Paris - The City of Love
Part II
Paris, what a city. Gothic architecture and monolithic landmarks help make it stand out in a world saturated by skyscrapers, glass and steel. This was the first trip I took with the express goal of capturing something unique. In this case, I wanted to capture the Eiffel Tower…
Of course I did, right? What ‘tourist’ doesn’t want to do that? However, my goal was to capture it in a way it’s never been seen.
The year was 2014. I went out there with two friends of mine. Joel, who I’ve known for a long, long time now. And Harry, a young lad I was studying Photography at college with. Our collective goal was to capture the most romantic image possible (as we were here over Valentine’s Day… Cute, I know). Harry won that, and so I won’t be discussing that here (outside a begrudging mention) and more sticking to my own, personal story.
For 6 days, we wandered the city from 6am in the morning until at least 12am at night. Sound like a lot of walking? Yeah, my feet are sore just remembering it. But damn, what a way to spread our creative wings.
Tour De Eiffel
As is typical of a European country in February, the weather was overcast and raining. No bother, we prepared and adjusted our expectations accordingly. This was the first shot I captured, not exactly smashing expectations of what to expect when someone’s shooting Paris. That being said, there is something about the top of the tower being shrouded in cloud.
Atmosphere is so important when shooting in unideal conditions.
Monochromatic
[ mon-uh-kroh-mat-ik ]
adjective
of or having one colour.
Of, relating to, or having tones of one colour in addition to the ground hue: monochromatic pottery.
Optics. Pertaining to light of one colour or to radiation of a single wavelength or narrow range of wavelengths.
Can you see the colour I’ve used here to give it that monochromatic look? There’s a slight blue hue which aids in bringing out the aforementioned atmosphere as well as giving the image that somewhat metallic look; which, I felt, was apt given the giant metal subject of the image
The Storm
A Bridge in a Storm
As we pushed on through the day, the weather became increasingly volatile. We took a walk down the River Seine (beautiful stroll by the way, full of incredible architecture like the bridge above). As we wandered, snapping shots and cracking wise, we could see some incredibly dark clouds rolling in.
“Gents, there’s a storm coming” I remember saying to the other two. A couple of minutes later, a crack of thunder, accompanied by the three of us booking it to the nearest bridge for shelter. What an incredible display, and that’s before we get on to the shots it allowed us to capture.
A Light in the Dark
A storm can be make or break when adventuring around as a photographer. The shots you can get are phenomenal. Reflections, glistening streets, light bursts abound. The wet clothes? Not quite so dreamy. What makes it all the better is when you’re with people who can find the fun and elect to play rather than sulk even in a chaotic situation. These three images were shot in the late afternoon, so not only were we soaked, we chose to keep pushing on through the night in search of bangers whilst creating puddles in our wake.
Love that energy, that makes the sore feet and long days worthwhile.
Light Trails
Light trails is a photographic technique created by holding the camera’s shutter open for a longer period of time, resulting, in some cases, the technique used in the image on the left where the boats lights are stretched across the frame.
I’ve always loved the colour depth in this one. It really, really captivates, and my eyes adore it. The way the clouds are sweeping across in a vibrant blue, the saturated orange lining the water, MMM mm it just POPS.
A dramatic image for a dramatic moment in our trip.
Once the Sky Cleared
Sunset Over Paris
I think this one speaks for itself. I’m sure you can guess where this was taken. As we climbed the many steps of the Eiffel Tower, it looked like we might be in for another grey evening. Alas, we got halfway up and the sun started to breakthrough. A moment of happiness, until it was shattered by Harry walking over to me…
“Check this shot I just got” he said, showing me the back of his camera. There, in the screen, was a shot of a couple sharing a kiss atop the Eiffel Tower with the sun bursting in the background; beautifully shot with a stunning depth of field. “F*ck you, but well done” I remember saying, knowing Harry had won our group competition on February 14th no less!
With that out of the way, I set my sight on something I could frame; not just in my camera’s viewfinder, but something I’d happily hang on my wall. What resulted from that ambition is the image above. The sun leaking through the clouds, gently kissing downtown Paris and illuminating it in a warm evening glow. I think that sentence is more romantic than Harry’s image… But I digress.
A comment I always hear about this photo is ‘look how damn far you can see’. It’s not something I noticed for a long time, until it was pointed out. From towers, bridges and the river right to the background which is filled with rolling hills all the way out to the horizon, this image offers more and more the longer your eye lingers on it. A real depth only a photographer’s eye can capture. As I write this, it proudly frames the wall behind me, a constant reminder that moments like this, are why I do it.
Whilst the memory would suffice, that it’s immortalized on high quality photo paper for my eyes and memory to get lost in every so often… That’s special.
Road to Triomphe
Standing in traffic for an image… Dangerous? Yes. Worth it for this banger? 100%.
Something that’s always appealed to the tourist part of me that went to Paris is that the light trails are in the colour of the French flag. Brilliant bit of ‘for-planning’ on my part there.
The Paris Bucket Shot
The Image no one Else Has
I mean it, no one else has captured the Eiffel Tower like this. Taken in a rare moment where the main lights of the tower are switched off, leaving the twinkling LED’s to say goodnight for 2 minutes.
We’d just taken the Metro to a nearby station. A young boy had become stuck in the doors of the train and the driver hadn’t noticed. We literally had to pull the doors open on a moving train to yank this child out… Where were his parents? God only knows but after getting the assistants to look after him our adrenaline was pumping. The three of us had a real drive to push on late into the night to try and capture something only three budding young creatives could. I hung back from Joel and Harry on the phone to an old friend of mine, talking about the trip, what we’d seen and what we were doing. I feel like it’s good to do that when you’re out shooting; get away from the noise and take a moment to process where you’ve been, where you are and where you’re going. Use that time to set your intentions and then aim solely at them.
Anyway, we set up on a nearby bridge. Harry and Joel snapped their shots and were ready to move along. But in a moment of intuition I got the feeling something amazing was about to happen, and so I waited. The main lights went out and so bang, off I went with a 30-second exposure to see if I could turn the Eiffel Tower into somewhat of a light drawing. It worked! First shot. Which is great because with a minute left of the lights flashing, I didn’t exactly have time for revisions. My main techniques used on this trip really came into focus for this one. My monochromatic look mixed with a form of light trail in one original package.
I was pumped.
Harry may have captured a romantic photo atop the Eiffel Tower on Valentine’s Day, but I captured one of the most unique shots of Paris I’ve ever seen (if I do say so myself). It was this ‘bucket shot’ (to steal a phrase from one of my inspirations, Peter Mckinnon) that created a burning desire for more. To go out into the world and turn something well known, something oversaturated by iPhone shots, and make it new again.
For the viewer, I hope this image does something for you. For me, it’ll always hold some incredible personal memories of bravery, patience, love and perseverance.
FIN
The Eternal Flame to the Nameless Soldier
Paris was a chance for me and my peers to flex our creativity. To take what we’d been learning and put them to the test. This trip may have been nearly ten years ago (2014) but the techniques applied here echo through time to my work today.
There isn’t a thing I’d change about that trip. It says a lot that I wanted to talk about it, even after all this time! Some things just stick with you and photography affords the opportunity to, as I said earlier, immortalize these moments.
To the viewer, these frames may appeal, or they may not, and they may provoke thought or just please your eye, but to me, they house a story. A vision, if you will.
We set out to capture a romantic photo in the city of love. I set out to capture something tired and overdone in a new and refreshing way.
Mission accomplished.
