Tour Eiffel in the Blue Photo

Photographer’s Note

Finally, business took me to Paris and all I could keep thinking was "my goodness, why have I never been here before??!!" What an amazing city!!
It only took us 3 1/2 hours with the TGV (high-speed train) that runs at up to 320 kilometers per hour. (The TGV actually holds a record with 574.8 km/h but they don't do that commercially!)
Obviously, Paris is France's capital and its largest city with a population of 2.2 million. Driving is notoriously crazy - I even feared for my life in the taxis! But what a wonderful experience! I'll return for sure.
I wish I had had a tripod with me. I realize that the photo could have been sharper. I vow never to travel again without a tripod!

mark_mk, feather, Kris_Luxenhofer, Waylim, Jonas_Schmitt, macondo, resato, Blairfraser, leo61, jvachon has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

wishlist (4133) 2008-07-10 14:35

Hello Linda,
Paris taken at the blue hour is truly evocative, that's for sure. The view is beautiful and there's nothing else that could be said, with the tower so well standing against the deep blue sky.
What I miss is a bit of sharpness and better details; looking at the photo I see you used a tripod, so why didn't you use a lower iso settings? I also would have close down to f/8 at least to try and get more details and clarity throughout.
Thanks for sharing it and regards,

Igor

mark_mk (246) 2008-07-10 14:40

Hi Linda,
nice blue hour shot, thehandling of the exposure is very good and the colors are wonderful. I like your POV and the fact that you left a lot of space for the water. A nice one, well done!

Take care
Mark

PixelTerror (86957) 2008-07-10 16:33

Hi Linda
I can only agree about the tripod, been shooting in Honfleur tonite and was glad to have mine. Some highlights on the boat are very slightly overexposed it seems, but the general impression of this well framed blue hour view is fine and at TE size sharpness is okay.
Greetings from Normandy JY

baladeva (202) 2008-07-10 21:07 [Comment]

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feather (50230) 2008-07-12 5:16

Without the benefit of a tripod I see you put the ISO up to 800, which I think was exactly the right thing to do. Lowering it would have slowed the shutter even more. In that situation I also set the 2 second timer to avoid camera shake when hitting the button. Reading Igor's critique he thinks you did have a tripod. Nevertheless at this size it looks sharp enough. Your timing, during the blue hour was perfect and the composition placing the Eiffel Tower off-centre works very well.
Kath

Kris_Luxenhofer (752) 2008-07-12 14:34

Hello Linda,
I wish I had been with you in Paris. But school is more important ;-).
Very nice POV and good colors. It is just a bit unsharp.
A very nice one!
Best regards,
Kris

lucski (3676) 2008-07-14 15:12

Hi Linda
amazing night Paris, perfect colours and magical atmosphere
very good job
TFS regards lukasz

zeynepe (9364) 2008-07-15 4:45

Hi Linda,
A splendid night shot , a fantastic blue hour :)
A superb composition ,
Best regards,
Zeynep

Waylim (11163) 2008-07-15 16:25

Linda,
I was recently here in April, I love the city, so much fun to walk around and take pictures. I was here later in the night, and I took some night shot, but I didn't have my tripod so, it didn't turn out as well, so thank for showing us this one. I agree with Igor, it can be a little sharper and more detail. Other wise I think the composition is just perfect with tower where it is and I like the illuminated bridge with its arch. the colors is just absolutely beautiful and rich in tone. You did really good without a tripod. Thanks for your nice comment. And your two sons, on their way to become great photographers. I really admire their attitude and outlook, they are learning greatly from many good photographers on this site. Cheers.
Way

Jonas_Schmitt (3074) 2008-07-19 13:47

Hallo Linda!
Aaaaaha, also das ist das berühmte Eiffelturm Foto :-) Sieht auch wirklich super aus, die Farben dieser blue hour sind einmalig. Die Lichter machen einen super Kontrast zu Himmel und zum Wasser, toll! Auch der Bildaufbau ist super, der Turm ist perfekt Positioniert und mir gefällt auch die Brücke rechts sehr gut. Das einzige was hier nicht ganz passt, ist die Schärfe, aber die Sache mit dem Tripod wurde ja bereits erwähnt. Der Rahmen gefällt mir gut, die große Schrift ist eher Geschmackssache.
Aber insgesamt wirklich ein schönes Foto !
Beste Grüße,
Jonas

macondo (13275) 2008-07-20 16:56

Hi Linda.
I thought I'd seen the name Luxenhofer somewhere. Sure enough, it's your son! I wrote a critique of one of his shots a few days ago.
Anyway, back to this one. I know this spot, having stood on the same bridge during winter of 06-07, after visiting the Quai Branly Museum, and took the same shot, only it was daytime. At least I'm pretty sure it's the same bridge.
For hand-held it's come up pretty well. The sky is fantastic. It has a postcard beauty about it, this photo.
I share your admiration of the TGV and determination to obtain a tripod!
All the best.
Regards,
Andrew

pablominto (41458) 2008-07-21 0:29

Hello Linda,

This is a fine composition , with all elements in the right places!
Well exposed in the low light, and of course the tower is a natural eye-catcher...
I like the light in the sky and how colours reflect off the water!

Greetings,
Pablo -

:-) OK-

resato (430) 2008-07-22 16:06

Hello Linda,

the perfect postcard! Can't add anything more.
Oh, by the way we do use the same lens. :-)

Regards,
René

Blairfraser (847) 2008-07-24 15:26

Hey Linda.

I had forgotten about your good pictures! Thanks for reminding me with your comment on my picture! This is one to be really proud of. The compositon you have chosen is just great and you have also taken this at a great time (I love the blue hour!) as the colours here are really good. Just one suggestion, I have found when taking night shots if you use a smaller aperture and longer exposure you get better results. This will only really work if you have a tripod with you. Also you will get nice star light effects around lights.

For not having a tripod with this one I feel you have done very well!

Good Job!

Blair

leo61 (43830) 2008-07-25 22:45

Hi Linda!
Schönes bluehour bild von Paris.Gut gewählter Standort und toller Kontrast des Turms mit dem Himmel.
See you in a few hours.
Gruß,Leo

MarianneS (14452) 2008-07-27 13:00

Dear Linda,
This is where I will be tomorrow :-) As I cannot comment your blue hour shot of Rothenburg, I will comment this one, from paris.
A post with the Eiffel tower has always something magic! You captured very well its golden tones.
Cheers and take care.
Marianne

jvachon (542) 2008-07-30 15:33

hello linda,

The Eiffel Tower taken at the blue hour and well done --even without the tripod! The light management is very good as is the compo following the rule of thirds.
Take care, Joni

Ptitcaid (632) 2008-08-04 4:07

Bonjour Linda,
J'aime la Seine en bleu qui va bien avec le ciel bleu aussi.
La Tour Eiffel en jaune avec un bateau en entier et un bateau et demi.Ta photo est un petit peu floue mais je l'aime bien quand même.
Salut! P' tit Caïd

ekinokswest (2974) 2008-09-23 11:27

one of the best eifel shots I ve seen. the key point is in my opinion, the distant small boat on the river has so many lights and I am glad that it s far away. it could distract the eyes and beauty of the image if it was much nearer. Perfect sky and good usage of lights.

quesada7 (213) 2008-10-18 18:14

Wow Linda this is a great picture, I like the colors and contrast, the composition is excelent.
Well done, excelent feeling capture on the imagen...romantic.