Paris Photography – Reflections on 2010

Following on from yesterday post Reflections on 2010 – Paris Part 1 here is a further selection of our Paris photography. Hope you enjoy, your comments would be appreciated.

Another image from Notre-Dame de Paris, on this occasion I was drawn to the statue in front of this spectacular stained glass window. Using a 200mm lens to compose and isolate just a small area to put emphasis on just these two elements, then under expose slightly to render the statue a silhouette. I only wish I could have had a slightly higher viewpoint to separate the head of the statue from the cross bar of the window.

This image was taken from within the Jardin des Tuileries looking toward part of the Louvre Museum. To complete the image it has been converted to black and white conversion to add contrast to the blue sky and white clouds.

Considered to be the most beautiful church in Paris SainteChapelle is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. This Paris photography image shows just a small part of the stained-glass windows along with the slender columns that rise to the ornate vaulted ceiling. The image required a long exposure and with no possibility of using a tripod the camera was laid on its back and triggered with the self timer to create this almost abstract composition.

Whilst in the Latin Quarter we visited the Institute du Monde Arabe, a museum devoted to Arab and Islamic art and civilisation. The building was built on the banks of the Seine in 1987, the striking glass and steel structure was designed by Jean Nouvel Architecture Studio and the style of architecture represents an amalgalm of Arab and western civilisations. What I found particularly interesting is that there are 240 mechanised panels, one in the centre of each window that act like the aperture within a camera lens, opening and closing automatically in response to the external light ensuring the correct amount of natural light reaches the inside of the building.

Creative Paris photography – Back inside Sainte Chapelle and a different take on the earlier image of the stained-glass windows and ceiling. Here I have intentionally chosen to hand hold the camera at a slow shutter speed and turn the camera during the exposure. The resulting image has traces of the elements but has been transformed into an almost totally abstract composition.

Its the Eiffel Tower and I am pretty sure it has all been done before, what can we do with this iconic structure that has not been done before, almost impossible I guess. This is my take, plenty of converging verticals, diagonal composition and an interesting sky. Not unique I know but I can recall sitting there pondering the compositional options – warm sunny day, good company and glass of beer in hand – happy days.

Paris photography street scene, a nice simple composition. I was attracted by the motor bike and its almost matt black finish to the paintwork and also the ‘Maria Callas’ poster that on closer viewing was advertising a musical review paying homage to her work.