Paris – Jardin du Luxembourg

“Paris is always a good idea.” ― Audrey Hepburn.  When I first arrived in Paris, I emerged from the Luxembourg Station, it was dark and it was raining.. I was in awe. Everything was so beautiful, the colours on the streets and reflections on the pavements, there were potential photographs in every direction. It was 11.30pm and I was late to check into our apartment, our host was kindly waiting for me so I so I struggled on with my luggage and umbrella thinking it would rain most days. No not at all, hardly one shower. As I was staying nearby in the Latin Quarter in a local apartment through Airbnb, one of the first places I explored in Paris was the Jardin du Luxembourg or Luxembourg Gardens.  I had the pleasure of strolling through most mornings. However on a Sunday it comes to life, it is a fabulous 25-hectare public space filled with locals enjoying the sun, reading, socializing and sailing the model sailboats  in a large water basin, right in front of the Luxembourg Palace. There are over a hundred statues, monuments and fountains. The Luxembourg Museum is in the east wing of the Palace, but I decided not to visit. After being lost in the Louvre there was only so much art I could see in a short time and I was more focused on my Street Photography.

This image captures the local men playing their games of chess, there were many games in progress. I really liked his hand gesture and his look of concentration. There are so many people about, it is quite easy to take photos if you are discreet, I often shot from the hip so that I did not disrupt my subjects or the action.

This image captures my subject from behind which gives him anonymity the paper written in French gives us context of where we are. My subject is isolated from the background with depth of field and he has been highlighted slightly with a radial filter in Lightroom. It is a challenge to isolate your subjects in such a busy environment.

This image captures the action of the sailing boats. The children don’t stop anywhere very long, they run from side to side chasing their boats with their sticks that they use to redirect them. I just managed to capture her and her stick in a 3D kind of way. Again it was challenging to isolate just one subject, they were often focused on their boats and it was difficult to get a vantage point.

The Luxembourg Gardens are just one of the many public spaces that people frequent. It makes for a wonderful setting for my subjects. Paris is so easy to get around. You can walk, ride the Metro or the Buses any time of the day or night, I felt quite safe. Just check your Google maps before you head off.

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Any thoughts?