A Vincent Mounier Photography Blog
Pulsating
August 23, 2008
Darkness rains on troubled days, its drops slowly wetting each hour like as many poisoned pearls sliding down wet sticky hair, headed for the corners of a helpless mouth closed shut to swallow the unavoidable scream that lets air hiss in, along with the poison and a certitude that doubt remains for the time being and long after.But then always the light bursts in, like Galadriel's, and its unflinching rays begin a trembling dance, dissolving the madness and reaching for ...
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Consecration of butter
August 23, 2008
I recently stumbled upon a very interesting article reevaluating the importance of fat in our diet. It's long and at times quite technical, but well worth reading. Like any other source of information, it should be cross-referenced and not necessarily taken for granted as is. But it makes a solid argument in favour - yes, you read well - in favour of cholesterol, and of eating butter. Of course, as you might already know, I'm a little biased here. I love butter. And I am...
Lynn Creek unsuspended
August 20, 2008
Lynn Canyon Park is probably the most extraordinarily beautiful, most accessible spot in the Greater Vancouver, if not the entire Lower Mainland. But it's also relatively small and on summer week-ends, the crowd tends to get overwhelming. With Twin Falls downstream, the Suspension Bridge in the middle and 30 Ft. Pool upstream, all within a 20 minute walk, options are a bit limited and one must be willing to share the creek's stunning emerald water with many others...Surp...
The Grouse Mountain paragliding joke
This year's Grouse Mountain Fly-in was held on August 9th. I didn't attend, not being able to meet the experience requirements. [sound of grinding teeth] Besides, I hold a serious grudge against the people controlling paragliding up there. They seem to have established a very cozy nest and obviously want to keep it private and secluded. They charge $199 for a 20 minute tandem flight (I can rent a solo Cessna for what, about half that price? And for a full hour!) and if you...
Looking for boats on an island that isn't one
August 17, 2008
I recently felt a need for the company of boats. I was longing for the discreet dancing motion of vessels in a harbour, the sound of halyards flapping in the wind, the gentle splashing of water against hulls, the various ocean-tainted smells of fish and diesel and paints and fiberglass and cleaners, the squeaking of floating wooden docks, the screaming seagulls circling returning trawlers, the hissing chatter of VHF radios, the notion that each and every boat present has...
Shadowbox implemented
August 14, 2008
Inspired by a post on the Turning Gate, I've decided to give the good old Lightbox 2 and Greybox scripts a break and am now testing Shadowbox as the engine for all slideshows and web links on this blog. So far, the new script seems to be performing as well, if not better than the others and offers the added convenience of handling all media under one roof (I previously had to use Lightbox for images and Greybox for web pages.)As usual, all images in an entry can be click...
Of skies and a runaway sun
August 13, 2008
When seeking peace inside and longing to settle the chaos outside, a West-Ender needs look no further than the Seawall. (I sound like a bloody advertisement, but it's true.) Flowers greet me at the bottom of the tower and follow me down a quarter of a block to Alexandra Park where the wooden gazebo thrones over a parterre of green grass and a neat row of more flowers lined up against Beach Avenue, which I cross and arrive on the Seawall, 3 minutes and 23 seconds after le...
A Time Will Come...
August 10, 2008
When patience finally pays off, when the many fruits of a long labor are ripe, when sweet rewards fall from the sky like rain on a hot summer day, when distance is abolished and life becomes simple and fluid, when sunsets turn into sunrises, dusk into dawn, when regulations and bureaucracy return to the dark stinky closet they should never leave.
In the meantime we push on, always forward, without resting, somehow breathless but teeth clenched, tired but ever so resolut...
Abe is dead, long live Abetoo
August 9, 2008
Abe was my first DSLR. She was a Canon Digital Rebel XTi (or 400D). Her name was a short for "Aberration chromatique", the French for, yes, you guessed it, chromatic aberration. Of which she didn't suffer that much, but wasn't totally free either. She succeeded to my trusted Canon G3 and has taken amazing pictures. For reference, Utah was shot with the G3, South Africa and most of my HDR with Abe. I loved them dearly.A month ago, on a plane from Newark to Vanco...
Better World Books - The plug
August 6, 2008
Once in a while I run into something I really like, a service, a product, a piece of software, a recipe, a movie, something. And then I plug it. Not for the rewards, not for the fame, not for attention but just because I think a compliment costs me nothing and goes a long way. So the opinions expressed hereby are mine solely and most likely biased. After all, I'm from the south of France where objectivity is often replaced by passionate enthusiasm and colorful language. ...
Low tide, after noon - The Seawall
August 3, 2008
Today I took Abe Second Generation around Stanley Park looking for wildlife. On Saturdays, the Seawall is almost like the beaches of Coney Island and I figured the only thing that wouldn't yield hurriedly to the crowd was marine life. I had starfish in mind. I came back with something else, entirely.As soon as I got to English Bay, I realized this was an exceptionally low tide. Hundreds of feet of shoreline had been left exposed and a billion mussels were roasting placid...
Fired up
August 2, 2008
It happens once a year on English Bay. It claims to be the largest offshore display of its kind. It attracts 300,000 to 400,00 spectators a night, four times over two weeks. It is said to cost way over a million dollars to produce, a good share of which comes out of the city's pockets - the same pockets that could be feeding and housing the homeless, by the way. As every popular event, it has defenders and detractors. It's the Celebration of Light, Vancouver's annual int...