Lights after rain, Place Vendome Photo

Photographer’s Note

Place Vendôme, a prestigious square located in the first arrondissement, was created as a monument to the glory of the armies of Louis XIV, the Sun King.

History and Architecture of the Square

Place Vendôme (Vendome Square) was laid out in 1702. Architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who built Versailles, had originally purchased the land where it sits in hopes of making some money in real estate.
But when the venture was unsuccessful, the land was given to the King's minister of Finance, who proposed the public square. Appearing octagonal in shape, the square was to be built near the site formerly occupied by the palace of the First Duke of Vendome.

Later, when the land passed from the minister to King Louis XIV, Mansart re-entered the picture and was drafted to create the design for the square meant to rival the Place des Vosges, which had a statue of the king's predecessor - Louis XIII - at its center. Similar to the Place des Vosges, Mansard made all the buildings on the square identical, with arched ground floors and tall-windowed second floors. Ornamental pillars were placed between each set of windows.

Place Vendôme was originally known as Place des Conquêtes (Conquests Square) but was later renamed to Place Louis le Grand (Louis the Great Square) when things weren’t going so well for Louis’ armies. However, a statue of the king was indeed erected in the square and remained there for about a hundred years until it was torn down in 1792, during the French Revolution.

Colonne d'Austerlitz

The column you will find today in the center of the square was erected by Napoleon as the Colonne d'Austerlitz. The 44 meter tall column (144 ft) is modeled after Rome’s Trajan’s Column. It was built to commemorate the victory at Austerlitz in 1805, one of Napoleon’s greatest. The column’s continuous ribbon of bas-relief bronze plates by the sculptor Pierre-Nolasque Bergeret were made from 1200 cannons taken from the combined armies of Russia and Austria during that battle.

Later, the statue of the emperor at the top of the column was removed and the bronze melted down to provide the bronze for the recast of the equestrian statue of Henri IV on the Pont Neuf. The statue that is seen today was erected by Napoleon III and depicts Napoleon I as a Roman emperor.

Place Vendôme in Modern Times

The buildings on Place Vendôme serve today as residences as well as retail stores, including those belonging to two famous jewelers and a number of well-known dress designers. The very expensive Hotel Ritz and Hotel Vendôme are also located on the square.
(Source: avienoncities.com)

Loic_bzh, jlbrthnn, ktanska, snunney, amaryllis, dareco, Photo65Net, ifanik, xavshot, rigoletto, bostankorkulugu, zeca, jaywalker, AiresSantos, pablominto, mikolaj_kawa, COSTANTINO trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

aadilj (17950) 2008-10-07 2:21

Fabulous. the entire place seems to be glowing from all directions Gearge. You have been so intelligent in crafting this beautiful view. the tones and etxtures are sombre and finely nuanced

migjan (2019) 2008-10-07 2:23

Piêkne ¶wiat³a zmierzchu. £adna gra kolorów.
pozdrawiam.JBB

sacavem (8421) 2008-10-07 3:16

Olá George,

Beautiful lights after rain in Place Vendome.Excellent shot of this nice reflections, with lovely colours and perfect clarity.
Greetings,
Filipe

gildasjan (24033) 2008-10-07 3:22

Bonjour George
Le pavé Parisien pour mettre toutes ces lumières artificielles en valeur.Un très beau rendu de ces réflections.
bonne journée
Amicalement
Gildas

Loic_bzh (7061) 2008-10-07 3:34

Hi George,

great job! I just love it. With just one major regret: with a tripod and a long time exposure you could get this always magic stars on all the lights...

Cheers,

Loïc

jlbrthnn (38667) 2008-10-07 3:53

Hello George,
Surface luisante of the ground makes this image night very luminous. Your images are always required and of an inimitable quality. Congratulations.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

ktanska (16695) 2008-10-07 3:56

Hi George,
Original framing. That pavement is indeed beautiful when wet stones give reflections of lamps and blue hour skylight. That nearest pole is well off-centered. I'm not sure if the roofs of the buildings should be included.
Kari

daddo (11479) 2008-10-07 3:58

Hi George. another marvelous symphony of colour and light. Pity the subject matter is about wars and conquests and men who want to be gods.Isn't it ironic that Napoleon's scrotum was used as a tobacco pouch- sic transit gloria mundi.Regards. Klaudio.

snunney (35298) 2008-10-07 4:11

Hello George,
A very atmospheric night time composition. I very much like the reflections from the lamp standards over the glistening pavements. Clarity is excellent. Very well done.

serp2000 (9639) 2008-10-07 4:12

Hi, George,
Great! Excellent shot for big poster! I like your work!
Best wishes from Ural,
Serghei

amaryllis (17671) 2008-10-07 8:29

Bonjour
une excellente photo nocturne surtout après la pluie avec de belles réflections et une lumière très bien gérée, presque personne, un "régal"
excellente composition
juliette

dareco (17104) 2008-10-07 8:40

A beautiful image with very nice reflections. I love the colors and the lighting. TFS

jjcordier (25086) 2008-10-07 9:10

George
Ces lumières somptueuses reflétées par le pavé luisant créent un effet absolument fantastique. Quelle merveille!
Amicalement
JJ

Photo65Net (43096) 2008-10-07 10:00

Hello George,
A famous and beautiful place, and this is one of the most original compo from it !
I like a lot the result, beautiful,
Have a nice day,
JB.

ifanik (20542) 2008-10-07 10:20

Very beautiful art photo with impressive reflections
Well done my friend
Best regards
Nick

TopGeo (22089) 2008-10-07 10:24

Hi George excellent moment!A central been famous square without persons they is strange! Important reflection of lightings and nuances. Good composition and very good thought your picture has interest! I greet you
Georgios

xavshot (62981) 2008-10-07 11:01

Bonsoir George,
encore une très belle photo de Paris.... et de nuit en plus. J'aime bien l'ambiance que donne les reflets des lampadaires sur le sol. Jolie prise.
Xavier

hay_kes (28562) 2008-10-07 12:49

Hi George,
What a superb night shot.Excellent POV and reflection.Nice lighting..TFS.
Regards,
Have a nice day..

hAyAti

Graal (58515) 2008-10-07 23:27

Unusual "forest" of lamps, fine night shot, George. Pleasant reflections after the rain. Well done photo from Paris.
Gr., Aleksander

UnTrained (0) 2008-10-08 1:24

Szia George,
congratulations for that excellent captured wet impression. I like the light glancing and reflecting on the pavement, the lamps as light spots and the open background view.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

TGULUMSER (12514) 2008-10-08 1:32

Hello George,
This square looks spectacular with colors and light under the rain,
Best regards,
Tulay

rigoletto (26632) 2008-10-08 1:51

Rain and lights and evening colors and reflections...
There is always a benefit for the photographers who look on the ground after rain. You made great use of it. I like the almost complete exlusion of the sky, and the perfect purple/orange compo here.
Cheers,
Deniz

jurek1951 (26026) 2008-10-08 4:18

Hi George,
This picture is a masterpiece,very nice scenery.
great composiiton and nice sharpness, beautiful reflections,
Georg

bostankorkulugu (33876) 2008-10-08 7:02

magical combination of the purple and orange tones on the reflected lights... a few -or one- silhouettes could add charm but still a spell binding shot george... bravo...

zeca (20026) 2008-10-08 18:46

Very nice lights, George. The measure is excellent! Otherwise, I would like to see the entire architecture, but I understand that you've focused on the nice ground, with its beautiful reflections as your main subject. Maybe the framing a little bit higher could raise the entire building, at same time keeping a nice bottom view. Its just a point of view, sorry. Anyway, its a very nice shot due its lights and beautiful details.
Regards,
Zeca

mesutilgim (37148) 2008-10-09 14:13

Hi dear George,
I had missed this great capture. Wonderfull.
Very good pov and amazing light management.
Very good notes as well.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

jaywalker (12252) 2008-10-09 16:14

Hi George, A very interesting & unusual photo, the light is crafting a brilliant glow on this paved ground assisted greatly by the rain, a lovely purple sheen, great shot, kind regards Wilson.

Silvio1953 (42533) 2008-10-10 6:09

Hi George, superb nocturne shoot with beautiful fantastic reflections, wonderful light and colors, very well done, ciao Silvio

mauro61 (16126) 2008-10-10 8:26

ciao George,
ottimo taglio con la macchina tenuta bassa a cogliere il maggior numero di riflessi.
L'effetto è ottimo anche in considerazione della grande profondità,bravo
saluti
maurizio

AiresSantos (42714) 2008-10-11 0:44

Hi George
Beautiful play of light and reflections in this excellent picture.
I like so much how you framed it with the big space in foreground.
Very good DOF and sharpness
Thanks and have a nice weekend
Aires

pablominto (41122) 2008-10-12 1:07

Hello George,

The subtle reflection from the wet pavement create this fine image with an artistic touch!
Wonderful colours and impressively sharp details in the architecture, this is a great low light capture...

Greetings,
Pablo -

mikolaj_kawa (30927) 2008-10-14 1:55

Hello George! Original composition. Wonderful POV and capture. Nice lightness and brightness. Good contrast. Very good work. Well done!

Greg1949 (8513) 2008-10-14 6:07

George, you have used the wet wonderfully, the effect is fantastic. Well seen and captured.

Greg

COSTANTINO (23071) 2008-10-14 10:50

Hello,
Marvellous night photo with an amazing view..
I like the colours which look like candles
I like the whole scene..
Romantic night for a romantic walk
thanks for sharing
Costantino

Bluejeans (32879) 2008-10-15 10:56

Ola George ,
Magnifico este ângulo de visão baixo dando grande destaque aos reflexos das luzes no chão que ficaram fantásticos , gostei muito dos detalhes, parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

jemaflor (39649) 2008-10-17 4:09

Hi George,
Good idea to take these light on the pavement, very interesting reflections to give an original shot of that famouns place, well done.

Angshu (33985) 2008-10-19 21:08

Dear George
A fine shot in the dusk hour. The combination of natural & artificial light coupled with the reflection on the wet surface makes this really beautiful. Really fine work my friend!
Regards
Angshu