BEACH & CASINO, a photo from Aquitaine, West

Photographer's Note

Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers.

Biarritz is located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Aquitaine region. It is adjacent to Bayonne and Anglet and 11 miles (18 kilometres) from the border with Spain. It is in the traditional province of Labourd in the French Basque Country.

Vikings who invaded Gascony in 840 settled in Biarritz, which later participated in the whaling trade. Biarritz is a basque name attested Bearriz in 1170, Bearids in 1186, Bearritz in 1249. The Scandinavians settled in the area above the Gardague Beach. It has been suggested (disputedly) that the remaining Vikings became "Agots", a social group in Gascony not allowed to mix with the population at large. Segregation among these communities—there were many in Gascony and Navarra— disappeared only in the early 20th century.

Biarritz has long made its fortune from the sea: as a whaling settlement from the twelfth century onwards, in the 18th century doctors recommended that the ocean at Biarritz had therapeutic properties, inspiring patients to make pilgrimages to the beach for alleged cures for their ailments.

Biarritz became more renowned in 1854 when Empress Eugenie (the wife of Napoleon III) built a palace on the beach (now the Hôtel du Palais). The British royal family regularly took vacations in Biarritz: European royalty such as Queen Victoria, Edward VII, and Alfonso XIII of Spain were frequent visitors.

Biarritz's casino (opened 10 August 1901) and beaches make the town a notable tourist centre for Europeans.

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Critiques | Translate

wolf38 (28226) 2010-12-10 10:54

Hi Manuel. What a wonderful sight. Best composition, light and colors. The cloudy sky completes everything perfectly. Top! Regards, Wolfgang.

leo61 (0) 2010-12-10 10:58

HI Manuel!
Great POV , good composition and fantastic light!!!!
Love the contrast between the yellow/brown/golden tones and this nice partly clouded sky.
Regards,Leo

carlosmarin (11948) 2010-12-10 11:28

Hola Manuel,
impactante foto del Casino y la playa de Biarritz.
Me gustan los efectos del filtro en la luz y el color.
Buen trabajo.
Saludos, Carlos

mesutilgim (68036) 2010-12-10 11:59

Hi Manuel,
Very nice sidelight which creates as perfect feeling of depth and structurness. Many nice details and nice warm colors.
Good and usefull notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

vasilpro (40194) 2010-12-10 12:52

Hello Manuel,
Superb composition with beautiful atmosphere, excellent light management, lovely color tones, interesting architecture, fine photo work!
Have a nice weekend, Vasilis.

dta (51510) 2010-12-10 13:58

Hola MAnuel ,
Une belle lumière hivernale sur Biarritz . Mais je crois qu'il faisait chaud ce jour là ! Les couleurs sont splendides , tout comme le ciel .
Amicalement

siamesa (27449) 2010-12-10 18:57

Boa noite Manuel

Very nice view of the beach and the casino. A very attractive pov and beautiful warm colors.
Abraços
maria

jjcordier (62394) 2010-12-10 22:41

Manuel
Une belle lumière, un beau ciel et une bonne composition, voilà de quoi ravir nos yeux!
Amicalement
JJ

korbee (6301) 2010-12-11 1:40

Looks a bit like or own Scheveningen,this is not the nicest architecture in the world;],but the way you put on the lens is certainly well worth it!.
Superbe light and sky my friend.
For some raison caostal architecture is always a bit of a mess,different ideas of different,""project-managers""who all want to make as much profit as possible,and the estetic result is of non importance;]]

jan

jan

foozi (7101) 2010-12-11 2:09

Hello Manuel,
very nice capture of the beach without people. The sky is very exciting in richness of the clouds.
The railing gives a good guide and a leading perpsective to the building.
Very well composed to show the quietness of this town.
Well seen shot.

Regards,
Foozi

Ninello52 (7065) 2010-12-11 3:45

Ciao Manuel!
Immagine spettacolare con una luce straordinaria! Il cielo è bellissimo e mi piace molto l'inquadratura con il muretto in primo piano che dà slancio e profondità al paesaggio! Ottima gestione della luce!
Buon week end! Nino.

peppe59 (14547) 2010-12-11 5:41

Ciao Manuel,
molto bella questa composizione, un cielo fantastico, come il paesaggio dai colori accattivanti, bellissima foto.
Complimenti e buon fine settimana
peppe

adramad (27556) 2010-12-11 7:36

Hola Manuel.
Ya veo que has aprovechado bien el puente, una composicion esplendida de esta bonita ciudad, me sorprende que se vea tan desierta.
La luz esta genial y le da unos tonos calidos ideales para esta imagen, el cielo es tambien una belleza.
Un bonito trabajo Manuel, me gusta la atmosfera que transmite, quizas sea esa luz especial.
Disfruta del fin de semana.
Un abrazo.
Luis.

lilito (3448) 2010-12-11 10:16

Hola manuel
Como siempre que vengo a ver tu galeria, hay imagenes geniales! Esta en particular me gusta por el cielo que has logrado captar, la playa casi desierta, la luz reinante, me encanta!
Lily

Royaldevon (17811) 2010-12-12 6:23

Hola Manuel,

A great pov uses the line of the stone fencing as a good guide into the shot. The dof works really well for capturing all round interest.
I do like how the low winter sun is so good for creating long shadows and for highlighting buildings.

Havre a lovely Sunday,
Bev :-)

PJE (20756) 2010-12-15 22:26

Hello Manuel. This photo in your gallery really stands out because of wonderful lighting, amazing sky, and nice lead in perspective with the handrail. The beach also looks very inviting. Nice...

danyy (0) 2010-12-15 23:09

Une fois de plus Manuel....
des couleurs et des lumières irréelles. J'aime beaucoup le rendu du ciel tel que l'oeil ne pourrait pas le voir. Beaucoup de profondeur, bien vu de cadrage et le POV.
Amicalement.
Daniel.

sacavem (18578) 2010-12-20 11:19

Olá Manuel,

Wonderful urban landscape, sight of the beach. Good lightening,colour and contrast.Good work to capture this image.
Excellent postcard of the Biarritz. TSF, Well done,

Cumprimentos,
Filipe

I use BETA-TrekEarth

guitianmiranda (5303) 2011-01-23 12:24

En esta fotografía, supongo que por su color y composición, emana nostalgia y algo de decadencia... no sé, no he estado en Biarritz, pero es como si ya no fuera lo que fue.

Saludos de nuevo.