Adventures thru the Lens - Sharing Ideas through Images

Paris Photographers Workshop

Paris Portrait Photography & Fine Art Nude studies with Kevin Hayden & Seamus Costelloe. Paris April 29th 2012.

Well it's all over 'bar the shouting', as they say. So I'm here to shout about it.

This week-end's workshop was a brilliant success from every point of view!

Everyone one bar none had a great time, and we all came away with great images thanks to our super talented and charming model Dyana.

The months of stress and now looking back on it the unnecessary anxiety were all worth it. This fine Sunday evening in Paris I feel fine and satisfied having put this workshop together without any real glitches. For someone who's not so so very well organised I did a friggin great job!

 

 

I'd like to thank Seamus Costelloe for his expert help and patience.

http://www.photographyatseamuscostelloe.ie

Our wonderfully talented and charming model Dyana

http://www.dyanamodele.book.fr/

A huge thank you goes to Jim Kezman who helped and advised and posted

our event on meetup.com

http://www.meetup.com/photo-68/members/964049/

To the Lord of Kerry Mr McGillicuddy for teaching Seamus a ting or two. (Ting-Irish for thing).

http://www.damianmcgillicuddy.com/

And last but not least myself Kevin Hayden.

http://www.kevinhayden.book.fr/

 

I now have a comprehensive resource of model and studio information, and if you need anything photographic from needing to know where and how to find and book a studio, model or photographer I'm yer man!

Call me +33(0)671937281

Email me : kevinhayden62@hotmail.com

The Joy of Photography

Paris, France! I often forget to remember how wonderful it is to walk around Paris with friends, acqaintances and clients who then become friends as the result of a shared interest. Photography in Paris is like a sensory overload for this photographer, like the proverbial "kid in a candy store"!

Some of my "colleagues" in my photographic fraternity turn their noses up at what I do, because for them it's not "art".  I consider sharing my knowledge and talent with interested and eager visitors to Paris as a privilige and most often a great pleasure and source of inspiration. You could say I'm going thru an attitude of gratitude. Thanks Larry! Larry is my boss by the way! A very passionate photographer with a great eye for making the usual look unusual, which in turn makes fine art images. And this is what my clients enjoy about my style also. It's taking everyday things and changing how we see them, or if you like our point of view. Which can be from laying on the sidewalk or leaning over a bridge, it does pay to move around, plus I get tired walking after about three hours so laying down is good.
 In Paris the Parisians love to debate. Which reminds me, I recently had a dinner with some french friends whom I asked over dinner how to conjugate a verb. The explanation lasted three hours.

Be careful what you ask for. Living in Paris is like living with a woman, some days you can't get enough of her the next you want to get out and run away. As a photographer I love it more often than want to run away from it. The adventures thru the lens tours are something I have come to enjoy and appreciate more and more, because no matter at what level my clients are at I always end up with some new knowledge or inspiration. Thanks again Larry! On these tours I have started to include more and more info on portraits and on finding the "right" light and backgrounds for beautiful portraits. I include dogs too because Parisians love their canine treasures. I found this fella below sleeping  on a nice sofa behind one of those ancient wooden Paris doors. 

The last thing I say to clients is "keep taking photos, know your camera, and your photographic IQ will grow and grow"! I like to think mine has!

www.kevinhayden.book.fr

Dalida, Paris

I've been in love before, I think? But since having seen and heard Dalida I'm completely besotted by her. She was born in Cairo to Italian parents from a musical background, and they had Dalida taking singing lessons as soon as she could burp. She came to France as an actress but found most success on stage singing. Her life was even more tragic than mine, her estranged husband shot himself, and  her last two lovers also died at their own hands. I had a lucky escape. She died of an overdose this day, May 3rd 1987. Maybe it's as well she was before my time?

 

These are some of the films that she appeared in.

Joseph and his brothers - with Omar Sharif 
The mask of Toutankhamon 
A glass and a cigarette 
Stranger in paradise 
Rapt au deuxième bureau 
Parlez moi d'amour - (1960) 
Ménage à l'Italienne - (1964) 
L'inconnue de Hong Kong - with Serge Gainsbourg 
The Sixth Day - (1986) - Youssef Chahine 
Some of her hit songs: 

Today at her magnificent grave scores of her loyal fans came to pay homage to this sadly missed beautiful woman who had the voice of an angel.My adventures thru the lens tours bring me to Montmartre and Dalida's grave almost weekly, and it is always touching to see so many people who bring flowers and keep Dalida's memory alive in their hearts and minds.

Photography and Impressionist Art in Giverny

This week I went to a very interesting lecture given by Francoise Heilbrun, Senior Curator for photography at the Musee d'Orsay. During the last few decades she has been responsible for putting together a collection of about 50,000 photographic prints and negatives from the beginning of photography to 1914. Her new book is called 'La photographie au Musee d'Orsay'. She talked about the importance and impact of photography on the late 19th century impressionist artists.

 
Giverny - Just an old wall.

With the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889, one can understand the exuberance that people of the time felt and how it translated into the vibrant palette of the impressionistic movement as well as, theater and costumes like those of the Ballet Russe. Photography studios had already been set up in Paris since the early 1850s most notably that of Felix Nadar. But as can be expected, artists started to experiment with the medium of photography rather than just using it to replace live models. Some were scared of it, some were inspired by it and some through it was not worth the time as it was not real "art". 

 

Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day from my apartment window.

One can really get a feel for this period if you visit Giverny, Rouen, Deauville, Honfleur, or Etretat.  Normandy attracted the artists of the day.  The  American Museum of Art in Giverny, has become the Museum of Impressionism and is now partnered with the Musee d'Orsay. An interesting change that now has the possibility to illustrate the larger concept behind impressionism in multiple fields and mediums.

 
Museum of Impressionism in Giverny

But interestingly it was not just the beauty of the region but the development of technology like the railway for example, which allowed the 19th century Bourgeoisie to go "en masse" to the coast, build houses and hire artists to make portraits of them. In those days art was a very practical matter of going where the money was. And the artist went.

Japanese Bridge in Monet's Garden

But of course how could the art of the impressionist not influence photographers like Steichen.

Monet's painting of the Cathedral in Rouen in the Musee des Beaux Arts

Well if not Alfred then certainly me!

Inside the Cathedral in Rouen

Photographing Montmartre in Paris

View this photoMontmartre

As instantly recognisable as the Eiffel tower, the Arch de Triumph and the Champs Elysée this area of Paris that seems to have never changed or stopped (it doesn’t have time)! Since the days when the likes of Salvador Dali and Vincent Van Gogh and their other  infamous artist friends including Modligiani, Picasso, Monet to mention but a few frequented the bars between trying to sell their works of art.

It is no different today than it was back in the nineteenth century, except that the traffic that occasionaly passes today is no longer horse drawn. The most fréquent trafic is that of the electric tourist train that passes almost unnoticed every twenty minutes or so with a new batch of excited and eager tourists.

With the impressive and enormous backdrop of the Sacre Cœur(sacred heart) basilica giving onto the panoramic vistas of romantic Paris below it is a photographers dream.

 

It is this backdrop that keeps me coming back for more, and inspires me to push myself further in order to find a new perspective on a subject that I have photographed and shown many others how to photograph over and over. One thing is certain though, the light is never the same but always magical !

The other oft forgotten gem is the cemetary of Montmartre. It is the resting place of the once adored and still idolised singer Dalida, and also the Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinksy. Because there are so many photo opportunities people keep coming back !

It is a place not to be missed or rushed, sit and take your time, enjoy a coffee and watch the artists work as they did in Monet’s era. It is the best live théâtre you’re likely to see, and absolutely free.

 

In Saint Denis Samsung Rules. OK! - Part 1

So here I was exiting the metro at Porte de La Chapelle. Sunny skies, locals on their cell phones and me gliding higher and higher on the escalator like Stairway to Heaven. For those who haven't been here before, you know it's a metro because of the big sign. See the M on the left. Not to be confused with the letter M, which the French use for Merde.

Porte de la Chapelle is only a few steps (famous last words used by hotels to describe their proximity to the center of a city when in fact they are miles away!) from Saint Denis on the outskirts of Paris. St Denis, which as you all know, has a Basilica where most of the kings of France were laid to rest. Well actually they are turning in their graves. How do I know?  you ask in that ever so reticent voice so as not to offend the writer.  I did a survey! No - really Larry?  Ok then, Look up! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No - its a Sign of Things to Come. Foreign domination in France. Mon Dieu! You cry.  Yes - its the sad truth that St Denis has new rulers. Welcome King Samsung.

St Denis has suffered numerous setbacks. It lost most of it's population during the Hundred Year War, lost it's name during the French Revolution, was run by Communist Mayors for 40 years at the beginning of the 20th century, and suffered from the economic depression of the 70s and 80s leaving its heavily industrialized base in disarray. So of course the market was left wide open for the Koreans and Japanese to walk right in and leave their mark for all to see all over the tallest washing-machine like apartment buildings in the area, which at least adds some color to the otherwise depressing local skyline.

 

A hop, skip and a jump later and you are at the door of St Denis itself.  And I mean hop, skip, and a jump because there is no pedestrian walkway from the ring road to St Denis. Yes that's right. You have to dodge 6 lanes of traffic from 2 directions simultaneously, make it across an off ramp on a blind curve next to the Bowling Alley on the the corner. And, if that's not enough, when you get to the fork in the road you have to hop over the metal barrier, walk over a bridge, skip over the trash and jump out of the way of the cars who are trying to rear end you. Ok. I made it.

Onward to my destination. Ill tell you in a minute where that is. Be patient! So where was I? Oh yes. Is this the doorway to the Valley of the Kings? No - its the local cemetery for the surfs -  like you and me.

 

Can it get any worst before it gets any better.  Well today it doesn't, despite the fact the crime rate in St. Denis is double the national average. Do I see a glimmer of hope?

 

A little way down the road at number 80 is an office/warehouse complex, which once inside, leaves you with the feeling of "Phew - I'm safe at last".  Inside the well manicured grass lawns and Hausmannian designed roads, once can find several film studios. It is also home of EICAR International Film School where the young students still show off their ever so innocent smiles and creativity is flourishing.  Could this be St Denis's answer to economic recovery? Will we see the birth of the French version  of Slumdog Millionaire.

 

This important question and more they you ever wanted to know about Paris will be discussed ad nauseum in part 2. So stay tuned Space Fans.

Photographing Montmartre in Paris

View this photoMontmartre

As instantly recognisable as the Eiffel tower, the Arch de Triumph and the Champs Elysée this area of Paris that seems to have never changed or stopped (it doesn’t have time)! Since the days when the likes of Salvador Dali and Vincent Van Gogh and their other  infamous artist friends including Modligiani, Picasso, Monet to mention but a few frequented the bars between trying to sell their works of art.

It is no different today than it was back in the nineteenth century, except that the traffic that occasionaly passes today is no longer horse drawn. The most fréquent trafic is that of the electric tourist train that passes almost unnoticed every twenty minutes or so with a new batch of excited and eager tourists.

With the impressive and enormous backdrop of the Sacre Cœur(sacred heart) basilica giving onto the panoramic vistas of romantic Paris below it is a photographers dream.

 

It is this backdrop that keeps me coming back for more, and inspires me to push myself further in order to find a new perspective on a subject that I have photographed and shown many others how to photograph over and over. One thing is certain though, the light is never the same but always magical !

The other oft forgotten gem is the cemetary of Montmartre. It is the resting place of the once adored and still idolised singer Dalida, and also the Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinksy. Because there are so many photo opportunities people keep coming back !

It is a place not to be missed or rushed, sit and take your time, enjoy a coffee and watch the artists work as they did in Monet’s era. It is the best live théâtre you’re likely to see, and absolutely free.

 

Insecurity at the Sorbonne Medical School?

So here we were lurking around the Sorbonne Medical School taking photos, when a well-dressed older gentleman says to Kevin, "If you come with me and I'll show you around". Well, you can't pass up an opportunity like that. So off we go.  We make our introductions and our newly found guide is one Dr. Liberman, a retired English speaking GP and army reservist who is on his way to the library to read the British medical journal the Lancet. "Why are you doing that I ask".  "To keep up with what's going on" he replies. Of course! duh Larry.

We pass through the lobby and past the entrance to the Grand Amphitheater, which look more like a secret doorway into the 19th century from where there is no return. Who know what experiments they got up to in there!

Forward ho, past a few students sitting on austere wooden benches as they did a hundred years ago waiting for their results, girlfriends, strikes or probably just lunchtime.  One has to be amazed at all this really. A school  built in the 13th century and that has survived Catherine de Medici, the French Revolution, a few crazy kings, power hungry Cardinals, the German occupation and an over abundance of Lefties obviously has something powerfull holding it all that together.

Up the stairs and past a painting of Dr. Alfred Richet, Professor of Clinical Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, who Dr L. explains is caring for soldiers in the Comedie Francaise, which had been turned into a field emergency hospital during the Franco-Prussian war. I did a little research and found that his son  Dr Charles Richet  was an important researcher of the period and discovered a fascinating story about his life, which included discovering anaphalexis for which he recevied a Nobel Prize in 1913,  anti war activism, and writing and research in parapsychology - always one of my favorites.

We finally arrived at our destination.  The medical library. Normally, entrance is granted only to students and faculty, but Dr. L. waved his membership card like the sorcerer's apprentice and presto - we were in like Flint. We did have to agree to no photographing though. Such bores!!! We were in a huge 19th century room with books stacked from floor to ceiling as far as the eye could see and in the center between the rack of medical trivia and index cards were rows of computers. It was a bit surreal and I felt like humming a few bars from the song Brazil. You remember the movie. Surly?  We shuffled off to an adjoining room were Dr. L. proudly showed us the school's collection of the Index Medicus. "Where is the French version" I asked.  "There isn't one". What do I know about these things?  "America has always been in the forefront of medical research." he says. Oops - I feel a Faux Pas coming on. We then walked past a table with some French Journals and Dr L, said that researchers would often try and get their research published in the Lancet or New England Journal of Medicine as it would add prestige to anything published here. Am I feeling the walls of this great institution slowly crumbling around me. No not at all.

The one thing we can say about French medicine in general is that they know what they know. So don't go around trying to change it with new ideas or asking any question that you don't already have the answers to. 

Haven't I told you this before?  Alors!

God Lives in a Little Church Across the Street

It's early morning at the Fountain of Saint Michel.  Its quiet.

Parisians are starting to show up to work, shopkeepers are opening their stores, restaurants are preparing for the lunch crowd

and Bill Posters are getting an early start.

Heading east into the restaurant quarter we pass a small tour group.  The guide has a heavy French accent and is explaining the origins of the street and houses.

A few meters on and we come across Eglise Saint Julien Le Pauvre, a catholic church built in the 1100s that sits quietly under the gaze of the Saints that watch over Notre Dame and grandeur of flying buttresses that keep the Cathedral from lifting up and breaking away from its foundation.

A gypsy sits outside the gate eying us as we enter, hoping for a few sous.

We enter the church. There is a wonderful sense of calm. A lady sits to the right in quiet contemplation dressed as if ready to go to work but needing some spiritual nourishment just to get there.

 

While across the street the crowds start assembling in front of Notre Dame Cathedral ready to tread the stones that see millions of people each year. There is no tranquility here. No calm. They have their guides. God has no choice. He left home and now lives across the street in this little church helping those in need and those who ask, one by one.

Unexpected Encounter with a Lampshade

Friday was spring in Paris.  The light was stunning and I decided to go photographing with Kevin Hayden our Paris photographer and my wife Debra. We are planning a new photo walk in the Marais. Ill not show some of the fab shots from our morning walk right now.

In the afternoon, after a Jewish lunch at Marianne's on Rue de Rosiers  we walked to the 3rd arrondissement to look for a company that specialized in metal stamping. En route we had some interesting chance encounters. One in particular which we enjoyed was with the 2 people below. I was walking by an open door and saw them sitting like this. I shouted out from the front end of the courtyard. "Can I photography you".  Yes was the response an I was beckoned over. I took the shot and asked what they were doing.

"Having a meeting " was the reponse.  How stupid of me! Of course what else would they have been doing at 2pm. Etienne it turns out was into leasing equipment for a living and the lady whose name I did get was the wife of the owner of a designer lampshade company.

After a few minute of pleasant banter, she invitied us in to see their factory. We were greeted by a column of silk lampshades which give me the urge for an ice cream.

To the left was a framed piece of paper showing the company had been around since 1822. Not Bad!
This company is one of the few left in the world that makes hand made lamp shades.  Sort of Lampshade Couture. 

They work for many top decorators and recently shipped a 3 meter by 3 meter shade to New York for Philippe Stark.

The factory had been a private theatre during the 18th century and there was a balcony above which you can not see in this photo.

 

At the end of the tour we were given a catalogue and invited to bring clients or friends back for another visit. Hard to believe but true.

All in all - it was a very satisfactory afternoon.