Forum des Halles
The Canopée is stunning curving glass and steel roof that caps the Forum des Halles. It spreads over the forum like a low undulating wave, built from thousands of golden glass scales set into a fan of steel ribs. If you stand underneath and shoot straight up, and the repeating ribs pull strong leading lines across the frame while the glass panels break the sky into a grid of warm tone. A wide lens helps you take in the full sweep of the curve, and a bright day is what you want, since direct sun filters through the golden glass and throws patterned light across the steel and the floor below. The colour shifts throughout the day, so it is worth experimenting to see which is your favourite. From the adjacent Jardin Nelson Mandela you can step back and capture the whole roof from outside. Inside, the central patio and its escalators drop several levels down toward the Châtelet-Les-Halles station, giving you layered perspectives and a sense of scale if you shoot down into the void. Access is free since this is an open public space, but it is one of the busy spot with heavy foot traffic through the day, so it is best to come early in the morning for cleaner frames, room to set up and time to experiment. (Paris, Île-de-France, France)
