One of the defining trips of my life took place in June and July of 2005 when I went to Europe for two weeks with my high school English class. I made some lifelong friends, and explored France and Spain. My first time in Paris was a total blur. It was hot, wet, busy and very overwhelming. But I liked it so much I’ve been back a couple times since!
When we arrived, the clouds were on the verge of releasing a torrent of rain, and my friends and I were running towards the Arc de Triomphe. I snapped this photo on our way up to it. By the time we got to the top and took in the vast city, lightning began to strike across the city, and the rain caught us on the top of the Arc.
We ran inside and back down, only to face the masses of people running around in the streets to gain cover. The flame of the fallen soldier, always lit underneath the Arc, was wavering in the wind and rain. We found cover in a metro station, but, like the awesome Californians we are, decided to run back out into the rain chanting our state’s name to get where we needed to go (so annoying, I know).
With “Eiffel Tower”, it’s interesting to see how the composition of “Kilauea Lighthouse” from four years before compares. These photos aren’t particularly special. In “Notre Dame blur”, the blur of people across the bottom of the picture reminds me how many people have taken pictures of the same places over and over, and how similar all of our photographs must be. What makes this picture unique is the people, however, and their expressions and movements.