Paris Photoshoot
Paris in the early Nineteenth Century was woven with a network of beautiful shopping arcades, designed to usher the newly-wealthy middle-class out of the sun and rain and into cosy passages filled with worldly goods. These glass-roofed ‘Passages couverts de Paris‘ were lined with shops selling everything made in the expanding French Empire from sofas to stuffed animals.
In the present day, some of the these arcades have been tastefully restored although many more have been left somewhat neglected, which seems at odds with the sometime manicured feel of the 2nd Arr. where most are located. For these reason, they make very atmospheric and melancholy locations for a photo-shoot
Jethro and I spent most of last weekend hiking around Paris to document each arcade, with the aim of creating a photo-mosaic for the album. The smell of freshly-cooked food in the Passage des Panoramas (on the right) was overpowering. Some of the activity in the background is fascinating….the signage, the lamps…and the expressions of the people….I love the chef in the doorway taking a fag break.
