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Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Paris Stories – Street Dancing

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Just south of the Pompidou Centre (just around the corner from the happy people), I found these guys showing off some moves for an appreciative crowd:

The cool part was that, although one of the guys ran around the square to collect donations from the appreciative crowd, that wasn’t why they were here. They’d set up to hang out, practice and maybe make a few euros, and everyone – from the crowd, to the diners at the adjacent cafes, to the owners/staff at those cafes – was cool with them being there. I was happy taking photos from a way back, staying out the way, but then this guy took a turn:

That’s his fricking elbow!

OK, so I figured these guys had some real ability, and I wanted some good shots, but they were in the middle of the square and I didn’t have my longest lens with me. So, I jettisoned my English reserve and got in close, which got me this shot:

Note that his hands aren’t touching the floor… This shot took some catching…

I’d chucked the guys some euros, so they were happy to be photographed, and even framed a few shots for me:

The light at that time was amazing, so I’ve left these pretty much as-shot, but that last one was screaming for a black-and-white conversion. Notice the guy on his bike in the background, just hanging out, trying some tricks – young Parisians having fun.

I was really happy with how these photos came out, not least because I gained a lot of confidence in getting in close and putting myself in the scene, if not in the picture. I guess that’s the more personal story I took away from this encounter: how I found the confidence to tune out my surroundings when I’ve got my camera and a picture to take, and how photography can be an enabler – placing you into the moment, rather than shielding you from that slice of life with a hermetically-sealed lens.

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Posted in Paris, Travel | 1 Comment »

New Year Inspirations

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

I try not to get too introspective at this time of year, as I think that it can reinforce the notion that the turn of the year is an ending/beginning, and that can become an excuse to postpone ideas and projects. I prefer to just eat some turkey and power through as if the calendar doesn’t exist. Yesterday, however, I caught up with some friends I’ve not seen for a year, and they were asking what I’d been up to, which triggered an involuntary look back. So rather than spend time reminiscing and berating myself for time that could have been more profitably spent, I thought I’d identify, and share, some things from 2009 that served as inspiration, both in writing, in business and in general.

In no particular order…

  • Adventureland – Greg Mottola’s film about a summer spent working in a theme park to earn money for college is a perfect example of someone pouring their soul into a creative endeavour. Film-making is a team discipline, but this is one of those films with such a clear voice, you know that just one person is calling the shots and the studio is leaving them to it. It didn’t do too well on theatrical release, but I know this is going to live on as a cult DVD.
  • Grandville – Bryan Talbot’s latest graphic novel is a beautiful book, and another example of a creator in complete control of their vision.
  • Jousting – I don’t know if it was the experience of hammering along a tilt, lance in hand, on a horse that was trying its best to unseat me, or just the act of fulfilling an ambition, but something changed in me that day. It was soon afterwards that I decided to publish Make a Move; I think my risk framework was re-calibrated.
  • Backspacer – Pearl Jam’s latest album came out a month after I saw them live for the first time, and it’s such a good record. Aside from the quality they’re still achieving so far into their career, they included a couple of live album downloads into the package, offsetting any quibbles people might have with the short runtime and demonstrating a commitment to value and fairness I can appreciate. It was also the soundtrack to:
  • Paris – I’ve already written about my muse city, but the inspiration this time came from travelling alone for the first time. When I travel with business, there’s always a contact or pickup in the target country, but this time it was just me, my camera, and a vague plan. The plan went out of the window about an hour after I landed, and that sense of complete disconnection, coupled with three days of speaking nothing but French, just reset my brain in a very creative way.
  • Wing Chun – I’ve always lacked the discipline to see projects through to the end, and I figured some kung fu training would help me focus. It’s worked so far: training is hard, and you have to clear your mind and focus on what you’re doing to get through it, and the exercise is good for my creative mind. Wing Chun is a form of kung fu in which you inflict maximum damage with minimum effort, and it’s a principle I’m working into the rest of my life – how to achieve goals efficiently, without wasting time, money or effort. I left it late to start learning a martial art, but I don’t regret it, although I do get punched in the throat more than I was expecting…
  • Social Media – between Facebook and Twitter, I’ve reconnected with old friends and made some new ones. It’s hard to pin down why social media inspires me, but I do feel as though there are fewer barriers to the communication of ideas than ever before.

Of course there are more, but those are the ones on my mind right now – the ones that are inspiring my work at this moment, and will continue to do so in the future.

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Posted in Opinion, Social Media, Travel | No Comments »

Paris, Why?

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

I believe I found my voice in the writing that followed the discovery of my muse: Paris. I know that for most people, a muse is a person, but people only have one story, while Paris has near-infinite tales. It doesn’t matter where you walk (and you always have to walk to find the stories) you’ll see people interacting, communicating, creating drama. Once you get on the Parisian wavelength, it’s a beautiful experience in which to immerse yourself, but it’s not just the natives: the tourists are as much part of the fabric of the city.

I know there are probably other cities with a comparably rich vein of narrative, but I’ve not been to them. English cities are populated with people getting from A to B as quickly, and with as little interaction, as possible. Rome felt equally focussed. Florence’s charms are hidden in its galleries. New York is like being in a film with one main plotline. Boston is refined, but too small. What happens in Vegas is mostly orchestrated. Budapest has stories, but Hungarian is such a complicated language, I haven’t a clue what they’re about. I hear that Berlin has character and excitement to spare, but I’ve yet to visit, and it’s already too late for me: Paris is my mistress.

Two months before releasing Make a Move, I went back to Paris for a few days to build some energy, take photos for the cover art and do research for the follow-up to Make a Move, provisionally subtitled “Season Two”. Just me, my camera and a couple of changes of underwear. So much of Make a Move is drawn from my observations on the streets of Paris, I have to be there to get ideas – to get the feel for the stories. Google Street View is not enough. I found so many stories this time, my mind was buzzing with ideas for the sequel while I rode the train back to Charles de Gaulle (Roissy) airport. I captured a lot of them on camera (I was practising being less “reserved” in my street photography) and I’m going to share some on here, so you can get a feel for where Make a Move comes from.

This first story is pretty obvious, but it’s the incongruity that piqued my interest:

You see this sight in Vegas all of the time: newlywed brides, with or without grooms, being photographed in front of whatever photogenic background is available, but at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe? The photographer in the picture has a pretty standard wedding setup – crop-sensor DSLR with a portrait-length lens, assistant with a similar spare camera – and there were no other helpers with additional lights or reflectors, so I’m pretty sure it wasn’t staged. I was there to try out a new photographic technique (which kind of worked…) and it took a lot of work just to fight through the crowds in the underpass to get into the centre of the Place de l’Etoile. How this bride managed it while remaining fresh-looking is beyond me. I’ve also no idea why she (they?) chose this location to take pictures, but therein lies the story. Maybe they wanted to capture the softness of the bride’s dress against the rigid lines of the arch, or to juxtapose her serenity with the swirling traffic. Maybe they just wanted a guy in shorts and fluorescent vest in the background, and this was the only spot in Paris they were guaranteed to find one.

I don’t know – maybe I’ll use it in a book, maybe I won’t. Either way, it made me smile.

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Posted in Paris, Photography, Travel, Writing | 2 Comments »