Tag Archives: le marais

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman and Delicatessen

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Woman and Delicatessen, Paris
“Woman and Delicatessen” — A woman walks past the Marianne delicatessen, Paris.

This photograph comes from one of our long walks during our early-December visit to Paris. We have been to Paris before, but always in the summer. The winter (technically, very late fall) visit felt quite different. There are still tourists — like us! — but in far lower numbers. But the biggest difference is that instead of the usual pleasant to hot summer weather… it was cold and gray the whole time.

As with several of the other recent Paris photographs, this one falls into the “quick grab” category, in which I work very fast before an opportunity disappears. Here it was partly the woman walking toward my camera position — I managed to get two frames including her before she was gone. I’m also fascinated by a few other things, including the prevalence of the color red in this scene, along with the extensive plant life above the canvas overhang.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Free ‘P’ Star

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Free 'P' Star, Store, Paris
“Free ‘P’ Star” — Free ‘P’ Star, a Paris thrift store, with orange and black paint and lots of street art.

This was one of those street photography “grab shots” — I think it was in Le Marais —that I make while walking about in the urban environment. I often make them almost spontaneously — thinking in the moment that the subject is interesting visually, but then not taking time to note the precise location or other facts. To be honest, in a lot of ways this is the opposite of how I work in my landscape photography, and that may be part of the appeal.

From more recent internet research, it appears that “Free ‘P” Star” may be a chain of what we in the US call “thrift stores” or “second hand shops.” There were lots of things in this scene that attracted me: the string contrast between black an orange, the glow of the purple light inside the store, and the impressive collection of street art on the outside wall.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Passing Cyclist, Le Marais

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Passing Cyclist, Le Marais
“Passing Cyclist, Le Marais” — A bicycle rider quickly passes at a cross street in Le Marais, Paris.

I often ponder the similarities and differences among the various genres of photography I pursue. (If you follow me you have seen everything from landscapes to night photography to street photography to travel and more.) The connection between landscape and street photography especially interests me, partly because many people think of them as being utterly different. I think that there are some similarities. For example, I often think about the street landscape first, and then wait and watch for someone to animate it.

That was the case here. I was interested in the wall at the end of this narrow street, and the way that its view is bounded by the darker walls on either side. I knew that I could photograph people as they passed by. One tricky part of this is that I had no idea who was about to enter the scene or from which direction. So I had to be ready to react quickly. (This necessarily results in some less than remarkable photographs, too. I won’t share those!) The time was even shorter as this woman sped past on her bicycle.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: People, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Three Parisiens

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Three Parisiens
“Three Parisiens” — Three people walk along a street in Le Marais, Paris.

There is a story about this wall that I’ll share in the second paragraph. The photograph comes from the Le Marais district of Paris, where we were out for a walk in early December. It uses one of the classic approaches to street photography, namely finding an interesting street landscape and waiting for people to walk into the frame and populate it. This can lead to a lot of photos of the sides of people, but here it helps that the person in the lead has glanced in my direction.

About that story… This wall is the location of one of my favorite photographs that I have made in Paris. It features three (likely related) women in front of this wall… back when it was covered by some fascinating street art. (You can find the photo by searching for “je suis bleu” on my website.) This reinforces how transitory street subjects can be. Not only do people come and go, forming visual relationships that may last only an instant, but the street landscape itself changes over the seasons.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.