Paris is the City of Lights and nighttime seems to be a social lubricant for kissing. As I am working on my book, I also realize that night time kisses in public are harder to capture. You can’t see as far and can’t use your flash so patience is a key. This shot was taken in Paris in 2011 and you can purchase a print by clicking here.
A Paris Night Kiss
What better place in all the world to kiss your sweetheart than at the setting sun in front of the Eiffel Tower. Buy a print of this or other prints from my Europe Gallery by clicking here.
Eiffel Kiss on the Trocadero Plaza
One of the best reasons to travel through France is the food. Sure the gardens are great and monuments are spectacular but the food rivals both. Even a simple meal in a Cafe is special and the food on the street is also worthy. Items that can only be purchased in high class restaurants in the United States are common in France like duck and rabbit. This is some crispy succulent Duck Confit at a Paris Bistro. You can purchase images form m European Gallery by clicking here.
Le Canard Confit
The world’s largest skating event takes place every Friday night in Paris France, it is called Pari-Roller. Similar events occur in other european cities, but none as large as the Paris event. The skaters begin to gather at Gare Montparnasse around 9:30 and get the week’s skating route. At 10 P.M. close to 10,000 skaters have gathered and begin to skate through the city until 3 A.M. Some dress in costumes, some are part of teams and some just come to watch, like me. This guy was the best and you can buy a T-shirt by clicking here.
Le Roller
last year was my third visit to Paris France. I had never made it to Montmartre and was excited to see the Basilica. I wasn’t concerned about the hills, heck I am from Pittsburgh. When we exited the metro station at Abbesse we had no idea about the steps. There were no escalators but rather some large metal elevator door with hordes of people so we started up the steps when we were almost exhausted we saw a sign that said 100 more steps to the top and we looked at each other and laughed. Later after we had handled the steps and climbed almost to the top of the hill I took this image of a typical Montmartre street which you can purchase by clicking here.
Montmartre in Paris France
Throughout France you see people playing this game in parks and at the beach. Pétanque is like Bocce but does not require a special court and can really be played anywhere. The game originated in 1907 in La Ciotat, in Provence and is uniquely French as horseshoes is uniquely American. You can buy a print of these players at Champs de Mars near the Eiffel Tower at my commercial site by clicking here.
Pétanque Players at Champs de Mars
It’s Friday night in Paris. Thousands will gather at Gare Montparnasse to skate through the city at night. This couple is lacing up and getting ready for a wild ride through the streets of Paris. . You can buy a T-Shirt or Poster of Par-Roller
Lacing Up for Pari-Roller
Being a Photojournalist
Photojournalism usually refers to a type of journalism where the picture is used to tell a story or express a position. When I first started in Photography it was the only thing I really wanted to do. Even back then it was tough to make a living as a photojournalist, so I learned how to do other things but my love of Photojournalism never left me. To this day I keep taking photojournalistic images even though nobody is paying me to do it. This one was taken in Paris France last summer. You can buy prints on some of these images on my commercial gallery by clicking here.
Warm up for Pari Roller
You don’t really need Press Credentials to be a photojournalist, but it sure helps. Since the assassinations of the 1960’s it is more difficult to get close to people and stages. Even in the 1970’s, I could never have gotten close enough to get this photograph of Senator’s McGovern and Kennedy at a Pittsburgh presidential campaign rally without Press Credentials.
George McGovern and Ted Kennedy 1972
To be a photojournalist you need to be able to work strange and long hours. Like a news reporter you have to be willing to do anything for a story. In 1978, film director George Romero made “Dawn of the Dead” in a local Pittsburgh Shopping Mall. I was assigned to cover the story for Pittsburgh Magazine. Since it was being shot at a shopping mall, it was filmed from 9 PM until 8 AM. I would shoot at night and develop the film and make the prints during the day to be able to make the magazine deadline. This is a shot of George Romero listening to one of the movie’s Producers and trying to stifle a laugh.
George Romero on the Set of Dawn of the Dead
Sometimes the story is not right in front of you. I was assigned to cover the One World Festival of Music in 1972 in Pittsburgh. I was sitting in the stands trying to figure out how to sneak on to the stage. I noticed some people sitting behind me and figured out it was Dino Valente and Gary Duncan from Quicksilver Messenger Service. The band was one of the headline acts that would perform later. I clicked this picture of Dino Valente kissing some unknown blonde which was the best image of the day.
Caught in The Act
Capture the moment. Henri Cartier-Bresson was the famous French Photojournalist which developed the idea that for each image there is one correct moment of capture and only one. This picture was taken at a high school football championship game and I think illustrates that point. The facial expressions all have the one pure moment of victorious joy and the pat on the derriere offers the exclamation point on the moment. Bracket your exposures and take multiple exposures to make sure you capture the defining moment.
WPIAL Championship 1974
Always take pictures of the weird stuff you may see. One might think that this is some sort of worker in a radiation suit involved in some nuclear or chemical accident. The reality is quite different. This person was participating in a race that used to happen every spring at Penn State University. People would have to run a mile and drink six beers at six different bars along the run. Participants would dress in weird costumes and the money was donated to charity. The event was eventually cancelled because the University and the town councils thought in promoted public drunkenness
If someone would have told me there was a windmill in the center of Paris, I would have doubted them. Silly me because as we climbed the hill on Montmartre, there it was. Larger than life and looking more French than Dutch. It is right behind the Moulin Cafe and near the Basilica. You can buy a print of this image of my commercial site by clicking here.
A Windmill in Paris
Many people may hustle right by this beautiful old church on their way to see the The Basilique Sacré-Coeur. This beautiful historic building is near the Abbesses Metro Stop in Montmartre. It is a very accessible church unlike some of the Cathedrals in Paris. There is no list of rules, just come on in, take pictures, pray, sit in solitude in an ancient building without hordes of tourists take pictures on their phones. You can buy a print of this image on my commercial gallery by clicking here.
Parish Church in Monmartre