I arrived late in the afternoon of day one, after no sleep overnight and some travel delays. It was pretty exhausting, and I was tempted to call it a day, get an early dinner, and sleep for 12 hours.
But something compelled me to get out and at least see a little of the town. It's always hard for me to resist the urge to explore a new place, whether I am tired or rested. So I gave into that voice in my head and grabbed the gear and took off. Once I got outside and started seeing the sights, I perked up pretty quickly. But then again, seeing new stuff has that affect on me.
After wandering around the town (which isn't too large) for a bit, I found myself approaching the Promenade du Peyrou around sunset. This is an open park with a statue of Louis XIV, a water tower, and it houses the end of an ancient aqueduct which once brought water to the town. It's a pretty place and as you can see, the sunset worked out pretty well.
See, sleep is overrated! Get out there and shoot!
I stayed here for quite a while actually, until well past blue hour. The light just kept staying awesome and I just kept firing away. By then, I was pretty exhausted, but hungry, so I headed back and stopped in an Irish pub along the way. Yeah, it seemed a bit odd to find that in the area, but I knew I could get a tall Guinness and some comfort food, both of which would kick me off into a deep slumber. Worked like magic! :-)
I woke up about 11am the next day, fully rested and ready to go shoot some more. While it was a quick 3 days in Montpellier, it all worked out pretty well and I was treated to some amazing light on a couple more outings there. I came home with a lot of images, many of which I still need to work on. So that's another way of saying that you will see more from Montpellier here sometime. Hope you don't mind!
