Finally we had a weekend in Paris. We had been looking forward to this trip for a long time. First and foremost to enjoy the city together. But I also wanted to take some photos while we were there of course. It’s such an iconic city and the birthplace of street photography. The city with its architecture, streets, avenues and people is just screaming to get photographed.

Instead I ended up with a lot of “meh” photos. How come? There are the famous iconic landmarks that have been photographed a zillion times by every tourist on the planet. Trying to get some original shots there isn’t the easiest thing. Street photography itself is not easy. The fear of shooting strangers in the streets and the realization this was the place and time for street photography added to the pressure of “making it happen”. Nevertheless some shots from our weekend in Paris below.

I knew that I only would be needing the X100S for this trip. There were a couple of moments I wished I had the Wide Conversion Lens. For example it’s not easy getting that Eiffel Tower completely framed from up close with a 35mm equivalent. 🙂 But there are ways to work around that (panorama shot, which I didn’t do). This camera is the perfect travel companion as it is. Light, small and delivering high image quality. I used mainly aperture mode, with auto ISO and auto White Balance. Auto ISO set to a maximum of 3200 ISO and a minimum shutter speed of 1/125. All shot in JPEG.

Paris is just a couple of hours drive from where we live. A perfect getaway. We arrived Friday afternoon. Checked into the hotel and went out immediately to see the city. We took the metro (a 2 minute walk from the hotel) and got out at Pont Neuf which gives you a view to The Louvre.

From the Louvre it’s a small walk to The Pont des Arts or Passerelle des Arts. The bridge is full with love locks that people lock on to the bridge to symbolize their love. In Paris there are several bridges with love padlocks attached to them. But the Pont des Arts is rather nice since it offers you a view to the Institut de France.

We continued the walk to Notre-Dame. By the time we arrived the golden hour had started. Providing beautiful skies, lights and colors.

On Saturday we started at the Sacré-Cœur. I did take some photos there but it was a messy foreground with people and attributes scattered everywhere and inside the basilica you are not allowed to take photos. Close to the basilica is Montmartre and the famous Moulin Rouge. It looks better at night but our schedule brought us here by daytime. 🙂

Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) was our next stop. On the way crossing typical Parisian streets and restaurants like the one below.

Crossing Pont d’Arcole gives you a view to Hôtel de Ville and St-Gervais-et-St-Protais Church (partly covered in scaffolding).

This brought us back to Notre-Dame and the Latin Quarter.

Had a quick look at The Church of Saint-Séverin and the Shakespeare and Company bookstore before visiting the Panthéon. In the distance you can see a the dome of the Panthéon. Unfortunately the dome was covered up due to restoration.

Adri remembered a nice little restaurant located in this area where she and her friends ate. Since it only opens at 7 PM (this is France after all) we had a look at the Jardin du Luxembourg. We decided to come back at night and take a boat cruise on the river. Definitely a recommendation.

Paris at night is magnificent. Had to take this shot quickly before people would appear in the frame. Handheld at ISO 3200. Pretty amazing what this camera is capable of. By the time we arrived at the restaurant there was a waiting line to get in. So we decided to grab a bite somewhere else.

Sunday was the last day to enjoy the city. Via the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides we ended up at the Pont Alexandre III.

What would a city be without some street art. 🙂 In the background you can see the Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées.

We continues the walk and crossed the Place de la Concorde into the Tuileries Garden. Turned around and walked on the Champs-Élysées towards the Arc de Triomphe.

What a better way to end our trip then having a last look at Eiffel Tower one more time. At night the tower lightens up with glittering lights every hour for about 5 minutes. The end of our trip. It was time to say au revoir. 🙂