Like most people, I too was horrified and saddened to see Notre Dame cathedral go up in flames earlier this week. I am glad that the damage done by the fire is less than first feared and that the magnificent cathedral will rise again. I have fond memories of visiting Notre Dame on my first visit to Paris back in 1984 –in fact it was the very first place I visited when I arrived. I was travelling about Europe on Interrail, excitedly discovering countries and cities and the wonders of the continent for the first time. My camera back then was a Kodak Ektralite 600 which I had received for my fifteenth birthday two years before and which I happily snapped away at on my travels. I didn't really know much about photography back then, otherwise I would of course have centred my picture of Notre Dame properly. I can only think I wanted to get the people in the foreground in, or perhaps the motorbike with its GB sticker on (I was not the only English person in Paris, it seems). I do remember being blown away by the cathedral, which I up until then knew only from films, and awe-struck by its beautiful stained-glass windows and hushed interior. I hope to be able to return one day, for I am certain the cathedral will rise again. When that happens I will photograph it again, more professionally and with more understanding of composition, but no less awe than when I first saw it at the age of 17.
Location: Paris, France
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