All posts tagged: photography

Reflections on our most significant place in Paris

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For 2017 we’ve decided to reflect on the places in Paris that are the most significant to us, as well as ask some friends for their contributions. Lawrence Rue du Faubourg St. Denis, between Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle and Boulevard de Magenta Here is my favorite bar in the city. It’s called Mauri7, pronounced MORE-ISS-SET, MORE-EES-SET if you’re French.  Here there are beers for average prices and wine for cheap.  It’s two fifty for their house red, which you can ask for without embarrassment, as it should be. In my brokest months, I brought a flask filled with trash whiskey from the Lidl, ordered Coca-Cola and made myself endless mixed drinks that got stronger and stronger. They play good hip-hop.  It’s very busy on weekends.  There is a small smoking area in front cordoned off under a dark awning.  In the warm months it’s packed shoulder to shoulder, and a stocky bouncer polices its boundaries.  I saw him at the Franprix on Boulevard de Magenta once, but I didn’t speak to him – what was I …

Conversation with a Paris-based creative: Ella Strowel

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We’ve decided to start a section featuring interviews with fellow creatives who live in Paris, to gain insight into how others are inspired by the urban landscape and the environment around them. Ella Strowel – Photographer Why did you move to Paris? I moved to Paris almost three years ago after having done a foundation year in London. I moved to Paris to study photography at Paris College of Art. What are your typical sources of inspiration?/ How do you find inspiration? I find most of my inspiration through looking at the work of other photographers and artists. Most of my inspiration comes from the work of photographers, however this year I enjoyed researching the work of sculptors for the project I am currently working on. I enjoy looking at photography books and going to exhibitions and shows in Paris. Another great source of inspiration is talking to peers and friends, those who know your work often have a great insight into what you should look at and research. Where is your favorite place in …

Take the Metro to a random stop

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Sometimes a random adventure is the best way to discover the best parts of a city! For this prompt, use the public transportation system as a guide and pick a random stop you’ve never been to. Get off there and walk in one direction for 10-15 minutes recording what you see with either photos or writing. Take notes on your impressions of the area, the people there, and use your observations to create a neighborhood profile. You might be surprised at what you find! Most of the world’s big cities have comprehensive public transportation systems, and riding them is a great way to explore and get to know the area. Remember: many of our ideas can be done in any urban environment! Nora: Metro stop: Porte de la Villette (Line 7) The edges of Paris next to the Blvd Périphérique are often neglected and overlooked as just the transition zones between the city and its surrounding suburbs. But recently more interesting spots have been popping up and make the trip to the outskirts worth it. I …

Favorite Ways to Stay Creative

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We’ve all been in a creative rut, felt writer’s block, or just uninspired in general (it’s part of the reason we started this blog!!). Sometimes it can be very difficult to get back to your creative practices so here is a list of simple things to help get the juices flowing:  -Keep a journal: write down random thoughts, quotes from other people, interesting words, ideas, doodles etc. -Morning pages (see our upcoming post!) -Carry a camera (or phone with a camera) and take a photo of anything and everything you see throughout the day that’s interesting – Collect images from newspapers, magazines, fabric scraps, found photos and paste them into a sketchbook – Go to museums and galleries (absorbing visual information will help inspire your own creative practice) – Read art blogs (seeing other people’s work can help get the creativity flowing– there is no real such thing as copying, all art pulls influence from somewhere) http://www.booooooom.com/ – Buy or borrow short story anthologies from the library (one of the best pieces of advice a Creative …

Best Winter activities to do in Paris

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When it’s cold, rainy and grey in Paris, it can be hard to feel motivated to go outside and do things. Here are just a few ideas of some indoor activities for the Winter time. 1. Explore Paris’ covered galleries (les passages couverts) Dating back to the 18th and 19th century, these glass roofed shopping galleries offer shelter from the rain and transport you to a different time. Wander through Galerie Vivienne and adjacent Galerie Colbert absorbing the elegant architecture, mosaic floor, and chic boutiques. Be sure to check out A Priori Thé in Galerie Vivienne. One of the best places in Paris for cream tea and real scones.           2. Drink mint tea at the Paris Mosque Just across the street from the Jardin des Plantes in the 5e arrondissement is La Mosquée de Paris and its restaurant and tea room. The tea room is a very popular spot where waiters bring around 2€ cups of steaming hot, sugary mint tea. For those with a real sweet tooth, you can also choose traditional …

Museum Musings

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Ekphrasis: a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art (Merriam-Webster) For this creative adventure we decided to take a classic Paris activity–a museum visit– and get something more out of it than just looking at some pretty art. We asked ourselves: How do we best engage with a museum? How do we really get impacted and inspired by it?  How do we really feel a work of art? Prompt:  Pick a museum with an exhibition that interests you or somewhere you’ve never been. Take some time to explore and notice what artworks jump out at you, instead of scanning through the entire exhibit. Try to sit with the work of art that speaks to you most for 20 minutes or more and let your mind wander. If feeling inspired, take it a level further and pull out a notebook. Sketch the painting or simply write free-associations that come to mind, something you could turn back to later as a seed for a poem or short story. Our creative adventure: We chose …

A guide to vernissages (small art viewings) in Paris

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Looking for something cultural, free, interesting and fun to do on a Thursday night? We’ve been there. There are hundreds of art galleries in Paris and when they open new exhibitions, they almost always host an opening, with the artist and often drinks (read: free wine) and snacks. These openings can be pretty easy to find with some research by looking at your favorite gallery’s website, or just doing a Google search. Here are a couple sites we’ve found useful:  Slash/Paris , l’officiel des spectacles. Another way to find interesting vernissages is to follow local cultural institutes in Paris on Facebook or take a look at their websites. The Finnish Institute and Swedish Institute in particular often host public openings for Scandinavian artists. Or if the mood strikes on a Thursday night, you can wander around the 3rd (especially Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth or Rue Volta) and will undoubtedly find an inviting, free opening to duck into.         This Thursday, we checked out the opening for French-Iranian artist Sépànd Danesh’s “Des Ruines pour …

Window Sketch

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For this creativity break, take a picture of a window that you like visually or that intrigues you in some way. Maybe it’s a window you pass daily, or one that stands out in an unfamiliar area. Write a short character sketch about who you think lives inside, what they do, or what goes on behind the window. It can be a more formalized short story, or simply a free form writing exercise in imagination. bonus: send us your photo and text and we’ll publish a collection of window sketches from around the world!  Nora: Behind the orange and white striped windows lived Cornelius. He spent his days selling popcorn at a movie theater, and at night he chain smoked, wrote bad poems, and sometimes tried to paint in search of the romanticized “starving artist in paris” life he had read about so many times. He’d been squatting in this abandoned building for 3 weeks, eating tuna out of a can, and trying not to start a fire with the candles scattered all over the room–so far …

Brassaï Paris by Night

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Brassaï né Gyula Halász (1899, Hungary) became a widely celebrated photographer in the 1930’s and 40’s known for his iconic images of Paris. His first books, Paris de Nuit captures eerie and beautiful images of the city. Do it yourself: If you’re inspired to explore Paris at night, try to create images with a similar mood. -Pick a day with rainy or misty weather for a similar wet, glowing ambiance (perfect in the Winter!) -Find areas that are well lit to capture street lamps and their reflections -Start out along the Seine at one of Paris’ many iconic bridges -Shoot in black in white if possible -Use your camera’s night settings, or a high speed film (ISO 800, 1600, 3200) for the low light conditions Have fun! -Nora

One week later

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“elle (Paris) est battu par les flots, mais ne sombre pas // she is tossed by the waves but does not sink” It’s hard to know what to write after something like this happens, but we both felt like a post about the events of November 13th, 2015 was necessary particularly for our own healing. This post is very personal, but in line with why we started this blog, we hope to inspire Parisians, expats, and people in big cities everywhere to go out and live, have fun, and do the things you love to do as much as possible. -A & N Annie: Last year, when I was living in a box of an apartment (my sister likened it to an “efficiency apartment”, my dad to a sailboat) in the 11th, near Oberkampf, I would walk around at night, go running during the day, and feel removed and freed from the obligations of work and life. The neighborhood wasn’t like the ones I had lived in before or what I had envisioned as “Paris.” There are …