After trying unsuccessfully to book passes for the past month, then two in-person attempts to get in, after we arrived in Paris, early on Christmas Eve, we had success !
I have to say the restoration of the cathedral was superb. It truly has been brought back to its previous grandeur.
Other than the hundreds of other visitors within the building, it felt like that day was ours. However, it did mean that looking up, was the best way to see the workmanship, as taking a straight ahead photo, meant a crowd of heads and hands in the air holding their cell phones in the foreground. I did take many exposures of the crowds that day, to capture the excitement and respect for the building. However, being an architecture nerd, it was the details and the light through the upper windows that intrigued me most.
One could say in metaphorical terms, the building is a forest, with columns as trees and the arches as the foliage overhead. In photographic terms, the building provides its own perspectives, as every view is layered, with smaller and smaller spaces in the background. A type of atmospheric perspective, but in built form.
I have a many more photos of Notre Dame. If these appear to be of interest, I will post more.
Notre Dame Cathedral - Paris
Christmas Eve 2024
After trying unsuccessfully to book passes for the past month, then two in-person attempts to get in, after we arrived in Paris, early on Christmas Eve, we had success !
I have to say the restoration of the cathedral was superb. It truly has been brought back to its previous grandeur.
Other than the hundreds of other visitors within the building, it felt like that day was ours. However, it did mean that looking up, was the best way to see the workmanship, as taking a straight ahead photo, meant a crowd of heads and hands in the air holding their cell phones in the foreground. I did take many exposures of the crowds that day, to capture the excitement and respect for the building. However, being an architecture nerd, it was the details and the light through the upper windows that intrigued me most.
One could say in metaphorical terms, the building is a forest, with columns as trees and the arches as the foliage overhead. In photographic terms, the building provides its own perspectives, as every view is layered, with smaller and smaller spaces in the background. A type of atmospheric perspective, but in built form.
I have a many more photos of Notre Dame. If these appear to be of interest, I will post more.