Paris doesn’t woo you. It immediately envelops you in all of the mythologies and narratives that dominate everything from the architecture to the curves in the streets.
The drama is seductively overwhelming.
It lures you in quickly and keeps you in a state of wide-eyed wonder.
Where New York City fuels longing with every sunrise and sunset, Paris seems to relish and flaunt a certain fulfillment of desire with an immediacy that never really fades.
It’s a city that is so steeped in elaborate versions of the past that the future has no choice but to succumb to the romance that comes with such lofty and beautiful presentation.
1 - A view of of the architecture along the Seine on a deliciously moody afternoon when the river’s water was flowing a bright green.
2 - Looking out towards the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in the far distance over the rooftops of Paris from a beautiful vantage point on a hill in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont located in the 19th arrondissement of Paris.
3 - A street in Montmartre.
4 - The street curves slayed me on an early Sunday morning walk through the Opera district of Paris.
5 - This is one of the most beautiful church interiors I have seen. I have to thank Hugo from Rendez Vous with Paris for taking me here.
It is L'église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis located in La Marais in Paris. It was built in the early 1600s.
6 - A view of Paris from the bell-tower on the top of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre with a tiny Eiffel Tower in the distance.
7 - I really need to make an entire post about Vaux le Vicomte and I will. But I absolutely love this view from the inside of the chateau which is located in close proximity to Paris and open to the public. With the doors open looking out towards the gardens, it was hard not to be overwhelmed with the peaceful and open feeling this chateau provides.
8 - I was fortunate enough to visit the Panthéon on the last day that I was in Paris. What an awe-inspiring monument. It’s where Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Jean Moulin, Louis Braille, Jean Jaurès, Marie Curie, and many other French national heroes are buried.
This sculpture is by François-Léon Sicard and it honors the National Convention. The mosaic in the apse is by Ernest Hebert. The triptych behind the statue is called “To Glory” and was painted on canvas by Édouard Detaille.
9 - Spring flowers and staircases in the hills of Montmartre.
10 - A woman runs down a street located on the tiny island of Île Saint-Louis in central Paris.
I am still working on setting up my new travel photography portfolio site. A number of people have inquired about purchasing prints of my Paris photography. When I am finished putting together the site (hopefully this weekend), I will definitely make an announcement.
In fact, there are a number of things I need to make posts about: the outstanding gallery event at the Park Avenue Armory that showcased my Paris photography a few nights ago, a huge announcement about my photography career, and an exciting foray into a new type of photography that I can’t wait to show everyone. It’s been an exhilarating week, that’s for sure.
***All photos taken with the Sony A99 and Sony a7R
All of my Paris posts so far:
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