After Dark

Cities change at night. Sometimes for the worse, but sometimes for the better. Often you have to search for the highlights. Paris comes alive at night with lights. The Eiffel Tower flashes with glittering golden lights each hour and some of the other wonders of Paris shine when the Sun goes down. We only made it out around the city once after dark to do some photography work. The other evenings fine cuisine and French wine made it impossible to think about anything except hailing a taxi without demonstrating how tasty that wine was after a third or fourth glass.

Obviously being safe when you’re traveling is of primary importance, but if you can, get out and explore your temporary home after dusk. Some of the wonders seen during the day are quite beautiful and very different after dark.

Under the Stairs

The entrance to the opera house in Paris is grand, as is the entrance to most theaters, but that’s not our subject for today. When a person attends the opera in Paris he/she enters to an opulent view of majesty and culture. Art abounds at every turn. Craftsmanship and care is evident in the recesses of carvings, the folds in sculptured stone garments, and the expressions on faces frozen in time.

When we arrived at the opera house the main entrance was closed so we meandered our way around the back and gained access near the box office. After purchasing a ticket to tour the building (I should really say “a small part of the building”) we walked into the grand entrance room from a direction most people would never see, unless they were returning from the lavatory. Beneath the main staircase, hidden from attendees above, is the sculpture pictured below.

It makes me wonder why it’s there. The work is beautiful. It is an integral part of the underside of a staircase, and it is also a work of art. It doesn’t look as if the artist thought of his creation as a second rate work or figured only a few people would see it and he could do just an average job on it. It’s something we’ve lost over time, and I don’t know what to call it. Just because there’s no need to make something beautiful doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be. Maybe people are just too impatient, or maybe the investment of time and craftsmanship isn’t honored enough by the almighty dollar to make it worthwhile.

Maybe I’m over thinking it, but I’m so glad fate led us to see it. It made a difference in my life.

​Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 32mm f/3.5 ISO3200 1/80 sec

Two image vertical panorama

Paris Week

I’ve been busy all weekend and the weather isn’t supposed to be cooperative all week, so I thought it would be a good time to share most of the Paris pictures. I’ve been hard at work since we returned in mid April removing tourists, tweaking exposure values, aligning images and reliving the trip to Paris through pictures again and again. Most of the pictures will be posted on the Smugmug site if you want to see them, but here on the blog I will be posting my favorites this week. These are the pictures that I hope show you not only how beautiful the city is, but how you need to see it for yourself.
The picture below is the view looking out from the Louvre. Beneath the giant glass pyramid is the entrance to an amazing collection of art - a testament to centuries of human creation. Countless expressions of joy, pain, love, freedom, strife, war, and religion reside here. Some of the best creations, of generations long gone, live and breathe in this museum. The weather was beautiful. We were very fortunate. Springtime in Paris. Highly recommended.

​Nikkon D800 Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 32mm f/8 ISO 100 5 image HDR

Special Times

For a photographer there are a few magical times of day. Times when a subject can come alive with light. During most of the daylight hours the Sun shines brightly down on us. It casts harsh shadows, creating large amounts of contrast between subjects which are lit and subjects which are in almost darkness. What makes the hour before sunset and the hour after sunrise so special is that the world is lit from the side. Leaves come alive and dance when the Sun shines on them this way. This willow tree caught my attention one evening last week when the golden beams of sunlight caused it to shimmer. Have a great weekend!

Nikon D800 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 @ f/16  ISO 100 1/13 sec

An Evening Walk

I enjoy hiking, but hiking in the Spring requires a different mindset. When I’m walking in the woods I’m usually looking for things to photograph, wildlife, vistas, sunsets, etc. That means I’m carrying gear with me. Not hiking gear if I’m out for a short walk, but heavy lenses, tripods, cases, and other paraphernalia. In the Autumn or Winter wearing protective clothing is not only essential, but comfortable. Long pants to stay warm in winter, repel poison foliage in the Spring. Hats to keep ears warm in the cold function to keep falling ticks out of my hair in the warmer bug infested forests, are just a few of the items that make Spring hiking quite a different experience. Boots become mired in mud and gook from waterlogged trails, hats become collectors of sweat, and long pants just seem like torture when shorts would be so much more comfortable. I’ll keep at it of course. Well protected and prepared. The rewards outweigh the minor inconveniences, don’t you think?

​Nikon D800 Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 @ 16mm f/16 ISO 100 9 image HDR