One Evening In France

After visiting Paris, I understood how artists were drawn to the city to hone their creative vision, to begin exploring and shaping their style. I picked up a postcard that appeared to be a rooftop cityscape from the 1800s. Imagine my surprise when the caption indicated it had been shot in 1997.

My companions and I wandered the streets, feeling safe and at home; I was taking pictures of whatever caught my eye. We felt unusually free and just ducked into shops or stopped for coffee or a snack whenever the urge struck. We all were very agreeable and whenever someone made a suggestion, the others went along (having no other agenda anyway), and that was what we did.

One evening we split up. Half of us went to a musical show, I and my partner went on a boat ride on the Seine. I would like to show you a map or describe the portion of the river or the section of the city we traveled, but frankly, I have no idea where we went or even how long it took. I can only tell you we passed under many bridges. Not surprising, since Paris, the City of Light is also a City of 37 Bridges.

The photographic conditions on the boat tour were poor. Darkness of night, low intensity lighting from the far away streets, and the boat, constantly in motion, both from the engines and from the water itself.

But that is where photographic magic comes from. Shooting under challenging conditions, while not always yielding the best technical results always does yield interesting and unique images. Most photographers will not even try to photograph under those types of conditions; poor weather, poor lighting, etc., but those who do make the effort to go out when even the dog won't, who push their creative and technical abilities in adverse conditions, are rewarded with photos others will not ever get. Try it.