My French Lover

What else is there to do on a rainy evening than reminiscence about old lovers, right?! My French lover was not called Jean Pierre. He did not eat baguettes nor drank wine. He was called Eiffel. Nah, not Gustave Eiffel (though I am sure with this mustache and beard of his he was totally hunky-dory back in the days). So yes, you guessed it, I am talking about the big metal tower - The Eiffel Tower. I know that people have mixed feelings about it, so I had no great expectations, but I tell you, it was love at first sight. 

I have never really spent much time in Paris (and I am still dreaming of seeing France, not just Paris), it has always been a day or two and related to work (except the day trip I made last December). However, I have always managed to spend some time with the The Eiffel Tower. Moreover, I looked up all my photos and realized that there are so many ways of taking photos of something no-one really needs photos of. We all know what it looks like or is supposed to look like, at least.

So with this post I want to share different perspectives. My very touristy shots of the tower and my less touristy (hopefully) shots. From spring 2009, summer 2010 and winter 2012. So, mostly older photos. Some of which I would probably edit a bit differently now. I used to have a weird thing for warm filters back then. Ahem, yes, but who cares. Let's hit the road. Let's have a closer look at my French lover.

Let's start really close. This is one of my favorites.

Is it really in one of the greatest a cities in the World or a metal monster in a bush?!

Road, cars, where, wait, where did the "forest" go?!

A very wise lesson - never ask another tourist to snap a photo of you.

Learn to take selfies. Haha. Because a man walking on your head is way cooler than a tower growing out of your head.

You think its you, the Eiffel, the sunset and a lonely runner. No one else. Right?

Wrong. You are never alone with The Eiffel.

You can spend the night.

You get up, close and personal.

At times your love goes up in flames.

You glance at each other from a distance.

And you look together into the distance.

He's with you when you take walks by the river.

Sometimes there are obstacles (mind you, smart cut by tourists up on Montmartre).

You're an international match.

You have competition.

Sometimes the clouds over your heads darken.

But you will always have Paris.

Yes, I know, it's such a cliché to be obsessed with The Eiffel Tower as if there were nothing more to Paris. I am not really obsessed, I just realized I love shooting it, it's my thing. We have our thing. Plus I am convinced you can take a landmark that has been overexposed, surely, and still come up with something different (than your average postcard). 

After all, every girl should have her French lover... to be shared with the World. ;) 

xoxo

Sources of Inspiration: "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger

Last December I made a day trip to Paris. I wrote a bit about it in January (click to read more). Among other things I also managed to visit the famous (I think it's famous, it must be) Shakespeare and Company bookstore. 

Olympus E-420, 25mm

It was the coziest place with tons of cool books. I couldn't help, but get some (because who wouldn't want to walk around the whole day with backpack filled with books). One of the books I got was called "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger. I liked the front cover.

iPhone 4S, Afterlight (aka Afterglow)

And I liked what it said on the back cover:

"...Berger argues that when we see, we are not just looking - we are reading the language of images." 

If you in your life would only read one book on art this should be the one. It provokes thinking, it provokes seeing and re-evaluating what you already have seen or have been told.

Look, inside my book there's a stamp. So my copy of the book is also a special travel memory. 

I was one happy tourist with an inspiration-filled shopping bag. 

iPhone 4S, fisheye lens by Photojojo

I find the fisheye lens by Photojojo so cool when traveling and in desperate need for a photo of me and some cool location. Ever so often I travel alone and usually when I strangers to take my photo I end up with even more awkward shots than those mobile "selfies". However, I am a bit of a memory collector, I like having a visual "note" of having been somewhere. 

Any inspirational book recommendations?

xoxo

ExEx as in Exciting Exhibitions

Over the past month or so I have been lucky enough to visit three great photo exhibitions in three lovely cities. Whenever I have a chance I try to check out potentially interesting (for me) exhibitions (art, photography, fashion etc). Living in Madrid it is not too hard, it's more like there's TOO much going on all the time for a normal person to grasp. Okay, but let's cut to the chase.

Elliott Erwitt, Personal Best @Elephant Paname (Paris, France) 

Last December I spent one day (yes, only about 12 hours) in Paris and I was stocked to find out there's Elliott Erwitt's exhibition as he is one of my favorite photographers. I say it was fate 'cos I found out about it on Instagram - I spotted a poster with the exhibition information as background to a photo posted there by a stranger. You know, tiny little Instagram pic on your smartphone screen. Hundreds of new pics all the time. And I was lucky enough to spot such a small detail. 

It was well worth it. I loved the gallery with its squeaky old staircase on a quiet side street in central Paris. Ever so amazing and inspirational. Me, couple of Asian tourists and some art students, no big fuss. Oh and the staff was so lovely and I got to practice my broken French a tiny bit.

Cas Oorthuys, Bruxelles 1946-1956 @City Museum (Brussels, Belgium)

It was a really chilly day in Brussels and while I was taking my super touristy walk from Manneken Pis to the see the Town Hall I felt like I need a little warm break and then I saw that the City Museum facing Town Hall is holding a photo exhibition. Needless to say I made my way in and enjoyed a fun photographic trip into the history of Brussels. Loved his work and how most of his work was shot in 1:1 ratio. Squares work so well at times. Even for street photography or maybe especially for street photography. 

Imogen Cunningham @Sala Azca (Madrid, Spain)

First of all I must say that Fundacion MAPFRE has always such amazing exhibitions and they're for free. It would be a sin to miss them. I had never been to Sala Azca before. It was in a bit of an evil location, in a mall (ahem, yes, sales want to get the best of me, but I try to resist). However, the exhibition was a lot bigger and versatile than I had anticipated. I am always in awe when I see that people took what to me seem like very modern photos already in the beginning of the 20th century. And to imagine that back in the days being a female photographer was rather unheard of. Very inspiring. From nudes to portraits to plants to street photography - Imogen was really creative (and obviously had great technical skills). Oh and she was born 100 years before me, I think that is a nice little fact.

So, yes, while photos often look very good on a screen and you can browse through thousands and millions of them online, I'd say they still look a lot better framed on a wall. Coincidentally all the exhibitions I saw had b&w photography. I am not saying b&w is easy to shoot, but I'd say it's easy to fall in love with it. The crisp clean images (even if they happen to be blurry or hazy they seem somewhat clean and pure) are mesmerizing. 

I have noticed one thing, the more I go to different exhibitions the more I want to go to even more exhibitions. No better (affordable) source for inspiration (and education). 

xoxo

Ps. Click on the links, google the images, feel inspired!