Street Photography in Paris

In front of the Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais Church, a nun does not seem to happy about the stories she is listening too. Bad boys never change … but I guess the doors of her small “shetler” will always remain open. (click on picture to enlarge)

PS : This is one of my first shots with the Voigtlander 21mm lens I acquired this week. It falls in the category of super wide angles and gives a 90 degrees field of view. Quite difficult to master due to converging lines, distortion and … lot of space to fill. I will experiment more with it, but this is definitely a very fun lens to use in these moments where a scene just does not fit in the frame.

Leica M9 with Voigtlander 21mm at F5.6, 1/500, ISO200

A street scene in front of a bar. If you pay closer attention, you might recognize a famous French movie star that got scared at the view of my camera. Why ? I ain’t no paparazzi, can’t celebrities also be part of a normalParis life scene?  (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with 60mm Hexanon at F5.6, 1/90, ISO1600

When looking at this scenery with a lone wanderer, one would have a tough time to believe that only a few meters away, thousands are striding along the Champs-Elysées. Indeed, the park was closed due to risky slides … yes indeed, it seems that a bit of snow is very feared in Paris.  (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M9 with with 24mm Elmarit at F5.6, 1/500, ISO160

A man takes a walk by the Seine River and returns “home”. The routine of a barge captain.

For those of you interested about technical aspects of the Leica M9, this was my first shot taken at Pull 80 in uncompressed raw file. Click on link below to get a full size picture.  Focus done on the right barge’s anchor.  Note the impact of full frame on depth of field. Obviously, I have also applied my processing to the file.

Click here for full size picture

Leica M9 with 60mm Hexanon at F5.6, 1/250, ISO Pull 80

While the sun rises over the Sacré Coeur, one could almost believe that it is the Taj Mahal shadows that appear  in the horizon   (click on picture to enlarge)Leica M8 with 75mm Summarit at F5.6, ISO160

I always try to get out the beaten paths while wandering in unknown neighbourhoods. You sometimes encounter unexpected sceneries and situations. It is what happened early last Saturday as one of the first worshipper entered solemnly Saint-Lambert Church.     (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M8 with 21mm Elmarit Pre-asph, ISO160

An abandoned office facility lays in the middle of the Ile Saint-Denis just outside Paris. Dozens of rooms have been tagged and destroyed by the gangs of the neighbourhood . A sofa lays on a side of the entrance path. Seems that  an invisible man is guarding the access to this urban art sanctuary.

Sigma DP2, 24mm at F2.8, ISO800

Next to Centre Pompidou are located several bars with crowdy terraces on Sunny day. As the final rays barely make it over the roofs of the surrounding buildings, shades and reflections play with the tables and the customers.       (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M8 with 35mm Lux Asph at F4, ISO160

Well actually not quite a fire but a trompe l’oeil picture of a Sunday morning exercise of the Paris Fire Department by the Seine River.    (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M8 with 85mm Jupiter 9 at F8, ISO160

The Bir Hakeim Bridge is one of the remarkable view point of Paris. As it can be passed through by boat, car, foot or metro, the combinations of path between passengers and walker bys are endless.       (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M8 with 85Mm Jupiter 9, ISO160

Close to the Clichy bridge lays a small pier with a lonesome barge. A great tiny place for a short walk by the Seine River at sunset time.    (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M8 with 24mm Elmarit at 2.8, ISO160

While everybody knows New York’s Liberty statue, it is less known that a smaller replica can be found in Paris below the Pont Grenelle. Indeed, the Statue de la Liberté was a gift from France to the United States in 1886 as a sign of friendship between the two nations yet a little sister was built on L’Ile des Cygnes. Funnily, this statue was rotated several times as it first faced the Eiffel tower, than the presidential palace to finally be orientated West in direction of her American sister. It can be seen on the picture as the sunset was witnessed by the many Sunday wanderers, almost giving the impression of a large ship entering the harbor. “New York, New York” could almost be heard in the distance.

Leica M8 with CV25mm, ISO160
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Les Buttes de Chaumont is less known yet a wonderful park located in the North-East of Paris. It is a favorite of the parisians so it gets very crowded on sunny weekends. The views from its many hills are fabulous and you can take a  rest below the many trees lining the curvy trails. It is behing one of them that this group of Gipsy women had decided to stop for a little chat. It did not seem to reassure the man sitting on the bench, probably due to the harsh fame following the Gipsies, many times without reason.

Epson R-D1 at ISO800

Thousands of birds were flying in circles between the Fontaine du Palmier and Tour Carrée. It gave the impression of an attack over the city, yet the only victims were probably the statues of the fountains upper column who had to bear with the many pigeons taking a rest on their heads.    (click on picture to enlarge)

Leica M8 with 35mm Summicron at F8, ISO160

It was only at about 3pm last Saturday when the sun finally broke through the clouds. At that moment, I was in the vicinity of the Eiffel tower and found it to match the patterns of the trees just like if it was one of them.     (click on picture to enlarge)

Epson R-D1 with 50mm Summicon at F8, ISO200

The big wheel on Place de la Concorde is back like every year end. Yet, to the surprise of many, it is now a whole new wheel with, sign of our times, modern cabins. Gone are the times where you would freeze your butt on top of the wheel facing the winter winds. Convenience won and another piece of history is gone …   (click to enlarge)

Leica M8 with CV15mm, ISO160

View picture location on Google Maps

Saint-Denis, one of the suburbs north of Montmartre, can be compared to the Brooklyn of Paris. Yet while its past 30 years made it famous as one of the most troubled part of the city, its future is brighter as many residential buildings and company headquarters are slowly taking over the old and grey brick houses. This new construction site will soon covered with glass participating to the rebirth of once proud Saint-Denis.

Leica M8 with CV25mm at F5.6, ISO160 (click to enlarge)

View picture location on Google Maps

Next to the impressive Radio France building is located the Président Kennedy train terminal. This station has still some old bricks as shown by this wooden blue gates, probably repainted many times over the last decades. Obviously, the girl walking in front did not notice, headed toward the moder high rise neighborhood just across the river.

Leica M8 with CV 15mm Heliar, ISO160 (click to enlarge)

View picture location on Google Maps

On the way from Saint-Ouen to Place de Clichy, you will probably cross over this old abandoned railway tracks. While you won’t see any steamy locomotives, you might find some people wandering through this quiet trail, especially on a sunny Sunday when a neighborhood fair takes place. The setting  together with the clothing and long disorganized queue of people made me think of an exodus to some hidden world in the Paris of the end of the 19th century.

Leica M8 and 90mm Elmar at F5.6

(click to enlarge)

This odd word is not the name of some smelly French cheese, but the one of a metro station in Montmartre. This shot was taken from the far left of the pier facing the Sacré-Coeur church hill. A boy was standing on the opposite pier. For a moment, it seemed that he was headed towards the rails, ignoring the yellow sign next to him where  ”no trepassing, danger of death” was written. The kind of drama that happens several times a year in Paris. Hopefully not this time.

Taken with Leica M8 and CV21mm, ISO160

(click to enlarge)