This is one of the most famous streets in the world, so I wanted to do my best to capture it in as romantic a way as possible. The time of day usually does a lot to affect the mood, and these classical places (especially in Paris) are often better to shoot in the evening or night. The dusk light is different than the morning light. And, frankly, it’s easier to stay up past sunset than it is to wake up before the sun rises.
I love how these cities put up lights on the trees. I wish all cities would do this at night. Some people complain about “light pollution”, but photographers won’t!
Trey's Tip: While I don’t mind making a busy street look hectic with the hustle and bustle of little ants marching, in this case, I wanted it to look fairly empty. The two ways to do this are to shoot at a high f-stop or to shoot when it is raining and people don’t walk on the streets. This is the latter case. Normally, in an HDR, the rain does not show up – just the nice reflective wetness that stays behind.
from the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
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This wonderful landmark is always fun, but challenging, to photograph. It's right in the middle of a roundabout that is as dangerous as that thing Bond got stuck in to test G-forces in Moonraker.
There was a recent rain, and the Champs-Élysées was shiny and perfect in the cool dusk air. I set up and kept the f stop as high as possible so that the French passerby would fall out of the frame during the long exposure.
I get some questions on how I do these shots - I have a HDR Tutorial right there to help ya out! :)
from the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
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The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a must visit. Just walk up and down both sides of the street, day or night. If you're lucky, there will be a light rain to give you some amazing reflections.
Trey's Tip: If it's raining, don't stay inside! That's the time to go out! You can find some remarkable scenes when things are different.
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Montmartre, in the north of Paris, is a very artsy place and I would love to open a little photography studio there, even if it is a bit touristy now. I don't think they had neon paint-palettes hanging in the streets when it was frequented by Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, and the whole cast of bohemian characters.
I'm halfway through a book now called "The Judgement of Paris", about all these guys had to go through to get their paintings shown in the Salon. Old-school judges would only approve paintings that showed historical scenes and the moral teachings of antiquity. Consequently, dozens of today's priceless paintings were stamped on the back with a big red "R" for "Refused".
After the Impressionists' paintings were refused by the selection committee, the artists would gather at cafes here, drinking wine that tasted of "mountwash and soot", and lament about the state of the art, so to speak.
Trey's Tip: While you are in this area, check out some of the local art! Don't pay attention to the junky touristy-stuff, but try to find a few hidden gems!
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This is Rodin's huge famous La Porte de l"Enfer, also known as the Gates of Hell. I found it off to the side of the Musee Rodin in Paris while I was in a tempestuous mood.
The sculpture depicts a scene from Dante's "The Inferno". It contains over 180 of his finest sculptures. If you look closely towards the center of the top, you can see "The Thinker", one of his most famous.
Trey's Tip: The photo came out a little boring, frankly. So I applied a few textures to give it a different feeling.
from my daily photo blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
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