Close Shave City

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Close Shave City ~

Close Shave City, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

Given the choice between these three worthy establishments, which would you choose for a short back and sides? Possibly not Bloody Mary, I'm hazarding...

OK, it's probably not a hairdresser, but fits in rather nicely between these two coiffing salons with a touch of the demon barber of Fleet Street about it.

And anyway. What's a boutique doing calling itself Bloody Mary anyway? Possibly only in Paris.

P.S. Note white van syndrome, the bane of my days...

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Well Well Wall

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Well Well Wall ~

Well Well Wall, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

In a little passageway, just off the curiously named rue Quincampoix, lies the strangest wall.

Bits of bodies is the only way I can possibly describe it - bits of bodies protrude through huge gashes in the stonework in a quite disconcerting fashion.

Hands and feet and boobs burst out in a sort of nightmarish composition as though the people had been trapped and dismembered in some horrific Parisian cityslide.

Or maybe I'm reading it wrongly. Perhaps the effect is meant to be altogether gentler and positive. There are some beautiful body bits in amongst the chaos anyway.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Hold On To The Planet

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Hold On To The Planet ~

Hold On To The Planet, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

It was a stormy day that day - just look at the angle the Seine was tilting at!

This was a grab shot, having been in dearth of a reasonably cute looking boat this one suddenly chugged into, and just as rapidly out of view, so I had to take what I got.

The wild composition allows me the three planes of bridge-boat/water-bridge which kind of seals the picture at both ends. And the colours are nice; that was one cute little boat.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

The Other Roaring Twenties

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ The Other Roaring Twenties ~

The Other Roaring Twenties, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

Imagine rowdy Romans getting fed to the hungry Christians as the lions laughed on, or something like that, a couple of millennia back and you wouldn't be far wrong.

This is Paris' very own amphitheatre, piffling as it no doubt is when compared to what Rome itself could offer today's reminiscing spectator.

Nowadays it's a battle of the boules you're more likely to see, or an innocent game of hopscotch or footy being the biggest kicking anyone gets.

Long gone are the days of gladiators and glory, but by narrowing your eyes and squeezing your ears slightly you might catch a glimpse that could just have been a wild beast from another time issuing from one of those side entrances to the roars of the crowd and the screams of the victims.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Rolling...

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Rolling... ~

Rolling..., a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

... balls, joints and cameras...

Your average Parisian kiddy's square attracts a curious array of individuals. If it isn't the can in a bag brigade it's your young toting turks and even the odd bone fide innocent minor.

There's rarely a problem, as all these strata of society seem to coexist just fine. And I've never seen a fine. A gentle warning nudge towards the exit if things get too blatant is generally all it takes. After all, people sitting in parks aren't the city's biggest crime threat by a long shot.

It's sometimes not too clear who's watching whom, but that's another story.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Back In Black

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Back In Black ~

Back In Black, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

The birds, theoretically, spend much less time than we do on this little planet of ours, and yet, ironically, they never seem to get old. They're just there, always and ever, never changing; for all I know the pigeons gathered around my park bench are the same ones I fed in Trafalgar Square as a boy 40 years ago.

They're a constant, almost mocking us as we get grimy and grumpy with their seemingly eternal sheen and spryness. I don't resent them for it though. They're not doing it to spite me, no matter how far my imbibed imagination might wish to anthropomorphise.

I'm quite a fan of crows, the goths of the avian world, too cool in their pure black garb, but suspicious and circumspect, it's true. This one and his reflection was a friend, nevertheless, the time of a snap or two, on my stroll through the Palais Royal gardens. Bring on the birds.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Train Of Thought

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Train Of Thought ~

Train Of Thought, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

This is one of my favourites. You naively raise your head as you're musing on train timetables and chewing gum splodges and spit, and splam! there it is; the nastiest looking tunnel you ever did see.

Tunnels upon tunnels within tunnels is what the Paris underground - i.e. under the ground in Paris - is all about. If you ever get a chance to check out a schematic of the place or one of those book from Parigramme on it, do so; it's mind boggling.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Another Rodin Rebel

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Another Rodin Rebel ~

Another Rodin Rebel, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

Sometimes you just have to improvise, especially when taking shots of classic subjects like a Rodin statue.

This one decided he wanted to try out my companion's new camcorder and this was the result. A nonchalant, if not downright irresponsible shooting style, to be sure, but effective, presumably.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

If You Reach Out...

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ If You Reach Out... ~

If You Reach Out..., a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

... you can feel the warmth of my sincerity.

Rodin isn't the only one who has his models doing fancy things with fingers. This is that strange monument on the Champs de Mars to the rights of man or something, also known as a probable freaky Freemason temple covered in bizarreness a go-go.

There should be more of these sort of things in Paris if you ask me. You can't have too much intrigue to get people wondering, and this one certainly wins on that count, hands down.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

That Which Sticks Out...

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ That Which Sticks Out... ~

That Which Sticks Out..., a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

... must one day be hammered back. As the tongues and noses and chins of Gregos' face casts are finding out to their detriment.

But this is the law of the land and the rules of street art - nothing lasts for ever, but is forever being replaced by something new.

There are still a couple of my pieces left from the days when I put stuff up around the streets, and it's always funny to see them when I go past. But for how long I wonder...

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Sometimes I Just Sit & Think...

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Sometimes I Just Sit & Think... ~

Sometimes I Just Sit & Think..., a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

...and sometimes I just sit.

I gave my mother a mirror with a cartoon character on it saying this once and I've always enjoyed the sentiment.

As for the Thinker by Rodin, there must be days when he doesn't think about all that much, or maybe thinks for ages about what he could think about today when inspiration is low...

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

This Way Paris Lies

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ This Way Paris Lies ~

This Way Paris Lies, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

Nothing particularly spectacular about this shot but oh so evocative of so many of my nocturnal Paris wanderings.

There's something about these names - Saint Michel, La Sorbonne, piétons attention - that conjures up something of the magic of this city at night. If it's not raining, that is, and even then...

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Here, Now & Everywow

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Here, Now & Everywow ~

Here, Now & Everywow, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

Snucking this one in from my 'Crap Paris' series in an even more grunged up version. Hope you don't mind, but I love this shot. It's 'too much', as the French often say.

We're in the rather chic 6th full of fancy galleries and suchlike and here is this horrendous graffitied wall, which spell check doesn't like at all (graffitied), but I don't care. It doesn't like 'snucking' either, but I'm convinced it should be a word...

The ironic thing is that the graffiti was far more interesting than the content of the gallery windows, not that that's always the case. There's a LOT of weird stuff in this quartier.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Mickey Jackson

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Mickey Jackson ~

Mickey Jackson, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

Nothing to say about this shot, if it isn't the repetition of more or less circular themes the image exudes.

It's a tourist-trap location, which doesn't make it any less photo-worthy nonetheless. It depends what you're looking for.

A huge afro Mickey is remarkable in his own right, irrespective of all the other balancing elements which go to make up a Paris street corner as remarkable as any other, I reckon.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Things To Do

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Things To Do ~

Things To Do, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

facebook.com/streetphotographysecrets

Tweet

A nice, if unexpected 'list of things to do every day' snuggled away at the back of what looks like a fancy dress (i.e. dresses which are fancy) shop.

Reading a poem's a nice one. In make case it really should be write one, but that would be pushing things. Listening to music is fine by me, and again I should be painting every day rather than just gawping at it.

I don't like tea, despite being British. How direct does a DIRECT experience of life have to be? Do you think a McDonalds 'Chicken Mythic' is 'good'?

Getting to work on time's a moot point. What do they mean 'touch the earth'? Would a tree qualify? And so on. Buy a fancy dress isn't on the list, surprisingly, but I'm sure they wouldn't object.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.