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Paris – Train from London

Yes, this time we went to Paris by Eurostar. And this is probably the most convenient way to travel. 4 hours after leaving the house, we were in the center of Paris. Northern line straight to St.Pancras, their short check-in and comfortable train with coffee, food, and WIFI on board. Of course, the ticket is a bit more expensive than the plane because it cost about £150. But if you add up the time and cost of getting to the airports, it’s not a dramatic difference.

Paris is drowning in garbage…

Two weeks before departure, strikes began in Paris, robberies in the streets, and generally piles of garbage everywhere. The French protested against raising the retirement age and the city had problems with garbage or simply with the mayor. I was afraid that there might be a chance that I have to cancel my trip. Fortunately, everything went well and to my surprise, Paris was really clean.

Montmartre + Takumar 50mm

If you expect now, dear reader, that I will tell you from which street you should start your tour and which shops to visit first, you will be disappointed. When going to another city, I have a general idea of what I would like to see, but I don’t have a checklist. I usually try to get lost and follow the general vibe of the street. And it’s definitely not a good idea to take photos in the most touristy places on the weekend. Or is it? I started my walk with the camera from Montmartre, which the French apparently don’t like. The 50-year-old Takumar 50mm is currently my favorite street lens. I had problems with the card for a while but at least the weather was good. You can see my POV from this walk here:

Paris my second love.

I haven’t decided yet what exactly lands in the first place, but Paris definitely occupies a high position in my heart. Cafes, style, streets, and general vibe despite a whole lot of tourists and crowds of pickpockets/scammers. I want to go back there and discover it all over again.

Foundation of Henri Cartier Bresson in Paris

The foundation was founded in 2003 by Bresson himself, his wife Franck and daughter Mélanie. It was established mainly to preserve the archives of Bresson’s photos as well as to show the work of other photographers. For me, Henri is the father of street photography and the Foundation was on my “must see in Paris” list. In addition, the current exhibition presented the work of Paul Strand and Helen Levitt. Very inspiring.

Street Photography

Throughout the trip I took a little over 1400 (one thousand four hundred) photos and used two lenses alternately: Takumar 50mm and Jupiter 85mm. Only once, experimentally, I took pictures with the Tair 135mm from the window. And this is a small gallery of photos that I managed to take. Let me know in the comments how you like them.