Paysages de Paris.

Paris, A Photo Essay. 
Gardens and Cityscapes


Paris is one gorgeous city. But most of the beauty doesn't come from nature. It is more about the architecture, the buildings and the streets. However as we wandered a bit out of Paris we we able to see the splendor of the gardens of Versailles. That Marie Antoinette was one luck lady because this was a backyard like none other. Here is a little taste of what I saw with my admiring eyes.

Although it was a very cold day the sun was shining through the clouds and casting a dark shadow on the trees. I loved the silhouette of the line of trees just in front of the trees. It almost seemed like the sun was setting even though it was the middle of the day. I wanted to capture the texture of the clouds and the deep blue of the sky with the sun just blaring through. 

The sky was a gorgeous shade of bright blue while we were in the gardens. Contrasted with the sharp white of the clouds I found myself looking up quite a bit. Being so, I wanted to capture the sky. I thought i would get a shot of the tops of the trees. Most of the trees were bare and their leaves had fallen off. However, there were a few still waiting to fall. I appreciated the orange colors adding a little bit more light to the shot. 

There were paths surrounded by trees all along the garden. Unfortunately, these lines of trees were fenced in. I felt like this distracted from the trueness of nature. So as I poked my head through the fence I saw a gorgeous area of trees. However, every time I tried to get a shot this branch was right in my way. So instead of trying to push it aside I decided to experiment with it. I played with the settings on my camera and eventually I was able to get two different shots. In the one on the left, the background with the vast area of trees is in focus. We see the fall trees with the browns and the crisp yellows of the still living leaves. The picture on the right shows the branch in focus with the background blurry. I wanted to capture the texture of this branch and appreciate it more even though at first I had thought it took away from the scene. Unfortunately since it was a very sunny day the shadows detracted from my idea. But I still enjoyed experimenting and getting different shots of the scene before me. 



Further down in the garden were long rows of very tall trees. I enjoyed the way these trees were so intricately placed in row after row of straight lines. Even though each tree was planted in a specific place to form unity, each of these trees has gown in its own shape and form. It is very interesting and beautiful that even though things are placed in such an organized manner they can still grow to be so random and unique. I enjoyed seeing this in the fall. Without all the leaves and the bright blue sky in the background it is easy to see each little branch and stem. 

Just by the row of trees in the previous picture was another long row of the same trees. As the trees are much, much taller than i am I see them mostly from the bottom. However, as i angled my camera more towards the sky I was able to capture the tops of trees. With this angle the trees looked magnificently tall reaching far up into the sky. Again, because of the lack of leaves and the contrast with the blue and white we are able to see each little stem of the trees. Even though the trees essentially blend together we are able to see each little stem and its own unique shape. 

Fall is my favorite season. I love sweaters, scarves, boots, and gloves. I love the colors, the oranges, the browns, the fading greens and browns and the barely warm crisp feeling of the air. But mostly I love the crunchy leaves, fallen off the tree and crunching under my feet. In the middle of all the gardens is vast green space of grass. And to much pleasure on my part, it was covered in orange crunchy leaves. As I got down close to the grass and leaves I captured this shot. The leaves were my main focus and I appreciate the way they catch the viewers eye right in the front of the shot.


Although I captured many great shots in the gardens of Versailles, I wanted to include one image from the city of Paris. Although, like I said before, the city of Paris is not mainly beautiful because of landscapes, there are still many beautiful pieces of nature poked in all through the city.

This shot was taken just on the edge of the River Seine. I loved the way the sun cast a dark shadow on the tree in the foreground making it stand out from the background. I think the barrenness of this tree is what makes it so beautiful. In retrospect, I wish I would have moved the frame just a bit more to the left so that the tree was situated further in the right side. Even though pieces of asphalt, architecture and other industrial items, I still find this to be a beautiful shot. Maybe just with a touch of ruggedness from the tears of every day Parisian life.