Une nuit à Paris
Andy Cubin MBE FSIFGP (hon)
PWacademy - photographyworkshops
I
found myself landing in Paris at 9.30pm and, after a tortous taxi ride, arrived
at the central hotel just after 10pm.
I
usually take my point-and-shoot camera pretty much everywhere on my travels and
often find inspiration to get my photography “fix”, but this time I had my DSLR
and Terry’s tripod with the fullest intention on doing some night photography
at the Eiffel Tower.
 |
| ISO 200 24-140mm lens f4 @ 32mm |
I
was a little concerned that the Metro would close and leave me with no
alternative but to tab it the 25 minutes across the city but, this is Paris –
nothing stops here!
Shoulder bag and tripod armed, I hit the Metro at Pointe Malliot on the yellow line – it has one of those really old-fashioned “Metro” signs at the top of the stairs. The tube was heaving but after 3 stops I changed at Franklin D Roosevelt to the pale green line aiming for Trocadero.
I knew from a previous visit that this brought you out north of the Seine, but with a wonderful raised vista of the Eiffel Tower after a short walk up a long flight of steps.
By
now it was 1130pm and foolish me, I expected things to have quietened down as
it was a weekday – wrong! My pre-planned
shooting point was very busy, mostly with tourists, but also a fair chunk of
students and a good handful of Gendarmerie.
Nonetheless,
I found a viewpoint that framed the tower and the moon, which was darting in
and out of a partly-clouded skyline.
 |
| ISO200 @ f5 1s exposure - 24-140mm lens |
With
the tripod weighted with my camera bag, I went through a variety of exposure
settings, this image being ISO 200, F5 and 1 second shot in RAW. There was actually a lot of ambient light
from the illuminations on the tower so 1 second was more than enough.
 |
| ISO200 @ f5 1s exposure - 24-140mm lens |
Being
the adventurous type, I fancied getting closer and, once I got there, I really
enjoyed some of the complex architecture, both close-up and lit.
By
now it was midnight and there were still throngs of people around my location
so I decided to retrace my steps but noticed a carousel, still in operation
well off to one side of my return track.
Stepping through a couple of friendly French winos, I found what I was
looking for and laid down on the pavement to get this:
 |
| ISO200 @ f5 1s exposure - 24-140mm lens |
Time
to head back – a good walk back to the Trocadero and rewind the Metro journey
back to the hotel, but now with the tube and stations much quieter, save for
this lonely cleaner getting on with his shift for the night:
By
the time I got back to the hotel it was close to 1am, but the pub next door was
still open, so a perfect opportunity for a “Pression” and a quiet sit down to
chimp the evening’s work.
Work! - Did I say work?
Stupid me.
Andy Cubin MBE FSIFGP (hon)
Contact us at: info@pworkshops.co.uk
