Recent Shoot: Walks with Parisians

Recent Portrait: Michel Chaudun, Paris

Another Portrait here from Paris of the master chocolatier Michel Chaudun. He was a former employee of La Maison du Chocolate in Paris but decided to set up his own exclusive shop a few years ago, his business has since expanded and he now also has an outlet in Tokyo. He was quite a modest man and looked every bit the artisan in his leather apron. He was very obliging during the shoot and once we were done he very kindly gave me some edible souvenirs to take away with me - nice! One of his signature creations are chocolates called 'Paves de la rue de l'Univerite' (translated as 'Cobblestones of the rue de l'Universite'). The street refers to the street where his shop is located and each chocolate was in the shape of a cobblestone in reference to the famous May '68 protests in Paris when most of the streets cobblestones were torn up by protesters to form barricades or to be lobbed at members of the infamous French riot police, the CRS. Inside the box on top of the chocolates there was a nice graphic of a cobblestone with the inscription 'Say it with a cobblestone!' - they certainly did in May '68, right on brother!

Recent Shoot: Paris Vintage Fashion

One of the days shoots in Paris was spent photographing various locations for the fashion section of the magazine, the first two images are from a very high end vintage fashion boutique called Didier Ludot that sells vintage haute couture. The owner Mr.Ludot had his two pet pugs at the back of the shop who were sniffeling and whimpering away at all the excitement the whole time I was there, I couldn't resist putting a shot of them here.
The other images are from a slightly lower end (but by no means less popular) vintage shop called Free P Star in the Marais. It's been there for years and I've previously photographed it for another guide book. Inside was tight for space and also very manic with all the ladies delving in amongst the clothing rails on a search for that bargain, luckily there was a step ladder in the corner so I was able to get some elevated shots - just a pity that I didn't manage to get a clean shot of the girl with the hat...

Recent Portrait: Eric Hazan, Paris

Another person I was commissioned to photograph while in Paris was the French left wing author Eric Hazan, who runs his own independent publishing house 'La Fabrique' in the North East of Paris. As with the majority of Portrait shoots I didn't have much of his precious time so we took a short walk over to the Parc des Buttes Chaumonts close by to do the majority of the shots as well as a few in the neighbouring streets and at his office. He was a really nice chap and I'm glad to have met him.

Recent Publication: Time Out Paris Guide

Last summer I was commissioned to shoot a travel guide to Paris. I've done quite a few jobs like this over the years and they can be both great fun and a lot of work, this one being no exception - this guide called for around 80 shoots at different destinations all over the city in the course of three weeks, that's an average of four destinations per day, everyday.
The images were commissioned for the 2010 edition of the Time Out Paris City Guide and were also used in the sister publication the 2010 Time Out Paris Visitors Guide.
Above are a couple of pages used as section openers in the Visitors Guide which as a magazine format guide book employs a few full page pictures which is always a bonus. The page on the left shows a shot from the Parisian superclub called 'Showcase', which had a very photogenic interior like no other club I've been to in Paris.
It's not the sort of place I think of when I think of Paris, nor would indeed visit, but that's what I love about what I do, with a camera in my hand it means I get to visit places I'd never normally be in. Other notable past examples of this include spending a week photographing metal fabricating companies in Northern France and also documenting the chaotic scenes at a lap dancing club catering for Hen Nights.
Who knows where my camera will take me next? Below are a few more images from the featured shoot at the club 'Showcase'

5D mark II in Paris

I arrived in Paris this afternoon to shoot an editorial commission for a magazine in London, I've also in the last few days taken delivery of a new camera body - the 5D mark II. I've been looking forward to trying it out in low light conditions as this is one area it is said to excel. I had a bit of spare time once I'd arrived so I headed up to the Parc de Buttes Chaumonts at dusk to take a few shots. Above is an image taken from the top of the park overlooking the streets below. Image was taken at 3200 ISO and the noise levels are really impressive. I'll certainly be putting the camera through it's paces in the next few days...