Tag Archives: Eiffel Tower

Twilight and Beyond: Photography at Night (Part 2)

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In the first installment of this mini-series, I suggested including the moon in a night scene as a way to add interest and provided a few examples.  In this segment, we’ll look at the moon in a little greater detail.

In the Washington, DC area, capturing images of a full moon rising has become increasingly popular, largely due to the availability of mobile “apps” to help you be at the right place at the right time.  The general approach is to find a location from which one can photograph the moon perfectly positioned in relation to one of the major monuments.   The image below was captured at the most popular of these locations, on a hill in Rosslyn, Virginia directly in front of the Netherlands Carillon.

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Moonrise, Washington, DC (September 5, 2009)

An image like this is not as easy to obtain as it would appear, even with the help of an app like TPE (The Photographer’s Ephemeris). Aside from the obvious need for good weather, the time between the moonrise and sunset are critical as is the precise location of the moonrise.  In the case of this image, it was actually taken on the night after the full moon.  On the previous night, the weather was cloudy, the moonrise was 13 minutes before sunset and well to the right of the Lincoln Memorial. On the night of this image, the moonrise was 13 minutes after sunset at the perfect azimuth reading—85.5 degrees.  This photograph was taken about 10 minutes later, very close to the end of civil twilight.

For those wanting to know when the next such opportunity comes, they might want to mark their calendars for October 15, 2016.  It is the night before the full moon and the moon will rise 2 minutes after sunset.  That’s a little closer than ideal, but the azimuth reading is close to perfect, at 84.1 degrees.  Not as good as September 5, 2009, but worth a try if the weather is favorable.

A word of warning:  You will be sharing this location with as many as 100 other photographers, all with tripods.

The Jefferson Memorial is probably the second most popular spot for a moonrise image, often attracting 30-40 photographers on a promising evening. The advantage here is there are more vantage points along the sidewalks of the Tidal Basin.

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Moonrise, Jefferson Memorial (July 31, 2015)

(Technical notes: Moonrise 2 minutes after sunset at Azimuth 106.2 degrees; photograph taken 18 minutes after sunset.)

A similar alignment will occur on April 22, 2016 with a full moonrise 3 minutes after sunset at Azimuth 105 degrees.

One of the challenges in photographing a full moon is exposure.  Once it gets well above the horizon on a clear night, an exposure chosen to capture a twilight scene will often result in an overexposed moon. This will happen even with illuminated buildings as the primary subject.

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Jefferson Memorial, Full Moon and Fireworks (April 4, 2014)

(Technical notes: Moonrise 21 minutes after sunset at Azimuth 99.1 degrees, photograph taken 63 minutes after sunset.)

Tactics for resolving this issue can range from hoping for a light cloud cover to blending two separate exposures in Photoshop or using the HDR bracketed exposure procedure.  Another method is to try for a crescent moon.

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Crescent Moon with Lincoln Memorial (August 17, 2015)

Photographed 35 minutes after sunset.  Note:  In this case, the photograph is taken in same direction as the setting sun.  Therefore, the twilight blue lasts longer than when you are pointing in the opposite direction.

Always consider possible locations when you travel.  Apps like TPE can be really helpful if you check the destination before you go.  For example, Mother Nature had kindly scheduled a full moon during our visit to Paris in 2014.  A check with TPE revealed that it would be possible to have it in a picture with the Eiffel Tower.

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Full Moon and Eiffel Tower (June 13, 2014)

(Technical Notes: Moonrise 8 minutes after Sunset at Azimuth 119.5 degrees. Photograph taken 50 minutes after Sunset. Twilight tends to last longer in Paris than in Washington, DC.)

The next full moon will be on February 22nd.  Pick a spot and …

Keep Shooting….

Happy Birthday, Eiffel Tower

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Today marks the 126th anniversary of the opening of the Eiffel Tower.  What better way to note the occasion than to post one of my first images of it?

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Eiffel Tower at Night (May 13, 2006)

The tower was the main exhibit at the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair), held to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution.  The arched bridge in the foreground is the Passarelle Debilly, a footbridge constructed for the same Exposition. Both were intended to be temporary structures, but fortunately both escaped that fate. The bridge, however, was moved from its original location not far away to where it stands today.

To see a few more pictures of Paris check my website here.

Paris: View from the Eiffel Tower

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Apologies for the temporary lapse in Paris imagery. But although I wasn’t writing, I was taking pictures.  Now the journey is over and there is ample time to look at some of the highlights. 

The Eiffel Tower dominates the Paris skyline and sooner or later one must brave the crowds of tourists and view the city from above.  The forecast called for scattered thunderstorms and it seemed that maybe I could get lucky.  Interesting clouds on the horizon, cowardly tourists choose other options.  But there were a lot of brave tourists that night and it was about an hour before we made it to the elevator and began the ascent.

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We arrived on the second level, about 380 feet above the street about an hour before twilight and there were some dark clouds on the horizon.  The scene looked promising. But then I saw the fountains of Trocadero were running at full power and to say that I was upset is putting it mildly.  I have been trying to capture those fountains up close for years and they are never running when I show up.  As the image above shows, the central cannons shoot a massive stream of water a distance of more than 150 feet.  But here I was, about a half mile away and almost 400 feet above them.  Five minutes later, the fountains shut down.

However, one must accept what one is given and perhaps there would be something else in store for that evening. As it turned out, good things did happen.  As the image below shows, the predicted thunderstorms appeared but in the distance. So we were treated to a lightning and thunderstorm display while remaining completely dry.  I don’t have one of those devices that senses lightning, but I did take one shot just as a bolt flashed in the distance.

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The skyscrapers in the distance intrigued me.  I was told it was the area known as “La Defense” and I thought that it might be an interesting place to explore.  Stay tuned…….

Paris: Eiffel Tower at Night

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Eiffel Tower at Night

Photographed from the Pont Neuf Bridge at about 10:45 PM.  (Technical Data: Nikon D800E on tripod with 70-2000mm f/2.8 lens. Exposed at 1/5 sec. at f/2.8, ISO 800)  Normally, I prefer to shoot at f/16 to maximize depth of field, but the motion of the search light made this impossible. So two images were taken, one focused on the dome of Les Invalides to the left and one on the Eiffel Tower to the right.  The framing of the left shot excluded the Eiffel Tower and the right image excluded the dome.  The two were then combined using the Photomerge tool in Photoshop CC.

Paris Countdown!

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In two weeks, I will be heading back to Paris and I am beside myself with excitement.  I have been carefully planning possible locations and times to capture photographic images, but let’s get real.  There are other reasons to be there.  And it is entirely likely that my blog postings will cease entirely during the 15-day trip as we use the too-short time available to concentrate fully on whatever experiences we may encounter.  But, at the moment, this begins the final count-down, a retrospective of past trips to help set the mood.

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The Louvre Pyramid at Twilight

I like to learn a little bit about subjects that I photograph and there is a lot to know about this place.  In 1981 President François Mitterrand launched a major expansion of the Louvre, a project headed by I.M. Pei and including Yann Weymouth as Chief of Design.  The project was completed in 1989, featuring glass manufactured with Fontainbleau white sand to attain a perfectly clear white color supported by a metal structure designed by Navtec, a U.S. firm known for its rigging on America’s Cup sailboats.    (Technical Data: Nikon D200 with 18-20 0mm f/3.5 lens set at 18 mm; exposure: 1/40th sec. @ f/3.5, EV at -1.0 at ISO 400)

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The Eiffel Tower at Night

And no trip to Paris can be complete without a photo of the Eiffel Tower.  Named for its designer Gustave Eiffel, it was completed in 1889 to mark the centennial of the French Revolution and served as the entrance arch for the 1889 World’s Fair. Its completion also ended the short reign of the Washington Monument as the tallest building in the world. The unusual blue lighting and circle of 12 illuminated stars in this image were a temporary celebration of France assuming the Presidency of the European Union in the summer of 2008 for a six-month term.

I didn’t have a tripod, but there is a wide ledge on the balcony of the Place du Trocadero that is perfect for a platform.  (Technical Data: Photographed from the Place du Trocadero with a Nikon D200 with 18-20 0mm f/3.5 lens set at 29mm; exposure 4 sec. @f/4.0, ISO 500)

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Inside the Musee d’Orsay

The Musee d’Orsay originally was a railway station built in 1900 for the Universal Exposition.  It served this function for 39 years and was used for other purposes until 1970 when it was about to be destroyed.  The Ministry of Culture blocked the plan, directing that it be preserved and transformed into an art museum to bridge the gap between the Louvre and contemporary art of the Georges Pompidou Centre.  It was opened in 1986.

I found an upper balcony overlooking what must have been the original train shed and made three handheld exposures. It was one of my first attempts at Photomerge.  (Technical Data: Nikon D700 with 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens set at 24 mm; exposure: 1/80th sec. @ f/4.5, at ISO 400)

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Phone Call, Paris 2008

“Street Photography” is not my strong suit but sometimes one gets lucky.  In this case, I noticed the coincidence of the color of the young woman’s purse and the display in the store window.  She very kindly remained engrossed in a lengthy cell phone conversation giving me plenty of time to get my act together. (Technical Data: Nikon D-200 with 18-20 0mm f/3.5 lens set at 80mm; exposure 1/125th @f/5.6, ISO 400)

If anyone has a favorite photo location in Paris, please let me know.  You might see it in a future post.