Under The Eiffel Tower, Black and White

A couple years ago my husband and I put everything in storage to travel Europe. It was a crazy adventure! We left with no return date or home to come... more

by Liesl Walsh

Title

Under The Eiffel Tower, Black and White

Artist

Liesl Walsh

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

A couple years ago my husband and I put everything in storage to travel Europe. It was a crazy adventure! We left with no return date or home to come back to. My husband loves to travel, and I love photography. We sailed across the Atlantic and couldn't wait to explore Paris.

We rented an apartment in the Latin Quarter and lived like locals, riding the metro, riding bikes and walking everywhere. We often walked all the way down to the Seine River to Notre Dame. I will never forget the moment we walked across one of the beautiful bridges and saw the Eiffel Tower for the very first time in the distance! Wow!

But we had a problem - how could we get to the tower when the metro was closed between our apartment and the tower? A whole section was shut down. Trying to figure it out was like trying to figure out a jigsaw puzzle - how can we make the connections?

Then we discovered the water taxi! We rode right down the Seine under all those famous bridges. As we got closer to the Eiffel Tower the sheer size was incredible! Bigger than we thought! We walked around Champ de Mars Park and the Trocadero getting many different angles of the tower. This photo was my favorite - I love the view from underneath with the dramatic sky!

Little did I know it was a rare moment when the Eiffel Tower did not have any construction or special events around it, so I got a clean photo. This ended up being the only day we could get to the tower up close, because Paris ended up getting a lot of rain, and it was the flood of the century while we were there. The Seine River crested at 17 meters, making it impossible for the boats to go under the bridges. And the metro line that went to the Eiffel Tower flooded keeping it closed.

You can read about our adventure in Europe in my husband's book, "Vagabonds in France", by Michael A. Barry. Come with us as we lose our home, put everything in storage, and navigate through Europe for a few months with no return date or home to come back to. Sail across the Atlantic, dodge pickpockets, climb mountains, descend into the Paris Metro, endure nasty weather and illness, witness the flood of the century, and meet some wonderful and not-so-wonderful people. Chuckle with us as we live among the French and try to learn their ways and language. Then make it back home to an empty house we'd never seen before. I illustrated the book with 75 illustrations. The book is available in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NCUNSEK .

The Eiffel Tower is the tallest structure in Paris and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. It was designed and built by the company of Gustave Eiffel, and completed in 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair. It sits on the Champ de Mars and overlooks the Seine River across from the Trocadero. In the beginning there was much criticism for the design of the Eiffel Tower, with concern that it would overshadow the other magnificent sights in Paris, but now it is the most visited paid monument in the world with 6.91 million visitors in 2015. The Eiffel Tower is 1,063 feet tall ( 324 metres); the top level's upper platform is 906 feet (276 metres) above ground, making it the highest observation deck for the public in the European Union. During construction pieces of the tower were riveted together in a nearby factory and arrived on site on horse-drawn carts. No drilling or shaping was done on site; if it didn't fit it was sent back for alteration. A total of 18,038 pieces were joined together using 2.5 million rivets. Names of 72 French scientists, engineers, and mathematicians were engraved on the Eiffel Tower to recognize their contributions to the building of the tower. The tower was painted in 3 shades of brown: lighter at the top and getting darker towards the bottom to complement the Parisian sky.

I also have another version of this photo that is red and white in a painterly/sketch style.

SOLD:
12-6-2016 - 8 x 10 Print from Brick, New Jersey. Thank you!
30" x 20" print on luster paper to buyer from Morganville, NJ on 8-26-2019. Thank you!
8 x 10 Matted print to buyer from Venice, Florida at Venice Island Gallery on 2-13-2020. Thank you!
Shower curtain to buyer from Brick, NJ on 3-21-2020. Thank you!
11 x 14 Matted Print to buyer in Venice, FL on 11-19-2022. Thank you!

CONTESTS:
Tied for first place in ABC Group : U is for Under Contest 6-4-2017
2nd place in Imagination Artistry Creativity Photography contest 8-15-2017
1st place win in the Iconic Cities of the World contest by Images Around the World group 5-24-2018
3rd place win in the Artworks Viewed More Than 500 Times contest by the group Artworks With At Least 500 Viewers 10-19-2018

Featured in the following FAA Groups:
Five Star Artist 12-8-2016
No Place Like Home - 11-11-2016
ART - It Is Good For You 11-8-2016
No Place Like Home Special Feature 3-12-2017
Travel Art 5-25-2017
Phenomenal Club 5-27-2017
Pictures For Present 5-27-2017
Imagination - Artistry - Creativity 5-28-2017
500 And Beyond Fine Art Group 5-28-2017
First Friday Gallery Group 5-28-2017
Amazing Art and Photos 5-28-2017
Artist Salon 1 5-28-2017
Cityscapes - Paint Your Town 5-28-2017
Fine Arts Professionals 5-28-2017
10 Plus 5-29-2017
USA Photographers Only 5-31-2017
Covered Bridges or Historical Landmarks 6-1-2017
Creative Black and White Fine Art Photographs 6-2-2017
ABC Group - U is for Under Featured Contest Win 6-5-2017
Your Very Best Photography 6-9-2017
Female Artists Showcase Feature June 11-17, 2017
Fine Art Photography 6-18-2017
The Unexpected Wordsmith 6-30-2017
All Arts of All Kind Is Welcome Here 7-3-2017
Art Lovers, Black and White Theme Week 7-17-2017
Black and White - The Art Form 7-22-2017
Imagination - Artistry - Creativity 8-15-2017
Words Have Wings - Stories and Vignettes 10-8-2017
Fine Art Photography 12-7-2017
Created by Southern Artists 3-12-2018
Daily Promotion 3-13-2018
Art For Ever With You 3-16-2018
FAAs Black and White 3-26-2018
500 Views 3-31-2018
Camera Art 4-12-2018
The Earth is Art 5-11-2018
Artistic Photography 5-11-2018
Your Story of Art 5-16-2018
Shadows Silhouettes and Reflections Outdoors 6-13-2018
AAA Images 8-15-2018
The Niche 8-18-2018
Hotshot Artist of the Month 10-20-2018
Artworks with at Least 500 Viewers 10-21-2018
Vacations 3-10-2019
Everyday Wonder 3-11-2019
World Art Spotlight 3-15-2019
Just Perfect 4-8-2019
Best Photos From Europe 5-21-2020
Ciel Mon Paris - Paris Glorious 9-26-2022

Uploaded

August 22nd, 2016