Paris from Montparnasse Tower
Sunset in Spetember. Taken from Montparnasse Tower in Paris.
Sunset in Spetember. Taken from Montparnasse Tower in Paris.
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May, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in Paris when I took my girlfriend there for her birthday present. We had originally planned on staying at home (in Ireland) for a weekend together but I found a deal for flights to Paris and well, we couldn't resist, it is Paris after all. We stayed for 2 nights and there was one place I had specifically asked my girlfriend about that I could spend an evening there taking pictures. This was the place, Montparnasse Tower.Time
I planned this shot for weeks before the trip as it was the one place I knew I wanted to make "the image" of our trip. I used the photographers ephemeris to see where the sun would be setting that weekend and then picked the day with the best weather. I wanted a little bit of cloud cover but not too much either. I got really lucky. I went up the tower about 1.5 hours before sunset. I wanted to enjoy the views first, scout out the best compositions and be set up before any other photographers got there.Lighting
It's all natural light in this scene (obviously), but I am really thankful that the sunset was so nice the one night I was there. It was great luck.Equipment
I used my Canon 600D with 18-55mm kit lens. It was mounted on a cheap manfrotto tripod, which worked well for this shot, but once the sun had set and I was doing longer exposures later in the evening it simply wasn't up to the task. I have since invested in a much stronger tripod, which I would definitely recommend.Inspiration
I had never heard of the Montparnasse tower before in Paris, until about 2 months before my trip. I saw one picture online from there and at first I thought it was taken from a helicopter. I had never seen this angle on Paris before and I thought it was simply mesmerizing. I had a look around online and soon found that there was an observation deck on the Montparnasse tower. I knew from then that if I ever got to go to Paris I would have to go to this spot. Normally people like to go up the Eiffel tower, and sure there is great views from there. But the one icon of Paris is the Eiffel tower itself, so for me if you can get that in the frame then you have an iconic Paris shot. But of course there are millions of tourist pictures of the Eiffel tower, so I wanted one a little different.Editing
This is a 5 shot HDR edit. I had to shoot 5 shots to get the full dynamic range of the scene. I used Lightroom 5 to merge the Raw files together. After this I did some basic contrast adjustments by balancing the shadows and highlights. I also added a gradient filter to the sky and added a small bit of a cooler temperature to bring back the blue. Finally I selectively added a little clarity to the foreground and that was it!In my camera bag
During this shoot I was carrying my Canon 600D, 18-55mm and 55-250mm lens with Manfrotto Tripod and variable ND filter. I have since upgraded all my gear and switched the Nikon. I now have the Nikon D750 with Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 and Sigma 70-200 f/2.8. I also have a Haida 10 stop ND filter, 100mm filter holder kit from Coking and a Benro Travel Angel 2 Tripod.Feedback
PLANNING!! Truth be told I was very lucky to get the light that I did on the one day I was at this spot. However the planning before is what made it happen. From when I first researched the spot having seen the photo taken from here online, to knowing where the sun would set and the weather. Planning was a very important part. I would also like to emphasize again the importance of having a good tripod. I was disgusted the shots at night did not work because my tripod couldn't handle the wind. And one last piece of advice would be to get to your spot early. Especially if it is a famouns spot as there will probably be other photographers there.
