Originally shared on Instagram on December 7, 2025. Photography and story by Mark Middleton.
During one of my solo trips to Paris, I decided I wanted to try something different — a long exposure of the Eiffel Tower that didn’t look like the typical postcard shot. So I wandered until I found a stretch of road that lined up perfectly with the tower in the distance. And then, like any photographer with more enthusiasm than common sense, I set up my tripod directly in the middle of the street.
Looking back, this might be one of the funniest (and dumbest) photographs I’ve ever taken. For about 30 minutes I stood there, letting the shutter drag open over and over again, while cars swerved around me and French drivers yelled things that I absolutely did not understand. To this day, I assume they were telling me — passionately — to get the hell out of the road. But I was committed.
What I love about this shot is that it proves something photography has taught me again and again: sometimes the most compelling images come from stepping back, changing your angle, and seeing a familiar subject from a perspective you’ve never tried before. There is no major road that runs under the tower like this, but distance, framing, and imagination can make the world look like it bends just a little.
Paris will always have its cafés, its art, its romance — but for me, it will also always be the city where I nearly got run over trying to make a photograph. And honestly? I’d do it again.
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