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.