I have a rather strange relationship with Paris. It’s a place that makes me turn inwards, somehow more creatively productive, and even a bit weirder in my art.
It was no surprise then, when I got back some film this week that I’d shot in Paris, that something unusual had happened. For some reason, while I was there this October, I had decided to use a couple of rolls of expired film — one was actually a tungsten slide film roll, so that made it even weirder. When I saw the scans, they struck me as ethereal and dreamlike, and flawed in the most appropriate way to represent my experience in Paris. I was delighted to find how accurately these captured the vibe I feel when I’m there — deliberately composed, yet messy; dreamy with a subdued color palette; surreal. And, it was a fun experience shooting something there that I couldn’t see right away. Ahhhh, analog.
These are some of my favorite shots from Versailles, the Luxembourg Gardens, and various other Parisian spots. (Also, traveler side note: I went to the Biblioteque St. Genevieve — picture at top of post — per the recommendation of an architect friend. It was completed in 1850, and became the first French public library open to all. They even let me get a library card!)
What do you think?
