PAELLA NIGHT

 On our last night in Saignon this trip, it was the 12th of July. France annually celebrates Bastille Day on the 14th, but this year the French team had a real shot in the World Cup and the final was on the 14th. So the towns and villages moved the celebration to the Saturday before. Saignon has a paella dinner, served in their municipal parking lot. With wonderful paella, cheap, plentiful and delicious Rose wine, beer and pastis. After the feast, and it was a feast, there was a pair of DJs and dancing under the stars. It was almost too much fun, What a way to leave Saignon!

 Laura, a former waitress at Maison Solveig who has moved on to a better job. She came back for this.

 Our little party of four at the table. Mary got ahold of my camera a lot that night.

 Austin, Mary, Frederic and Betty

 Our first of many dances.

 A quick tango with Laura.

 Happy spectators.

 The Twist never left.

 A bit later after Mary pushed a few buttons on the camera.

 Dancing is hard work......but fun,

 Doing the chicken dance. I shot enough French Canadian weddings in Vermont to even know the steps.

Mary and Frederic.

Janie and Mary, Saignon

This was on a foggy morning after the 4th of July party (see below). Mary had promised to show us her wedding dress. She appeared out of the fog in it. I don't think that she wore Crocs at her wedding.

We were in Saignon for the fourth of July this year. Our friend Mary Chaix and her husband Frederic, invited us to a 4th of July party. Mary is from Chicago originally. Her brother is in Germany, working in computer IT. He is a retired Marine Colonel and still has access to the PX. He drove down to Saignon with a Volvo full of the best meat America can supply. We had steaks, ribs....oh the ribs..., hamburger, German beer. The meat was all cooked by Mary, a master chef, trained at Culinary Institut,e of America, on a Weber grill. How American was that?! And, as you can see by the top picture, there was a fireworks display over dessert.

Hollyhocks, Saignon

Exhibit goers, Arles

Taking a break, Arles

Tourists, Arles

These two looked to be deciding to either get their photographer partners moving or ditch them and run for the car.

Exhibit posters, Arles

Walkers, Arles

I got the impression that these were locals, out for a dog walk. Hard to be sure, as the French seem to bring their dogs everywhere.

Annual tiled rooves from above cliche shot, Arles

They are so hard to resist.

Church spire, Arles

I have never seen a Virgin Mary with a lightning rod. Of all the people who don't need one, she should top the list!

Lost, Arles

This woman was either lost or looking for someone who was lost. Arles is easy to be lost in.

Shameless selfie, Arles

Dusty hydrant, Arles

Graffiti, Arles

Very fresh. Looks like a duck for Daniel.

Hydrant #90, Arles

An old soldier.

Frank Gehry exhibit, Arles

This was an exceedingly odd, and not very well done, exhibit, housed in it's own building. It was a collection of Frank Gehry's models for buildings that he eventually built. They were all put on long tables and lit by moving spotlights that revealed very little. So I decided to photograph the hall and the lighting. This tourist snuck in and stole my idea.

Past mascots, Rencontres D'Arles

Here are some of the previous year's symbols. Notice the dots, that I mention again a few posts down.

More resters, Arles

Walking these huge halls can wear one out. But it's worth it.

Chema Madoz exhibit, Arles

I must admit that I had never heard of Chema Madoz until this exhibit. My loss. There were many walls covered with his whimsical, funny, brilliant work. Beautiful prints. As soon as I got home I ordered a book of his work. What a mind.

Resting, Arles

The exhibit is so large and the halls so big that one must rest from time to time. This was between two giant halls, conveniently near a refreshment stand.

Reviewing, Arles

It is an oddity that all of us photographers who go to these huge exhibits would probably feel naked if we didn't bring our own camera. I have never seen so many Nikon D800s (the current "Best" camera) in one place. My little micro 4/3 Olympus felt tiny. My neck, on the other hand, thanked me.

Gallery, Arles

I am sorry to have lost this photographer's name. He or she made these huge and well printed pictures that repeated the same scene, one of which, on the right is of a person going around the corner of a house. It was not fascinating.

Dots, Arles

Dots are everywhere during the Rencontres. Every year there is a new animal mascot for that year's exhibit, which has lots of dots on it. Janie theorized that they come from these windows in the exhibition hall. They all have dots like this. Either that or the pixel-peepers are gonna tell me to get a D810;-)

Decorative grating, main hall, Recontres D'Arles

Even in France, rust never sleeps.

Pizza pie! Arles

The overall quality of pizza in France (and Italy) is incredible. I love thin crusts, the thinner the better, and pizzerias in both countries do that to a tee. This was super crispy with a very tangy tomato sauce, good cheese and real wild mushrooms. Simple and delicious. Sorry about the pizza pie honey.

Whimsical graffiti, Arles

Hydrantologist at work, Arles

I believe that one can see the result of this picture by going to www.blog.blackandwhiteandcolours.de  and doing a little searching;-}

Clouds, Arles

Rencontres D'Arles 2014

 The Rencontres is centered in what used to be a locomotive repair yard near the tracks in Arles. The buildings are huge as they had to repair giant pieces of machinery out of the weather with giant tools and have room to maneuver while they did it. The usual decay has set in but has been cleaned out, leaving only the bones of the buildings.

Fence and painted building, Arles

This was the first picture I took at the Rencontres D'Arles 2014. Janie and I accompanied my fellow hydrantologist and her friend, to Arles for the annual celebration of all things photographic. The whole town is dedicated to photography and other visual arts. We had a ball and next year we will book a room and spend a few days.

Man and dog, Villars

Hollyhock, Saignon

Sumacs in the wind, Bonnieux bike path, west

Windbreak, Bonnieux bike path, west

Doing it's job on a windy day.

Power lines, Bonnieux bike path, west