Smith, Springsteen, SNCF, Snow and Salvador

Finally, some action. Just when I was getting bored. Started the week with a 2-for-1 evening.


Photographed Will Smith who was here for the French premiere of “I Am Legend” and then zoomed across the city in time to photograph Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band in concert. It was my third time shooting Springsteen and he was, like always, brilliant.


Next was a special photo exhibition highlighting environmental issues related to the North and South poles. What made the exhibition special was that it took place on the first level of the Eiffel Tower, which had its walkways covered with artificial snow. Visitors wore snowshoes and trekked through the snow while taking in the views.


The week continued with another exhibition, this one at the Grand Palais, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the SNCF, France’s national railway company. The opening of the exhibition featured a full-scale train car outside the Palais (see photo) as well as ancient and future train cars inside.


Finally, the week ended with a concert of the legendary French singer Henri Salvador. The 90-year old (!) Salvador announced that this would be his last live performance but that he would continue to record music. You could see by the reaction of the crowd how well-respected Salvador is here. Salvador’s career has spanned over 60 years, including a period where he played with Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt in the 1940’s.


I’d like to dedicate this blog entry to my good friend and “spiritual advisor” Bipul, who will be closing the doors of his store and leaving France next week after more than 20 years here. I will miss him a lot, as will the many others that spent countless hours with him, drinking chai, laughing and delving into the life’s mysteries.


Some photos of the week:

Clarence Clemons and Springsteen
Springsteen
Joking (I hope)

One Great Minute, Louis-Delluc & Barry Lyndon

Each time I get off the number 86 bus coming from the Bastille, I get to experience one great minute. This minute comes when, while walking from the bus stop on rue des Ecoles to my apartment, I get a whiff of two moment-changing smells … freshly-cut wood and freshly-baked bread. On a small street called rue des Bernardins there is a little lumber store where workers are constantly cutting planks of wood for their customers. My route home from the bus stop takes me past the store’s side entrance which is invariably covered with wood shavings. And just when I pass the side door, I take in the smell of the recently-cut pine, ash, cedar and whatever else they’re working on. It’s a real treat considering what types of smells I usually get to experience of the streets of Paris.

But the fun doesn’t end there. I turn the corner onto rue Monge and pass not one but two boulangeries, one of them (Eric Keyser) being among the best in Paris. With two boulangeries on the same block there is always at least one of them in the process of baking something so as I head for home, after just getting over my experience with the lumber store, I’m treated to the smell of whatever fairy dust the French put into their baguettes to make them taste so good.

I don’t mind taking bus number 86.


Not so much exciting on the photo front this week. I photographed an award presentation called the Prix Louis-Delluc, which is given to the best French film of the year. It was held at the fancy Fouquet’s restaurant along the Champs-Elysees. I also shot a re-release of the Stanley Kubrick film “Barry Lyndon”. One of the stars of the film, Marisa Berenson attended the small premiere.

Some photos of the week:

Clothing store on rue des Rosiers
Sunday morning along the Champs-Elysees
Figurine store near my apartment
Lake in the Paris suburb of Orsay
Female sphinx at the Hotel de Sully

Boring Week ...

Can’t say I have much to blog about this week. A lot of rain had me cooped up at home a lot the last few days. The main thing that got me out of the house was, believe it or not, a performance of specially trained horses.


The annual event is called La Nuit du Cheval (The Night of the Horse) and attracts pretty big crowds. While I enjoyed parts of the show, I couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong with training animals to do tricks for no particular reason other than to get applause at a show.


To see more images from the show, CLICK HERE.

I also shot a boring movie premiere with a bunch of children actors from the French film “Big City” along the Champs-Elysees. The only thing nice about it was the morning light.



A couple images of the week:

Snowman Cake
Spanish Cowboys

Bee Movie, iPhone and Christmas Lights

Motivation and the weather are more related here in Paris than I remember them being in California. The majority of days here now are gray and while it's not freezing, it's cold enough so that going on an extended walk isn't so fun. Just like you can feel the surge of energy when spring arrives, you can feel the dearth of energy related to winter arriving in the city.


Made it out long enough to photograph the French premiere of Jerry Seinfeld's "Bee Movie" with Renee Zellweger. Unfortunately the weather was rainy and stormy the day of the premiere and they had to cancel a planned photo shoot under the Eiffel Tower. Those would have likely been some fun photos.


A huge number of techies braved the cold and lined up along the Champs-Elysees for the launch of Apple's iPhone in France. The first customer to purchase the iPhone in France had lined up at 5:00am for the 6:30pm opening. Just FYI, French law requires that customers be given an unlock code with their mobile phones so the French version of the iPhone will be unlocked (although it will be sold that way at a higher price).


And finally, the season of beautiful lights around Paris has started. I hope to photograph the most special light displays around the city this month.


Photos of the week:

Savagery at the butcher