Last Thursday, I rode the high speed Eurostar train from London to Paris as a little birthday present to myself. Made it just in time for the Bastille Day (Night) celebration. Truly a shame what happened in Nice. :[ Thankfully, Paris was at peace.
Hotel concierge told me where to go to watch the fireworks over the Eiffel Tower. I didn’t have time to get to the Trocadero, but my hotel was near l’Arc de Triomphe, and I figured this could be a decent spot to set up my tripod.
Scoped out a spot with the Arc on the left, Eiffel on right, moon in sight. This was suiting up to be a perfect 'long-exposure-double-famous-monument-fireworks-photo-phenomena'.
Not a bad view!
Long exposure could be cool, light trails of cars, and fireworks off in distance...
But, as soon as the show started, ALL the cars driving around the Place Charles de Gaulle circle just STOPPED. Right in the middle of the roundabout to watch the show. Completely blocked my view.
And then, people started popping up out of their sunroofs like Whack a Moles.
Photo phenomena fizzled. Packed up the tripod...plan B.
It’s really tough finding a spot to watch fireworks when 90% are watching the show through the lens of their smartphones. You can imagine the looks on the French faces as this American is getting in the way of their precious iPhone videos. No poker faces in Paris -- if they don’t like you, it’ll be obvious.
I improvised and feel like I got a couple decent snaps. Of course, it would have been sweet to be closer, and get some long exposure goodness. But, just happy Paris was a peaceful place.
The show was pretty impressive, fireworks shooting out of the top of the Tower.
And it felt like there were 3 distinct finales. Love fireworks! (Especially when they're not at 7am, Cusco.)
So much more to say about my Parisian adventure...stay tuned...