22/04/2026
NOW AND THEN - SEDAN MONUMENT
Hey everyone!
The two photos you see below were taken only twelve days apart, with the left photo taken on the 6th of April, whereas the right photo was taken on the 18th of April. Which do you like more?
Both of these photos were taken in Sedan, of the monument in the center of town.
Over the Easter break, I borrowed a tripod from my school, so I could experiment with some night and long exposure photography. One of the things I had in mind to take a photo of at night was the Sedan Monument.
So on the 6th of April, we went for a drive around the Marne Valley, first stopping in Sedan. I had a few ideas in my mind, but the monument was my favourite.
I set up the tripod just behind the car, parked on Bank Road, pointed it at the monument, got my settings just right, and then took the photo.
I used a shutter speed of six seconds for the shot, meaning the camera's shutter was open and letting in light for six seconds. I tweaked my shutter speed a fair bit, but I found six seconds was just right.
This allowed the camera to capture just enough light.
One of my favourite things in this photo is how the monument is illuminated. There's a street light just out of frame, that illuminates the monument from directly above.
There isn't really any other light illuminating anything else in the scene, so as the monument is the only thing lit up, it really stands out, and that's why I prefer this photo to the right photo.
Speaking of, the photo on the right was taken last Saturday, on the 18th of April. That afternoon, I planned to walk to Sedan so I could take some photos around the town at golden hour.
I arrived in Sedan around 5:15 in the afternoon, and a golden light was illuminating the town. I returned to the monument while walking around the town, so I thought I would recreate the shot I took just over a fortnight ago.
The photo on the right was the result, and as I said before, I much prefer the night version.
I've taken many photos of the monument over the last few years, all in the daytime, but I've never loved any of the results. I find the monument tends to blend in and be absorbed into the background.
The night version solves that, as nothing else is really illuminated too bright, the monument really stands out. What do you think? Which do you prefer?
