Recently when in Paris I was fortunate enough to visit the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, the biggest science museum in Europe, and what a truly marvellous way to spend an entire day. Myself and Retha explored its many attractions from top to bottom and inside-out. Most of the exhibitions are hands-on interactive and I don’t think I’ve felt that stimulated since my last electroshock therapy. I really recommend this place to any science junkies who happen to find themselves in Paris.
One of the portions of the complex is a huge external planetarium that we unfortunately did not get time to visit. I did get some black and white shots of it’s exterior however. It is a gigantic mirror ball that appears to float on water and it’s very impressive, especially from up close. The entire grounds outside has hidden speakers, so there is a soft tingling noise that moves from one side to the other that made me feel much like I had been teleported to some futuristic world.
Just after taking the shot above, my last shot of the day, I was accosted by a reasonably friendly yet very scary security guard the size of a house, and told that I’m not allowed to shoot on the grounds using a tripod.
This was not the first time I had been chastised for using a tripod in Paris. At first I thought it must be that the Parisians don’t like good photos taken in low light, or that they were specifically protective of their photons, but a friend suggested that it’s because tripods trip people up in crowds (citing an example where Tripods are not allowed on trains or in the metro either), but I’d be very interested in hearing anybody else’s opinion on the matter.
Camera: Yashica-D TLR
Lens: Yashinon 1:3.5 80mm
Film: Ilford 400
Location: Paris, France
Tags: B&W, paris, science, yashica
