Grand Trianon, Versailles, France

When we traveled to France in 2010, we made sure to include a visit to Versailles on our itinerary. So much of Versailles is extraordinary, but the Grand Trianon château stands out as one of the more beautiful. This section of the palace was roped off, allowing one to view it but preventing entry. There was a crowd of people all taking photos, so I only had a brief moment to slide in and take a few shots handheld.

This is an HDR composition of three separate exposures. The HDR effect conveys a nice dreaminess to the scene that adds magic and color without being too overdone (as HDRs often could be). I regret not getting the chandelier at the top fully in the photo, but doing so would have required me to back up and risk including the ropes in front of me or other tourists in the shot.