After yesterday's post, I realized I couldn't very well write about Paris without showcasing my own captured version of its most recognizable icon. As I previously mentioned, the day ended at Le Tour d'Eiffel shortly before closing time and, although a bit cliche, I knew I had to record my own interpretation for posterity.I remember the warm air being still and humid and many of the locals had returned home for the evening. Armed with my constant companion, a Canon A1 that was a gift from my parents before my emigration to Germany, I hiked about a quarter mile from the base and turned around to frame my picture.
It was nearly eleven o'clock and I found myself mesmerized by the Eiffel's ascent piercing the obsidian sky. It seemed fitting to deliberately overexpose the frame to accentuate the tower's brilliance. [For you shutterbugs, I used a 28 - 85mm lens, ASA 400 film and overexposed the image by one f-stop.]
It would be weeks before I developed my rolls of film after returning to Hamburg, but this image became an immediate favorite when I saw the Eiffel brilliantly radiating with near living luminescence. It's a reminder to me that my heart has found its home in many parts of the world and I'm happy occasionally losing myself in the exciting uncertainty of another culture in half-remembered surroundings.
