Saturday, 7 July 2012

There's The Rub


Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles
~ There's The Rub ~


Here's The Rub, originally uploaded by Paris Set Me Free.


BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

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This guy's wearing a cheeky smirk on his face and a remarkably shiny shoe on his right foot.

The shoe (and the foot, face, smirk and guy) are situated just opposite the Sorbonne and there's a reason for that shine and possibly the smirk too.

Rumour has it that if you touch or why not rub this particular extremity you'll have good luck in whatever matter you choose.

It's obviously popular with those about to sit exams, but, similarly to another polished one in Père Lachaise cemetery (and it ain't his shoe that shines this time..) other attributes are also associated with the act of veneration, namely sexual prowess.

Whence the smirk? We'll probably never know but if you fancy your chances, simply give the old club a rub, utter your wish along with a hearty 'Salut Montaigne', and let us know what happens. If you can fight off the girls / guys / award ceremony hosts / TV crews / reporters, that is.


And why not...
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© 2012 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.
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With love from Sab

Friday, 6 July 2012

Play Me, I'm Yours


Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles
~ Play Me, I'm Yours ~


Play Me, I'm Yours, originally uploaded by Paris Set Me Free.


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There's a strange phenomenon in Paris at the moment. Pianos are plonking themselves down in the most unexpected places and just... sitting there, almost as if simply waiting to be played by any passing Tom, Dick or Hervé.

And they are. Playing them, I mean.

Maybe the fact that they all have a huge sign saying 'Play me, I'm yours', in English, no less, has something to do with their success. Indeed, I haven't passed one (I've passed about three) which wasn't having its declared desire requited in the most delightful manner.

It makes you wonder just how many closet pianists there are, wandering around amongst us, just waiting and dreaming for their moment to come. In Paris it seems to have, and a couple of them had gathered quite a crowd.

It reminds me of the old piano in Shakespeare and Company you can often hear tinkling away up on the first floor as someone tickles the ivories and ebonies (or is it just plastic these days) to their heart's content.

There is one more thing to say about this; each piano has been decorated. Not just by anyone, but by invited (I presume) artists of various ilks, from street to, well, bathroom (or is it metro) tilers if this one is anything to go by.

Once again I wasn't invited but one day my chance will come, my star will shine and my brush will swish over the designated surface. Until then I'll just wander around humbly humming multicoloured masterpieces to myself enjoying others' 15 minutes of fame.


And why not...
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© 2012 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.
0 comments
With love from Sab

Thursday, 5 July 2012

Siamese Smiles


Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles
~ Siamese Smiles ~


Siamese Smiles, originally uploaded by Paris Set Me Free.


BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

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The enigmatic lead violin has captured my silly old heart with her fine fiddling, her exotic slanting eyes and that Mona Lisa smile... could it be for me, or is she just lost in her music? I guess I'll never know.

Hey, I should throw you a challenge: photograph a busker today. We've all got them in our cities, right? And some of them are pretty good. For a coin or two you can generally buy yourself a few shots whilst keeping your conscience clear.

They're not just any old bunch of musicians, look, they've got CDs and everything! The music was quite enchanting, and my two and a half year old even had a bit of a dance into the bargain. Come to think of it, that's probably why she was half-smiling after all.

We're here outside the Comédie Française, which is currently being renovated and has had to move out into a kind of hut in the middle of the Palais Royal, which I'll show you shortly.

It's a great place for rather more sophisticated street performers, probably due to the close proximity of Culture and stuff, so check it out next time you're in town, and send me your pics. Maybe you'll get a grin!


And why not...
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© 2012 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.
0 comments
With love from Sab

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Bright Side Bobblicious


Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles
~ Bright Side Bobblicious ~


Bright Side Bobblicious, originally uploaded by Paris Set Me Free.


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This reminds me a bit of all those tall thin bollards that are currently getting painted with all sorts of wondrous designs all over the place, but it's not of course.

NEW! Paris Photo Chronicles Vol.10 just out...
It's that freaky metro entrance/exit at Palais Royal and also the shot that inspired me to start making a few more Street Photography Secrets 'Hints & Tips' videos, which are fun to do and get quite a few hits on You Tube which is nice.

Don't get me wrong; 'quite a few' means in the tens, not the tens of thousands! But that suits me fine - a few faithful souls who like my waffling and the odd one who doesn't is ok by me.

This picture is also a great example of the van-ruins-shot curse which I seem to have upon me. You wouldn't believe the number of times this happens. Here I just couldn't (be bothered to) avoid it, so there it is, exceptionally a rather cheery blue and yellow, as opposed to the usual grimy white, which is refreshing, at least.

Always look on the bright... side of life! (whistle) Dee do, dee do dee do dee do...


And why not...
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© 2012 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.
0 comments
With love from Sab

Tuesday, 3 July 2012

Suck It And See


Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles
~ Suck It And See ~


Suck It And See, originally uploaded by Paris Set Me Free.


BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

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As you might have guessed, this gloomy passage is not actually one of Paris' glamorous 19th century galleries on a par with Galerie Vivienne or heaven forbid, Les Galeries Lafayette!

Nope. Here we're a few metres underground and we're looking at some very interesting pipes indeed.

If I remember correctly, the bottom one is for drinking water, identifiable by the omnipresent humidity due to its lower temperature. The second is for Seine water used for cleaning the streets and you'll often see it gushing along the gutters on an average Paris morning in your neighbourhood if you pay attention to such things.

The top pipe is electricity (with internet being out of view over my head in, well, not in this shot), but it's the other two which interest me most.

Here we're looking at the now defunct old pneumatic communications network. This is a large network of tubes which used compressed air to propel, either by pushing or sucking, capsules around the city in record time.

Haussmann's extensive and relatively spacious Parisian drain system, including a tunnel for every street (and two rats per person as I'm sure I mentioned the other day), was ideal for this then revolutionary system.

There are plenty of other blog posts that deal with the history of this technology, but I couldn't resist including a couple of pics, the first of the surprisingly extensive Paris network, and the second of a couple of the capsules themselves.

Paris' network was withdrawn from service in 1984, but it may be that it is still used for extremely confidential, or high-value items being transferrred secretly between certain shady service departments... who knows?!


And why not...
_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2012 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.
0 comments
With love from Sab

Monday, 2 July 2012

Henri II and Company


Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles
~ Henri II and Company ~


Henri II and Company, originally uploaded by Paris Set Me Free.


BONUS: For Street Photography Fans!

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Look carefully at the walls of the Cour Carrée in the Louvre and you'll see some distinctly interesting features, if not to say intriguing.

Basically, the kings in charge of pushing forward the slow but relentless development of the royal palace had a teeny weeny ego issue and desperately wanted to be associated with whichever wing or widget they were responsible for. So they left their initials or insignia carved in the stonework for all to see, admire, venerate and sometimes be confused about.

Louis XIII, for example, chose a couple of overlapping lambdas to signal his greatness. Many of them also interlaced the initial or initials of their betrothed ones. The symbol we can see here though is a bit of a mystery.

We know that the single 'H' with a cute little crown is Henri II's monogram, and that the 'H' is included in the one above it too. Then it gets complicated.

Is the 'H' being combined with a forwards and backwards 'C' to honour his wife, Catherine de Medici? Or is it sneakily turned into 'D's with the uprights of the 'H' to become a nod and a kiss to his 'favourite', Diane de Poitiers..?

Then again, could he get away with having us believe that it was simply another symbol he'd conveniently adopted, namely that of two intertwined crescent moons? The mystery has never satisfactorily been solved and of course it's far more fun that way after all, isn't it? ~ SW


And why not...
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© 2012 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.
0 comments
With love from Sab

Sunday, 1 July 2012

Embroiling The Royals


Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles
~ Embroiling The Royals ~


Embroiling The Royals, originally uploaded by Paris Set Me Free.


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You see a lot of beautiful bikes in Paris. Many of them Harleys of course, but every now and then a real gem turns up, like this magnificent Royal Enfield spotted just off the Place de la Nation.

But what's the behind-the-scenes story, Sab, I hear you all crying...

Ah hah, but well, there is one, of course. I'm from Enfield! Over twenty years of my life, give or take, spent in this unassuming North London borough. How funny it is to see my home town's name emblazoned on such a mighty beast as this off one of Paris' grandest roundabouts.

Then again, the London Borough of Enfield has another claim to fame apart from the bikes and the odd country house or two: weapons.

The bonus photo I'm including here (I couldn't resist) pays homage to this fact. 'Made like a gun', they proudly proclaim, and it's a powerful image. Visions of bullets and cannon balls screaming from smoking barrels surge forth, err, don't they?

I don't even know where the factory is, nor whether it's still in operation, but the story's a nice one nevertheless. Here's to Enfield, folks. Royal Enfield and Paris. Heck, with all the military, armoury and regal legacy they share I reckon they should be twinned and I'm going to write to Segolène Royal to demand of her ex M. Hollande that it be so. They get on well too, don't they?


And why not...
_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2012 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.
0 comments
With love from Sab
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