Paris Day 2
Shoot day. Bright and early we headed to Jaja’s place for preps. Weather looked great and we’re hoping to reach Sacre-Coeur before all the tourists do. One thing about shooting during the peak season, we have to share the place with about every foreigner in Paris. Yanleen and I headed there first and to our amazement, the place was empty! But fast piling up with bus-loads of tourists. The rest reached later and we managed to fire a few frames before the tide of people came. With a lot of excuse-mois and the universal taking-picture sign language, most people moved out of the way. The couple quickly became the center of attraction and quickly had fans taking their pictures and posing with them.
Getting prepared for make-up
Making up
Crowded Sacre-Coeurs
The day quickly became very hot and glaring, not the best conditions for shooting so we walked around Montmartre, towards Jaja’s place and had a few shots along the way. With a quick touch up, we made our way to Palais Royal. As with any part in the heart of town, it was also crowded so the challenge was to find a quiet part to spend some time there. The weather looked bad but the overcast shy was perfect for shooting and we managed to have a good time there.
Resting in between shoot
Shooting in the streets of Montmartre
Eiffel Tower was next on the list after the break. Rain threatened to derail our plans but good thing, it stopped just before we decided to postpone the shoot. We headed to Trocadero, and I stepped on the same spot Horst Hamann took the cover shot for his book, Paris Vertical. What a breathtaking sight. Eiffel Tower was as beautiful as I had expected. I imagined it to be an over-emphasised touristy landmark but taking in the sight, I was overawed. Again, there was hardly enough space to shoot anything and we had to rely on our Singapore instinct to quickly ‘chope’ a spot to shoot. A bride is definitely more effective than a pack of tissues. So people managed to stay clear and as before, joined in on the photoshoot.
At Palais Royal
Shooting at Trocadero with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Not the number of tourists around.
I'm joined by another tourist
We also managed to shoot at a carousel below. We missed it in Sacre-Coeurs, being too pre-occupied with keeping tourists at bay so we were pleased to see the same one. This time even better because it was lit. My idea was to shoot with icons very French, and I think this was the best we can get. Throughout the shoot, I was not satisfied with just having an iconic architecture in the background but as much as possible, to interact with it. Like running up the stairs, standing amidst majestic pillars, etc. Unfortunately many beautiful buildings are also out of bounds.
So the day ended late, since the sun doesn’t set before 10pm. We wanted very much to shoot in Jardin du Luxembourg so we saved that for day 3.
Read about the 1st day and 3rd day also.
A few images from the shoot on Day 2:
Themocracy
I like no. 9!