Michel Bricteux Photography

Photo Published in TIEMPO Magazine - No 1437 (4-10 December 2009)

2009-12-08T14:12:00.004+01:00

This photo also appeared on the website of "El Imparcial".

Click here to access web publication

8th Place in the DPReview G... like Garage Challenge

2009-12-03T09:39:00.002+01:00

Click here to access website

Premio Marques de Villalobar - Madrid, Nov. 2009

2009-12-01T12:32:00.002+01:00

Click on picture to access album

DPReview - 12th Place in the Stadiums Challenge

2009-11-30T09:30:00.001+01:00

Click here to access website

2009-11-27T14:50:00.001+01:00

DPReview.com - 2nd Place in Narrow Street Challenge

2009-10-18T17:28:00.001+02:00

Click here to visit website

R.I.P.

2009-10-07T09:08:00.002+02:00

Copyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux

Dressed in Spanish Police uniform and wearing Dad's medals, this little chap participates in the celebration of the Police Day in Madrid, Spain. His father fell victim of Basque's separatist terrorism...

It's been a while...

2009-10-07T08:52:00.001+02:00

Click here to visit website

DPReview "Beautiful" Challenge - 17th Place

2009-08-18T09:40:00.000+02:00

Click here to visit website

DPReview "Chimneys" Challenge - 7th Place

2009-08-18T09:36:00.002+02:00

Click here to view website

DPReview Masquerade - 1st Place

2009-08-13T09:45:00.001+02:00

Click here to visit website

2009-08-10T17:14:00.001+02:00

Copyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux

Despite of its look and feel, this is NOT a computer generated image but a 9 pictures HDR high resolution composite.

Madrid - Bellas Artes : Detail

2009-08-09T20:00:00.001+02:00

The last one : The Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

2009-08-06T18:10:00.001+02:00

Where's the limit?

2009-08-06T14:01:00.002+02:00

During my recent trip to the Balkans, I put my newly acquired Nikon D3X to the test and ventured into pano territory, taking advantage of the camera high definition. Below are two panos of reasonable sizes (3-4m wide at 240dpi). I pushed the envelope even further yesterday and asked Photoshop CS4 to produce a panorama made of 25 RAW files (20Mb each), representing the bay of Kotor. It took my two years old Apple MacPro half an hour to stitch together a panorama of humongous dimensions : 7.75m wide by 40cm tall @ 240dpi. The file was so huge CS4 wouldn't let me save it as .PSD, .TIF or even .JPEG. I guess I'll have to bring it back to sensible proportions to post it on this blog.

Panorama of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina

2009-08-02T19:21:00.004+02:00

Copyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux
Full size file is 195cm X 37cm @ 240dpi

The city of Mostar made the headlines for the fierce religious and political fightings between opposing warring factions during the Balkan War. The old bridge spanning the river Neretva and connecting the muslim (left of picture) and orthodox (right of picture) neighborhoods was destroyed in the process. UNESCO, the World Bank and the City of Mostar rebuilt it as part of the fragile reconciliation efforts.

DPReview - Worst (relative) score ever : 101th out of 111!

2009-07-30T14:40:00.002+02:00

Thought it was worth mentioning ;-)

Dubrovnik Panorama

2009-07-28T23:14:00.004+02:00

Copyrignt 2009 - Michel Bricteux

On a recent trip to the Balkans, I walked around the medieval walls of the city of Dubrovnik. The panorama above is a composite of 15 pictures taken handheld with a Nikon D3X and a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8. Photoshop CS4 created a file that is 279cm wide and 39cm high at printing resolution (240dpi). Amazing resolution!

DPReview.com "Hills with a View" Challenge - 1st Place

2009-07-27T11:23:00.002+02:00

Click here to visit website

Madrid Gay Pride - July 2009

2009-07-05T17:48:00.002+02:00

Is Analog Photography doomed?

2009-07-05T17:23:00.002+02:00

With pixel count on the rise, I found myself NOT using my analog Hasselblad system anymore and contemplated the idea of selling it. To my surprise - and disappointment-, my photo shop appraised the whole lot for a ridiculous 1.100 Euros : we are talking about a 503CW body + Winder + PME90 metering viewfinder + 03 Haaselblad/Carl Zeiss lenses + 02 backs and Pro Flash. All in good to perfect condition! 1100 Euros is what you would pay for a mid-range D-SLR kit that would become obsolete within 12 to 18 months! How could this compare to probably the best analog medium format system ever made? Sign of the crisis? Freefall of analog photography? Bottom line is I'm keeping the lot and, maybe, one day buy a second hand digital back to give my gear a second life.

DPReview.com "Old and Wise" Challenge - 1st Place...

2009-07-02T09:21:00.001+02:00

Click here to visit website

DPReview "Other people's Art" Challenge - 4th place

2009-06-29T10:47:00.000+02:00

Click here to visit webstite

DPReview.com "Mammals" Challenge - 6th place

2009-06-29T10:45:00.000+02:00

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DPReview "Trapped Subject" Challenge - 6th place

2009-06-29T10:43:00.001+02:00

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DPReview "B&W on rails " challenge - 16th place

2009-06-28T11:30:00.000+02:00

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5th Place at DPReview.com "Kilometers"Challenge

2009-06-25T14:00:00.004+02:00

No comment... not much merit since the tree did it all by itself!

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DP Review Graffiti Challenge - 25th place (out of 450

2009-06-22T08:04:00.001+02:00

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DP Review Graffiti Challenge - 22nd place

2009-06-21T10:28:00.002+02:00

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PhotoEspana 2009 - PhotoMarathon Night

2009-06-20T00:42:00.001+02:00

Copyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux
1200 amateur photographers invaded the streets of Madrid on June 19th, 2009 with one (imposed) theme in mind : "Desvelar Madrid". My idea of picturing a less postcard-like Madrid was to get behind its thick walls and shed some light on those more intimate, discrete, yet historically loaded places : this particular picture was taken in El Ateneo (see history below). Once you enter the building, you get the sense that the clock on the wall stopped ticking 60, 70, 80... years ago. A place in ancient times...

PhotoEspana 2009 - PhotoMarathon Submission

2009-06-20T00:40:00.000+02:00

Stormy weather over Cuenca, Spain

2009-06-16T23:05:00.000+02:00

Yes We Can! - Yangshuo, Southern China 2007

2009-06-14T19:40:00.002+02:00

18th in the DPReview.com "You're in the army now" challenge

2009-06-11T10:26:00.001+02:00

Click here to visit website

OpenPhoto in Cuenca

2009-06-07T18:17:00.001+02:00

Cuenca, Spain

2009-06-07T12:03:00.001+02:00

Casas colgadas, Cuenca (Spain)

2009-06-07T11:34:00.003+02:00

Cuenca, Spain

2009-06-07T11:31:00.002+02:00

6th in DPReview.com "Renewable Energy" Challenge

2009-05-09T10:37:00.001+02:00

To see website, click here

16th (out of 489) in DPReview.com "Found Framed" Challenge

2009-05-09T10:18:00.003+02:00

Strange though, as I entered this picture together with another one which, in my eyes, looked more interesting and artistically more creative. But the eye of my Buddah ranked a disappointing 140th.

To see website, click here
To meet Buddah's eye, click here

9th Place (out of 150) in Backlit DPReview Challenge

2009-05-06T21:42:00.002+02:00

To visit website, click here

Once again, this comes as a surprise since I didn't find any particular artistic/photographic quality to this picture. Yet it's been judged differently by the public at large. Once again, who knows....?

22nd Place (out of 300) in DPReview.com "Children Portraits" Challenge

2009-04-30T23:28:00.003+02:00

Click here to access website

Bikes in Berlin

2009-04-27T23:02:00.000+02:00

6th Place at DPReview.com "People at Work Challenge"

2009-04-27T07:43:00.001+02:00

Parque Nacional de Monfrague, Extremadura - Spain

2009-04-26T22:35:00.001+02:00

29th out of 248 in the DPReview.com "Waterdrop Challenge"

2009-04-23T21:50:00.002+02:00

Picture takes 23rd place (out of 279) in "Smiling" DPReview.com Challenge

2009-04-20T23:20:00.001+02:00

Copyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux
To access website, click http://www.dpreview.com/challenges/Entry.aspx?ID=109475&View=Results&Rows=25

Las Ventas, Madrid - 19 April 2009

2009-04-20T23:15:00.000+02:00

Las Ventas, Madrid - 19 April 2009

2009-04-20T23:13:00.001+02:00

Library of the Ateneo de Madrid - March 2009

2009-04-19T12:43:00.002+02:00

Copyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux
The Ateneo de Madrid was created in 1835 by the Spanish liberal-romantic thinkers of the time, under the auspices of the Regent, Maria Cristine de Napoles. The present building (Calle del Prado) was inaugurated in 1885 by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo in the presence of the Kings of Spain. As a place dedicated to free thinking, the Ateneo went through challenging times during Primo de Rivera and Franco's regimes. Of particular interest are its Salon de Actos and its Library.

Bronze statue of Athena at the Círculo de Bellas Artes' flat roof, in Madrid (Spain). Made by sculptor Juan Luis Vassallo Parodi (1908–1986)

2009-04-18T12:28:00.002+02:00

Madrid Panorama, from the terrace of Bellas Artes, facing North

2009-04-18T12:19:00.002+02:00

Madrid Panorama, from the terrace of Bellas Artes, facing East

2009-04-18T12:17:00.001+02:00

Multitude in Perspective - ARCO, Madrid 2009

2009-04-16T18:54:00.004+02:00

This picture was taken with a Blackberry Storm PDA during the 2009 edition of ARCO (Madrid Contemporary Art Fair). As amazing as it might be, what you see is an astonishing painting conveying an incredible sense of texture and perspective. Didn't get the name of the artist, but he surely deserves all credits.
Click on picture to access details

Easter Processions - Andalucia, 2009

2009-04-14T21:47:00.004+02:00

Easter Processions, Andalucia 2009

Sierra de Castril, Andalucia - 2009

2009-04-13T19:44:00.001+02:00

Easter Procession in Ubeda, Spain - 2009

2009-04-12T22:51:00.000+02:00

El Viejo Pueblo de Belchite, Testimony of the Spanish Civil War

2009-04-03T12:21:00.001+02:00

Russian Pianist Ksenia Morozova at the Fundacion Carlos de Amberes, Madrid

2009-04-02T17:43:00.004+02:00

ES-Ksenia Morozova en FCA

17th place in DPReview.com Rubbish Challenge

2009-04-02T17:39:00.001+02:00

http://www.dpreview.com/challenges/Entry.aspx?ID=105205&View=Results&Rows=25

Copyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux

4th Place on DPReview.com "A Wind Blows" Challenge

2009-03-25T08:05:00.005+01:00

http://www.dpreview.com/challenges/Entry.aspx?ID=104252&View=Results&Rows=4

Well, well... I am perplexed. I guess it was voted for its humoristic character, for it is, in my mind, of limited artistic and photographic merit. Who knows!

Tacheles Galerie, Berlin - You gotta see it!!

2009-03-22T19:49:00.003+01:00

Copyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux
Click on Picture above to access album

The Art-Centre Tacheles is situated in a ruin in Berlin Mitte. Located in former East Berlin, the area was a Jewish quarter in the past and has now become a meeting point for people interested in arts and culture and for those who think they are.
For more information, visit http://super.tacheles.de/cms/

Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, March 2009

2009-03-22T17:08:00.005+01:00

For the last 67 years, the name of Ravensbrück has been associated with the disappearance of my father's mother. Since her arrest by the nazis in February '42 for being part of the Resistance, no letter, no news, barely no testimony of her whereabouts but a name on a long list of of prisoners who never returned, hastily executed or too exhausted to see the sun of liberty rise again. According to the "Totenbüch" compiled by the allied forces after the liberation of the camp, Guillemine Barnich-Bricteux died at the end of March 1945... A month before the camp was liberated by the Russian troops. That was 67 years ago.
Copyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux
To access album, click on picture above

Uckermark Extermination Camp, Ravensbruck : You Are Not Forgotten

2009-03-16T23:28:00.004+01:00

Cpoyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux

Berlin - Tacheles' Gallery Backyard - March 2009

2009-03-16T21:47:00.002+01:00

Photograph published on www.thedigitalstory.com to illustrate HDR post-processing

2009-03-15T10:47:00.001+01:00

Premio Marques de Villalobar 2009

2009-03-06T12:45:00.002+01:00

Neist Point Lighthouse, Scotland - Submission to DPReview.com Challenge : Lighthouse

2009-03-03T20:59:00.004+01:00

Picture makes 4th place out of 400 in the DPReview.com Repetitions Challenge

2009-03-03T01:04:00.002+01:00

Belgian Ambassador in Madrid presents his credentials to H.M. the King of Spain - Feb. 26, 2009

2009-03-01T17:27:00.006+01:00

John Crowley, the Famous Irish Postman - Riney's, Summer 2005

2009-02-21T13:12:00.002+01:00

Old Pigeon House in Ghost Town of Otero de Sariegos in Castilla y Leon, Spain

2009-02-15T11:52:00.006+01:00

HDR processing with Photomatix Pro
Click on Picture to enlarge
Copyright 2009 - Michel Bricteux

Submission to www.dpreview.com "Interconnected" Photo Challenge. Voted 156th out of 292 entries. Nothing to brag about, really... I love it though

2009-02-01T20:33:00.005+01:00

Copyright 2004 Michel Bricteux
Click on picture to enlarge

Should you want to cast your vote, please visit http://www.dpreview.com/challenges/Entry.aspx?ID=93151&Rows=4&Seed=150962354

Best picture on TheDigitalStory.com December Assignment

2009-01-31T13:03:00.001+01:00

Assignment theme was "Group Picture"

2009-01-29T21:25:00.000+01:00

Picture Makes Second Place in DPreview Photo Challenge

2009-01-22T10:54:00.003+01:00

To see the picture, follow this link http://www.dpreview.com/challenges/Entry.aspx?ID=86117&Rows=4&Order=NewFirst

Days gone by... placed 42nd out of 500 in DPReview.com "The Magic of Monochrome" Photo Challenge

2009-01-10T17:40:00.001+01:00

Full Moon on Friday Dec. 12, 2008

2008-12-12T23:02:00.005+01:00

Nikon D3 - 300mm F/9.0 + TCE 1.7 - 1/1000sec - 400 ISO
BBC writes : "Friday's full moon could appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons this year, Nasa said.

The Moon's orbit is elliptical, meaning it does not follow a circular but rather an oval path.

It is currently approaching the point where this oval orbit is nearest to the Earth.

"It's only every few years that a full moon happens to coincide with the part of the Moon's orbit when its closest to the Earth," said Marek Kukula, an astronomer at the UK's Royal Observatory.

"What people will see is a full moon that's really bright and a bit bigger than what they're used to."

Water Droplets II

2008-11-29T23:34:00.001+01:00

Water Games

2008-10-14T22:15:00.000+02:00

Water

2008-10-13T16:29:00.000+02:00

Celine & Friends

2008-09-28T22:24:00.003+02:00

Julien & Amaya - Part I : Getting ready

2008-08-28T10:55:00.000+02:00

Copyright Michel Bricteux - 2008
To access album, click on picture above.
Once in the album, click on [slideshow] at the right of your screen to view slideshow.

Julien & Amaya - Part II : Here comes the Bride .....

2008-08-28T10:53:00.002+02:00

Copyright Michel Bricteux - 2008
To access album, click on picture above.
Once in the album, click on [slideshow] at the right of your screen to view slideshow.

Julien & Amaya - Part III : The Church

2008-08-28T10:52:00.000+02:00

Copyright Michel Bricteux - 2008
To access album, click on picture above.
Once in the album, click on [slideshow] at the right of your screen to view slideshow.

Julien & Amaya - Part IV : The Aftermath

2008-08-28T10:50:00.000+02:00

Copyright Michel Bricteux - 2008
To access album, click on picture above.
Once in the album, click on [slideshow] at the right of your screen to view slideshow.

Julien & Amaya - Celine's Pics

2008-08-28T10:48:00.002+02:00

Copyright Céline Bricteux - 2008
To access album, click on picture above.
Once in the album, click on [slideshow] at the right of your screen to view slideshow.

La Alberca - Aug. 16th, 2008

2008-08-18T20:07:00.001+02:00

Corrida in Las Ventas, Madrid - July '08

2008-07-11T13:53:00.004+02:00

Not for the faint of heart. For the others, enjoy!
Click to enlarge picture

Copyright Michel Bricteux - 2008

Expo Zaragoza 2008

2008-07-07T10:33:00.001+02:00

EuroCopa 2008

2008-07-01T20:50:00.002+02:00

Bar Hilario - Alto de los Leones, Sierra de Madrid

2008-06-28T09:18:00.003+02:00

Picture makes font cover of The Digital Story, again

2008-06-23T22:05:00.000+02:00

www.thedigitalstory.com

Juan lives off the streets of Madrid, Spain

2008-06-17T21:25:00.002+02:00

Juan lives off the streets of Madrid, on a bench on Plaza de la Republica Argentina. He's a familiar character, known to most of the neighborhood. He spends his days reading stacks of old newspapers. Since we moved to the area three years ago, I've been wanting to meet him and ask if I could take his portrait. Today was my day : there he was, the light was perfect. He really enjoyed the photoshoot. Nikon D3 - 80-200mm f/3.5 - 1/60sec - 200 ISO

PhotoMarathon PhotoEspana 2008 - Theme : I shall resist...

2008-06-15T22:55:00.000+02:00

Time is of the essence...

2008-06-15T09:32:00.000+02:00

San Isidro, Madrid 2008

2008-05-15T14:39:00.000+02:00

San Isidro, Madrid 2008

2008-05-15T14:10:00.000+02:00

Dos de mayo en Madrid - 2008

2008-05-03T20:57:00.000+02:00

Kids in the narrow streets of Fes, Morocco

2008-03-27T09:00:00.000+01:00