Sonnenschein

Berlin (March 1st).

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ceci n’est pas un blog.

The quality of the black and white photos taken with my Blackberry is pretty good (as discussed here). The color images are mostly grainy and flat when taken in low light. But for whatever reason if I set the camera to shoot in black and white then I get nice contrast and clear images even in low light.

The feel of these images is very Nouvelle Vague…or so I’d like to think. I guess it’s appropriate since these images were taken while I was in Paris.

 

A few of the photos from the Père Lachaise cemetery visit turned out beautifully. They were all taken in black and white as well. I can’t wait to show them off and tell you all about the dead French socialists, but that will have to wait for another post.

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bus 67 – a tour of Paris

bus 67 – direction Stade Charlety.

rue Rivoli, Paris – FR.

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on the move with a mobile phone.

Paris: the most photogenic city in the world – the architecture, the people, the cobblestone streets, the brasseries, the cafés, the monuments, the museums – they are all worth at least one cliché.

For four years, nearly every day, I wandered aimlessly through the streets, mostly with an SLR or point-and-shoot in my bag. This time, as a visitor, I’ve left my cameras at home. Instead I’ve only got the camera function on my Blackberry to work with. And so far I’ve been surprised at some of the beautiful images I’ve been able to capture.

On Wednesday the Louvre is open late, so I went to explore the Egyptian wing with Alex, who had just arrived from a two-week trip to the Orient and was leaving for Strasbourg that evening. I tried to decipher the hieroglyphics and explain the grammar to her. Maybe just one and a half semesters of Middle Egyptian isn’t enough to read entire papyrus rolls…boo! We parted ways at about 8 p.m. – Alex to Strasbourg, me to find food.

I stumbled upon this tiny Japanese ramen restaurant called Sapporo. I sat at the bar and watched them prepare bowl after bowl of roasted pork ramen. Yum! I slurped next to an older Japanese man my own bowl of chashu ramen. For EUR 8, I didn’t feel like I was paying 1st arrondissement prices. They also had all sorts of saké, but since I was alone…I stuck with a carafe of water.

Yesterday I explored the Centquatre in the 19th arrondissement. That place deserves a whole post to itself. Then an evening studying at the Pompidou library.

In just a bit I’m heading out with Jim to say hello to Père Lachaise cemetery’s socialist residents and pay tribute to the Mur des Fédérés. Happy Friday!

A view from the TGV.

 

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