Street Photography in Paris

Technology is all around us, but did it really make things better ? (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 35mm Summilux at F8.0, 1/180, ISO250

Does the windows of the Mirror Shop (« Miroiterie ») reflect the current state of our society ? Colors, Creativity, but also a lot of incivility and anger I guess. (click on picture to enlarge)

On a side note, I have posted two new articles on street photography in my new website :

13 ways to shoot candids

How to recognize when you have a bad / great street photography outing

Though I’ll keep on maintaining this blog, all photography writings will now be published on my new website, so if you haven’t discovered it and are interest, do not hesitate to have a look.

Leica M9 with 60mm Hexanon at F5.6, 1/125, ISO200

Waiting for the same bus in a cold winter night. Yet not a word. Separate worlds, the ransom of large cities.

Leica M9 with 60mm Hexanon at F1.4, 1/125, ISO1600

Since the anti-tobacco laws were passed, it is no more allowed to smoke within a restaurant. It gave birth to a new game : detect the addiction of a customer. An occasional smoker will go out for a cig after the dessert and a moderate one already after the main course. As for the heavy smoker, there is a big chance that he will sneak out after the appetizer, the main course, the cheese and the dessert. He’ll even have a last one as he says good-bye to his friends in front of the restaurant.

As for this girl, I counted only one cigarette. I almost wished she was an heavy smoker … (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 60mm Hexanon at F1.4, 1/90, ISO800

When Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President of France, he took all the captains of the French industry to a dinner at exclusive Fouquet’s on Les Champs-Elysées. An economic downturn afterwards, most of them have suddenly become invisible. (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 35mm Summilux Asph at F1.4,  1/250, ISO800

This year again, the wealthy families from the Middle East have elected the Champs-Elysées as their main vacation destination. Day long shopping, coffes on the terraces, luxury cars, but also a lot of social activity going on. Indeed young women and men take the opportunity to meet each other on the Avenue, which is often quite a difficult or prohibited event in their home country. I guess that these summer Holidays in Paris will lead to an increase of happy weddings in the Middle East. (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 35mm Summilux Asph at F2.8, 1/500, ISO200

Luckily for the media, this won’t be a long and boring summer on the news front. Indeed, justice is currently investigating whether the all wealthy Bettencourt family financed the ruling party during the last presidential elections. The House of Bettencourt vs Justice vs the President, what a great and captivating summer thriller for the readers.  (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 60mm Hexanon at F2.0, 1/4000, ISO200, ND filter

Today saw the annoucement of the Baccalauréat results all across France. Thousands will now leave high school and start a new life, at work or pursuing a University career. Unluckily, for the roughly 15% that did not pass, another long year is up soon. In the case of this girl walking on Les Champs-Elysées, it looks like she had good news to announce (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 35mm Summicron IV at F2.8, 1/500, ISO200

Be it for a pack of cigarette,  a bingo card, an entrecote, or a quick coffee, the Tabac shop down the street will save your day many times.  (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 60mm Hexanon at F1.4, 1/1500, ISO640

A homeless man eats his lunch under a light rain. Paris can only shelter him under the form of an umbrella.  (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 35mm Summilux Asph at F1.4, 1/2000, ISO640

Independance comes slowly, but surely. (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 60mm Hexanon at F2, 1/1000, ISO169

Tomorrow is election day as France renews their regional governments. Politics in France is easy : when the blues say black, the reds say white. When the reds say black, then the blues say white. Political parties leaders are only interested in taking power, so blues and reds never work together. Meanwhile groups of red or blue activists travel the streets, with the ingenuousness of those that believe that they can alter the unshakeable order of things.  (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 60mm Hexanon at F2.8, 1/250, ISO160

Paperwork is part of any French resident life. So when one forgets about a deadline, he might end up filling up the documents on the mail box in the last minutes. (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 35mm Summilux Asph at F1.4, 1/350, ISO160

Closed gas stations and people walking in the streets could have become a common sight in Paris as 10% of the French gas stations were out of gas today. This was generated by the general strike of the  oil workers that protested against the closure of a refinery. Be it truck drivers, train employees or oil workers, they feel it is ok to take the whole country as hostage. By doing that, they pressure the government or corporations to concede to their demands, which happened tonight after several days of strike. Good news is there will be sufficient supply of gas tomorrow. But the real good news is hairdressers and engineers still haven’t found their way to blockade the country when they are unhappy. « Liberty, Equality, Fraternity » as we say.  (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 35mm Summilux Asph at F4, 1/180, ISO160

The female name of Marianne means a lot to the French as this figure represents the values of the French Republic, namely « Liberty, Equality and Fraternity ». After decades of immigration, I guess  that the figure of Marianne could no be a bit more representative of the country’s diversity. Just like in this scene of last Sunday’s Chinese New Year celebrations where local queens were parading in a truck with entangled flags of France and China. Maybe the election of the 2010 Mari-Han ?  (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 60mm Hexanon at F1.2, 1/2800, ISO160, ND filter

Paris has been loosing its population for several decades. Indeed the raising prices of housing has slowly pushed the lower and middle class to the suburbs, leaving room for companies to occupy most of the beautiful Haussman style building located downtown. Still, everyday life is still there when one peeps in the patios of the more recent residential complexes in popular neighbourhoods such as Belleville. (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 35mm Summicron IV at F4, 1/125, ISO160

Boulevard Haussmann where the main shopping centers lay is the place you don’t want to be the day before Christmas. Especially when you are late on your Christmas shopping. You will have to cross jammed streets, go against the flow of shoppers to finally enter the shopping « Nirvana »; the Galerie Lafayette and their famous monumental Christmas tree. (click on picture to enlarge)

All pictures with Leica M9 with 35mm Summilux at F1.4,  ISO640

I had always wondered who was behind these mummy disguises. Indeed, they sometimes stand for hours still in touristic place. Today, I finally got the answer as I witnessed a switch. Not much of a surprise I guess.  (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 24mm Elmarit at F2.8, 1/125, ISO320

As you ride the metro in Paris, you will at some point encounter gypsy musicians that will throw a quick performance between a couple of stations for a few coins. They then exit the railcar and transfer to the other side of the lane to ride in the other direction. I wonder how one must feel after playing « La vie en rose » dozens of times in a day.  (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 35mm Lux Asph at F1.4, 1/30, ISO640

A girl reads out loud Gombrowics’s « Le festin chez la Comtesse Fritouille », a satire on burgesses.  Young and wild, but for how many years still ? (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M8 with 60mm Hexanon at F1.4, 1/350, ISO160