A Vincent Mounier Photography Blog

Sunset, Nailed
September 4, 2012
A few days ago, I climbed up to the rooftop to shoot a (full) moon-rise. However just out the hatch, it was not the East that grabbed my attention, but unexpectedly, the West. A magnificent sinking sun was plunging through haze and lit up with the internal glow of hot coals on a braai. Perfect timing I was lucky enough to have a bagful of photo gear and a tripod with me and was given an opportunity to practice the moves, rehearsed a thousands times, that aim at extrica...
An Unlikely Sight: Parrots in Brooklyn
September 1, 2012
Speaking of birds, I thought I'd post this now to mitigate the alloveredness of this blog. We now have left the fragrant Massachusetts shores of Rockport and are back in good ol' Brooklyn. Lunch time The place is called Green-Wood Cemetery. It's located a few subway stations south of us, in the middle of an ocean of suburbia non-descriptiveness. The cemetery itself is beautiful and Marie has posted extensively about it - quiet, silent, peaceful and isolated from the ou...
Sea Birds
August 28, 2012
These were not your typical birdwatcher's delight. I did spot a couple of kingfisher and a night heron, but truly, it was the swans and the cormorants that shone by their presence and instinct for creating photo op's. Swans, in my mind, are fresh water birds. But the fact is they live in salt water too and here, they managed to distill into Rockport's maritime mood a touch of Swiss mountain lake. But of all unlikely sea birds, is it the cormorants that steal the lime...
RIP NA
August 27, 2012
This seems an appropriate title for a post about the man from NASA who nailed his lunar ETA along with Buzz and Michael, left the CM, landed the LEM in near zero G, and did an EVA without any REM, beating the USSR in a historic race. And back then, he didn't even know about the HST and the ISS. So RIP, Neil - I hope it's full of stars.
Night Falls on Rockport
What else can I say? After dusk, all cats are gray. I like to slip out of tungsten light into moonshine and star lanes. This is the darker face of Rockport, still full of grace and colors, as long as the shutter speed lags and a tripod prevails. Rockport Harbor after dusk Off duty A cheat, this is actually sunrise And this too Back to dusk Abandoned icon Abandoned icon - 2 End credits Maybe tomorrow
Boats, Boats and more Boats
I love boats just about as much as I love planes. Which means énormément, à la folie*. Having spent two years on the most beautiful, most majestic of them all**, I am biased. But I think boats, more than any other means of transportation, have managed to remain romantic and synonymous of adventure. La flotille dort The maritime tradition is a conservative one and its roots are ever-present today even on board the largest, most modern vessels. With the exception of smal...
Rockport Harbor
Early morning and after sunset, when the sunburned crowds are still asleep or have retreated to dinner, the harbor is true to itself: quiet, peaceful and timeless. It almost reminds me of a section of Antibes' old Port Vauban, right against a tall stone wall protecting it from the ocean, where the pointus - typical Mediterranean fishing boats - rested between two outings. Famous Rockport view Out to catch some wind The harbor Up close Secret language
African Tears
August 17, 2012
What can he be thinking, today, he who once said: "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." ...
Rockport: Après la pluie le beau temps
As promised, here are shots of a much sunnier Cape Ann. Rockport shines in all her glory at sunrise and sunset but there is much to come: harbor shots, many boats, even more birds. All without pretense, for the sake of reporting. Front Beach in the afternoon's golden hour Front Beach Cape Edge Beach desolation My mum beach combing on Cape Edge Beach Cape Edge makes for a very good swim rocks to rocks New England Cocktail The very tip of the Bearskin ...
Fog and Clouds on the New England Coast
A very nice thing about the New England coastline is that sunshine is optional. Of course, that's a rather personal opinion. But fog banks, storm clouds and even rainy days each have their charms and the ocean wears them like a queen her many dresses. Here is a sequence of cloudy, foggy, low contrast scenes. Sunshine, sunrise and sunset will follow. Family (not mine) time at the beach Alone with Mother Ocean (mine, both the ocean and the mother, whom I love dearly...
Rockport Revisited
August 8, 2012
The small Massachusetts town of Rockport is a big favorite in my family. Long ago, when we still lived in France - in the days I worshiped rock climbing gods and thought maple syrup and peanut butter were the two pillars of North American culinary ecstasy - I remember family vacations taken around an endless foggy beach near Old Orchard, Maine, appropriately named Moody Beach. The family focus has since then shifted south by a state towards the rockier shores of Cape...