PhotoSnob

Continuing from: https://bryanallo.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/paris-day-1-eglise-de-la-madeleine/

After my visit at Eglise De La Madeleine, I walked down towards Place de la Concorde [Concorde Square??]. It was undergoing a major renovation and presented little photo opportunity so I ambled through Jardin des Tuileries till I arrived at the Louvre. This was the highlight of my day. I have seen so much about this landmark in various media so it was really nice to finally see it in person.

At this point of my visit, I realized Paris was a really big tourist destination. Everywhere I went there were throngs of tourists. I had packed a 10 stop filter which my good friend Steve was kind enough to let me borrow before I left. I hoped that the 10 stop filter would enable me to take very long bulb exposures that would ultimately erase the crowds of tourists from my shot. I did not even come close. There were that many tourists and that much traffic everywhere I went. 5 minute exposures looked like your typical 15 second exposure. This was even more evident when I shot the Eiffel Tower at sunset several days later.

I realized the only way I could shoot Paris would be to shoot at night only. So I just scouted for a few hours during the day and then started to take my shots after sunset and often went on through the night into the early morning.

Blew through the Louvre and ended up at Pont Neuf on the river. Not sure what it is about it, but I just love this bridge. When I returned later that night I was pleased to find calm waters on the river. This meant I could get some really cool light reflections using extended exposures. I proceeded to retrace my steps from earlier in the day upon arriving at Pont Neuf. Below is a wide shot of the bridge followed by a panoramic shot. This was close to midnight with sparse activity around downtown and much fewer people. It was relaxing and refreshing to be able to just take it all it uninterrupted.