Monday, May 19, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Madonna, Kylie, Caves and Me on TV
I imagine it's rare that being interviewed on television isn't the highlight of your week. But I have to say that photographing Madonna giving a private concert (tickets were not available to the public) at a small concert hall here was quite a buzz.
The event itself had the ambiance of something special - hordes of people outside Olympia Hall, celebrities in the crowd (Lenny Kravitz for one) and excitement that even spilled out to the nearby cafes, where signs welcoming Madonna were posted everywhere. Whatever you may think about her music, it's hard to find anyone who is better at putting on a show and knowing how to entertain. She is to the stage what Jack Nicholson is to the screen; they may not be the best but you're compelled to watch them when they're on.
To see more of my Madonna images, CLICK HERE.
And of all things, that same night Kylie Minogue started her new European tour in Paris.
Kylie is huge here so I shot her concert and then whisked across the city in a taxi in time for the Madonna show.
Later in the week I went to help my historian friend photograph some 14th century caves located in Village Saint Paul in the Marais.
These caves have been meticulously preserved and are today a private restaurant that can be booked for groups of 10 or more. I used to live right next door to these caves and never knew they existed. To see more about them, CLICK HERE. (click on the American/British flag for English)
Finally, a French TV journalist that is friends with my brother came by to interview me on the subject of the crumbling US dollar. The angle was that everyone knows it's tough for tourists, but how about for those who live in France and spend euros but get paid in US dollars. It's rare that I'm on the other side of the camera but it was pretty fun, especially because I did the interview in French and with my accent surely entertained the viewing public here. See the new story here:
Some photos of the week:
Hailing a taxi
Headless accordion player on Ile Saint Louis
Two special videos of the week ...
This guy's accent in English HAS to be worse than mine in French.
No idea how to title this ...
The event itself had the ambiance of something special - hordes of people outside Olympia Hall, celebrities in the crowd (Lenny Kravitz for one) and excitement that even spilled out to the nearby cafes, where signs welcoming Madonna were posted everywhere. Whatever you may think about her music, it's hard to find anyone who is better at putting on a show and knowing how to entertain. She is to the stage what Jack Nicholson is to the screen; they may not be the best but you're compelled to watch them when they're on.
To see more of my Madonna images, CLICK HERE.
And of all things, that same night Kylie Minogue started her new European tour in Paris.
Kylie is huge here so I shot her concert and then whisked across the city in a taxi in time for the Madonna show.
Later in the week I went to help my historian friend photograph some 14th century caves located in Village Saint Paul in the Marais.
These caves have been meticulously preserved and are today a private restaurant that can be booked for groups of 10 or more. I used to live right next door to these caves and never knew they existed. To see more about them, CLICK HERE. (click on the American/British flag for English)
Finally, a French TV journalist that is friends with my brother came by to interview me on the subject of the crumbling US dollar. The angle was that everyone knows it's tough for tourists, but how about for those who live in France and spend euros but get paid in US dollars. It's rare that I'm on the other side of the camera but it was pretty fun, especially because I did the interview in French and with my accent surely entertained the viewing public here. See the new story here:
Some photos of the week:
Two special videos of the week ...
This guy's accent in English HAS to be worse than mine in French.
No idea how to title this ...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Obama Posers, First Weekend and the Calm Before the Storm ...
This week was a slow one, sort of the calm before the coming storm ... that being the Cannes Film Festival, which starts in 9 days.
My favorite moment of the week involved one of my favorite states of being ... mass confusion. I planned on meeting the parents of a friend who were visiting Paris, just to sit at a cafe together, chat and make fun of the passers-by. I had never met this couple before so we made very specific plans; we were to meet at the entrance to the courtyard of the Musee Carnavalet and I could identify them because they would both be wearing Obama supporter buttons. I arrived a bit early and decided to mail a letter at the post office just across the street from our meeting point and when I exited, I crossed the street and walked right into a couple matching the description of who I was meeting - about the right age group, at exactly our designated time and at our designated meeting place. And of course both sporting Obama buttons.
I introduced myself, we shook hands and we spoke for about 3 or 4 minutes, talking about the basics like how their stay has been and how the Parisians have been treating them. After a few minutes of exchanging niceties, I was about 10 seconds away from suggesting we sit down at a cafe as we had previously planned. But as I was waiting for the man to finish his sentence, he suddenly said "OK, bye" and took his wife's arm and headed off. I was stunned. Was it something I said? My hair? My boy purse? It wasn't until they had gotten halfway down the street that my mind first entertained the possibility that this wasn't the couple I was supposed to meet, which, it turned out, it wasn't.
After literally laughing out loud on the street corner where they left me and marveling at the odds of what had just taken place (exact time, exact place, same age, same description, Obama buttons), I couldn't help but wonder what those people must have been thinking about who (and maybe what) I was. I guess they were too polite to say anything like "who the hell are you?" or "WTF are you talking about?". I did end up meeting the right couple a bit later and thanked them for their part in creating my moment of the week.
This weekend was the first Spring-like weekend of the year here ... and it didn't go unnoticed.
It really seemed like every human in the city just ran out of their apartments and got to a cafe, a river bank or park. There's a tangible energy here when that happens and, if you can tolerate the lines everywhere, it's pretty good fun.
Some photos of the week:
Translation: Love provokes erection troubles
Tour Eiffel
Queen Mary
My favorite moment of the week involved one of my favorite states of being ... mass confusion. I planned on meeting the parents of a friend who were visiting Paris, just to sit at a cafe together, chat and make fun of the passers-by. I had never met this couple before so we made very specific plans; we were to meet at the entrance to the courtyard of the Musee Carnavalet and I could identify them because they would both be wearing Obama supporter buttons. I arrived a bit early and decided to mail a letter at the post office just across the street from our meeting point and when I exited, I crossed the street and walked right into a couple matching the description of who I was meeting - about the right age group, at exactly our designated time and at our designated meeting place. And of course both sporting Obama buttons.
I introduced myself, we shook hands and we spoke for about 3 or 4 minutes, talking about the basics like how their stay has been and how the Parisians have been treating them. After a few minutes of exchanging niceties, I was about 10 seconds away from suggesting we sit down at a cafe as we had previously planned. But as I was waiting for the man to finish his sentence, he suddenly said "OK, bye" and took his wife's arm and headed off. I was stunned. Was it something I said? My hair? My boy purse? It wasn't until they had gotten halfway down the street that my mind first entertained the possibility that this wasn't the couple I was supposed to meet, which, it turned out, it wasn't.
After literally laughing out loud on the street corner where they left me and marveling at the odds of what had just taken place (exact time, exact place, same age, same description, Obama buttons), I couldn't help but wonder what those people must have been thinking about who (and maybe what) I was. I guess they were too polite to say anything like "who the hell are you?" or "WTF are you talking about?". I did end up meeting the right couple a bit later and thanked them for their part in creating my moment of the week.
This weekend was the first Spring-like weekend of the year here ... and it didn't go unnoticed.
It really seemed like every human in the city just ran out of their apartments and got to a cafe, a river bank or park. There's a tangible energy here when that happens and, if you can tolerate the lines everywhere, it's pretty good fun.
Some photos of the week:
Monday, April 28, 2008
It's All About the Low Country ...
Just got back from 4 days in the Low Country ... known also as the Netherlands, Holland and Pays-Bas. I was sponsored by the Netherlands Tourism Board to go photograph the tulips, which are in full bloom this week, as well as the surrounding areas. I spent only one day in Amsterdam and three in Haarlem (their's is a bit nicer than ours).
I wish I had the ability to capture in a photo what these massive fields of brilliant exploding colors really looked like. This time of year, many parts of that country look like a 3D painting.
Highlights of the trip included:
* exploring the picturesque town of Edam
* a private boat trip through canals surrounding the fields adjacent to the Keukenhof flower park
* a guided visit through the massive Bloemenveiling international flower market and auction
* outstanding Mexican food in Haarlem (most important)
(OK, I wish it was this good but it really was surprisingly good)
To see a mix of city and countryside images from the Low Country, CLICK HERE.
I wish I had the ability to capture in a photo what these massive fields of brilliant exploding colors really looked like. This time of year, many parts of that country look like a 3D painting.
Highlights of the trip included:
* exploring the picturesque town of Edam
* a private boat trip through canals surrounding the fields adjacent to the Keukenhof flower park
* a guided visit through the massive Bloemenveiling international flower market and auction
* outstanding Mexican food in Haarlem (most important)
(OK, I wish it was this good but it really was surprisingly good)To see a mix of city and countryside images from the Low Country, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Overreaction, Hanging Meats and I Don't Know What
This time of year, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, where almost daily Paris gets intermittent rain followed by brilliant sunshine, people seem to overreact ... with what they wear and what how they act.
At the first sign of sunshine, people flock to the cafe terraces and public squares and then scamper back to shelter when the rain comes. It can almost seem manic sometimes. I suspect people are so tired of winter that they overreact to the first signs of Spring - trying to sit "en terasse" and wear t-shirts like when it's really Spring. We see this same overreaction when winter starts as well - one cold day in say October and many people bring out their big coats and scarfs when its really not at all necessary.
Had dinner at a nice restaurant near Saint Germain de Pres and had a new experience - hanging meat.
I ordered a brochette of beef and when it arrived at my table, they hung it vertically from a big hook. I'm not really sure what the purpose of this was. Anyone out there know? At first I thought it was to make it easier to take the meat off the skewer but the distance between the end of the skewer and my plate made it highly likely that the dislodged meat chunk would jettison off my plate before I could stop it. Maybe it was just to show off the meat.
And I don't really know what this is but I like it:
Some photos of the week:
Hope not many people ordered this
It's inevitable
Encouragement?
Mayor of Paris - Betrand Delanoe
More hanging meat
At the first sign of sunshine, people flock to the cafe terraces and public squares and then scamper back to shelter when the rain comes. It can almost seem manic sometimes. I suspect people are so tired of winter that they overreact to the first signs of Spring - trying to sit "en terasse" and wear t-shirts like when it's really Spring. We see this same overreaction when winter starts as well - one cold day in say October and many people bring out their big coats and scarfs when its really not at all necessary.
Had dinner at a nice restaurant near Saint Germain de Pres and had a new experience - hanging meat.
I ordered a brochette of beef and when it arrived at my table, they hung it vertically from a big hook. I'm not really sure what the purpose of this was. Anyone out there know? At first I thought it was to make it easier to take the meat off the skewer but the distance between the end of the skewer and my plate made it highly likely that the dislodged meat chunk would jettison off my plate before I could stop it. Maybe it was just to show off the meat.
And I don't really know what this is but I like it:
Some photos of the week:
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Olympic Torch, Marseilles and finally Paris
The big news of this last week in Paris was the chaos related to the Olympic torch coming through the city. I was in city hall, with large groups of pro- and anti-China demonstrators outside,
waiting to take official photos of the planned ceremony that was scheduled but at the last minute, Chinese officials didn't allow the torch to stop there. Rumor has it that it was because the mayor of Paris put a pretty mild protest banner on city hall that read "Paris defends human rights everywhere in the world."
It was a pretty chaotic day, with the highlight being a demonstration by Reporters Without Borders that included unfurling a banner on Notre Dame with the Olympic rings portrayed as handcuffs.
Spent a few days down in Marseilles finishing up my project with the Port of Long Beach. It was my first time in this city which I found quite nice but with a bit more of an edge than most French cities.
Showed a couple of friends around Paris. It was quite nice re-connecting with some parts of Paris that I hadn't been to in a few months.
A few photos of the week:
A French supporter of Tibet
Geese (I think) doing a Notre Dame fly by
Free Wifi zone sign in the Place des Vosges
waiting to take official photos of the planned ceremony that was scheduled but at the last minute, Chinese officials didn't allow the torch to stop there. Rumor has it that it was because the mayor of Paris put a pretty mild protest banner on city hall that read "Paris defends human rights everywhere in the world." 
It was a pretty chaotic day, with the highlight being a demonstration by Reporters Without Borders that included unfurling a banner on Notre Dame with the Olympic rings portrayed as handcuffs.
Spent a few days down in Marseilles finishing up my project with the Port of Long Beach. It was my first time in this city which I found quite nice but with a bit more of an edge than most French cities.
Showed a couple of friends around Paris. It was quite nice re-connecting with some parts of Paris that I hadn't been to in a few months.
A few photos of the week:
Sunday, April 6, 2008
European Trade Mission ...
This week I accompanied the Mayor of Long Beach and a few executives from the Port of Long Beach on their European Trade Mission.
It was a great learning experience given that I have never really thought about how ports work and how much has to happen for us to get all of our stuff. I learned about "cold ironing" and more than I ever wanted to know about low sulfur fuel and hydrogen-powered buses. We had a pretty hectic schedule including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Hamburg (and Marseilles next week) but I managed to do a bit of exploring in each city. I had forgotten how nice of a city Amsterdam in particular is and how nice the people there are. Maybe there's something to letting people do drugs and have sex freely ...
To see some images from Amsterdam, click HERE
To see some images of Hamburg, click HERE
And finally, a few images of the week ...
The Port of Rotterdam
High Tech Command Center in Rotterdam
It was a great learning experience given that I have never really thought about how ports work and how much has to happen for us to get all of our stuff. I learned about "cold ironing" and more than I ever wanted to know about low sulfur fuel and hydrogen-powered buses. We had a pretty hectic schedule including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Hamburg (and Marseilles next week) but I managed to do a bit of exploring in each city. I had forgotten how nice of a city Amsterdam in particular is and how nice the people there are. Maybe there's something to letting people do drugs and have sex freely ...
To see some images from Amsterdam, click HERE
To see some images of Hamburg, click HERE
And finally, a few images of the week ...
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