HDR Photography
This photograph places into contrast the way humans made linear forms and nature exists beyond those patterned limits. Not only do the sloping hillsides contrast with the columns, but even the shadows cast by the Sun take orthogonal shapes and skew them to other angles.
Reflection symmetry makes the golden dome of Les Invalides all the more imposing.
I have no idea why Paris lines the highly trafficked paths around the Eiffel Tower with light gravel footing that turns to thick white mud with the slightest presence of weather… But it does make reflection shots like this one possible.
There’s that perfect moment when the sky is still blue but the oranges of sodium vapor lamps begin to scatter from the surfaces of the clouds and the Eiffel Tower looks particularly otherworldly. When so many American cities have switched to lighting their streets with white LED lights, I was surprised at how much of Paris is still lit by sodium lamps.
The rolling limestone hillsides of eastern Kentucky make for lots of stone walls. I’ve also been told that it makes for hard water, good whiskey, and strong bones in horses. I have no data to back up the latter two claims.
Spending an afternoon wandering the labyrinthine corridors of the Cathedral of Learning renders me literally impressed–feeling the weight of knowledge and Neo-Gothic architecture on my mind. The symmetry, detail, and even the height all produce an overwhelming impression. Evidently, the effect was a bit more pronounced in the case of the gentleman at lower left. Is there anything more quintessential of the current age than slouching and checking a cell phone in the presence of such beauty?
Decaseconds 