“Woman and Cathedral Columns” — A woman walks past immense columns at the St. Pierre Cathedral, Montpellier.
Montpellier’s huge St. Pierre Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Montpellier) is a historic Catholic Church in gothic style that was established almost 750 years ago. The south facade features a high exterior arch supported by these two gigantic round columns and topped with very pointed roof caps.
Such churches often seem to be found in the centers of historic districts cities like this, but in Montpellier it is a bit off to the side. When we visited there few people were walking near the cathedral, aside from a few passers-by and a couple of people entering the church. (We did not go inside since it wasn’t open for visits.) I photographed this woman walking past the base of one of the columns.
This is riveting, Dan. The difference in magnitude between the solitary figure against the column, the muted tones that still deliver depth, and the graduated vertical play of light combine to create an engaging and beautiful image.
“Woman in Red Coat” — A woman in a red coat sits on steps outside a Paris building.
This is another of the “grab shots” that I often come away with when I’m doing street photography. Here things appear and disappear quickly, and it is often more a matter of grab-that-shot than careful and slow consideration of the subject. Here I simply spotted this women on the steps and wearing the striking red coat as we walked past.
It can sometimes be hard to articulate precisely what I see in a photograph that I make. Here, I think that the color of the woman’s red coat is pretty important, as it stands out against the cooler colors in the rest of the scene, especially the color blue. I also was attracted to the somewhat melancholy feeling of the woman sitting alone on the steps in front of the badly weathered doorway. Form is also important, and here the mirrored shapes of the planter boxes create a kind of background rhythm.
“Big Pletzel” — A mosaic tile covered Paris bakery with a sign featuring “Big Pletzel.”
First, the title “Big Pletzl” comes from the sandwich board sign on the sidewalk in front of this Paris delicatessen. We were out for a long walk this past winter, and I grabbed the photograph as we passed the business. A few things caught my eye, including that sign. (Yes, I had to look up what a pletzel is.) It also has the generic outdoor tables – and there were people seated there even on this cold December day. But the main thing was the tile on the front walls.
Today we are accustomed to generic, corporate signs on businesses. Chain stores and fast food “restaurants” may be the most common offenders, but even individual businesses now try to copy that appearance. But I love places whose appearance is at least a bit novel and individual. Here it is the remarkable mosaic tile work on the outside walls, including both text and imagery.
“Woman in Red” — A woman in red pauses to look at a shop window in Paris.
I thought of calling this “Paris Style” or similar, but to be honest, in many ways Paris style isn’t all that much different from what we see in other cities… and that title might just be falling for a common stereotype. (Note the red beret, for example.) Nonetheless, this rather stylish woman caught my attention, in her striking red outfit.
It was a very cold day in Paris, and we were out for a lengthy walk back in early December. I think that I made the photograph in or close to Le Marais, the well-known central Paris district with the narrow old streets — in contrast to typically more modern streets elsewhere.
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