Île de la Cité

Posted by
Ian Bramham (Manchester, United Kingdom) on 20 January 2009 in Cityscape & Urban and Portfolio.

A photo of the Île de la Cité in Paris taken this winter at dawn with the snow starting to fall.

NIKON D40 1/1 second F/8.0 ISO 200 105 mm (35mm equiv.)

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Comments (26)

bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada

The light is exquisite. A very romantic shot...I like this.

20 Jan 2009 5:24am

@bluechameleon: Thanks Sharon!

Mike from Lichfield, United Kingdom

Another really well framed shot with lovely lighting. Well worth the early morning wake up if you get beautiful photos like this. I'm looking at your shutter speed and having a bit of a head scratch moment. I'll try and work it out when I'm a bit more awake lol.

20 Jan 2009 7:26am

@Mike: Thanks Mike!

I hadn't noticed what the exif was saying about the shutter speed - very weird! I got my calculator out and it looks like it's a shutter speed of just under 1 second which sounds about right as this photo was taken just before the one I posted yesterday as dawn was breaking. (Edit - I see the exif shutter speed info has changed to a more straightforward 1 second LoL1)

A few minutes after I took this photo all the artificial street lights went out signalling the end of the night and the mood of the scene completely changed in an instant.

Dave James from Loggerheads, United Kingdom

Lovely shot. The reflections of the lights in the water really make the shot for me, they add balance to teh right hand side of the picture.
Found your site on Coolphotoblogs, I think I'll be coming back!

20 Jan 2009 8:25am

Hoshisato from Ealing, United Kingdom

Very moody photo of Île de la Cité; I love the framing created by the tree branches, very well spotted by you.

20 Jan 2009 8:25am

MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany

An inspiring shot that even makes a hectic place like Paris look tranquil.

20 Jan 2009 8:56am

Marie LC from Voiron, France

Paris is splendid but with you it's a marvel ! beautiful night scene

20 Jan 2009 9:16am

Frida from Sweden

Beautiful night scene with a lovely view.

20 Jan 2009 10:17am

GJC from Kyoto, Japan

As usual, you catch this time of light superbly. Well done.

20 Jan 2009 11:20am

elati-pertouli from Greece

excellent landscape

20 Jan 2009 11:34am

Rui from Leiria, Portugal

Simply fantastic. Natural light really gives a special feeling.

20 Jan 2009 12:48pm

Anna.C from LA ROCHELLE, France

another beautiful postcard of Paris ! I love your framing with the curve of the trees, the reflections of the light on the Seine, the special mood at dawn in winter.

20 Jan 2009 1:15pm

Cheryl from Texas, United States

dreamy! so beautifully taken, good job@!@

20 Jan 2009 1:50pm

Loretta from San Mateo, United States

Very lovely postcardesque.

20 Jan 2009 2:46pm

Batkoï from Salon de Provence, France

i like the light so well done, ooooohhhhh i prefer stay at home !

20 Jan 2009 8:21pm

drum from carcavelos, Portugal

what a nice mood
smooth tones and colors in a very good compo
really good

20 Jan 2009 9:45pm

Ted from South Wales, United Kingdom

Very, very nice. Beautiful. What time of day was this Ian?

20 Jan 2009 10:56pm

@Ted: Hi Ted,
The photo was taken at the moment of dawn. In fact when I looked at the detailed exif info it was taken just 12 minutes before yesterdays photo. Between taking the 2 photos all the streetlights went off on their automatic timers.

The actual exif time was 7.30am UK time (that's if my camera's clock is accurate) which would be 8.30am local time. I see from a sunrise/sunset time website that dawn would have been at 8.45am in Paris that day so it sounds about right.

613photo from DALLAS, United States

I agree. There's a great ambiance about this photo. Love the melting snow.

20 Jan 2009 10:58pm

peter from new york, United States

many pics have been taken of this place but this shot is truly class. bravo!

20 Jan 2009 11:57pm

Laurie from New Jersey, United States

Excellent composition with the trees and path anchoring and the bridge dominating the shot.

21 Jan 2009 2:42pm

Ilan from Israel

What a scenery! The colors and the mood are outstanding, a real joy watching this photo. I really love, great frame!
Thanks for sharing :)

21 Jan 2009 9:39pm

Suzanne from Huntington Bch, California, United States

Marvelous quality of light...both night and morning.

22 Jan 2009 6:05am

Claus Petersen from herfølge, Denmark

A really well composed and beautiful image!

22 Jan 2009 9:57am

amy from Nanaimo, BC, Canada

Brilliantly sublime!

23 Jan 2009 3:10am

Russ Devan from New Hanover, United States

Wonderful composition, Ian. Well done.

24 Jan 2009 12:43pm

ocorti from Vevey, Switzerland

nice and quiet. Bravo.

2 Feb 2009 6:27am

chadia samaha from beirut, Lebanon

BEAUTIFUL in a way that makes you speechless ....

9 Feb 2009 8:52pm

next day →

NIKON D40
1/1 second
F/8.0
ISO 200
105 mm (35mm equiv.)

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