Cats hold a special place in French culture. Every village has its gang of wide ranging breeds and temperaments. They roam the streets day and night in their self-directed quests for purrfection while always looking for the purrfect nap. Henri the famous French cat explains it best… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q34z5dCmC4M
For all its misty gray days and long winter nights, Paris can be a very colorful place full of visual wonder and graphic adventure. The natural light of Paris changes hour by hour and season by season offering a constantly evolving color palette for the photographer to work with. And, there are always a great number of colorful and interesting props at hand.
Paris is a world meant for the walker alone, for only the pace of strolling can take in all the rich (if muted) detail. - Edmund White
This visually and emotionally stunning museum is located on a quiet side street in the Marais. It is dedicated to the 76,000 Jews deported from France to Nazi concentration camps during World War ll. The museum's monuments and exhibits are beautifully created and extremely powerful. The hundreds of photographs in the Children's Memorial room are simply heartbreaking. Here is a link for more information about the Mémorial de la Shoah: http://www.memorialdelashoah.org/index.php/en/
Here are a few books related to Paris, the war, and the Holocaust: Sarah's Key https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/556602.Sarah_s_Key The Paris Architect https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17456328-the-paris-architect Suite Française https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43944.Suite_Fran_aise
The French noun Flâneur, means "stroller", "lounger", "saunterer", "loafer", "rover"; all appropriate and honorable aspirations for a photographer wandering in Paris.
The crowd is his element, as the air is that of birds and water of fishes. His passion and his profession are to become one flesh with the crowd. For the perfect flâneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite. To be away from home and yet to feel oneself everywhere at home; to see the world, to be at the centre of the world, and yet to remain hidden from the world—impartial natures which the tongue can but clumsily define. The spectator is a prince who everywhere rejoices in his incognito. The lover of life makes the whole world his family, just like the lover of the fair sex who builds up his family from all the beautiful women that he has ever found, or that are or are not—to be found; or the lover of pictures who lives in a magical society of dreams painted on canvas. Thus the lover of universal life enters into the crowd as though it were an immense reservoir of electrical energy. Or we might liken him to a mirror as vast as the crowd itself; or to a kaleidoscope gifted with consciousness, responding to each one of its movements and reproducing the multiplicity of life and the flickering grace of all the elements of life.
— Charles Baudelaire
There is an area in Montmartre near Sacre Coeur that is the center for designer fabrics. There are more than a dozen shops selling fabrics of all kinds making it a mecca for designers from all over the world. The colors and textures make it a visual playground. Here is a very good article on this unique neighborhood: http://sewstylish.blogspot.com/2007/02/fabric-shopping-in-paris.html
There's no better place for a photographer to go on a rainy day than the Metro. Everything is movement, color, light, and drama. There are 300 metro stations and miles of connecting passages to explore. Find out more about the Paris Metro at: http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/visiting-paris/
The famous Leonardo da Vinci portrait at the Louvre always draws a big crowd. What's amazing to me is that no one is actually looking at the painting!
The recently renovated Petit Palais, situated across the street from the much larger Grand Palais, is an architectural gem that houses works of art from antiquity through the early 20th century. This under-appreciated destination, which tourists frequently overlook, boasts masterpieces by Courbet, Cézanne, Monet, and Delacroix. The interiors and facilities have been restored to their original grandeur and updated to a very high standard. The “Petit” offers a new bookstore and a very comfortable café and because it is part of the City of Paris museum group, entry is free. The many large windows and abundant natural light throughout the Palais make it an especially appealing and productive venue for photographers. http://www.petitpalais.paris.fr/en
This public library specializing in the arts is located on the edge of the Marais near the Seine. The impressive and colorful building dates back to the Middle Ages and is open to the public most days. Here are some links for further details: http://www.travelfranceonline.com/hotel-de-sens-bibliotheque-fornet-paris/ and http://equipement.paris.fr/bibliotheque-forney-18
This first ever modern department store was founded in 1852 by Aristide Boucicaut. Over the years it has evolved into one of the leading fashion and design centers of Paris. The interiors, displays, and exhibits throughout the store are visually stunning and always changing. The impressive food halls (La Grande Épicerie de Paris) will be featured in a future post. http://www.lebonmarche.com/en.html
There are dozens of beautiful metro stations all over Paris. Here are two very graphic examples of everyday destinations made special through art. Both stations are located on Line 1 the oldest metro line in Paris. Here's some additional information: http://metro.paris/en/place/concorde-station http://metro.paris/en/place/champs-elysees-clemenceau-station
