This is the tiny little hillside chapel of Notre Dame de Lyon. It was a healthy walk to the top all by my lonesome with my tripod and ipod. It was once again one of those places where you are not supposed to use tripods. But I simply state that I am on a mission from God, and then they generally back off either in awe or confusion.
It was a perfectly beautiful day on my first visit to the Rodin museum in the heart of Paris. I’ve always liked his sculptures, and the way they were spread among the lush grounds of the chateau was rather… French. It was a good day of exploration!
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.
The interior of the Notre Dame was vast, golden, and could not possibly fit through the eye of a needle.
Don’t miss the giant Christmas tree in front!
I tried my best to sneak inside and go up top with the gargooyles, but the guards at Notre Dame are tough to trick… REAL tough!
I thought this was a cool and mystical place. I added no light and changed no colors. You can see my shadow there on the left of the glowing booth of mysteries.
Shot on a long walk back to my hotel after dinner in Paris…
Every year around this time, Lyon lights up with a festive light celebration. All over the town, they erect unique light sculptures, torches, lasers, candles, light shows, projections, strobes, and anything else you can think of.
This shot is very unusual and the light did unexpected things to the lens, but I quite like it!
I went out to dinner with a bunch of cool Russians after the conference on Tuesday. We went down one of the most popular streets in Lyon to have some seafood. Afterwards, the founder of this other company and I went out to shoot photos.. I think we walked the streets for about 3 hours until 2 AM. It was a big mistake since my flight left early the next morning! Although, it is better than going out drinking with the Russians…
I found this in a cool Benz dealership right on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
I arrived in Lyon today for an upcoming game conference and went to the old medieval section of the city to grab some shots before dinner. This is the interior of the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière. It is probably the most lavish and beautiful cathedral I have ever been inside. It beats the other Notre Dame in Paris by a mile. I’ve never been in the Sistine Chapel, which is probably more lavish. I was going to visit it on my last trip to Rome but the Pope died the day I was there… so that one was… busy.
My method for getting tripods into cathedrals and shooting is this:
1. Go in the exit and act like you are lost if someone asks
2. Wear a long matrix-coat and stuff your tripod up inside like a shotgun. Try not to walk with a limp.
3. Stride confidently through the crowds like you are in a hurry on a photo assignment.
4. Work your way into the pews and have a seat. You can even pretend to be Catholic and say a few Latin words as you sit down. I suggest "Pater Noster (My Father) or Quid Pro Quo (Rub Beads and go to Heaven)"
5. Slide out the tripod and assemble along the ground, When other parishioners look at you suspiciously, give them the sign of the cross.
6. Watch for old people in the main aisle, because they have trouble getting around tripods. Jump out, take your long exposures at 100 ISO, then sit back down.
7. If securty comes to get you, blame Stuck In Customs and that will confuse them long enough so you can make a getaway.
8. Don’t worry about getting caught. The church is much more leniant than they were during the Inquisition. Most big cathedrals do have crypts, but they are full of dead saints and they have never put a photographer in there.
9. If you see a tourist with a tiny camera taking a picture with the flash on, please tell them to stop. The flash does nothing in that situation. It’s just embarassing for them, really.
10. If you want some post-processing techniques, check out my tutorial at stuckincustoms.com/2006/06/06/548/
I spent part of Saturday visiting the Rodin Museum. It features these lavish gardens that have some of his best statues. Here you can see The Thinker in bronze. In the background is Les Invalides.
Thanks for the suggestion to visit this place… I had a nice evening walking around it and the general area snapping pictures. I even snuck inside through the abbey area to get some shots from the inside.
I did some research on this place and found out this is where the Jesuits were founded in 1534.
I am in France for the big game convention in Lyon where I have literally 30 meetings. Will can’t come because he has strep so I am on my own…which is fine because he is really touchy feely and would get me sick.
I came to Paris early for a few meetings here. I arrived this morning and went straight to visit a game company that has over 100 people and an office on the Champs-Élysées. I can’t imagine more expensive office space! After the meetings around 6 PM it was dusk, so I pulled out my camera and shot this on my walk back to the hotel.
