I did not plan to go to Paris. I did not even consider it as a place to visit, because I had really a strange feeling about that city – a cliché city of love, the most advertised city in Europe. I had a real enmity towards that place for a long time. However, my attitude started changing gradually: some of my friends went on holiday there with kids, others took their best friends on a trip around Europe via Paris. I had French movie marathon. French classic photography became an important part of my life. I was drowned in French culture! Eventually, I had my Eiffel Tower perfect moment like so many others.
Clearly, I surrendered, have your way, Paris, you persuaded me! Paris nous y voilà !
Trip to the Eiffle Tower
When I was getting ready for the trip, I imagined the Eiffel tower in the rain. I had a very clear picture in my head: the lonesome steeple of the tower is almost lost in a grey misty sky; it is raining, and beneath it walks a man in a black hat and a raincoat, which is flapping and fluttering in the wind. You probably wonder, why I had so detailed description of this man in my imagination? The answer is quite simple. Some time ago, I saw a photograph, which cast a spell on me, I do not know what kind of photoshoot it was, but there was a man, who appeared to be walking fast, barely hiding his head from the wind.
Moreover, he is walking on a square with the Eiffel tower in the background. Although that picture had no mist or rain, I felt as though these details would make this scene more dramatic. It was not so easy to find that square and that shooting spot. Paris can be quite confusing at times, but nothing can stop a photographer on his mission!
Paris in the Rain
So we finally came to Paris, I had a friend with me, who was enthusiastic about getting as many pictures of Paris as possible. October’s sun was warm and playful, so we decided to leave excessive weight of raincoats and umbrellas in our apartment. Our first and foremost destination was the Eiffel tower! We got there as fast as we could, spent some time around her lovely metal legs, taking pictures of its openwork at close range. Then we finally got to that magical square, where we could see the Eiffel tower in all its glory and beauty. As we almost reached a perfect spot to shoot, where you could see a slight reflection of metal goddess on the square, suddenly it poured with rain. It was somewhat magical, just as I requested in my mind before the trip. Rain and mist covered the area.
So what should we do? Run for the shelter or take advantage of this weather and shoot?
It was hard to change lenses, because of the rain. The area instantly cleared of people, who ran for shelter. Heavy rain turned the square into a mirror, where you could see perfect reflection of the Eiffel tower. The rain was banging on my jacket, but I was enjoying every click of the shutter in my camera, like crazy, I couldn’t stop taking pictures.
And right at that moment a man appeared in my viewfinder, just like out my imagination, in a black hat and a black raincoat! This was my first real present from the city I fell in love with. Paris, je t’aime!
Eiffel Tower Perfect Moment
I took a deep breath, set my aperture at 5, so my 35mm lens would get me a sharper image, ISO 500 to be able to have more control of shadow detail, and 1/500 shutter speed got me perfect exposure.
I felt as if it lasted forever, but actually, it was just a moment. It was my Eiffel Tower perfect moment. Suddenly it stopped pouring, the sky cleared, and the square again got filled with people within seconds. And there we stood, wet to the skin, but happy. We went looking for a warm place to dry ourselves. We entered a café near a museum. There were many people there, all tables taken. I wanted to sit by the window with a view to the Eiffel tower, and not lay my eyes off her. I was dying for coffee with crispy croissant (or maybe two). The very moment I thought about it the table by the window got available. I did not know then, but that was just the beginning of magic to come.
Eiffel Tower Presets
I try to use presets whenever I can, they really save my time by applying effects I can quickly adjust to my liking. I used wonderful preset from Rockshutter’s Silvercore BW collection. With slight adjustments to contrast, I got this picture ready for stocks.
