Napoleon drank here
A typical Parisian scene, rendered at twilight...
Ok, that may not have actually happened. :-)
When we were in Paris, one of my targets was Les Deux Magots, which is a cafe that was once a hangout for the literary and intellectual elite. Hemingway was said to be a frequent visitor, for example. I had shot it before, but I frequently revisit spots and shoot them again.
Anyway, after doing so I wandered a little bit, and literally about 100 yards away is this little cafe/bar known as Le Bonaparte. I spent quite a while shooting and just observing the place (and I stopped in for a beer, too). Something about it just caught my eye.
I have a thing for neon signs and European street scenes, so getting them into a single shot is always a good idea in my book. And no, I really don't think that Napoleon ever stopped by this place, likely because he died in 1821 and I really doubt this cafe was around then. :-)
The only one out shooting
An early wakeup one morning in France gave me the opportunity to photography Notre Dame without another soul around...and it was perfect!
Early morning is the best time for travel photography.
I absolutely love to get up early and go shoot. Everything is quiet and still and you can enjoy a place without all the distraction and noise of crowds. It's just the perfect time of day for me, photography-wise.
When I travel, I always try to get up at least once so I can get out and shoot sunrise. I tend to be a morning person anyway, so it's pretty easy to do, although I will admit it can be hard to drag yourself out of bed at times. But, it is always worth it.
On our Paris trip at the end of last year, I got up really early one morning and walked over to Notre Dame. Literally, I was the only one there. I had this major tourist attraction to myself. I wandered all around and shot it from lots of different angles. It was great.
On your next trip, try doing this and see how it goes. You might need a little caffeine later, but you will be happy with the shots you get!
The Chocolate Shop
There are chocolate shops everywhere in Paris, but this one really captured my imagination.
So many chocolate shops, so little time!
While walking around in Paris, we kept passing this particular chocolate shop because it is near the apartment we rented. I shot it just about every time I passed, because I thought it looked pretty awesome. I love the look of the signage and the little cart out front.
But this photo, although it looks like it was taken at night, was actually taken during daytime. I took this into Luminar and with the generous use of gradient masks, filter, and a preset, was able to craft this sort of vintage night time look. It's quite easy in Luminar, and I even made a video about it if you would like to learn this technique. Enjoy!
A good morning in Paris
A lovely pre-dawn shot of Notre Dame in Paris, that most beautiful of cities...
Isn't every morning a good one to be in Paris? ;-)
I absolutely adore Paris. It's beautiful, photogenic, walkable and the food and people are just great. There, I said it. The French people are NICE. Honestly, in the US there are always comments about the French being rude, but over several trips to Paris I have yet to experience that. I think people just need something to complain about.
Anyhoo, the city is fabulous and while we were there, I headed out early one morning to get started. I had several shots in mind and the only way to really get it done was before most people got up. So, sunrise it is!
I walked to Notre Dame from our rented apartment and was quite happy to have a little haze in the air. I like that stuff, because I think it adds a little drama and interest to a scene. While the sunrise itself was somewhat non-existent, it was still wonderful to be up and out shooting in the pre-dawn hours. It feels like you have the entire city to yourself, and that is a great feeling.
La Pointe Saint Eustache
Another textured shot from Paris, a city that is full of incredible sights.
A little more texture fun from Paris!
If you saw my recent video about using textures and presets together on a photo, then you know I have been having a lot of fun using textures in my recent photos. It's not really "my thing" but I definitely find it more interesting than I did in the past.
This photo, for instance, felt like a good use of it to create some art from an otherwise flat shot. This was a quick grab while wandering somewhere in Paris, and while I liked the lines and the general feel of the shot, the colors and everything else were just off. No matter what I did to it, the result was the same: it was boring.
So, I decided I would try a texture and some presets (you can find my presets here), and while this is obviously in the "art" category, I like it. It's certainly more colorful and interesting to me than anything else I could come up with!
BTW, here's the video about using presets and textures together, if you are interested.
Eiffel Tower textured
Here's the Eiffel Tower all textured up and looking cool!
I don't use textures that often, but have started experimenting with them more and have grown to really enjoy them. It really does take a photo in an entirely new and creative direction, which is awesome, and it's also quite fun to experiment with different ideas to see what you come up with.
This is the Eiffel Tower (rather obvious) and I shot it on a gray, overcast day in Paris. Historically, I would convert this to monochrome, or try some of my presets to see about getting a nice color version out of it, even though there wasn't really any color to work with.
But once I started in with a texture, I knew that was the answer. Sometimes it's fun to work on creating something that looks like art, instead of a regular photograph. I think I will do this a bit more often, because I rather like the result! It ended up with a little bit of a vintage feel, which I also thought looked kind of nice!
Notre Dame in monochrome
A pair of old photos from a couple of years ago, while I was wandering around Notre Dame in the rain.
These are a couple of older shots from Paris that I converted to monochrome using the magic of Luminar by Macphun. Check out my Luminar tutorial here. It's an incredible product and I am spending all my time in it these days. Let me know if you have any questions!
Montmartre at night
A little Parisian scene I captured one evening while strolling Montmartre...
Paris is lovely any time of day, but it truly sparkles at night!
I captured this image one evening in Paris while we were wandering in Montmartre. I am a HUGE fan of photographing little cafes in Europe, especially in France because they are just so damn cute, and this one caught my eye. Being right before the holidays, they have that big Santa up top and I just couldn't resist!
Notre Dame morning
Notre Dame in Paris is always crowded, so my solution was to get up and shoot it at sunrise. Turns out I had it all to myself!
There's just something about the early morning hours!
I have as much trouble as anyone else getting up in the morning, but it's always worth it when I am up and out shooting. On my travels, I try to do at least one or two sunrise shoots. All the famous landmarks are just so crowded during the daytime and around sunset. You often can't get a decent shot of them. So my solution has always been to get up early and do it.
Usually, it works out pretty well.
One morning on our recent trip to Paris, I got up early and made the 15 minute walk over here. I have seen and shot Notre Dame several times in my life, but never really loved the shots. There were just taken at the wrong time of day. So, sunrise was my answer.
Luckily, it was a misty, foggy sort of morning and the whole experience was just amazing. I had it to myself, and was able to shoot it from the front, the side and the back. I walked away with many images that I truly love - today's photo being one of them.
A pair from Paris
Night falls on Paris, and I am shooting away at those lovely little cafes which seem to be on every corner...
Hope your holiday season is going well! Here are a couple of shots from my recent trip to Paris!
I wandered a lot in Paris, which is exactly what I wanted to do. I didn't feel like going into a lot of museums or anything like that. I just wanted to walk. So, we all walked a lot each day, exploring quiet side streets as well as busy ones. It was blissful, to be honest.
Along the way, I snapped a lot of photos, which is not exactly a surprise I'm sure. ;-)
These two today are just a couple of night scenes I shot as we wandered. They were both shot with my little point and shoot Panasonic Lumix LX100 camera, which isn't crazy amazing or anything, but it really does do a great job. And it fits in my pocket, which I love. So I shot it a lot while in France (4000 pics or so), even going handheld in low light like in today's shots. While they aren't super-detailed or sharp, I do like them and love having a capable little thing in my pocket. Makes photo-walking quite easy!
Both of these are shot at 1600 ISO and pretty wide open, like f1.7 or f2.2 or similar...and both are single exposures adjusted in Luminar by Macphun.
Merry Christmas from Paris!
A very Merry Christmas to you and yours!
No, I'm not in Paris right now...darnit. ;-)
I took this photo on our recent trip over there. This is in the Galleries Lafayette which is right behind the Opera Garnier (which you will want to visit anyways). While I generally detest shopping (except at camera stores, of course), I always make an exception when in Paris and visit this spot. That big tree is in the center of the store and extends several stories up from the ground, which you can sort of see in the shot. Pretty impressive!
Night at the Moulin Rouge
I finally had the chance to capture some long exposures at the Moulin Rouge in Paris!
This is a photo I have wanted to take for years, and I finally got the chance to do it. Yay! ;-)
Truthfully, this has been done so many times by so many photographers, but I always want to get my own anyways. I admit it's not original, and I don't care. Sometimes you just want to do something because you think it looks cool.
So we were in the Montmartre section of Paris one evening, and just walking around after dinner. I had hoped to get here during blue hour but it just didn't work out. So as we wandered we accidentally ended up over here, and I got to bag this shot finally. Sometimes things just work out!
A pair of shots from Montmartre
Today I share a couple of photos that I took recently while wandering in the Montmartre section of Paris. It might be my favorite section of the city - so much beauty there!
Montmartre is gorgeous - it's possibly my favorite part of Paris!
As I mentioned in my last post, I love to wander in Paris. Sure, you have to go see and shoot the big stuff (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, etc) but be sure and pay attention to the little things. I actually find the little stuff - especially in Paris - a lot more beautiful than the big stuff.
Montmartre is one part of town that I have wandered in quite a bit, and it never disappoints. There are a lot of great little cafes and shops and I just find them all to be rather photogenic. So today I offer up a pair of photos that I captured late one afternoon while wandering in Montmartre.
These are single exposures and they were edited in Luminar by Macphun, which is just an awesome product. I've been using it on all of my images, and I even created a fun preset pack for it, which you can find here.
But to be honest, I did not use those presets on these two photos. I am actually working on another preset pack now, inspired by this trip to France. So far I have a dozen or so presets I am experimenting with. As soon as I get enough of them that I like, I will be sure to share that news here. I think they will be pretty fun!
Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions!
A cafe in Paris
Exploring the area near Notre Dame in Paris, I found this great little cafe all aglow, and just had to stop for some shots!
Exploring the subtle beauty of Paris!
We just wrapped up a lovely stay in Paris - one that had me taking several thousand photos - and headed back to the US. It was a great trip, and I have some images that I am proud of. I find Paris to be an incredibly beautiful city. Even the parts that aren't frequented by tourists are just gorgeous. The grand avenues and distinct architecture just mesmerize me.
But there's another thing in Paris that I love, and that is the cafes. I don't visit a lot of them, but I photograph a TON of them. I just love them. I'm sure many others do as well. There is just something about wandering the streets of Paris, especially in the early evening around twilight, and firing away at these gems.
I captured this one right by Sainte Chapelle which itself is quite near Notre Dame. There's a great little area to explore over there, right by the Cite Metro stop (which itself is well worth photographing!). I spent a little time here shooting away, until apparently I got in the way or something, because the Police stopped me and asked me a few questions, and told me I could not shoot here. Oh well, I was finished. ;-)
This is a single exposure that was edited using my new presets for Luminar. If you missed that bit of news, you can read about it here. Below is a Before/After comparison so you can see what you are able to achieve with this preset pack. Thanks for looking!
Paris in monochrome
Today I take you on a tour of the lovely city of Paris, France - all in black and white. Sure, I generally go for big colors, but change is good, and I am working to embrace my inner monochrome artist, and bringing it all to you right here! Enjoy!
Despite being a "big color" guy, I'm really digging monochromes!
A cafe I came across one evening in Paris
The famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore... that gentleman just happened to walk up while I was prepping for my shot.
Paris is an absolutely gorgeous city. I know, that is not exactly news to anyone. We all know it’s gorgeous, whether we have been there or not. You see great photos from Paris, you read things about how beautiful Paris is, and so on. It’s not a secret.
But now that I am crafting more of my images in black and white - using Tonality from Macphun - I am revisiting many of my previous shots of different cities and recreating them as monochrome images - and they look stunning. It has given me a new lease on life, photographically speaking, and I am really enjoying delving further into this colorless art form.
Standing in the middle of the Champs Elysees one evening, with cars racing by - yeah, probably not safe.
The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which sits just outside of the Louvre (not to be confused with the bigger and more famous Arc de Triomphe).
My first post like this was this one about London. I really like how many of those came out. So, I thought I would try it again, but this time with Paris. Paris is always a good idea, right? Right! Honestly, I find everything about Paris beautiful. I have taken pictures of the most basic stuff there, but for some reason I find it beautiful. Call it the Paris effect, I guess.
To me, part of the beauty of Paris is in the vibrant colors that I have witnessed there. Whether it’s a sunset, a landmark, a museum, or something else, to me Paris is a very colorful city, so although I knew I wanted to create a bunch of monochromes of Paris, it almost seemed weird to do so. It seemed like I was going against the identity of the city.
But I learned one thing in the process - Paris looks pretty stunning in black and white, too!
Notre Dame one afternoon
Inside the Musee d'Orsay, which is a fabulous museum and which was once a train station. So beautiful there!
Shopping at the bookstore
That’s one reason I am glad that I have broken with my old habit of only doing things in color. You really do discover not just new things about your images when you convert to black and white, but you discover new things about yourself, too. I honestly had NO IDEA WHATSOEVER that I would develop a serious taste for black and white images. I mean, look at my work back over the years. The main constant thread through all of it is that they are colorful.
But before I started experimenting with the techniques myself, I really had no idea how stunning a black and white photograph could be. Well, I did have an idea because I have seen plenty of them, but I guess I just never took the time to try it out on my own images. I have long admired beautiful monochromes that I see online, shot by friends or strangers.
I’m glad that I am finally exploring this art form for myself. I feel like a kid let that has been loose in a candy store for the first time, and the only cost of entry is having Tonality by Macphun!
The Arc de Triomphe - yes, I pushed this one pretty far, but it feels like you can do that with a black and white and get away with it better than with color.
Try Tonality out for yourself - for free!
I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed creating them. Truthfully, most of these were done with very minor adjustments in Tonality - I just chose a preset and applied it. Simple, right? I plan to do more posts like this in the future, and of course am open to any feedback. I’m not as confident in my monochromes as I am in my traditional color photo work, but I’m getting there. You don't get better unless you do something, right?
If you have not yet tried Tonality by Macphun, I highly recommend that you download a free trial and give it a test drive. It is very easy to use (like all their products) but it's incredibly powerful as well. There is SO MUCH you can do with it, and I am also working on a post which will show you just how flexible Tonality can be (coming soon).
Get your free trial here. If you decide to buy it, use the code JIMNIX to save 10%!
Here are a coupe of other resources for you as well in case you would like to learn more:
- My review of Tonality - click through to read my full review of this wonderful software
- A quick video I did of Tonality - click through to YouTube or watch it below
Thanks for stopping by today! Let me know if you have any questions!
Just a street in Paris - shot down low with a wide angle lens
Outside The Louvre in the late afternoon