Slipping into Notre Dame shortly after my arrival in Paris, I decided to try a new photographic approach. Rather than shooting on a tripod for sharpness, I would intentionally move the camera during a long exposure (about 8 seconds). If this is done right, it can create a blurred effect that elongates the trees in a forest, or pillars of stone within a cathedral.

Tripods are not allowed within Notre Dame in any case, so I thought that this time I was going to get away with photography without a reprimand inside the church. I sat down among the devout, and began my long slow exposures, moving then camera up and down. Then I heard, “Seats are for worshippers only. No photography.” Who says photography isn’t worship?