Paris and Back in a Day.

A Photographic Mini Series.

Paris and Back in a Day.

Paris Photo 2023. A stunning photography exhibition, showing of the best of the best. Historical photographs, modern wonders, experimental presentations and books. So many books.

Last year I did a whistle stop trip to Paris, staying only 1 full day, with the goal of visiting and exploring Paris Photo 2023. And what a visit it was, filled with stunning photography, captivating expeditions, and so many interesting people. A truly great exhibition of photography that I highly recommend everyone visit, regardless if your a photographer or not, I promise there is something there for you, and if not, well your in Paris how bad can it be?

Of course looking at photos wasn't the only thing I was doing that trip, I was also taking them. I kept it light and simple with my Fujifilm XF-10, a small point and shoot camera. It has its flaws, namely auto focus and battery life, but other than that its a little power house of a camera, with stunning RAW files and an almost invisible size. Fujifilm, if you ever make an XF-20, I will be first in line to purchase one.

Want to hear my full thoughts on the Fujifilm XF-10? Let me know with a comment.

Your not here to read my ramblings on a year old photography exhibition (although if you are interested the 2024 exhibition is upcoming), so lets get into the photos I took.

Eiffel Tower Sun Rays.

One thing you will notice is a lot of photos around the Eiffel tower, and for good reason. Paris Photo is hosted in the Grand Palais Éphémère, sitting at the foot of the Eiffel tower gardens. Like I said, I had 1 day in Parris, not much time to go exploring.

So while there are a lot of Photos with the Eiffel tower, hopefully you'll not get too bored of them :)

Like this one, it has a person in it. That's different enough right? ...RIGHT?

Gasp!!!! Whats this? Not the Eiffel tower? I know, hold your applause.

Man Outside Grand Palais Éphémère

Sarcasm aside this photo is a great example of why its good to know your equipment. By the time I took this photo it was getting very dark. Too dark for my poor XF-10 to focus properly. Its a slow focusing camera at the best of times, but when its dark you may as well set it down and go grab a coffee. Because of this I knew I wouldn't be able to get focus on any moving subjects. To counteract this I decided to drag the shutter, so indead of a shoddy out of focus snap shot, I know have a slightly less shoddy, intentionally blurry photograph. This is a technique I utilise a lot with this camera. I don't search for technical perfection, I wont find it, so instead I play into the technical limitations, and in doing so I create feeling. I hope you agree.

This is another example of what I was just talking abaout. A scene too dark to focus in and with to much noise to make a properly focused photo worth while. Instead I dragged the shutter again, leaving a faint impression of a woman with a cane walking a dog. Is it painterly, aesthetic, or just plain bad? Personally I think its painterly, but what do you think?

Sorry I couldn't help myself, back to the Eiffel tower. Not very creative I know, but I had a day in Paris, and I couldn't wander far. Atleast the Eiffel tower is guaranteed to look good.

This too is guaranteed to look good. I don't remember where this was sadly, although it looks iconic enough that I'm sure someone will recognise it and let me know. Remember what I said earlier abaout dragging the shutter? Well I did it again here. Grainy, blurry, and taken at a pace to match my speed whistling around Parris.

Or maybe not. Did I mention the rail strikes in Parris? No? well they were going on when I was there, meaning everyone was on the roads. This was taken from the back of a coach, stuck standing still right smack in the middle of a crossroads, for several hours (eventually I got out and walked).

Boke

And that's Paris for you, beautiful, crowded, and an amazing experience. While there I did pick up a wonderful book by Japanese photographer Eiji Ohashi. Maybe Ill talk abaout that at some point, but I highly recommend checking out his work, especially if you are a fan of my Insomnia series. Otherwise maybe go and check out Paris photo if you can, or consider London photo if France is off the books.