Paris – 40 years ago
The above photo was taken 40 years ago, in October 1984. I spent that month in Paris – I was learning French at the Alliance Française, 101 boulevard Raspail.
A few years ago I noticed that the Alliance Française is still there in Boulevard Raspail ! It is right next to number 99, the Nikon showroom in Paris, as the photo below from Google Street view shows. Five years ago I bought a camera in this Nikon store – a Nikon D7200 demo model with about 250 clicks for 539 euros.
At the Alliance Française our lessons were in the morning and in the afternoons and week-ends we were free – in my case to explore Paris and to take photos. At that time I was using a Nikon FM2 loaded with Kodachrome. The images you see here I scanned from the Kodachrome slides. Unfortunately over time the colour in the slides has degraded a bit, but in LIghtroom I was able to repair some of this damage using the Auto White Balance tool.
Yes, 40 years is a long time – it is true, I started taking photos as a child, and I was no longer a child when I went to Paris in 1984 !!!
The first photo above and the next photo were taken one Sunday morning in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Some morning fog was lingering in the air.
The lady with the dog was sitting on one of the benches in front of the cathedral that you see in the next photo.She was feeding the pigeons.
This photo is one of my all time favourites. Around 1990 I had a Cibrachrome print made from the original Kodachrome transparency. I still have that print. For the print, the above image was reframed and the result you see below
Around the time I took these photos I was aiming to have depth in my images and that is probably why I took the above photo from this particular angle. I think the row of trees gives a strong 3D effect. I was, and still am, impressed by the elegance of the street lamps shown here.
But if you go to Paris today, you won’t see what this photo shows. Even ten years ago, when I went back to take a look, everything had changed – in a detrimental way, in my opinion. Much of the charm you see in this photo was gone.
Even back in 1984 there were joggers in Paris and I suppose in this image I was again seeking a 3D effect.
I don’t remember now where or why I took this photo. The statue should enable the place to be precisely identified. If you can tell me where in Paris this statue can be found I would be glad to know.
The rest of these photos reflect my interest then in capturing some of the glamour and chic in Paris. I don’t think my photos from 40 years ago are remarkable technically. I hope I am a better photographer now than I was then, but in 1984 I was a visiting foreigner trying to capture some impressions. Despite their imperfections I am so glad I have these images. Photography gives us the opportunity clasp hold of some memories that would otherwise be lost.
It seems that clothes were longer 40 years ago.
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