The final stop! I arrived in Paris and after settling into my hotel in District 11 (Paris is broken down into about 20 districts that spiral out from the center. 11 is to the East and North a bit) I contacted Mariette (who spent years 3-15 in Berkeley and the rest in France) and her boyfriend Serge (a native), who turned out to be yet another team of exceptional helpers who happened to coincidentally live in the same district! (PP?) After a great French dinner at their local spot we took off in their car to explore a few places from just outside the city. Serge had arrived with 4 or 5 maps and had generously spent some time thinking of places that might work. Over dinner he also found Panoramic Street in one of the northern suburbs which sounded promising so we decided to see what we would find. We found a street lined with houses not surprisingly blocking the panorama but we noticed a path at its end. Rain had spotted the afternoon and clouds blanketed the night sky with the threat of more drizzle. We ventured into the muddy shadows of the path where after 50 yards or so we found ourselves surrounded by vegetable gardens and on our right the namesake of our destination street with the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the middle of the view (No really actually sparkling. For 10 minutes at the end of every hour the Eiffel Tower actually does sparkle
We came prepared with umbrellas thanks to Mariette and used them for 20 mins of the 1-hour shot as a slight shower fell watering our happy vegetable neighbors. Another peaceful way to experience a city with the smell earth and growth surrounding. Mariette commented that we could almost be in the Berkeley Hills with the damp cool air and the smell of trees and dirt.
Mariette and Serge generously offered to help me out on a second shoot on night two in Paris this time from somewhere within the city. Our first stop was The Sacre Coeur, a Basilica at the top of one of the few hills in Paris. Another perfect location despite the loud drunk tourists, the guitar playing french youth, a few sketchy men in the shadows and in a few cars and a few flame throwing jugglers. Yes in was 11:30pm - 1 am on a Tuesday eve. I set up the shot at the top of the stairs just below the Basilica and was actually happy that the E Tower was not easy to get into the shot so excluded it (I have been avoiding including obvious landmarks in the shots as to keep the images a bit more mysterious and to emphasize the interchangeability of what this excessive light means). The half moon was moving across the sky and at the last minute I decided to take a risk and include in the upper right hand corner this fluffy branch of a nearby lit-up tree. Something about this tree got me more excited than I've been in a while shooting. Shot 2, Paris, fin.
My last night I had been invited to stay with friends friends in a suburb called Meudon, south of the city. Catherine and her husband Herve came to pick me up after sadly getting rear-ended by a Cameroonian Diplomat on the way... Meudon has an especially good authentic french restaurant that Catherine wanted me to experience so I happily stuffed myself silly with escargot, duck, cheese, wine and sorbet before heading out for the final shoot. First to a terrace overlooking the city, another perfect shot much closer to the Eiffel Tower and with trees cushioning the view from the sides. A COLD hour of waiting. LAST SHOT FIN!!!
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