Joshua Tann Photography: 2011

Saturday, April 9, 2011

The Beacon of Paris

Named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel, the iron lattice tower was initially intended as the arch entrance to the 1889 Exposition Universelle which was to celebrate the 100^th year anniversary of the French Revolution. The structure is 1,063 ft tall (or 324 meters) which includes the antennas and 3 levels for visitors. When it was completed, the tower was deemed as an eyesore for many and Eiffel had the permit to let it stand for 20 years. The city had planned to dismantle the tower but let it stand after discovering that the structure proved to have a potential for valuable communication. The tower has been a symbol of Paris and France and welcomes about 7 millions visitors per year.

Underneath the structure

We visited the tower during the day. Luckily for us it was a bright and crisp morning in Paris. There were so many angles from which we could capture this grand structure. From afar, it did look like any Eiffel Tower images or pictures that are readily available worldwide. But being there yourself is another experience as you walk closer to the tower. The structure is massive. It was built with about 7,300 tons of iron framework with a total weight of 10,000 tons. There are 18,000 parts connected by 2.5 millions of rivets. We wandered around underneath this huge tower in awe. I thought it was quite an extraordinary achievement and an engineering marvel to be able to build this tower during that time. And I thought, why built something this important only to stand for 20 years? I cannot imagine the efforts to dismantle the tower after the excitement of building something this groundbreaking. I wonder how Parisians thought at that time; they probably never thought that the structure they once considered an eyesore had later become a symbol of Paris and France.

Night view from the second level

The structure is illuminated in the evening in an elaborate light show for 5 minutes until 1 am every hour on the hour. It looked like the structure was alive!. We watched it from the top of Arc de Triomphe. We deliberately waited until the evening to take the elevator, hopefully to the top level. Apparently the third level was closed because it was quite late, and my traveling companion thanked the Lord since he was afraid of height and second level was the highest he could go. I was once told that the view from the third level was not as spectacular in comparison to second level unless it’s a bright day for perfect visibility. So second level it is. And the view was indeed spectacular. Maybe we will return to Paris someday and take the elevator to the top level, but this view from the second level was worth the wait the long lines. I bet others feel the same way. Many of them come from abroad, and 75 % of visitors are foreigners. As I stood behind the railing and marveled the view, I could see the panoramic night view of Paris and later pondered why this structure had become a symbol of a national pride. Not being a Parisian or French, I don’t know the real answer, but whatever it is, I am sure the answer fits the question.

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Thursday, March 17, 2011

My view of Burano

Colorful Serenity - Burano

Burano, a small island in the Venice Lagoon is different from Murano, which is well-known for its beautiful glass products based on centuries-old artistry. Burano is famous for two things: their lace and their colorful houses. Their lace-making is now mass-produced somewhere else, unfortunately. The island is actually a collection of four islets connected by bridges. The island was reportedly founded by people from Altino in the 5^th or 6^th century and traditionally has been a fishermen settlement for centuries so fishing has been an important economic factor for the island. It was reported that the houses were painted in bright and contrasting colors so that the fishermen can identify their homes on the way back in the misty lagoon.

While Venice has the grand architecture of the ornate palaces, basilica, plazas and campanile, quite appropriate due to its previous role as the center of commerce and political power in the strategic area; Burano has a simpler presence with its rows of houses. They represent modesty; no grand entrance, no ornate façade or elaborate roof structures. To me, this particular image represents their quiet way of life. The contrasting colors of the houses show a clear dichotomy between the serenity of way of life and the excitement of having so many colors in a community. Additionally, the community seems to be built around the row of houses, as they are connected as one, and yet the multi-colored façade can be perceived as diversity. Granted that the initial purpose of the colors was probably practical, but one can ponder that the duplicity of this image can be strikingly attractive.

With this, I am also releasing for the first time, the Burano colorful houses in the form of printed notecards and can be purchased individually in 4 x 6 in. and 5 x 7 in., or in a set of 8. They come with envelopes and a short description of the area in the back of the cards. Enjoy!

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Joshua Tann Photography

Monday, March 14, 2011

My first blog in Blogger

The grand ruins of the Roman Empire

This is my first blog in Blogger. I created a commercial website to revive my interests in Architecture since I was a kid, and no other medium can capture it as well as photography.

A building or structure does not move from its place and location such as people in portrait photography; however, the variation of its image still depends on time, light, angle, composition and mostly, the vision of the photographer. Hence, there are numerous images can emerge from one building. As a psychotherapist by profession, I create the vision of a building from its psychological space. For one, a structure is usually built for people. The purpose of a building is indeed to fulfill people's need of shelter and a sense of safety and for a temple or cathedral, to fulfill humanity's need to worship its god or diety.

The idea of a handmade note cards was born because personal messages are usually lost and became impersonal when delivered in the form of e-cards or e-mails. But fortunately, many people are still writing their messages in the form of notecards because it still gives them a personal sense in their message. I am hoping that creating a handmade note card to achieve this purpose would take this to another level and make it more personal. I hope you enjoy the images and visit us often. If you so inclined, you can purchase the cards through the website. From time to time I would blog about of the images offered in the website.