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Post by Peter S. on May 7, 2007 5:54:25 GMT -5
Well, a few hours before leaving Paris I rushed to the Galleries Lafayette to get my travel gifts. At least I tried. But first I had to shoot that magnificent Art Deco cupola over the main hall of the Galleries.  Galleries Lafayette - XD-7, MC W. Rokkor 2.4/24 I rushed back, and took some more photographs, but most likely those are less interesting. One thing that I found to be very impressive, is the awareness of optical axes. One of those is formed by the Champs Elysee...  View from the Arc d' Triomphe towards La Defence Another one as seen from Champs Elysee/Clemenceau  View from Champs Elysee towards the Domes des Invalides or this one  View from Arc d'Triomphe towards Place de la Concorde and Louvre and the last one...  View over Champs Elysee towards the Arc So, |
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SidW
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Post by SidW on May 7, 2007 16:40:56 GMT -5
I believe the culprit's name was Haussmann. You can imagine what he had to knock down to get those vistas, and no bulldozers.
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on May 7, 2007 18:08:35 GMT -5
Very nice pictures of Paris. I love the way the facade of Notre Dame is sunlit while the foreground is still in shadow. You took good advantgae of good lighting! My Goodness, the skyline in the view from the Arc towards La Defence has changed since I was last in Paris - though that was getting on for 20 years ago now. The other views still look much the same, and the traffic is as bad as ever. Drivers seem to do U-turns wherever it suits them, like the driver of the white van in the Champs. The other white van , trying to get into the Champs from the right, doesn't seem to be getting much priorité a droite. Nobody wants to let him in. I expect he expressed his disaproval! I think I got as much verbal from French drivers in the last couple of days I was driving round Paris, usually from van drivers, as in a whole year in the UK - despite the UK's so-called reputation for 'Road Rage'. And, of course, they all had their steering wheels on the wrong side of the van  . But I just smiled pleasantly, raised a hand (with all fingers showing!) and called back "Merci. À tu aussi, mon ami." Seemed to take the wind out of their sails a bit  . PeterW |
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Post by Peter S. on May 8, 2007 15:43:02 GMT -5
Dear Peter, Well, I was happy to find that much good light in Paris! And I think to the most part of it, I made good use of that. At least I am myself happy with the outcomes of those five films I exposed during five days. I prepared a few more today for the presentation in the web. The first one it the Arc. It took me about 20 minutes of waiting with the camera ready to fire, until I got those two seconds without traffic! So beware, this photo is a photographical lie...  I also got a few more good ones from Notre Dame. First one from below the facade...  And then another one from the position, I would like to call the "normal view" as I found this to be the most rewarding standing point for a photo shoot of the cathedral.   I used my 3.5/135 to catch this close-up of those massive towers.  The rosetta at the side of the Cathedral is an architectural masterpiece. I took a class on history of architecture when studying. The professor stated, that it were impossible to compute the statics of that rosetta. Maybe todays fast computers could solve it now - but I will respect the atistry of those workmans and architects in the highest regards.  In the garden next to the Cathedral there is this beautiful column showing Ste. Maria.  And finally one more of these incredible axes. Here on the side of the Louvre.  |
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Post by minoltaman on Jun 15, 2007 15:12:13 GMT -5
I've been to Paris 3 times and planning a 4th for this coming October. PeterS, your photos are magnificent. The shots of Notre Dame are my favorites. You've got a great eye and a great Minolta.
PeterW and PeterS, I know these feelings. I drove around the "etoile" as they call it, not once, but twice when I drove from Paris to Normandy and it was the most nerve wracking driving experience I've ever been through. It's pure chaos.
I think the next time I'm there, I'd like to do a time exposure night shot from right where Peter's shot was taken.....if the gendarmes don't haul me off for using a tripod!
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Post by Peter S. on Jun 17, 2007 11:25:47 GMT -5
Dear Minoltaman,
Paris was a great success - both w.r.t. that talk I had to give (never thought I could manage this)
and to the photo hobby. As it is obvious from my pictures the light was exquisite - I wish I had had
more time to spend hunting for photos.
That Minolta gear I took with me (only a few primes plus one tele zoom) and the XD-7 did not put a
limit on my photographic results. I supose however, that any decent Canon or Nikon gear would have
resulted into very similar pictures. For me that old Minolta gear has an advantage over its Japanese
competition when it comes to the reproduction of the unsharp areas of the frame. They might have a
small advantage when it comes to the ultimate sharpness. But neither was relevant for my photographs.
That Minolta glass is however great value given those ridiculous prices You can buy the common focal
length lenses these days. The only item of value was the 2.8/24 I took with me - I feared pick-pockets
and people like them.
W.r.t. night shots: take a better tripod with You than I did. And all my night shots were taken from
places where You don't have to fear to get into troubles. Paris is great for night shots. I took them late, so there was relatively little traffic.
Best regards
Peter
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Post by kiev4a on Jun 17, 2007 12:02:13 GMT -5
Peter:
I envy you. When we were there it rained and rained and rained so all my shots are rather dreary.
Wayne
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Post by Peter S. on Jun 18, 2007 4:44:07 GMT -5
Dear Wayne,
I am sorry to hear this - maybe it's an omen, that You should revist Paris...
Best regards
Peter
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Post by nikonbob on Jun 19, 2007 7:57:56 GMT -5
Paris is one of my favourite cities to visit too. It is always nice to see well taken photos of the place. I always enjoyed watching the traffic and the antics pulled off by some drivers. From alternately pushing the car in front and behind to get enough room to get out of the parking spot to a gendarme at the Arch energetically directing traffic and everyone seeming to ignore him.
Bob
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