STL DPB ON THE ROAD - LOW-RES SELF PORTRAIT

On a side street in Paris returning from dinner, low light, no explanation available.     

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - I WOULD PUT A TAX ON HOLIDAY SNAPS

Does anyone else remember that Monty Python line? There were times over the past week when I would have endorsed such legislation. At crowded attractions, like here at the Palace of Versailles, not only are you crushed by bodies but now lots of the people hold their arms, hands and phones in the air, further blocking the view. This is but a small example. Sure, people have the right to take phone pictures and, sure, I've done it myself, but, on a mass scale, it makes the experience even more unpleasant. And that's my occasional rant.            

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Six days on the road and I'm gonna make it home tonight.

We're beat.  My SI joints are howling like King Looie's hunting hounds. My balance on stairs needs a gyroscope. My leg and back muscles are as wobbly as quelqu'un qui a bu trop de vin. If you look closely, you may be able to see the double-pupiled eyeballs. I can relate to that. We admit it. We're too damn old for this on-your feet-all-day travel.  

We went to Versailles yesterday, which often felt like a human cattle car but with thousands of mobile phones taking bad pictures of things you could see better in the souvenir book. We fly through Philadelphia today and I'm concerned about the connecting time so we may or may not make it home tonight.

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - L'ATELIER DES LUMIERES

L'Atlier des Lumieres - The Workshop of Lights - is our sleeper favorite in Paris. Some brilliant people converted an old iron foundry into a spectacular multimedia space of light and music. It was uncrowded on a Monday morning. Projections of the work of a chosen artist slide and roll and blend around the walls and floor, appearing and disappearing as if at the wave of a wand, perfectly synchronized with clever, unpredictable music. The main show now is Marc Chagall in Paris and New York. It blows you away and we visit every time we're in town.

Tech note: this was shot at ISO 12800 on a 40 MP Fujifilm X-T5. Needless to say, the original was very noisy. The new Denoise AI feature in ACR works fabulously and is much faster than Topaz AI.           

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - EVRYBODY TAKES THIS PICTURE

Or almost every person who visits the upper floor of the Musee d'Orsay. The place started out as a railway station and has a clock tower. I've taken and posted versions of this image on other visits there.    

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - UNDER THE PYRAMID

Louvre Madness Part ...  So, yeah, we went there yesterday because that's one of the things everybody does here, even us after many visits to the city. It's exhausting. It's finally hit us that after decades of travel, now that we are well into our 70s, we are just not up to urban forced marches any more. Despite having bought five day Metro passes, I'm running up a serious Uber bill. Doesn't do a bit of good for street photography.

It may be just because we are older, but Paris seems more difficult. Worse traffic because of laws giving right of way to pedestrians, bicycles and scooters (not that it's a bad idea). More trash. But I'd rather be here than back home.           

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - FROM ST. LOUIS TO PARIS

We went to the Pantheon yesterday, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panth%C3%A9on, the temple to the memory of those who France considers its most important citizens, and found the cenotaph of Josephine Baker, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Baker. Born in St. Louis, she was a singer, dancer and actress of extraordinary talent. She left the U.S. for France because of racism and became a huge star and a French citizen. She played a significant role for the resistance in World War II, receiving many civilian and military honors. She has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame but this monument is more moving.

And in case you've been wondering, we have been eating well. 

This afternoon: Louvre Madness.                   

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - BIENVENUE À PARIS

Toto and Kevin McCarthy, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.        

AT THE POMPIDOU

Posts have been hit and miss. We got home Wednesday night, I was buried at work and we go out of town again Tuesday for a professional conference. At least there will be plenty to photograph there.

Anyway, we made our obligatory visit to the Pompidou, the museum of modern and contemporary art with its still-shocking architecture. It is as well known for the views from its terrace as for the works on display. There are breathtaking views of the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre with Sacre Coeur on top.        

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - SIGNS

Home Wednesday night. I'm pooped. The procedure I had two weeks ago helped the back pain but my gait is awkward and I still need the cane but I've walked 3.5 to 5 miles a day. A nine hour sit today should help.

Anyway, the first picture is city hall. Noble aspirations. We in the US do okay on the liberty but we're a little short on the equality and fraternity. In the second, epicerie means grocery store. The others are self-explanatory. And then there is the midnight laundromat.  

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - FILLER - GARE MONTPARNASSE

So many photos, so little edit time. We took a day trip to Chartres Cathedral and I have a lot of pix to clean up. For now a couple of shots in the Montparnasse Station waiting room. Thank heavens for flip-out camera screens.            

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - ATELIERE DES LUMIERES - VIEUX AMIS - LA VIE PARISIENNE

I'm not quite ready for this. Although my back pain is gone after the recent procedures, my gait is a mess and my leg muscles are like putty after a year and a half of under use. The muscles are barking (loudly) and I've become a major customer of the local Uber operation. But the show must go on.

On Friday, we went to the must-visit Ateliere des Lumieres, the workshops of light. It is an old iron foundry which now contains ephemeral, ever changing projections of art on some theme. This year it is Van Gogh and Japanese illustration. Later, we met some of our City Daily Photographer friends for a wonderful meal in an unpretentious cafe. You can't eat badly in France if you stay out of one of the (very few) McDonalds. That's me in the bottom picture, face in phone as usual.          

STL DPB on the road - TEMPS ET ART

I take a picture like the first one every time I am in Paris. It is the clock tower in the northeast corner of the top floor of the Orsay Museum, obviously set up for visual impact. Can't go wrong.

The big show was about Berthe Morrisot, the only woman who elbowed her way into the Impressionists' circle (except maybe for the American, Mary Cassat). It was stunning. I had heard of her, maybe seen an image or two, but knew nothing about her. Her style is often quite loose, shapes dissolving into colored air with a flick of the brush. Note how two strokes define the crimson lips in the detail below from Girl With A Bowl Of Milk. The subject may be her daughter, Julie. If there were time, this would be worth a second visit.       

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

It is fitting to title this post with a quote from St. Louisan Yogi Berra, perhaps the only words of French he ever spoke. We are back in what is probably our favorite city in the world, Paris. Last night we took a tour of the Louvre with a young art historian.  The museum is horrifically crowded these days but it's not too bad at night. Familiar images here. Time to get out on the street.           

Hundertwasser In Paris, Plus. Where Have I Been?

The self-named Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser translates directly into English as "Peace-Realm Hundred-Water". The other names he chose for himself, Regentag and Dunkelbunt, translate to "Rainy day" and "Darkly multi-colored." He was born Friedrich Stowasser in Vienna in 1928. His work, the subject of the second show at L'Atlier des Lumieres, is very difficult to describe in a couple of sentences so see here or the link above if interested. 

These posts have been rare lately. In brief: I came down with a significant bladder infection shortly after we arrived in France (who knows how). Got weaker and lost my appetite. An English-speaking doctor in Arles did a brief exam, misdiagnosed it as a lung infection and prescribed a lesser antibiotic. By the time I got home I'd had a serious, untreated infection for two weeks and was in bad shape. I was hospitalized for a couple of days early this week.

The infection is gone with Cipro but I'm still very weak, sleeping a lot and having trouble eating. I went to work Wednesday. By mid-day I was so weak my staff had to drive me home. My doctor says it will just take time but I'm frustrated by the lack of progress. I'm a busy guy. There are a couple of interesting things to shoot in town this weekend and I don't know that I'll get out for them. Updates to follow.    

Atlier des Lumières 2

Some Klimpt faces, or suggestions of them. We are a self-absorbed species, aren't we?

You may have observed that these shots are all taken from the same angle. The steroid shot I got in my back wore off so I needed to just sit, not wander around the atlier as I would have liked. Notice the Hundertwasser eyes sneaking into the third picture. Also the hourglass in the fourth: is white sand just about to run or has black sand run all the way through?         

Atlier des Lumières 1

There is  an amazing new attraction in Paris called the Atlier des Lumières, the Workshop of Lights. It's been open since April. Some visionary people turned an old iron foundry into a complex light show on the walls and floor, ever changing and accompanied by intense music. There were three productions shown in rotation, one about the work of Gustav Klimpt.  one on Friedensreich Hundertwasser, and the last an abstract piece called Poetic AI. These are some from Klimpt. There are many more pictures to edit and post,

The experience is spellbinding. Check its website at https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/  . More to come.  

Coffee, Food, Photography

What else could one want, mixed with young lovers on the streets of Paris? Nothing like the St. Louis Fringe.

Down the street from our apartment.  My mystery French cooties may be a bit better but they are not gone. Then the steroid shot in my back - poof! - wore off, leaving me hobbling around. We went to Sainte-Chapelle today, . Some nice official saw me leaning on my cane and cut us to the front of the ticket line. Once inside all I could do was sit. I started taking pictures of the other tourists with the LED screen flipped down, thinking of a series called Paris On My Butt. May yet edit those. 

Here later today: https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/. Home late Tuesday night.