Paris with 8x10

[Robert Finley]

Just got back from Paris a couple of weeks ago. Richard d'Amore told me before my trip that if I don't take my 8x10 camera I'd be really sorry. Parisians are wonderful people and like Richard said, "there is someting to photograph every 5 feet."
Putting aside fears of airport security and the thought of lugging 78 lbs. of gear through the streets of central Paris I ordered a Wesco two-wheel folding dolly. It is small enough for stashing under the seat and has 4" rubber wheels which handle the cobblestonestreets pretty well. Purchased at handtrucks.com.
Three lenses and 6 film holders went into a backpack and the Zone VI 8x10 in a jewelers case (not unlike an accordian hard case). The case fit perfectly into the the overhead compartment of the plane. Bungy straps held the case securely to the dolly as I wheeled it around the city while carrying my gitzo tripod in the other hand.
Airport security here in US and at CDG airport was not a problem. On two occasions they wanted to look at a lens but that was it. No interest was shown in loaded film holders or unopened boxes of Bergger film. I did UPS my exposed film back home at a cost of $100. Well worth the price if you ask me and it arrived two days after I did.
So for all you large format artisians giving thoughts of overseas adventure I recommend you load 'em up and head out!

[Christopher Perez]

Exactly!

So when do we get so see some of your images? :)


Just got back from Paris a couple of weeks ago. Richard d'Amore told me before my trip that if I don't take my 8x10 camera I'd be really sorry. Parisians are wonderful people and like Richard said, "there is someting to photograph every 5 feet." ... So for all you large format artisians giving thoughts of overseas adventure I recommend you load 'em up and head out!

[Walter Calahan]

Cool

[Eric Woodbury]

Robert, you are brave. How was it? Did setting up a tripod cause a problem for the French? How many shots?

[Robert Finley]

Unfortunately my tech know how is limited. I know I need to get a website but being a plt/pld printer I'm a century behind these digital times. Suggestions on how to share images would be appreciated.

[Walter Foscari]

Way to go.
BTW a great book on this stuff is "Paris: Photographs by Geoffrey James", still available from amazon. AFAIK all images taken with an 8x10.

[Scott Davis]

Robert- find someone who lives near you with a scanner, and have him/her scan a few images for you. You can then post them here as attachments, or you can use a pre-made website template to design a site. Your internet service provider (ISP) may already give you some space for free, or will provide it for a minimal amount per month.

[Alan Rabe]

The works of Eugene Atget are also quite nice. Being of the old Paris before the wars and modernization it is really nice to see Paris as it was and then compare it ot how it is now.

[tim atherton]

Way to go.
BTW a great book on this stuff is "Paris: Photographs by Geoffrey James", still available from amazon. AFAIK all images taken with an 8x10.

Yes - Geoffrey's is a wonderful book - luminous. All 8x10 (Phillips) and I think his usual Tri-X in D23 (and lots of Dagors...).

BTW - he has a new book of his panoramic work in Toronto out (the printing isn't up to "Paris" though - which is very well printed)

[tim atherton]

The works of Eugene Atget are also quite nice. Being of the old Paris before the wars and modernization it is really nice to see Paris as it was and then compare it ot how it is now.

Alan - are you a master of understatement... :-) Quite nice?

[Robert Finley]

Here's a few of the 8x10 pt/pld images from the trip, as requested...I hope.



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[Robert Finley]

One other comment on gear transport. I photographed my tripod, camera (set up), film holder w/sheet of film, and lenses. I took them to a copy joint and lamenated them and then atteched to case/pack/bag they were packed in. I think it helped showing the airport security people the photos and saying it was an Ansel Adams bellows style camera. They seemed to understand and it put them at ease.
My tripod I packed in an 8" diameter PVC tube with end caps and threw it in a duffle bag for checked luggage. Lamenated photo of tripod attached to duffle like a name tag. I also taped photos of tripod on PVC tube.
They did a hand check of all passengers' carry on items at Paris airport on the way back. Not usually done apparently and again the only thing I had to open up was one of my 3 lenses in a lens wrap.

Here's two more images of Paris for Christopher Perez.


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[Christopher Perez]

Yikes! Your images look wonderful in platinum.

How were the on-lookers when they saw what you were up to?

Paris is my favorite city on the planet. Thanks! Nice work.


... Here's two more images of Paris for Christopher Perez.

[Alan Rabe]

:D I have always felt Atget was a natural genius, while I have met a few others who just didn't get it. When I first saw his work I found it quite inspiring. A man with no training and probably some of the worst equipment made, but with just his love of his subject matter was able to capture it's true essence. This gave me hope that I could achieve a measure of competence at this game. It amazes me that if it weren't for Bernice Abbott all his work would have been lost.

[Capocheny]

Hi Robert,

Sweet images! :)

Did anyone give you a hard time for setting up a tripod?

IIRC, there are some places in Europe that really frown on photogs setting up a pod on the street. Seems to me that I remember reading on this forum that Rome was one such place.

Cheers

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

Congratulations Robert for your images taken in Paris.
About image #1003, one of the famous statues by Aristide Maillol (1861 - 1944), there is a funny picture, I think it is by Robert Doisneau, taken when a couple of workers installed or moved the statue ... by hand ;-). I let you imagine the scene ;-)

[cyrus]

Same question here: any problems with officials about setting up tripods?

[Robert Finley]

Tripod was not a problem. I'd first consider if I was going to screw up others property(mark floors,grass in parks,etc.). then try and set up out of pedestrian traffic as much as possible, thus avoiding an ass chewing. Maybe beside a lamp post, railing, tree/scrub, or bldg.
My attitude was always cordial but if I remained focused on my work people were respectful and didn't come up and start shucking and jiving about the "old camera" like I sometimes get in the US. I did, on different occasssions, have three very respectful film photographers come and visit after I had finished at a location. Very nice fellows and enjoyable conversations. I speak no French but their broken English was good enough to make for a pleasant meeting.
Setting up against a object or out of others way also helped "cover my back" while under dark cloth and lessened the chance of someone bumping my setup camera.
A nice thing about Parisians is their ability to not get buzzed up and run out the door in the early morning. Luckily I'm an early bird and would get out before everyone else, which provided opportunities that would have been more difficult latter in the day.

[QT Luong]

There is no problem with equipment at CDG unless you don't like to have your film x-rayed. The only people that would complain about the tripod use are police, but you don't run into them all the time.

[Robert Finley]

QT,
Are you talking about a jandarme like this one? This guy is obviouly aware of my presence. He watched me setting up and didn't blink an eye and even gave me the slightest of smiles.

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[Michael Graves]

Alan - are you a master of understatement... :-) Quite nice?

Yeah. Wynn Bullock was okay, too.

[QT Luong]

I think there is some city laws that state that professional photography and/or tripods require permits, but a lot of those laws are not necessarily enforced.

[John Kasaian]

Great photographs! What a lovely city.

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

Tuan
The question of required authorisations in Paris is ruled by a complex set of regulations.
For those who can read French, this was addressed in this recent discussion on galerie-photo.info
A summary of current regulations in Paris has been posted by J.C. Launey, post dated 17-NOV-2006 08:38
http://www.galerie-photo.info/forum/read.php?f=1&i=23979&t=23979

On paper you do not need any authorisation if you not not obstruct traffic.
Exactly like Robert did and everything went on smoothly. Getting up early is an excellent advice.

My understanding is that after being very restrictive, after several cases ruled in courts in favour of photographers, France is getting closer to the UK regulations, namely that everything that can be seen from the public domain can be recorded and published even on a professional basis.But we are still far from the sensible UK approach. Germany seems to have the same approach as the UK, but we'll soon have 27 countries in the EU with Romania and Bulgaria joining us soon ! And no unified EU legal approach on this topic ;)

Severe restrictions apply in France to modern achitecture, basically if you want to record and publish an image of any modern architecture in France, except if of you keep the image in your private records and never show it on Internet, you'll have in principle to negociate a "paid" permit with the architect. The fee can be definitely dissuasive.

You can freely take pictures of the EIffel Tower during the days and publish it as you like it. However the lighting at night is protected by artistic rights of the company that did the arrangements ! So in ordre to publish an image of the Eiffel Tower at night you need to negociate a fee !!

Also : in France things are formally extremely restrictive inside historical monuments where you formally need a permit from the owner, the state, the local government or from the MInistry of Culture in order to work on a professional basis. There, I agree, rules are, or are not, enforced depending on circumstances which is not at all comfortable for the foreign visitor who whishes to set up a tripod and a 8"x10" camera.

Some historical monuments although partially supported by the government are privately-owned like Fontfroide Abbey in the south of France where we had our large format conference in October. In his case you should contact the owner directly. Many movies are made inside this abbey when monastic surroundings are required for the story, but then, a team of many people comes and stays for days, this requires of course a substantial fee that helps maintaining the abbey. But for a private visit by an enthusiatic LF-er from overseas, I can imagine that the negotiation will be easy if aftewards you advertise for the abbey in your country !

[QT Luong]

In Paris, I was asked to take down my tripod at least 3 times. In each case, I set up on the middle of the sidewalk, but the foot traffic was in each case *very* light. Did the regulations change recently ? I assume "providing you do not obstruct traffic" is subject to various interpretations by overzealous officers. By the way, in Los Angeles I was also told to take down the tripod in similar circumstances and given the same explanation.

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

In Paris.... Did the regulations change recently ?
The document quoted by Jean-Claude Launey on galerie photo dates back to March 2001.

subject to various interpretations by overzealous officers.
Certainly yes. This is exactly what Jean-Claude Launey says just after quoting the official document, a document which allows to take pictures from the public domain by a single person with a tripod without permit.
For future visitors who would like to follow the same route as Robert in Paris, we could find the exact document with all references to be printed and carried by everybody in his photo backpack ...

[George Hart]

I have been harassed by an officious grenouille as detailed here (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=10348) on this forum. My crime seemed to be that I needed authorization to photograph certain buildings. I have had no trouble from the police, even when I had my tripod set up in marked off-bounds territory on one of the very central bridges, to which access was restricted on account of road works!

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

An update about photographers' rights in France to take commercial picture of a private property visible from the public domain. Yes this is not in Paris but in Provence, so next trip to France, take your 8"x10" to Provence !

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3246,36-845152@51-808722,0.html

The affair is known as the Bories affair and after Café Gondrée in Normandy and Puy Pariou in Auvergne, French courts have, again, ruled in favor of photographers.

Bories are nice huts of the ancient ages made of stones, they are superb and typical of the Provence landscape.
See a nice example here :
http://www.tourisme-en-provence.com/Tourisme/MontsDeVaucluse/index.htm

A small local company publishing postcards sold an image with one of these bories, the hut is privately owned but visible from the public domain in the Parc Régional du Luberon. The owners claimed for excessive traffic of tourists nearby after the publication of the postcard, and asked for a huge sum of money.... eventually they lost in courts.

Well, I can understand the point of view of the owners of the this "joyau de la Provence" , the same situation occurs in West Ireland in the magnificent Burren region, where thousands of tourists enter private properties to see ancient megaliths without asking for permission and without closing fences...



So we are gradually approaching in France the sensitive British approach. Sounds great !!
But in Paris..
Paris sera toujours Paris !
and a gendarme.. a gendarme !!