My grandmother’s recent birthday celebration turned into a mini-reunion of sorts with some folks I generally only see on Thanksgiving. That is, my cousins (once removed!), who somehow have nearly turned into little adults. Long and lean, full of facts and opinions and precociousness, in some ways they’re totally new to me every time I see them.
With adults, you don’t notice as much how time institutes its changes. A pinch more gray, a couple extra pounds… Those changes aren’t usually so dramatic. Adult personalities are for the most part set, but kids can change so quickly. Zach, Garrett and Katy, I look forward to the next time I see you, hopefully sooner rather than later, if only to keep me from feeling any older!
And I suppose this is my chance to plug myself. Do your children need some portraits? Preserve those memories! They grow up so fast!
Paris is known as the “City of Light“, but to me, it was more like the City of Bright Sun. Every day was hot and sunny, which for a vacation traveler is certainly enjoyable (especially after another long and dreary Seattle winter), but it sort of narrows your photographic options somewhat.
Harsh light and shadow can wreak havoc, blowing out the highlights and losing detail in the darkest areas of every image. Shooting in RAW can help, preserving more information than a JPEG for reclamation in post-processing. When I returned from Paris, I was a little daunted at the state of my images, and the time I’d need to put into them to make them look good. There was a reason I’d taken these photos in the first place, but for a while I put off rediscovering why.
So this photo set is all about the sunshine (and shadows) of the Paris streets. Also check out the first two sets, Paris on My Mind and Paris on Wheels.
I wish I’d rented a bike at one point. Paris has a ultra-convenient bicycle rental system called Vélib’, which I think would have made getting around the city a bit more efficient. On the other hand, it would have been more problematic to manage my camera from seat of a bike. My photos are blurry enough!
Check out my other two posts, Paris on My Mind and Paris: City of Bright (Sun).
