The Whole... or a Part of the Whole?

Back in a "travel" mode for a few days...
It's tempting when you're dealing with a large subject or a big scene, to try to get it all in the frame at once. Nothing wrong with that if you just want to record the view in a very casual way, or if you're doing classic scenics, as long as you make the effort to consider all the compositional elements of the scene. When done well, it looks easy, which is why most people try it almost by default. If you want to go beyond snapshots, to create an image that someone who wasn't actually there can appreciate, you'll often get a better photograph and be able to capture what it is about the subject that caught your interest in the first place by concentrating on just a certain part of the scene. As an example, here is a night shot of the inner workings of the Eiffel Tower utilizing the iconic structural elements, multicolored lighting and the motion of some giant elevator pulleys, turning the whole shot into a colorful abstract, yet still keeping a sense of the original subject.

"Eiffel Elements"-Paris, 2008

More from Paris

Back to Europe today. Inside the huge Printemps department store on Blvd. Haussmann in Paris, the top floor cafe sports an amazing and beautiful stained glass cupola. Built in 1923, it was believe it or not, taken apart and stored outside the city to save it from bombing during the war in 1939 and then reconstructed again in 1973. It's now considered an historical treasure. As you can see, we stopped in for a beer and a snack after a hard afternoon of gift shopping. The mirrored glass tables provide an interesting perspective on the huge dome overhead.

Paris Street Scenes-2

After a long, chilly walk from the river up to the Champs-Elysées, we arrived at the Arc de Triomphe just as the wind and rain were really kicking in. Nearly impossible to keep water droplets off the lens and setting up on a tripod was pretty much out of the question so I had to grab what I could hand held using lamp and sign posts for stability; this one was taken from the shelter of a store canopy just down the avenue. All the trees along the street are uniformly decorated with beautiful lights as far as the eye can see and now I can appreciate the gleaming wet street scenes. 

Thanksgiving in Paris

While riding the train from the Musée d'Orsay to the Eiffel Tower we noticed a young American couple, probably early 20's, riding in the same car. They were going to the Eiffel also; unfortunately, they were wearing only light clothing like you might wear around Southern California at this time of year and it's certainly not like California here in late November.. We came up from the Metro station to pouring rain and wind and probably 40°F at best. They didn't seem too concerned, but I doubt they ever made it into and up the Tower. We had parkas, umbrellas and hats and were still cold. Only one of the lifts was open and we had to queue up for at least half an hour in the rain and wind to get in. Many of the people in line, all tourists of course, were unprepared with no umbrellas and were like drowned rats by the time they got into the lifts. It was worth it though; the city was beautiful in the wet twilight and it actually stopped raining by the time we got to the top area, which is out in the open. Still cold though.

The mid level is partially covered so you can spend time looking out from there even if it is raining.

I'm sure the lighting on the tower is extra special for the holiday season.