There are countless photos of the Eiffel Tower from afar, including my coverage of Paris, but what does the tower look like up close? On the last full day of our Paris trip, we visited the Eiffel Tower using tickets we purchased weeks before.

We got there before our appointed time slot and found a giant waiting area underneath the tower. We still waited about 30 minutes to start the elevator ride up the structure. I heard this was a comparatively short wait. You can wait a couple of hours to get in during the peak tourist season.

The half-hour was a perfect time to shoot the underbelly from multiple angles. The Eiffel Tower is certainly an engineering marvel, but it occurred to me that it’s more beautiful from some distance away or as a background element. Up close, it’s a jumble of complex metal but in a reassuringly consistent pattern.

Blog readers, you’ll love my free monthly photography magazine. Signup for the free magazine to get articles and topics not discussed on the blog.