Nicolas Mertens' photos

Laurent de Brunhoff often said that, Babar, c'est moi. . I learned only today that he died on March 22. Babar is one of those characters we grew up with, not only in the Francophonie but also in the rest of world. Fortunately for all the kids everywhere, les aventures de Babar le petit éléphant were translated in many languages, just like Spirou, Tintin, and many others...

© Lilita Meirans (photography) & Nicolas Mertens, editing). All Rights Reserved. Latvia: Ventspils and the Venta River. The left bank was being renovated when this picture was taken. It seems that the cranes and structures on the right bank were also given a fresh coat of paint. If you have access to Google's Street View, see how pretty it is now. More dressed up on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans (photography) & Nicolas Mertens (edition). All Rights Reserved. Latvia: the Daugava River in Riga, seen from the Vanšu Bridge. The pretty thing in the middle of the picture is the Riga Radio and Television Tower ( Rīgas radio un televīzijas tornis, ) a.k.a. Zaķusala Television Tower (Zaķusalas televīzijas tornis ) for the name of the island where it sits. The tower on the right is a bank. More illusionary on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans (photography) & Nicolas Mertens (edition). All Rights Reserved. Czechia: Prague—The Astronomical Clock ( Pražský orloj. ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_astronomical_clock More apostolic on black: press Z (or click the picture :) Note. The big picture on the left does not correspond exactly to reality. First of all, the tower is the result of merging three disparate photos that were not intended to be merged in the first place (see the thumbnail). Then, the façades on the left and right sides of the tower are totally fake, being the result of Photoshop's "generative filling" engine. It's impressive but unreal. Finally, I added a cloudy sky that corresponds more or less to the real sky seen on the photo of the Old Town Square. In spite of "generative AI filling," I do not consider this montage as completely AI-generated because, 1) it was not generated through verbal or written input, and 2) it is far from being completely fantastic and/or phantasmagorical.

© Lilita Meirans (photography) & Nicolas Mertens (edition). All Rights Reserved. Czechia: Český Krumlov. More Českýist on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans (photography) & Nicolas Mertens (edition). All Rights Reserved. Latvia: the Daugava River in Krāslava. More Latgalian on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans (photography) & Nicolas Mertens (edition). All Rights Reserved. Asturias: Picos de Europa, so-called because that's what people saw first when they sailed back from the New World. Well, that's how the story goes... More Cantabrian on black: press Z (or click the picture :) NOTE. Not to everyone's taste. For example, the photographer did not like the editing. So feel free to disagree :)

© Lilita Meirans & Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. Navarra: coming down from Las Bardenas Reales via the Ermita de la Virgen del Yugo, and into Arguedas via a very narrow road ( El Estrecho ). The San Esteban Church is what you see near the entrance to town. Tighter on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans & Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. Extremadura: Mérida. Or, if you insist, Lusitania: Augusta Emerita. More stagy on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans & Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. Mallorca: around Torre des Verger. More chromatic on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans & Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. A festival for the eyes and the nose! The Sierra de Villafranca in June. I think the plant's name in English is Pyrenean broom. More fragrant on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans & Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. Menorca: Son Bou. The onslaught of tourists has not yet begun. More peaceful on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans & Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. Lilita took a selfie in Jadviga's Paradise: how sweet it is to do nothing... More indolent on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans & Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. One of the thousand lakes of the Latgale Region, Latvia. The map shows the area around Rēzekne. More reflective on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans & Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. Koknese, Latvia. The ruins of the 13th century castle. A pretty engraving in Wikipedia (W. S. Stavenhagen, 1866) shows how the ruins stood high above the Daugava River before the construction of a dam downstream in 1965. More flooded on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans & Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. Latvia: the old city of Riga ( Vecrīga ) seen form the Daugava River. More panoramic on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Lilita Meirans & Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. A secluded and peaceful place somewhere in Latvia. More heavenly on black: press Z (or click the picture :)

© Nicolas Mertens. All Rights Reserved. Poor kitty. Was it me or the camera? More frightening on black: press Z (or click the photo :)