Jul 14, 2009

Vive la France!


What better subject could I pick for today's post but something from France? So here's a few more from last March's Paris trip. We had fair and dry spring weather with cold and clean air: ideal conditions for some night shots!

To start, a classic view on the Notre-Dame cathedral, taken from the Pont Saint-Michel. The light was great: colorful reflections on the water of the Seine, and just enough fading daylight left to leave some color in the sky and light on the buildings (it was around half past seven). At left, you can see an enormous canvas hiding scaffolding, and depicting various aspects of police work.

I used my favorite lens for night photography, an AF-D 35mm f/2.0. Being light and compact, it's a great walk-around lens well suited for unobtrusive shooting. With a little exercise, you can frame from the hip: you just have to remember that at this focal length the width of the image (on film or full-frame digital) will be about equal to the distance to the subject.

And nothing adds more 'mood' to urban night shots than a little black&white...!

Gear notes: D700, 35/2.0

Click on the image(s) to see a larger version

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