I also took this photo Saturday, a little before the anti Scientology demonstration started. I was sitting at a restaurant terrace enjoying a Caesar salad (yes, some French restaurant have Caesar salad on their menu!) when I saw the clown you can see in the background of the photo. I grabbed my camera, zoomed in and discovered that this guy was actually taking a photo towards my direction. We exchanged glances through our lenses and could not help smiling. I bet he has a photo of me in his camera!
Great B&W photo Eric! Paris always looks good in B&W, and this could be from any era!!
ReplyDeleteKatie
Love the black and white picture, Eric! Like a look back in time!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work!
I love this photo Eric. It has a feel of old school.
ReplyDeleteKatie congrats on the GF
Wonderful photos of life in Paris.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting picture.
ReplyDeletehi
ReplyDeletei clicked on the link cos i love france and all things french...except snails and andoiullette (sp?) and now i love your photos...thank you
j'aime beaucoup vos photos, merci
a bientot
la paysanne
You mean this is his photo of you, Eric, is this your new profile pic?.............only kidding LOL!
ReplyDeleteI adore this pic. You seem to achieve the black and white shots really well Eric. I must practise more. There is nothing in the photo to give away that this is present day. It's very amusing this man was taking a photo of you. I did predict it though, didn't i. I said only a few days ago that soon you will not be able to walk the streets without people photographing you. It's happened! Ok this today, next it's a double-page spread in HELLO! you famous person you.
"Monkey see - Monkey do" is another saying we have for "tit for tat".
ReplyDeleteI like this picture! A famous scene : L'arroseur arrosé.
ReplyDeleteThe B&W make it really nice.
Which garden/park is it?
Lynn give up, is not going to change his picture profile. :)
eric is*
ReplyDeleteIt really does look as if he is spying on you. Much better subject than the clown. Clowns freak me out.
ReplyDeletewhat about the little girl on the RHS of the picture? i wonder what she is thinking!!!
ReplyDeleteI love this picture it is always neat to see what you come up with. I like the fact that the guy is taking a picture towards you and even though he was your new subject you still have your old subject, the clown in it. As for Jemima I wonder what she is thinking too! :)
ReplyDeletevery good!!!!
ReplyDeleteLOL, maybe there's another Paris Daily Photo blog out there somewhere! Too funny :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the pattern on his tie is bookshelves! I like the picture, but I'd love a tie with bookshelves!
ReplyDeleteWhat a photo!
ReplyDeleteTwo things make this one of my favorites, Eric: it's technically a great photo, and it's essentially Parisian.
The B&W, the hats, the three main people and their graduating heights, even the fact that he's taking a picture of something other than the clown, where all that activity lies...all serve to make it technically interesting.
And though I'm like From Cali and clowns freak me out, too, a clown show in the park seems so very Parisian.
I love the black and white... and the composition of this photograph. Reading your blog gives me a different perspective of what I want to see- and how to see it- when I go to France...
ReplyDeleteI do love this photo, Eric, for all the reasons others have stated. It reminds me of a great photographer whose name escapes me at this moment, of course! ;-)
ReplyDeleteA third person from Californie checking in to say that clowns also flip me out, especially tall ones with cameras! Be careful, Eric!
ReplyDeleteCurious to know whether Parisian Caesar salads come avec ou sans les anchovies?
Love this photo Eric, there's much about this scene that keeps one coming back and seeing more. It seems like an old photo, but the children are dressed more present day. I like how the little girl is looking from the background, as the man in the photo focuses his camera on you, taking a picture of him. :)
ReplyDeletePetrea, too funny about the clowns, like from Cali, freaking you out. My son who like lives in Boston was upset that I "dragged him to that clowny place in Sarasota" Ummmm, I thought the Ringling Museum was quite nice. I guess I'm kind of a Carnytown girl and would love to see the circus clowns in Paris. ;)
such an interesting question of perspective, how funny :)
ReplyDeleteAhaaaa maybe you were caught... Maybe he starts a "Following Paris Daily Photographer"- blog ...lol...
ReplyDeleteListen, Eric, hope you don't mind if I have you linked at my brazilian blog... In fact I wrote a post (in portuguese- if you want I can translate it to you by mail) indicating your site as a nice discovery... and intend to have your blog listed among my favourites is that allright?
un tres bon photo, merci
ReplyDeleteje suis allee a Paris en 2001; je voudrais y aller encore.
avec ce photo, je sens comme je y suis.
What an interesting looking chap in a very striking hat and trench coat. I just wonder what the image of you looked like when his lens shutter opened.
ReplyDeleteSuperb photo, Eric!
ReplyDeleteMme. Benaut: The trenchcoat and hat struck me, too. I was reminded of all those iconic Frenchmen - both real and fictional - whose trademarks they have been: Jean-Pierre Melville, Jacques Tati, Jean-Paul Belmondo (in "Breathless" and "The Finger Man") and, of course, Alain Delon (in almost every film he made with Melville).
Oh oh. If you look closely at the books on his tie you can see that most of them are written by L. Ron Hubbard.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I wonder what that weird outline around the photogapher is all about.
Tall Gary you made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteTall Gary: Mmm, judging by the uniformity of the blurred background, I'd put my money on some "tweaking" in Photoshop, but I could be wrong. Not that there's anything with a little tweak. After all, even analogue photographs are manipulated in the developing process in order to produce the desired effect.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise that there were so many people afraid of clowns! What's THAT about?
ReplyDeleteI can't put my finger on it, but this photo looks like he's maybe a private investigator to me.
And TANYA! How dare you suggest that there could be another Paris Daily Photo?!?!?! That would be considered a sin here!
Michael: I'm not sure why some people find clowns so freaky, but I do know there's a word for it: coulrophobia.
ReplyDeleteallo
ReplyDeletei love your pictures...
just found this page..
warm regards
Thanks Lucio! I found this link to Coulrophobia also. I find it somewhat bizarre, but guess everyone's afraid of something.
ReplyDeleteMichael: My pleasure!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I've never been afraid of clowns, I do find them a little creepy. Cindy Sherman, the contemporary American photographer, captures what can only be described as their "uncanniness" in a recent series that I find particularly bizarre and unsettling:
"Cindy's Creepy Clowns"
Just for the record, I'm an arachnophobe.
Michael: Or, better still:
ReplyDelete"CCC Redux"
How adorable. I'll keep a look out for a picture of your looking through a camera.
ReplyDeletei found your page browsing, its really interesting, made me feel like i was on holiday, it really cheered me up because we've had some terrible weather in england this week !
ReplyDeleteI know that Carrie in 'Sex and the City' is afraid of clowns. I'm not bothered by them but i had to send one home once; i'd hired him for my son's birthday and a third of the little guests hated him. He went home early with a party bag and a wasted cheque.
ReplyDeleteThe photographer's clothes are somewhat dated. It's like Eric planted him there from another era. Only his backpack is up to date. A very interesting character to find, Eric. Or... did he find you? Brr.
Ah, Photoshopping. Eric has a good eye for that as well. Thanks Lucio.
ReplyDeleteAnd for the term coulrophobia. I don't know that it is to the degree of an irrational fear but I have always thought of clowns as creepy. The discrepancy between image and reality. But what are you going to do? To have spent such a part of one's adult life watching the beautiful trapeze artist or lovely bareback rider go off arm in arm with the strongman or lion tamer. What else can one do but paint on that long-ago, heart-ache obliterated smile.
Or the image itself, no discrepancy involved. That is some "Collection of Evil Clown pictures" at the bottom of Michael's Wikipedia "Coulrophobia" link.
Who would ever choose the clown?
Just thinking of a scenario:
"Oh baby. Thanks for waiting with your arms folded, scuffling impatiently around the sawdust on my dinky trailer floor while I gaze at myself in the mirror trying to get this gunk off my face. Can you hand me that quart of mineral oil? I'll be ready to hold you in my arms and cover you with kisses within a half hour.
"You can wake up now. I'm finished.
"What do you mean take off my shoes before I get in bed? I'm not wearing clown shoes anymore. Those are my actual feet."
I hope to someday visit your lovely city for real...until then, thanks for "taking me there".
ReplyDeleteAw sorry Michael,lol. Of course no other pdp could compete!
ReplyDeleteAs for the fear of clowns, I don't get it? I think there's regular real people out there that are 10x more freaky than any circus or rodeo clown,lol.
love B&W pics. this is indeed parisian. beautifully captured.
ReplyDeleteDid you notice the lion's head next to the Wallace fountian?
ReplyDeleteI Love all your fotos, but this one is...Amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteHaha! That's great! :D
ReplyDeletegreat! you took this "epiphany"!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if he also has a blog?!!!
ReplyDeleteAh ah ah!!! Yu made me laugh!!!
I love this shot - worthy of Cartier-Bresson himself.
ReplyDeleteYour subject could be Monsieur Hulot in that raincoat!
The real question is: what were you wearing, Eric? ;)
ReplyDeleteYes. Clowns: icky, not scary. Just icky.
ReplyDeleteThat sure wouldn't happen very often taking a picture of oneanother,would it?
ReplyDeletegreat pic! thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteFor a long time I've thought that the French were arrogant and self-centered and now you've proven me all wrong. And I'm glad.
ReplyDeleteEverybody has always said that one day they want to go to Paris and I've never understood them. What's so special about the Eiffel Tower or the Mona Lisa...
But these pictures... They're nothing like the usual sightseeing-photos and I think they really show the real Paris. The only things I have truly wanted to see in Paris are the Curie Institute and the Curie Museum and also rue Pierre Curie. (hint-hint) (Yes, I'm addicted to physics and the Curie-family)
Your pictures are so... real, if may say. They really make me feel as if I were there. The black-and-white photo(s) are especially good.
I guess I should wrap it up now. This is actually the first blog that I have seen, that has a point and I think I'll start coming here regularly.
Eva-Maria (Estonia)
This is appropriate and timely. I was viewing some Cartier-Bresson photos yesterday at the Mpls. Inst. of Arts.
ReplyDeleteNow, as to the Scientology demostration: this other photographer may be one of them, seeking out people spying on them. Watch out! It's the next chapter of the microfilm in the park transfer novel. Remember a few months ago on PDP?
Happy St. Patrick's Day to those on the Green Isle. May you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you've died.
Love the B&W...does remind me of an "Inspector" Clouseau type. How's the weather in Paree? Looks cold.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous photo and such a great "inside joke" :)
ReplyDeleteLove your blog, love the photos and love Paris! Spent one night there flying on to Ukraine. I thought it would be an overrated tourist trap with rude people. It was gorgeous, the people were normal and not rude even when I tried my bad French and I was IN LOVE! I will stop back by!
ReplyDeleteMonica you were telling us the other day about how Brazil girls love to dress; WELL!!! You simply have to go to M et Mme Benaut's at Adelaide Daily Photo, to be redirected from there to Menton Daily Photo. I see what you MEAN!!! Gosh.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a chance to come over and see me wearing my blog wig, Eric. You might get a laugh out of it. Some others have. LOL
ReplyDeleteI like your photographer's photographer posted today too.
C'est super!
ReplyDeleteTrust me when I don't get effusively praising often, but I LOVE this photo, it's so evocative and yet playful.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely print and frame it.
hehe magnifique!
ReplyDeleteif i was that guy, i'd probably say,
"oh la la!!! he's taking a photograph of me just like i'm doing right now! better look good!"
hehehe
i could do some good laughs!
:]]]]]]]
This is a fantastic shot. Great how the backgroung is out of focus and yet so in context. Reminds me of Doisneaus photos.
ReplyDeleteLynn you got the idea. I bet you can easily picture me wearing something like that. That's me going to the beach, plataforms and tassels all over. And some feathers in my hair too.
ReplyDeleteAs if...
You better ask Michael what a Girl from Ipanema looks like. He knows very well, I'm sure he can describe to you. She doesn't look like a carnival parade, she's more bossa nova style.
Lovely, Monica. No i knew you'd never look like that, much better! Ipanema, there's a famous model from there right? It's in the back of my mind but can't recall the details.
ReplyDeleteLynn most famous brazilian models come from the south of Brazil, like Gisele Bundchen. From Ipanema there is the real girl from Ipanema, the one that inspired the song. I said Michael could tell you all about her because he just learnet that she's real and was very surprised.
ReplyDeleteHe even offered to sing Girl from Ipanema to you guys during the next picnic... he he
Eric I just got a "I heart Paris Daily Photo" mug from Zazzle!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was a gift from - guess who - Phx of course!!! I'm in love with it. Now I have 2 PDP mugs.
Oh and also the button you gave me last year!
I bet Phx is helping increase your sales at Zazzle!
lol i know it. That's the one i was thinking of! Trust Michael. Pah. lol.
ReplyDeleteguillemette was not eric in a cafe near the sorbonne entrance of the luxembourg park - the foutain rings a bell
ReplyDeleteanother uestion what is the nationality of the person with camera french swiss german i can t see ..
Cue deep voice : " TOM CRUISE SCIENTOLOGIST ! "
ReplyDelete==Alaska
OH no , Tom and his cult are going to track me down ;-)))
PS : I'm Tom Cruise
Hi everyone. Sorry not to be very active in the comments box these days, but I have too excuses: 1) I have a lot of work at the moment, 2) Pollens have started to attack and I suffer from bad allergies which kill me.
ReplyDeleteIt won't last, please forgive me;)
But I'm glad you enjoyed this photo, cause I like it very much too ;)
Everyone in - and behind - this photograph is disguised: the background figures by the soft focus, the clown by his costume, the photographers (yes, Eric, I do mean you) by their cameras. I like that. Indeed, it seems apposite that we only half glimpse their identities, as this is explicitly an image about the making of an image. I like that, too.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across your blog, and thoroughly enjoy the photos and your point of view! I was in Paris twice last year and could not get enough of the city! J'adore les photos!
ReplyDeleteWow. The lion head in the pattern of leaves by the Wallace Fountain! Thanks anonymous. This photo is building as much drama as Antonioni's movie "Blow Up."
ReplyDeleteAnonyme, I would like to understand what you're talking about but I don't...
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that Eric used the gaussen blurr filter in Photoshop. The give away is the halo around the man's hat.
ReplyDeleteI also like the library shelf of books tie.
It looks like that may be a very expensive Leica SLR the gentleman is using. The mark of a very wealthy tourist. I know of no pro who uses Leica SLr equipment. Maybe old M2 and M3's, but not their SRLs.
The photo is still very nice.
I wish I found this blog sooner, these are fantastic snapshots of Paris. Can't wait to see more! ;D
ReplyDeleteI love this shot, timeless and comical. This site is far too addictive. Stops me doing my won blog and photography,by perusing this one. think it should could with a health warning.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! Could not have been better timing, lighting, and the black and white sets the stage! :)
ReplyDeleteI like this picture very much. I looked at it and thought the background looks quite nice, with this old woman looking a bit like a clown.. then read and found out it's a clown.. :)
ReplyDeletelove your blog (not only the pics but also your comments)
I have to agree with Anonyme who entered a comment at 6.26 a.m. I think it's okay to touch up shots, but there seems to be a thin line all around the photographer shown. I hope it's just to add a gaussian blur. And yes, I think it is a Leica he's using.
ReplyDeleteGood photo anyway!
Eric,
ReplyDeleteThis photo is an instant classic! The figures are somewhat timeless and could be from any of several decades. The composition is perfect, and the black and white treatment has made this one of my fave pictures of yours of all time. Would that we could see his capture of you at the cafe! Please be sure to Zazzle this one!
Kudos!
-Kim
Super - breathtaking - c'est rare de voir de photo en noir et blanc et ceci on plus d'effet. Merci de partager ces photos avec nous.
ReplyDeleteThat's fabulous, Eric!
ReplyDeleteThat's fabulous, Eric!
ReplyDeleteI like this picture!
ReplyDelete