Capturing Paris on camera
Photographer Stan Davies sets off, camera in hand, to explore the French capital.
Paris is one of those great cities that you could visit a dozen times and never get the same image. It’s filled with iconic sites, but it is very difficult to photograph them in their entirety. It is often better to include part of the building or bridge in conjunction with some other element the city has to offer and, in a lot of cases, the River Seine will be the conduit. For me, Paris was best photographed at night — the buildings came to life as lights illuminated their facades, cafes and eating hubs were full of coloured lights and buzzing with people eating, with people performing on the cobbled streets.
Autumn street scene
I must have walked down a hundred streets, all the time looking for the elements that would set this street apart from the others. The canopy of trees full of autumn colours was the initial attraction here, then after exploring different perspectives and noticing the trees lining up and the scooter filling the foreground, things began falling into place. I liked the busy feel of people going about their business and the red in the information stall balanced out the scooter. I set my camera and tripod up and took a series of images.
Nikon Df, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8, ISO 200, 70mm focal length, aperture f/5.6 at 1/125, Program mode.
Book stall
Hundreds of these stalls line the banks of the Seine, selling cheap tourist bits and pieces, antique books, comics, maps and many other knick knacks. You can spend hours trawling through these stalls and chatting with the owners. At night they really buzz and make the stroll along the river so interesting. It’s best to ask if you can take a photograph as some owners get very testy (talking from experience here). I find it best to zoom in on a specific item, whether it be books, an interesting artefact or an artist sketching. With this image, I was drawn by the yellow hues of the wooden drawers and the spines on the books — the black background enhances the colours and allows the books to stand out. I tend to use the Program Mode when shooting quickly as the exposure will always be spot on.
Nikon Df, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8, ISO 200, 70mm focal length, aperture f/9 at 1/320, Program mode.
The Louvre
This is definitely a night-time assignment; during the day the hundreds of people moving around makes for photography difficult. I planned to be at the Louvre at around 10pm to avoid the crowds and to give me more latitude to investigate different angles. I must have spent about an hour wandering around, checking out all the angles, backdrops and especially the reflections across the water. I settled for this image, with part of the Renaissance-style palace in the background, juxtaposing the old against the new with the black night sky as a backdrop for the illuminated glass pyramid. In the foreground, I shot low across the water to capture the reflection of the lights. The 1/30 shutter speed allowed for some slight distortion of the lights, especially the red lightning-like bolt.
Nikon Df, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8, ISO 1400, 28mm focal length, aperture f/2.8 at 1/30, Aperture Priority mode.
Notre–Dame Cathedral
The “heart” of the country, geographically and spiritually, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame stands majestic on the lle de la Cite. Every photographer wants to capture an image of Notre-Dame, but it is very difficult to encapsulate its sheer size and presence. I spent hours wondering how to get an image that millions of others hadn’t thought of. It was only by chance that late at night, on my way home from photographing the Louvre, I was walking on the Left Bank down where the boats dock and noticed I could see Notre-Dame in the distance. As I got closer, my eyes followed the boat under the bridge and up to Notre-Dame. What a classic shot using the River Seine, limestone walls and the boat as leading lines to compose my image. I set my tripod up, selected Aperture Priority mode, composed the image and waited for the next boat. The black sky lets the main subject stand out.
Nikon Df, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8, ISO 2800, 55mm focal length, aperture f/2.8 at 1/60, Aperture Priority mode.
Arc de Triomphe
For me, the Arc de Triomphe is best shot with the Champs-Elysees jammed packed with traffic —which is most of the time. This is the ideal situation to use a large zoom lens and compress the image, creating a sense of chaos with all the traffic. I invested in one of the new-generation mirrorless cameras from the Nikon 1 series. The technology is brilliant — they bring a new level of performance to the Nikon range and the new lenses are of professional quality. I used the Nikkor VR 70-300mm zoom, equivalent to 189-810mm in 35mm format. It was a little bit hairy setting up on the islands in the middle of the Champs-Elysees and juggling the traffic lights to set my tripod. The extra colour provided by the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe banners adds a nice touch. This same shot would look great at night, with the red taillight trails and the Arc de Triomphe illuminated.
Nikon 1 AW1, Nikkor VR 70-300mm f4.5-5.6, ISO 200, 373mm focal length in 35mm format, aperture f/5.3 at 1/400, Program mode.
Paris sprawl
To see Paris from an elevated position is a wonderful sight: it just seems to go forever in those beautiful cream and yellow tones. The best vantage point is from the Eiffel Tower — the views are breathtaking and the mood changes day by day and hour by hour. Depending when you go, the trip to the top can take one hour or up to four hours. I’m not one for standing in queues, so I went around 4pm to miss the crowds wanting to see Paris at night. I also wanted to capture the glow of the setting sun on the magnificent golden domes I’d spotted throughout the urban landscape. Once at the top and after some time experimenting with different lenses, the Nikkor VR 70-300mm was the preferred lens. This allowed me to compress the image and emphasise the intricate gold treatments on the dome. The foreground worked well with the white buildings and their shale coloured roofs provided some contrast against the main focal point.
Nikon 1 AW1, Nikkor VR 70-300mm f4.5-5.6, ISO 160, 189mm focal length in 35mm format, aperture f/4.5 at 1/400, Program mode.
Piano accordion busker
This image brings back fond memories of my stay in the Latin Quarter — my apartment was the building on the end with the flower pots above the red awing. Every evening I would hear the buskers playing and the clatter of cutlery as people dined down below. It was the best feeling to have my windows open at night and hear the activity and smell the aromas wafting through. There was so much to photograph in this street. I would set up my tripod out of the way and wait for the right moment. This image captures the mood beautifully: full of colour, people engaging in conversation, waiters at work and the busker is the icing on the cake. To me, this depicts Parisian life and is one of my favourite images.
Nikon Df, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8, ISO 2000, 70mm focal length, aperture f/2.8 at 1/80, Aperture Priority mode.
Street scene, Les Pipos
It wouldn’t be unusual for me to wander around with my camera and tripod over my shoulder for several hours each night capturing Parisians going about their business. The people were really friendly and loved having their photograph taken. What I particularly like about this image is the barman and owner looking at me approvingly and the girls laughing at having their photo taken. I took this same shot five seconds later without these elements and it was nowhere near as successful. I didn’t crop in too much, as I wanted to reveal the street setting with the activity outside the restaurant.
Nikon Df, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8, ISO 2500, 50mm focal length, aperture f/2.8 at 1/50, Aperture Priority mode.
In The Bag
When travelling, it is an advantage to keep your photographic kit as light as possible. The new Nikon 1 mirrorless series is superb for travel and, for street photography, they are hard to surpass: small, unobtrusive, whisper-quiet and image quality that’s second to none.
On this trip to Paris I packed the following … Nikon Df, Nikon 1 AW 1, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikkor VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6, Nikkor 11-27.5mm f/3.5-5.6, Gitzo Series 1 Traveller tripod (a sensational travel tripod). This kit was packed into a compact weathered backpack that didn’t draw attention.
