Paris
Mar, 2013Views
500
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Awards
Chatter Award
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2020 Choice Award
Outstanding Composition
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Superb Composition
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Jaw Dropping
Exceptional Contrast
Superior Skill
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Behind The Lens
Location
French culture, music and architecture has always been very inspiring to me. In 2012, I took my first overseas flight and was lucky enough to spend 9 glorious days exploring Paris. This was from the second day (when I still had the energy to carry my tripod everywhere) on top of Montmartre. The color and light in Paris is simply spectacular and truly unique. It's magical.Time
This was taken in March of 2012. After walking about 10 miles that day, we hiked to the top of Montmartre and took in the late afternoon light. The clouds provided all the drama I could stand and I had to attempt my "Paris shot".Lighting
Nature has a way of providing the drama. I've been to Paris twice now and I'm always inspired by the way the light chases across the rooftops.Equipment
This was with a Nikon D700, an 80-200 2.8 Nikkor Zoom, and a Manfrotto Carbon Fiber Tripod with a heavy grip head.Inspiration
Paris has been photographed a bizillion times and by way more skilled photographers than I. My hope was to find my "Paris-shot" that was a bit unique. And though I was standing in a heavily populated tourist spot, looking at the tower that has been shot more than any building in the world, I was inspired by the racing clouds and the late afternoon sunset that made the color and the light electric. I'm also a big fan of mazes and hidden details - Where's Waldo anyone? No matter how many times i zoom in on this photo and scroll around, I find something new. (Like the woman standing in the apartment window in the lower right side of the frame. Or the red sign, just above the rooftops about a third of the way up.)Editing
This was an early attempt at HDR. I always bracket my stuff whenever I'm shooting landscapes or cityscapes - especially if they're backlit scenes. I tend to skew my photographs towards the dramatic or, I suppose, my idea of magical realism - with a lot of heightened colors and hyper details.In my camera bag
I always grab my Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 VR II and that is hands down my favorite go-to lens and I'm shooting on a D810 now. It gives me great reach without being intrusive on almost any scene. It's super fast so whether I'm shooting people, landscapes or wildlife, I'm able to capture incredible detail while keeping my distance.Feedback
I wish I had something inspiring to offer and say that this scene took a great deal of preparation, but it just happened. I used a tripod to keep the camera steady for the bracketing and I took 3 shots about 1 stop apart. I remember that I wished my sensor was cleaner as I had a lot of little dust specks in the sky area to clean up in post. That was a not a fun task. I guess that would be my biggest advice. Get your sensor cleaned before any big adventure. If your going to shoot at an f-stop between 10 and 22 and shoot the sky - and then stack your images - you're going to see all of those microscopic specks if your sensor is dirty. Oh, and always shoot RAW!
