The Obligatory Eiffel Tower Pictures.

Okay okay!  Here are some of the Paris pictures, sheesh 🙂   We went to the normal ‘must see’ sights in Paris, and I am very happy with what we accomplished, picture wise.  Mell and I had a picnic with fruit and pastries from the Rue Claire Market near our hotel, and we sat on the Champ de Mars and talked and took pictures.

A duotone conversion of anotherwise vibrantly colorful Eiffel Tower at dusk.  Mell and I had a picnic on the Champ de Mars and watched night fall over the Eiffel.

A duotone conversion of an otherwise vibrantly colorful Eiffel Tower at dusk. Mell and I had a picnic on the Champ de Mars and watched night fall over the Eiffel.

The tower is currently lit in blue in honor of the European Union.  On the other side of the tower there is a circle of Stars al la le EU.

The tower is currently lit in blue in honor of the European Union. On the other side of the tower there is a circle of Stars al la le EU.

When night falls every hour the tower litterally sparkles for 10 Minutes.  This was added to celebrate the Millenium in 2000, but it was kept by popular demand.  We knew it was coming, but it was stunning when it did.  You could hear the whole crowd gasp, and then sigh 10 minutes later when they turned it off.

When night falls every hour the tower litterally sparkles for 10 Minutes. This was added to celebrate the Millenium in 2000, but it was kept by popular demand. We knew it was coming, but it was stunning when it did. You could hear the whole crowd gasp, and then sigh 10 minutes later when they turned it off.

Fun fact: On Mell’s little compact Canon Powershot camera, the “Night Photography” setting actually has a little picture of the Eiffel tower as its icon.  Photographers need to stay on top of their game because these little consumer cameras are getting good.

Fun fact 2: All these night pictures were shot hand held with a 5D and a Canon 24-105 F4.0 IS Lens at 1600 ISO.   No Photoshop applied (I’ll do some more noise reduction on the final print versions).

Here is a link to the gallery of all the Paris Pictures