Thursday, March 09, 2006

2 cafés s'il vous plaît (Two coffees please)


Don't even ask how stupid I looked standing on top of a chair to take this photo in the middle of a café, but it was worth it. Just the right moment, after coming in from the cold and relaxing over hot coffee. I left the bill in the frame, so that you could see in this neighborhood, the price was 5.20 euros. I paid the exact same price the day before at Starbucks'!

ParisDailyPhoto 1 year anniversary minus 2 days!

Put this photo on a card, mug, t-shirt, bag and more here!

46 comments:

  1. This photo captures my favorite thing about Paris: drinking coffee in the cafes, watching the people walk by. 5 Euros for 2 cups sounds cheap! With such great coffee available, Eric, why do you go to Starbucks??

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  2. Well, I'll ask before somebody else does..."how stupid di you look standing on top ef a chair to take this photo?"

    I agree bob, cafe in Paris IS one of life's great pleasures here. Especially when it's cold outside.

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  3. P.S. Eric, this Blogger being down so much recently is really getting on my nerves. Why not do what Tomate suggested and ask for your money back! I noticed Gmail was down too, but they both came back up at the same time. Think there's a connection?

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  4. Thanks for the photo, Eric. My daughter said that sitting at a cafe lingering over a cup of coffee was one of the favorite parts of her trip to Paris to see her favorite uncles last summer. I can see why.

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  5. Hi Eric...came across your site from http://www.genartpulse.com/blog/archive/2006/03/paris_please.php

    Did you know you're on the same page as the article called "Meet a Hot Scot"? You must be blushing!

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  6. yum...a hot scot AND a hot café, the world IS perfect!

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  7. Michael, yep, noticed the same thing. Just wondering ... could it be because Google was holding out against ".. a certain Administration ?" ;-) Ahem.

    I love this picture! And also glad to notice that there is no ashtray full of cigarette butts on that table. Is Paris getting better about that, too? :-)

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  8. Wow! This is such a nice picture. Simple, but it captures a moment. Casually sharing a coffee with someone....This is what it's all about. Merci, Eric.

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  9. Eric,
    I love your site and visit it frequently. I'd love to join you in posting daily from my city (Denver, CO,USA) but posting once a week or so is the best I can do right now.
    Je connais des autres Parisiens amicaux. Merci.

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  10. Agree completely with Single In The City.

    PS I'm getting excited about your one year anniversary, I'm sure you have something fabulous planned!

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  11. Five euros, yikes. You could have at least five small coffees for that here. Of course, you wouldn't get such a fantastic photo opportunity with it, so I guess it's a fair price.

    Yeah, I too would like to see the photo of Eric taking the photo. :)

    Thanks Michael for mentioning that Gmail was down. I have been having mega problems with them and you know, you get the standard reply that kinda infers that it is my own fault.

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  12. Hi, Eric,

    The blook is coming out in two days, right? Starbucks in Paris is pretty bad, but in California I don't mind it.

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  13. the angle/perspective of the picture is unique...i would not have thought to stand directly on top to capture the moment.

    when i went to paris last august, the only thing i did was walk the streets for HOURS exploring and sit in cafes reading/people watching. and i had a BLAST. i love paris....i miss it so much.......

    je souhaite que je serai la-bas cet ete.....

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  14. Nice shot Eric! Say...who was your date? ;-)

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  15. Very nice shot, it was worth climbing on the chair...
    But why are you mentionning Starbucks? They don't serve Coffee, do they? ;)))

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  16. Ridiculous, I don't know but this kind of position is good for your shape, Eric !
    I'm always scared to see the price of two coffees nowadays : who said that prices weren't growing ???

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  17. Pas mal du tout ce point de vue, c'est simple et graphique et tout est dit sur la photo. Personnellement, je ne sais pas si j'irais au Starbuck pour prendre un bon café, peut-être plus du côté à malongo ou le choix est plus grand.

    PS: d'un point de vue technique, tu pourrais rajouter un peu de contraste pour donner un peu plus de peps à la photo, et aussi essayer d'enlever la sangle qui dépasse en bas de la photo.

    Sinon, bravo, merci et bonne continuation dans tes balades parisiennes.

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  18. Love this, Eric. The colors! And what lovely little cups. Great shot. Think this could be a cover shot for your coffee table book? I'd buy it.

    :) Thanks for the well-wishes, I'm back among the living.

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  19. ben dit, i'sont chers tes cafés. Au p'tit Quercy, en bas de chez moi, le petit noir i' vaut un euro tout rond;-))

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  20. The next time that you showed on a chair right in the middle of a coffee and photographing two cups, I hope that there will be somebody to photograph you that and to make us share a great moment of loneliness

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  21. I congratulate you for climbing into that chair. Just look at that great photo.

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  22. It's not the same chair as the photo the other day is it? I'm sure that wouldn't take my weight:)

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  23. Hello Eric,

    J'aime beaucoup cette photo et l'atmosphère de calme et de sérénité qui s'en dégage. Cela me donnerait presque le goût du café !!! ( c'est clair que la même photo aurait été moins percutante avec une théière !)

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  24. Eric, what I want to say is said by everybody already...I like the warmth of this shot :-)

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  25. Rapidement, voici ce que je voulais dire :
    http://maraveuse.free.fr/divers/CoffeeForTwo.jpg

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  26. Great shot, great photos, very interesting blog. Enjoy your stay in Paris!

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  27. ditto what bob said- the cafe is my favorite part of daily life in france. wish i was there...

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  28. Eric,

    Love the light. 5.20 wow almost as much as some of the touristy areas.

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  29. c'est amusant, sur le ticket c'est marqué ma bourgogne !!

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  30. Est-ce qu'on pourrait aussi avoir des photos de la Place des Vosges, s'il vous plait? C'est tellement joli ce coin là!

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  31. Jimmy, now why would you want to go and ruin a photo like that? It looks so fake after it's been altered whereas the original leaves a good taste of coffee in my mouth. Sorry, but I prefer the untouched version.

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  32. Eric:

    I linger over your photo……
    [excuse the pun]
    We all look at this when we get up from a table to leave….
    But you, Eric “see” it,
    and realized you must shoot straight down on it
    But to do so must stand on a chair…
    what courage to take the risk of embarrassment, not to mention falling
    face first into the china!

    The wonderful warm colors of the wood, coffee, china design, design on the bill and the gold coin all contribute to complete a semi abstract vision.

    The interesting thing about your shot is that you totally eliminated the environment, but the wood table is so rich, it communicates so much more than if a specific bistro was included.

    I know the bistro, Ma Bourgogne, in the Place des Vosges. Seeing this photo makes me yearn to share a coffee with you and watch the activity: lovers on the lawn with a sound track of gypsy guitars and accordion music in front of Max Spira's Antiquity Boutique……..

    I travel, and often, if the meal is visually appearing, often photograph it. I been know to do something similar to your stunt, but never have stood on a chair to document it, although it is in my bag of tricks for many other shots. I have even picked up the main plate and carried near a window or out on the porch of the place I am staying to get a more interesting environment or better light. Your photo shows the reward for putting out that effort.

    The following is a translation by google:

    Je m'attarde au-dessus de votre photo......
    [ excusez le calembour ]
    nous tout le regard à ceci quand nous nous levons d'une table au congé....
    Mais vous, Eric "le voyez",
    et réalisé vous doit tirer la dune droite là-dessus mais faire ainsi doit se tenir sur une chaise...
    quel courage de prendre le risque d'embarras, pour ne pas mentionner le visage en chute d'abord dans la porcelaine!

    Kudos pendant une vie immobile agréable. Les couleurs chaudes merveilleuses du bois, du café, de la conception de porcelaine, de la conception sur la facture et tous de la pièce d'or contribuent pour accomplir une vision semi abstraite. La chose intéressante au sujet de votre projectile est que vous avez totalement éliminé l'environnement, mais la table en bois est si riche, il communique tellement davantage que si un bistro spécifique était inclus. Je sais le bistro, mA Bourgogne, dans le DES VOSGES d'endroit. Voir cette photo m'incite à aspirer à partager un café avec vous et à observer l'activité: amoureux sur la pelouse avec une voie saine des guitares gitanes et de la musique d'accordéon devant le magasin antique........ Je voyage, et souvent, si le repas apparaît visuellement, souvent photographie il. I été savent pour faire quelque chose de semblable à votre arrêt, mais ne se sont jamais tenus sur une chaise pour la documenter, bien qu'elle soit dans mon sac des tours pour beaucoup d'autres projectiles. J'ai même pris le plat principal et ai porté près d'une fenêtre ou dehors sur le porche de l'endroit que je reste pour obtenir un environnement plus intéressant ou une meilleure lumière. Votre photo montre la récompense pour mettre hors de cet effort.

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  33. Michael is damn right, the untouched picture is better than a faked one. To much grain, bright colors on the latter. Well, that's actually a matter of taste. I'd say I, as a photographer, would need tons of Photoshop effects to produce acceptable pictures. Eric does not.

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  34. I love this photo! I love this about Paris!

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  35. Merci, Eric! After an awful day when I forgot to look at your blog, I find this most fantastic photo reminding me that sitting in a cafe lingering over a coffee while reading Le Monde is only 3 weeks, 2 days, and 9 hours away...

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  36. For what it's worth, I do too, like the untouched, unsharpened version better. You're right about the hand-bag strap but, you know, a little imperfection in a picture is not a bad thing; it reminds us that the blogger is human ;-)

    But thanks for showing us an alternate version, Jimmy!

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  37. I prefer the untouched version, i just make an alernative version.

    Il est difficile de faire une retouche à partir d'une version redimensionnée (et dans ce cas, bien petite). J'ai bien évidemment trop poussée les manettes pour faire comprendre ce que je voyais, mon but n'était pas de faire une retouche mais de faire passer des idées. c'est tout, rien de plus. Ce n'était même pas une critique (dans le sens négatif) de la photo d'eric. J'aime beaucoup ces photos spontannées qui montre tel quel des tranches de vie parisienne.
    J'essaierais de faire de vrai retouche pour d'autre version alternative, mais je le répète, mon but n'est certainement pas de donner des cours de photographie à Eric, certainement pas.
    Fredb > tu devrais pourtant savoir qu'un photographe passe un temps fou dans la chambre noire (pour les argentiste), pour révéler leur regard sur une photo au public, il faut faire très attention à son dévelloppement.
    Et quelques fois, ce n'est pas le photographe qui s'occuppe de cette phase, ça peut-être le galleriste de l'exposition qui souhaite une certaine homogeneite ou un certain regard sur des séries.

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  38. Merci pour l'explication Jimmy. It is funny to see those who quickly come to the defense of Eric though. On aime notre parisdailyphoto!

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  39. Taking a photo while standing on a chair sounds dangerous. Sort of dangerous like Bob's March 5th post at Barcelona DailyPhoto.

    Great perspective.

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  40. Michael, you put your finger on it (and so did Buzzgirl, on the other post). What it is, is that we've come to like the personality behind the blogposts here and we can't stand anything that might look even remotely like negative criticism, even if it isn't! :-D

    Thanks again for the explanation, Jimmy.

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  41. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  42. Hey Eric - I love your site as well. Thanks for stopping by..

    Photography makes my world go round although I don't take enough photos. Crazy that the coffee costs as much as starbucks these days. That's really aweful! I'll be sure to check in again...

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  43. Please, don't try to compare the shitty Starbucks to a tradtionnal Café Parisien!
    PS: great photo, as usual. I'm jalous.

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  44. Hey, you have a great blog here!

    I just saw a very good website about mall site. It has a lot of information on mall related stuff.

    Check it out if you get time :-)

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