Paris & Brussels

I'll be spending a week in Paris and a couple of days in Brussels to visit

friends. Suggestions on things to do/see appreciated.

 

And to keep it topical, 35 or 50? Only taking one lens, one body and 20 rolls of

delta 400.

Bring a Holga

35

28mm, if you have one.

I was in Paris, Bruges, and Amsterdam in October. As I'm sure you're aware, there is way more stuff to do in Paris than you will have time for. I found Montmarte to be a very photogenic neighborhood. I also liked walking along the Seine, around the Louvre, and in Tuileries Garden. I've never felt like I was surrounded with so many photo oppotunities as I did in Paris. Champs Elyses is not very interesting unless you like shoping for fancy clothes. There are lots of nightclubs in le Marais, if that's your thing. A quick Seine boat tour is worth checking out. I liked the Musee d'Orsay better than the Louvre, but that?s just my taste. Eat a Croque Monsieur at Nectarine in Place des Vosgues (or most any brasserie, really). Mmmm...cheese, cream, bread, and ham...

 

When you?re in Brussels, you should consider taking a train down to Brugges for a night. It?s a beautiful little town. Very laid back with lots of friendly people, tasty beer, and top notch chocolate.

 

As for the lens choice, I would personally prefer a 35, but why not take both?

 

I just looked at your website. I love your photos. Must be great to have a wife/girlfriend who doesn't mind the camera. Mine runs from it.

I second Paul's comments about Paris. Take the 35mm, 90% of my shots were with it. The

50mm was just extra weight. 20 rolls of film is the minimum and the 400 speed will be

useful in all kinds of light there. After dark is an excellent time to have your camera out.

Have a great time.

Montmartre, Marais, and Ile St. Louis. My choice would be Ektachrome 100G.

Two suggestions for Paris:

 

- If you have a sunny day, find a bench in the Luxemburg Gardens and take pictures of the people.

 

- If the lines are not too long, climb the stairs to the towers of Notre Dame and take pictures of the gargoyles.

I would only take the 50 if your emphasis was going to be on tighter studies or photos of your wife or other people you know with you that you specifically want to get near portraits of with a slight context. You can still get cool contextual portraits with a 35 and with interesting restaurant, club, and bar interiors and great outdoor architecture, I'd have to go with the 35. Afterall, you are in a scenic city. Any 35 cron will do. I guess a 35 aspherical lux would be even better for a one lens situation at night, if you have one. ...wish I was there. Have fun.

Napoleon's Tomb. RER. But truthfully, I love some of the suburbs as much as the City.

 

Bakeries, butcher shops, bars. Avoid restaurants, look for the few remaining independent bistros. Drink a lot of wine. Don't take a camera you can't afford to lose. There was an absolutely great lab for my own Delta in the RER somewhere, a couple of years ago. If I had one like that around here I might not process my own.

Avoid the more well-known landmarks, go for the areas near Bastille and Republique or

the suburbs so you can get out of the tourism bubble.

 

Take the 35 or wider, have it pre-focused, you'll either shoot full auto or single shot.

Ditch the camera bag, fanny pack, etc., keep the body discretly under your jacket and try

to blend in.

 

Have yourself a Ricard for me at any tabac!

 

F

If you have time to swing by Lille on your way to/from Paris, a place worth visiting is the huge, historical brewery in Armenti貥s both for picture taking and for its monstrous variety of beers

 

http://www.touteslesbieres.fr/dossiers/dossiers.php?id_dossier=148

if you gotta take only one lens, take the 35. i can't imagine going overseas and only taking one lens. how hard can it be to stuff the 50 in your bag. it doesn't mean you have to carry both lenses with you at all times. enjoy your trip and can't wait to see your photos.

The RULE on film is to take twice as much as you think you will need.

In the right situation I have shot 10 to 15 rolls in a single day. TAKE MORE FILM! You can't regret it. 35mm lens

I spent about the same time in Paris with a 40 and 90 on a Leitz-Minolta CL. 90% of the shots were done with the 40. Paris per se is not that open and spacious so I'd say for only one lens go with the 35. The 50 will be a bit tight for many street shots which is a lot, but not all, of what Paris is.

In Brussels, the area around the Grand Place, including the old indoor galleries offer plenty of opportunities. If you are in Brussels on the weekend, don't miss the antique market on the Sablon with many shops, galleries, bars, and restaurants in the vicinity. Offers nice opportunities for people and atmospheric shots. On Sunday, there also is a nice flee market on the place Jeux des Balles.

 

Also, leave yourself some time to savor one or more of the many Belgian beers (a Duvel or a Chimay, for example) and some Moules et Frites (= mussels with French fries). There are many very good small restaurants. During the week, the Idiout du Vilage is great (they are closed on weekends).

 

Don?t worry about enough film. They do sell film in Brussels, and I suppose in Paris too.

The catacombs in Paris are amazing. Check them out on Wikipedia.

35mm, or better yet 28mm.

 

This is a good place to have a 28mm and 75mm.

Good walking shoes are a must.

Matt,

 

first of all, my piece of advice would be : walk as much as ou can. You'll have the best of

Paris on foot. The center is not that big. Take a map and good shoes and you'll be fine.

Apart from Montmartre, that is a little bit farther, all the other places you were advised in

the former postings are not that far from one another.

 

My favourite area is le "quartier latin" (students area) : take a look at the "Jardin du

Luxembourg" next to the Senate and the Ecole des mines - on a nice day you'll have a lot

of shooting opportunities there. Close to it : the Sorbonne and the Panthéon. I must admit

I am a little biased as I studied there and still teach there a few times every year....

A lot of possibilities to eat, at good prices. Go to the place Saint-Sulpice which is close and

very very nice.

 

Then walk down "boulevard Saint-Michel" to the Seine and you will get close to l'Ile Saint-

Louis (where you have the cathedral Notre-Dame) - take a look but don't eat there : it is

the most expensive part of Paris because of the tourist being very numerous there...

From there getting to The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and then Place de la Concorde (cross the

Jardin des tuileries which is almost as nice as the Jardin du Luxembourg) won't be too far.

Don't forget the Opéra. Palais Garnier.

 

Place des Vosges is maybe the nicest place in Paris. And the surroundings are very typical.

Close to it : Hôtel de Ville (city hall) and not far : Beaubourg if you are interested in

modern art. The building is to be seen, as it is quite unexpected within Paris and so close

to the classical Hotel de Ville.

 

And place de la Bastille : nice and a lot of nice places too eat. From there, if you are

interested in photo gear, you can go Avenue Beaumarchais where you have dozens of

photo-shops. I fear French prices are not interesting though, especially as the $ to Euro

rate is not in favour of the $. If you are in need for films or any kind of stuff, you'll find

there.

 

 

Enjoy !

 

Didier

http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Ages-Paris-Alistair-Horne/dp/0679454810

 

Excellent reading, especially good to know about when you walk around everyone's favorite architecture... and if you dare to know about Vichy.

 

France has only had a stable democracy for the past 30-40 years, and it took DeGaulle to get it. Thinking about that makes the place even more exciting.

I personally work with a 50mm but that didn't stop me from bringing one body with a

50mm and one with a 35mm. Actually, I'd use the 50mm Summicron in the daytime and

the 35mm Summilux Asph at night.

 

Now, for the absolute best hot chocolate in the world go to Charlotte en l'Ile at 24 rue Ile

St. Louis. Go with an empty stomach and be prepared to find out why chocolate was called

the food of the gods. The shop is absolutely charming; sort of like living in a Grimm or

Anderson Fairy tale. Also, the tarts and desserts are transcendent. I'm almost hesitant to

share this info but if you're going to be there you should check it out.

 

In Brussels one of the historic Art Nouveau houses is a photography gallery. I can't

remember which one but I found the space and the exhibition both fulfilling. There's a

tremendous amount of Art Nouveau architecture in Brussels for those of you who are

interested.

 

Finally, I would welcome some clarification on French laws regarding personal privacy and

street photography.

 

Carl Sander Socolow

In '99 I spent 3 weeks walking and riding the metro (a fantastic way to get around) in Paris, armed with a Hassy, and 80mm Planar, a bogen tabletop tripod and 20 rolls each of tri x, pan f and agfa 25. I loved everything I saw, but personally connected most with the modern architecture.

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When I got back home I did a little research and discovered that most of what I photographed was part of the multi-billion Franc vision (consequence, side-effect, fault?) of Mitterrand, his "Grand Projets".

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You can see some of the images as well as read a bit of the background here: <A HREF=http://www.slowmotionpictures.com/paris/>PARIS EST FINI</a>.

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I agree that walking is a must, but you should also pick up a weekly metro pass. It's a really fast way to get around. Especially the RER. I bought the pass that covered the entire city, and I used it.

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I was very happy with the 80mm on my Hassy, so if I was going back with my Leica and wanted only a single lens, I'd be tempted to stick with the 50. However, I've learned that when I travel with both the 50 and the 35, I use them both enough to justify the extra gear.

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BTW: I'm a big fan of your images. I look forward to seeing what you get in the City of Light.

Take what you use and like most, or 50mm and feel the

ghost of HCB wandering on paris streets ;)

I would take an Olympus OM with a Zuiko 40mm f/2 - we know you have one :-)

 

I would also take a Ricoh GR1V (or GR1S) with snap focus set to around 3 metres for a very discrete (but good) little snapper. Loaded with Ilford XP2 or similar C41 B&W with bags of latitude and easy dev/scanning anywhere.