I took my Bridgetown series international while visiting Paris. This is the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor which crosses the Seine between Musée d'Orsay (Orsay Museum) and Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden). It is a pedestrian footbridge only and also a popular destination for love locks.

I think photography is made up of many components. There is reaction and invention. Creation is certainly one of them too. Another good one though is prediction. A lot of photography you see where you think to yourself "My goodness that photographer had good timing to be there at that moment," is really a matter of that photographer predicting something interesting will happen at that spot at some moment. Predicting what could become an interesting photo is what gets you to that right spot at the right moment to get "lucky". That is why, when out wandering for photos, a wise photographer isn't just looking for what is, but what could be. What may be on the verge of happening in a few moments? Or what may happen when the light shifts? Or what may happen when the weather or seasons change? This type of prediction, or foresight, can involve an opportunity that may occur in a few minutes or a few months. This is how I approach the St. Johns Bridge for example. Some days I go down there and walk for hours and don't make a single image..... that day. But I do see something that would be interesting at night, or when it snows again. And I make a mental bookmark. Then when we do get that sudden snowstorm, I know right where to go and I am not left scrambling and searching and losing valuable time because I have already done some prediction.

Such it was here in Paris too. As I was standing at the end of the bridge waiting to cross up on to it (and making some other photos) I noticed the angle of the sun and shadows of some other passing pedestrians. So I waited and framed my image and it only took a couple of minutes to get the right pair of shadows and for them to cross into the frame just where I wanted them.

Speaking of bridges and prediction. I predict that I have an opening for my Bridgetown show tonight in Vancouver at the Angst Gallery. Sorry I did not post anything earlier. I posted it to Facebook, and meant to make mention here, but it has been one of those weeks.

So the details:
Tonight. 5-8pm
Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street (Next to the old Higgins theater)
Vancouver, WA 98660
www.angstgallery.com

If you miss tonight, I will also be giving an artist talk on the series next Friday evening from 7-9, also at the Angst Gallery. So come with questions to that one.

Tags:   bridgetown Paris France bridges square film Hasselblad figures shadows cast iron urban city Blue Moon Camera

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And another helpful piece of advice, don't forget that there are many more ways than one to photograph anything. Or put another way, don't settle with photographing anything one way. There is really an infinite number of ways to photograph everything. And this seems obvious, but trust me, it is easy to forget. Just look at Multnomah Falls. How many photographers avoid that waterfall because they think it has all been done? The same with the Eiffel Tower. Sure, there are lots of photos out there of both of these and many of these photos tend to look really similar. It is easy to make the first photo one finds and then move on to other things.

Don't do this. Stop. Look around. Keep looking. Move. Look some more. Wait. Then find a second and a third and a fourth different way to photograph your subject. Trust me, the perspectives are out there, it is just a matter of finding them, if you can. And sometimes you cannot. Sometimes you don't have the equipment, or the experience or technical prowess. Sometimes you just don't have the vision. But just because you cannot find those additional ways does not mean they don't exist, which also means that you shouldn't not look for them. Give it a try.

The Bridgetown opening went well tonight. Thank you to all the familiar faces I saw. I appreciate your being there. And surprisingly most of the faces were not familiar at all. About 90% were people I did not know. I like that. I had plenty of good conversations tonight. Always fun to put on a show and get people together.

This by the way is the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor once again.

Bridgetown continues.

Tags:   Paris France bridge figure flare sun city urban passing square film Hasselblad person b&w zombie Braaaaains Blue Moon Camera

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Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange. Inception

The Pont de Bir-Hakeim in Paris. If it looks familiar, it may be because you recently watched the movie Inception, in which it has a cameo role. The bridge itself is built of steel and is just over 100 years old (1903-1905). But all that you can find on Wikipedia. It is a remarkable bridge to walk across and it really looks just like this at night. Bicyclists come zooming down this little highway between the pillars and halfway across the bridge is a statue commemorating the battle of Bir Hakeim, which has a remarkable view of the Eiffel Tower.

I found this bridge sort of by accident. I mean, I knew it was there. The Metro runs across the top of it and I had crossed it several times in that fashion. Nothing from a distance though really engaged my interest enough to walk across it. And then one night I was out on my own doing a several mile long loop around the city and this bridge offered the shortest route back to the apartment, according to my map. So I angled my way through the streets toward it, shuffling through piles of leaves and under-highway tunnels as I went. And then I climbed the steps up to the lower deck here and this was the first thing I saw. Thankfully I had the Hasselblad with me, as this was a photo meant to be done on that camera. I had to time my exposures to not get run over by a bicyclist and overall took much longer getting across this bridge than I had anticipated. Of course, I had to come back during the day and make further images of this bridge.

My favorite bridge in Paris? Almost, but not quite. I think that would still be the Pont Neuf, but perhaps just because I am so easily moved by history and age. ;-)

Tags:   Paris France bridgetown bridge square film Hasselblad night urban city steel Bir Hakeim Blue Moon Camera

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Very close to the previous photo, but I could not pass up the heart. It was actually a close call between which image I preferred, but in the end this came out #2. I like the weight the previous image puts on the top of the frame and the shadowed upper recesses of the bridge. Even so, the chalk heart was a detail worthy of a second image.

Happy Easter, everyone. Chocolate overload and sunny days to all of you.

Tags:   Hasselblad film night city urban square Paris France heart Kodak Tri-X Blue Moon Camera

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I am not really sure if this counts as a study of the Pont de Bir-Hakeim or not. It is made from the bridge and features a statue commemorating the battle the bridge is named after, and it does showcase the view of the Eiffel Tower that the bridge enjoys.

Funny thing about this photo, you can see the statue in the two previous posts and I was going to add a note pointing it out so that you all would have an idea of where we would end up when I posted this image, but then I was beaten to the punch. I did not really expect anyone else to pull that detail out. Just goes to show I shouldn't underestimate my audience. :-)

Tags:   bridge statue battle Paris France square night city urban Eiffel Tower Hasselblad of course b&w Kodak Tri-X Paris is an amazing city to walk Blue Moon Camera

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