Eiffel Tower

[Rachel Hollander]

Taken shortly after the lights came on at 10 pm. We had been up on the Tower until after the sunset.

Canon 7D
16-35 @ 16mm
1/50
f4.5
ISO 400
HH, cloned out some lights I found distracting at the base of the Tower, straightened and sharpened in CS5.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Rachel,
I think the central comp works here.....just enough base too IMO. I do wish the lights were a bit stronger near the middle area.......but all in all the colors work and this is a nice presentation!

[Steve Kaluski]

Difficult to get a different perspective of this well know & photographed structure Rachel. :w3 I like the rather contrasty, symmetrical feel to this. Shame they didn't still retain the sparkling lights, as that might have been a nice tweak.

Did you have a meal at Le Jules Verne Restaurant?

TFS
Steve

[Dave Mills]

Hi Rachel, I will be back there shortly. This time in the south for 2 weeks and the balance around Paris. I've been here many times and shot this in the morning when the light was hitting the tower. This trip I plan on doing some night images of Paris HDR.
I like your presentation which as Roman said a symetrical feel. Due to it's symetry IMO I would crop to just above your name and a small bit off the top...

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Roman, Steve and Dave. I'll take a look at Dave's suggested crop.

Steve - they still turn the lights on each hour on the hour but without a tripod it was difficult to reallly capture them. I have a couple that are more snapshots with slower ss but not worthy of posting. We didn't eat at Jules Verne (it would have cut into the photography time) but had a very good and nice meal at Georges at the top of the Pompidou Centre which has the added attraction of having a view of the Eiffel Tower while you eat.

Dave - I'm sure you'll have a great time. As you know, it gets darker there pretty late this time of year. I look forward to seeing your HDRs.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Dave Mills]

Hi Rachel, It really doesn't get completely dark until after 10. Is that why the French eat so late:bg3:

[Roger Clark]

Rachel,

Nice image, but everyone should be aware that lights on the Eiffel Tower are copyrighted. To avoid copyright issues, image the city with the tower as a smaller component (not sure where the gray area is there). The French courts have upheld the copyright.

Roger

[Andrew McLachlan]

Rachel, nice image of a popular landmark. Very interesting tidbit of info from Roger.

[Brendan Dozier]

Wonderful capture and perspective, Rachel! Like the comp and the rich dark blue of sky is awesome. Nicely done!

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Roger, Andrew and Brendan for the kind comments.

Roger - interesting about the copyright but I'm going with non-commercial fair use for educational and critique purposes. I'm strictly a hobbyist and don't try to sell my images.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Roger Clark]

Thanks Roger, Andrew and Brendan for the kind comments.

Roger - interesting about the copyright but I'm going with non-commercial fair use for educational and critique purposes. I'm strictly a hobbyist and don't try to sell my images.

Thanks again,
Rachel

Rachel,
I'm not sure about the details of French copyright law, but it might be that even posting images is not allowed unless permission is granted. I have many images of the Eiffel Tower, some at least before the copyright claim, but post copyright claim, I been uncertain about even posting any images, so I have not. If someone can clarify the copyright, it would be appreciated. There is a wikipedia page about this.

Regarding "educational and fair use" many people steal my images and put them on their own web pages claiming non-commercial fair use, but it is still violating copyright. You still need permission. I don't know how easy that is to get in the case of the Eiffel Tower.

But perhaps, this question should be asked in the general photography forum and not here in the critique form. Nice image!

Roger

[Rachel Hollander]

Roger -Just to clarify, the fair use exception contained in Section 107 of the Copyright Act does not require permission. Rather, because there is no real bright line test for fair use, obtaining permission is a better practice and ensures that there will not be an issue. Of course, not all non-commercial use is fair use. My purpose in posting on BPN is purely to improve my photography, an educational purpose. I think several of the other factors outlined in Section 107 would also weigh in my favor in a fair use analysis.

Since your post, I've spent a little time researching the copyright issue relating to the Eiffel Tower and it seems from public statements that the owner of the copyright in the lighting is not after the average tourist snapping shots for their own enjoyment but rather against commercial exploitation and profit. In fact, the warning about the copyright and trademark protections only appears on the Professionals and Press Area of the Tower's official website. It also seems that the French recognize at least some aspects of the fair use exception.

You're also correct about images of the skyline that include the illuminated Tower. A French appellate court ruled that an architect could not claim copyright over images that include a building in which the architect holds the copyright if the image encompasses a larger area. It's not clear from the sources I've read how much more there needs to be, but some have referred to incidental inclusion.

Again, thanks for raising this. I had no idea about the claimed copyright in the illuminations until you posted about it yesterday.

Rachel

[Roger Clark]

Hi Rachel,

I too checked out the fair use copyright law, but the US law. By that it seems posting an image here for critique qualifies as fair use. Posting on one's web site may not (especially so it the image is for sale), so I have not done so on my images. It would be nice to know if French copyright law has a similar fair use. It does seem that they would not be after every tourist who snaps an image, or they would need a huge staff!

Roger

[dankearl]

I like it a lot, I would crop the bottom though, almost up to the tower base, the sky and tower are really well done.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Dan. I'll play with the crop a little though I guess I was thinking virtual legs as the trees obscure the very bottom of the legs. :bg3:

Rachel