buddymoran

Eiffel Tower at Night

This view was from the roof deck of the Montparnasse Tower. I was fortunate to get there just before the tourist sunset rush, and then held my position until th...
Read more

This view was from the roof deck of the Montparnasse Tower. I was fortunate to get there just before the tourist sunset rush, and then held my position until the sun went down and the Eiffel Tower's light show started. Tripods were not allowed on the roof, so I had to rest, balance and support my camera against the roof's glass railing. And to get minimize motion blur I raised my ISO to 1000. Then, to minimize the noise, I took several photos using high continuous shooting. Then I merged about 6 of these in Photoshop to minimize the noise. It also gave the look for the light rays from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Read less

NIKON D750

settings

Aperture f/2.8 ISO 1000 Shutter 1/60 Focal Length 1100/10

upload_date

Mar, 2018

Views

Likes

Awards

Zenith Award

Legendary Award

Judge Favorite

9Teen Award

Community Choice Award

Superb Composition

Absolute Masterpiece

Top Choice

Outstanding Creativity

Peer Award

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 2

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken from the Observation Deck of the Montparnasse Tower in Paris, France.

Time

The photo was taken at 8:17pm.

Lighting

The sun had set about two hours earlier, and the lights of Paris were on. The Eiffel Tower's light show was almost over when the rotating spotlight at the top started. Because cameras are not allowed to use tripods when shooting on the Deck, I had to use a shorter exposure (1/60s), larger aperture opening (f/2.8) and higher ISO (1000) than I would have preferred.

Equipment

This was shot from a Nikon D750 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, at ISO 1000, 1/60s, f/2.8. Because tripods were not allowed, I had to lean the lens against the railing to keep it still.

Inspiration

This was probably my best opportunity during my visit to photograph Paris with the Eiffel Tower lights. Aside from the lit Tower, I thought the spotlight spinning around and the lighted Champ de Mars below were good leading lines to put emphasis on it.

Editing

I aligned and blended a dozen photos in Photoshop and then did some slight touching up of the contrast, highlights, exposure, noise reduction and white balance in Lightroom to get this final photo.

In my camera bag

For this European trip, I took a Peak Design 20L Everyday backpack, my Nikon D750 with two batteries, a Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8, Nikon SB700 flash, Manfrotto BeFree carbon fiber travel tripod, a 82mm Hoya variable ND filter, a Nikon 82mm UV filter, a Hoya CP filter and several Eneloop AA size batteries.

Feedback

The Montparnasse Tower Observatory Deck gives a 360 degree view of Paris. If anyone wants to get a night cityscape with a view of Paris, it is probably best to get there before any tourist bus. This allows you to roam around the Deck to see and photograph many of the landmarks. I was fortunate to get a space with a view of the Eiffel Tower before a big batch of tourists came up to the Deck. Because tripods are not allowed to be used in the Deck, I strongly recommend getting the right GorillaPod flexible tripod for your camera and lens's weight, which can be mounted on the Deck's railing. Otherwise, you will need to consciously stay very still. Your exposure would be limited to how still you can shoot.

See more amazing photos, follow buddymoran

buddymoran

buddymoran

Eiffel Tower at Night

This view was from the roof deck of the Montparnasse Tower. I was fortunate to get there just before the tourist sunset rush, and then held my position until th... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow buddymoran

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

This view was from the roof deck of the Montparnasse Tower. I was fortunate to get there just before the tourist sunset rush, and then held my position until th...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.