Paris in Black and White (and Grey)

I'm still chained to my desk, writing a book about Provence and the south of France that's facing a tight deadline, so hope to catch up with all your lovely emails, comments and also a few overdue posts by the end of this week. In the meantime, here's a glimpse at Paris, in all its black and white glamour. 

(I was showing a friend some pix of the recent trip the other day and we noticed that all I seemed to take photos of was fashion and flowers. So apologies to all those who are tired of seeing frocks and floral borders. Will try and resume regular posts soon, including Harbour Island, New York and London.)

Paris in black and white.

The newly restored cafe of the Musée d'Orsay.

(And the famous clock, through which you can see a fantastic view of Paris.)

Vintage Dior gowns at the Haute Couture Exhibition at the Hotel de Ville in the Marais.

(This exhibition was free. Don't you love that?)

More gorgeousness from the Haute Couture exhibition.

A flashback to 1980's Chanel in the window of the Rue Cambon store. 

(Apparently Chanel jewellery from the 1980s is hugely popular again, according to a dealer I met in New York.)

A present for my mother for her birthday.

The Chanel exhibition.

(Which was also free. And not a single person in the queue.)

The beautiful powder room of the Hotel Trocadero Dokhan, where a group of us met for a few bottles of Champagne one evening. 

(I picked up the tab. The price of 200 Euros made my eyes water slightly. But it was a wonderful evening, and the group hadn't let me pay for dinner once during the week. Such lovely people.) 

Ralph Lauren's Left Bank boutique.

Always love to peek in here.

The simple but classically stylish fitting rooms at Ralph Lauren.

Artwork at the Hotel Maurice. 

This quirky grey painting said, simply, 'Versailles'. Not sure if the chairs were part of the installation? 

The foyer of the Hotel Maurice. 

Had afternoon tea here with a friend. I hadn't realised how magnificent it was inside. 

Some of our cute group taking in turns to take a photo of the Eiffel Tower. (I had taken them to a secret place where you can get the perfect shot of the Eiffel Tower, and they'd all lined up in a row to compose it.)

This photo makes me smile every time I look at it. Look how happy they look? No barging in front of each other, no complaining, no whinging that people are in their way. Just patience and pure joy to be on holiday. That's what travel is about.

A quiet corner.

Dinner at a classic restaurant on the Seine.

A quiet street near the Luxembourg Gardens.

A glimpse of an icon.

The gates of the Fashion Museum.

A blink-and-you-miss sighting of my books in the WH Smith on Rue Rivoli.

Valentino. Oh, Valentino.

A great little store on the Left Bank that sells vintage Louis Vuitton and other labels, including old steamer bags and trunks.

Look at the lovely old cash register with the LV on top.

Pure Paris.

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Photographing Paris

Losing my Canon SLR this week made me realise how attached I'd become to my worn-out, cantankerous, travel-battered old camera.

That camera and I had seen a lot of miles. It had been with me through bitter winters in Paris, beaches on the Great Barrier Reef (sadly, usually on my own because I was always working), snowstorms in New York and even a small hurricane in the Bahamas. It had stayed faithful all through the drops and knocks and falls and it had continued to work even when I cracked its shell against the elegant but unforgiving stonework of the Louvre.

I don't know how tough a digital SLR Leica is (my dream camera), but I often wonder if it would be as much of a workhorse as the Canon? I loved my Canon. I couldn't have asked for a better camera. It seemed to make me a better photographer than I actually was.

It was only recently, when we both started getting old and weary from the miles, that the Canon started to become belligerent. The photos didn't seem as sharp. And the lens seemed perpetually dirty. But – like an old married couple who become accustomed to each other – we stuck together, the Canon and I. My partner kept insisting that upgrade but I resisted. How could I? It would have been like upgrading him. How do you toss in something you love, just because it's old and weary?

And so this week, when it was stolen in London, I was quietly bereft. Part of me thought: Well, I can always get a new one on insurance. But another other part of me was very, very sad. And then today, walking around Paris, I felt such a profound sense of loss it was though my partner had died. I stood on the Pont des Arts, looked up the river under the brooding grey skies, and remembered all the years I'd stood there, holding the camera aloft. We'd had some good times, that old Canon and I.

And so here, in a tribute to ancient cameras everywhere, is a post on modern photography. I'm not the best photographer. I'm simply a journalist who was forced to shoot her own books for budget reasons. But this is what my faithful Canon has taught me...

SHOOT FROM THE HEART

If you shoot scenes that bring you pleasure, they will always gladden your heart when you look back on them. This is true for family photos but it's also true for Paris. Don't think you always have to shoot the Louvre, or the Eiffel Tower or the other cliched sights. Just shoot what moves you. I love seeing Parisians at play. Look at this little boy with his fabulous glitter hat kicking a ball around. The photo makes me smile. Every single time.

LOOK FOR THE LIGHT

All photographers have their little favourites. Some photographers love shooting people. Others like fashion. Others adore snapping travel scenes. I have a passion for light. I love it. I love the way it changes during the day, and how it moves across buildings, and streets, and scenes. This shot was taken in the late afternoon. I happened to be in the right place at the right time. But you don't need to be in a colonnade such as this to take a shot of lovely light. Just observe the light wherever you are. You'll soon notice how it enhances things.

LOOK FOR PATTERNS

Pattern is another subject that's dear to my photographer's heart. I love any kind of repeating pattern, but particularly graphic stripes, which always look gorgeous, whether they're in Miami or the Marais.

LET THE CAMERA DO THE WORK

An ex-boyfriend taught me this trick. Instead of looking through the viewfinder, lower the camera and simply click. That is, let the camera take the photo on its own. (Set it on automatic rather than manual first.) More often than not, you'll get an unexpectedly beautiful shot. It works best when you hold it against something, such as a wall – like this wall of 'love' padlocks on the Pont des Arts. My ex used to drop his camera down low whenever he walked along a beach, so he'd capture vast expanses of sky. His images were beautiful. Far more beautiful than mine.

LOOK FOR CONTRAST

These windows at Guerlain's store on the Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honore were begging to be photographed.

BE PATIENT

Timing is everything in photography. Unfortunately, I don't have the patience to wait for the perfect shot (which is perhaps why I'm not the greatest photographer). But I do realise that timing is crucial in this business. The really good photographers wait for the right light, the right moment, the right scene. They'll wait for ages. That's how they get the best shots.

I snapped this woman and her cute Jack Russells crossing the Palais-Royal at just the right moment. (Look at how the trees frame her.) But I was lucky. I had good timing. The Photography Gods were shining down that day.

DO SOME RESEARCH BEFOREHAND

I've been wanting to photograph this Parisian patisserie for years. It's one of the city's most beautiful shopfronts. But I could never find it. So I researched it on the Internet. (There are conflicting addresses, and nobody seems to know where it is.) It was well worth the hike up to Montmartre last week. If you want to shoot particular things, find out where they are and write up a Shot List.

CONSIDER SCALE

These shots were taken at Versailles last week. I was on an old bike I'd hired to ride to the Petit Trianon. (Be kind: I'd already walked all around the gardens for 6 hours!) I literally snapped these pix as I was wobbling by on two wheels! To me, they epitomise Versailles. But that's because of the scale.

REMEMBER THE RULE OF THIRDS

Don't centre things in your photos. Break the scene into thirds (either horizontally or vertically) and position the focal point on one of these lines. (For example, the sky in this shot, above, now takes up two-thirds of the photo.) It creates a more interesting, more dynamic shot.

LOOK FOR THE LOVE IN LIFE

I love shooting people in love. I'm always shooting my parents because their love is so lovely to watch. This gorgeous, just-married couple walked onto the Pont des Arts bridge and, ignoring everyone, leaned together for a just-married kiss. It was so tender and beautiful, I almost felt as though I shouldn't be watching. They were so in love. That's what life's about. Moments such as these.

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Brad Pitt, Chanel, and Life in Black and White

For many years I lived my life in black and white. My apartment was black and white. My wardrobe was black and white. (A look inspired by Sheila Scotter, and Coco Chanel before her.) Even my first Cavalier King Charles was black and white. (With a smear of brown.) I wasn't as bad as a friend who went as far as buying black and white Belted Galloway cows for her farm, but I clearly needed help. {The beautiful image above is by the lovely Christie Smythe, via Coveteur 8}

I even wrote a book about black and white interiors. Which, to my shock (and my mother's) did quite well. (On a side note, have you seen Celerie Kemble's black and white book yet? It's beautiful. Far more functional than mine, too.)

And then when I found out that HRH Prince Charles had planted a black and white parterre at his renowned garden at Highgrove, well... you can't imagine the flurry of re-design that snippet of gardenalia caused in our miniscule yard.

Unfortunately, the black and white garden was the last straw for my normally tolerant partner. He wanted colour, he said. He was too young to live in house that looked like a silent film. So one year, when I went to NY on business, he swapped all the black and white bedlinen and bathtowels for coloured ones. (Is your husband as cheeky as this?) I tell you, nothing matched. Not surprisingly, I had a small apoplexy in the front hall. "It's okay honey," he said. "You're just suffering colour paralysis." {Above image of Kyle de Woody's beautiful apartment via Vogue}

To appease him (because it's important to appease people, I think), I started introducing blue, green, pink and red into our lives. And I have to confess, I love them. Who knew colour was so wonderful?

Every now and then, though, I still get a little misty over the sight of some black and white. So here, in a sentimental tribute to my old favs, midnight and ivory, are some images of this classic duet.

Starting with the dashing Mr Pitt and his mysterious new ad...

{Image above is a page from a future Chanel book, if I ever finish it.}

A LIFE IN BLACK AND WHITE

In an inspired move, Chanel has chosen Brad Pitt to be the first male face of Chanel No. 5. The 48-year-old actor and father will feature in both print and television ads for the iconic brand, with the first commercial debuting October 15th. Look at that cummerbund... So debonair.

Chanel's brand new baroque fragrance, Chanel Coco Noir, which was just launched this month. The scene is composed of top notes of grapefruit, bergamot and orange, middle notes of jasmine, rose, red geranium, Indonesian patchouli, and base notes of Brazilian tonka bean, Bourbon vanilla, sandalwood, frankincense and white musk. It was inspired by Venice at night. How seductive does it sound? I love the marketing spiel: "For the woman who favours elegance over faddism, presence over showmanship and the effortless magnificence of black in all its forms." Seriously sexy.

A vintage Chanel label. This was Chanel's original label, at the very start of her career. I think it's beautiful. I suspect a suit with this sewn on the inside would be worth a small fortune.

Chanel's Spring 2013 collection.

Chanel's hat boxes from 1913. 

Look at how the brand has changed from the original serif font? It changed again several years later.

The Chanel set from Fall/Winter 2011/12. 

Mr Robert Redford in The Great Gatsby. (The original.) 

Still one of my favourite actors. Still one of my favourite films. 

{Image below it by Asian Pride designer via The LA Times. Credit embedded in image.}

Let's hope Baz's version is just as beautiful.

Gucci's Spring/Summer 2012 collection {Via Grazia}

A balcony in Paris. 

Forgive me – I'm forever stopping to take photos of the architecture in Paris. But how can you resist? On a little aside, have you read the new book,  The House I Loved by the author of the hugely successful book (and film) Sarah's Key? It's all about how Haussmann razed Paris to redesign the city's streets. Fascinating.

A beautiful French staircase.

Okay, that's enough of Parisian balustrades and staircases now.

So here's a boulangerie-turned hotel instead. 

The Hotel du Petit Moulin in the Marais. A great little place to stay.

And the breakfast room of the Hotel Vendome. 

Love that Dedon fabric.

Miss Chanel, in her favourite combination. Did you know that when she died there were only three suits hanging in her wardrobe, all of them black and white? She didn't sleep in her apartment above the salon at Rue Cambon either. That was just for show; for entertaining. She preferred a tiny, almost garret-like room at the top of the Ritz Hotel next door. She said its spartan look and tight proportions reminded her of the orphanage. And that made her strangely happy.

Ella Richard in Paris for Jalouse. By Gemma Booth. {Via V O}

The always gracious and elegant Slim Paley in Paris recently. {www.slimpaley.com}

(These two almost match the Hotel Vendome, above.)

And Ms Nicole Kidman in a similar outfit in Baz's ad for Chanel. 

NB Did you know that Chanel was one of the first to create the white collar-on-black-tunic look? She was inspired by the nuns at the convent where she grew up, but she also noticed that white better reflected, and better framed, the face better than black, while black was slimming for the body. Her solution was to design a black frock with a white collar. Still as stylish today.

A black kitchen cabinet full of stunning white dinnerware. {Via House Beautiful, November 2006}

A black and ivory porch, by Mary McDonald. This was an ambitious design, but Mary hasn't put a foot wrong. She never does.

A kitchen by the South African designer John Jacobs. {Via Design in Black and White}

An interior by NH Design. {Via House & Home}

JK Place hotel. {Via Lonny. Great pix Lonny, as always!}

Ralph Lauren's Bel Air collection. {From the RL Home archives}

David Hicks-designed fabric. Still modern after all these years.

A map of Paris, showing all the important places. {Via me}

Carla Zampatti's latest collection for spring 2012. {Via Carla Zampatti}

Candice Bergen at a black and white masquerade ball.

Rene and Pierce in The Thomas Crown Affair, the remake.

Faye and Steve in The Thomas Crown Affair, the original.

A frock by Oscar de la Renta. Very Black Swan. {Via Oscar}

One of the most exquisite weekenders I've ever seen. This tiny black and white cottage belongs to Ingrid Oomen (Qummunicate) and Asad Wali. So sweet. {Via House and Home}

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