Squirrels everywhere

Very friendly and not wild at all, one of London parks most renowned guests, I give you: the squirrel!

They were horribly difficult to photograph though, moving all the time to opposite directions...
But aren't they cuties?

Dirty nose


Agility king


Playful squirrel

The Tube

London metro stations logo is just too clever: easy to spot, easy to remember, easy to re-use.

I've seen numerous stores having adapted the underground sign into a personalized one, that they had proudly put forward onto the shop front. Good way to trick everyone into coming to their store!

Regarding the London underground itself - the 'Tube' as they call it - the first thing that came to my mind was 'Wow, so clean!'. Well it's definitely very expensive also, maybe that explains a bit of its difference with the Paris metro? Or maybe not. Anyway, very crowded at business hours like everywhere, so not that a pleasant experience to be honest.

Let's rather keep in mind its nice logo and the numerous pictures I've taken of it!

Metro station

Underground sign

In the Tube

London pubs

I've eaten in pubs during the whole of my trip to London, there was such a very nice atmosphere in every of them. Truly nice to sit and watch things and people around :-)

From old-fashioned stools to bottles of sauce served in a metal bucket, I could have spent all day photographing everything with my camera!

Pub and eating house


Pub menu


Bottles of sauce


Nicely old-fashioned

Red boxes

I was eager to see those famous red letter and phone boxes again: such an unusually bright color, even though French letter boxes - being yellow - are not that much of a discreet color either.

I tried to capture as many of them as I could, but I was quite a pain for the other pedestrians (being in the middle of the way while taking pictures) so I had to quit doing this after a few photos... Sad failed project...

I've saved a sample of each though, here comes a delightful wave of red color:

Coins and cards

Red letter box

Surrounded with flowers

I'm not sure whether it was due to the Queen's coming birthday, but every streets, every houses were decorated with flowers.

A very colorful and unexpected view!

All in a row


Flowers on a house


Flower baskets

Camden Market

I strongly recommend that you visit the Camden Market if you come to London for a couple of days, this place is so marvelous! It is so full of colors, people, food, and a real patchwork of heterogeneous objects - you can't but feel totally mesmerized.

Unfortunately it was quite difficult for me to take photos there (having a 50mm lens is not really practical in such places...) so I ended up with only a few pictures which, in my opinion, still do not relay entirely the joyful spirit of the place.

I'll definitely go back there soon!

Welcome to Camden

Camden Market

A colorful place

London city

My trip to London has not been a piece of cake, if I may say so. It all began with my having forgotten that my identity card was long expired (in fact it still was the one I made for my baccalaureate...) and of course, I did not have my passport with me at that time.

After a few stressful minutes, they decided to let me go and take the train even so. Pffiiuuu! I was extremely nervous the whole trip and within the London St Pancras station (still fearing someone would check my card again and have me go back), until I finally ended up outside the station, breathing the fresh (si, si) London air!

My first thought once there has been 'Wow! So many bricks!' and that definitely was a positive impression.
A few examples of the above-mentioned bricks:

A whole brick world

Have a seat

Bricks, bricks everywhere

London pub food

I've been to London for some days - that will be the theme of three additional articles if not more - and coming back was really difficult.

I absolutely enjoyed my stay there, with a special mention for every pub food I tried!

The renowned fish & chips


A shepherd's pie


Chicken and mushroom pie


...And the traditional English breakfast!

Insect gallery

A few pictures from my last hikes around: a snail, some aphids and - of course - another ladybug...

Perched on top

Aphids meeting place

To go or not to go?

Ladybugs again

It is now the perfect insect-photography time, and especially for ladybugs: it's like they are everywhere. I can't have a look around without spotting one of them, provided there are some green leaves or plants nearby.

Of course their bright red color surely helps noticing them! Almost yummy :-)

In the spotlight


Toward the summer sky


Dancing on the leaves


Hiding under the leaves

Crêpes

Today article will not be about flowers and insects for a change...

Yesterday, I organized a small Crêpes party and snapped a few pictures on the first ones before they got eagerly devoured. I just love Crêpes, they are so nice to look at and have this horribly tempting vanilla smell that can not be resisted!

The mere sight of these pictures makes me terribly want to eat some more :-)

Yummy looking


The dotted side...


...And the foamy one

Flight in red

A strange insect caught my eye while I walking around in a small park not far from my place: red and black and with beautiful wings (when opened).

It's for sure a kind of beetle, and I would say a Cardinal beetle after looking at different pictures - what do you think?

On the watch


See me fly


Master of the world


Feeling summer

Nature versus Human

I wanted to make a photo series about the contrast between nature and human traces (concrete, etc).

So here are a few, I tries to find different kinds of opposition but somehow it turned out they were all quite similar... The fact that I took all of them almost in the same place might be the explanation for that ;-)

Gravel and curls


Plant against concrete


Through the wire netting


Moss and stone

BnF reflection

A theme that I have not explored for quite a while: architecture!

Copying my friend's work, some pictures of the BnF (Bibliothèque Nationale de France) located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.

I really like the symmetry of the window edge lines, converging to the infinite sky up above :-)

Right angle


Building infinity


X-shaped symmetry

Blurred mirror

A few pictures of flowers with their blurred double in the background...

Under the evening light

Twin flower shadow

Color contrasts

Into the light

Have you ever tried to 'catch' the sun within your hands? Or to touch the moon through its reflection in a lake? I just love the idea but I am a bit too lazy to find a place where you could create such a photography, so I end up using bokeh instead of 'real' light...

For now, I'll be satisfied enough with catching the light inside some young leaves, or touching the light with flowers petals :-)

Natural light container


Into the light


Birth of a yellow flower