[ The sky is the limit ]

 

[ I Love ]

 

As life goes on, I've been noticing some really huge differences in what I love or not. Taste and experience take their toll, and all of a sudden your standards are so high that you find yourself hard to please.

This is a phenomenon widely adressed by people like Scott Schuman, or Garance Doré, that I didn't seem to believe in at first, but now, working more and more with fashion and design, I find myself being hugely critic regarding lot's of aspects of my work and the people that surround me.

A cruse or a gift? That's something I'll have to figure out as I go along...

Speaking about things I love, this is a photo taken in Paris last January in the Who's Next trade show. It's the logo of a brand called I love - Leon, turned in a magnificent way into a neon light.

[ Vintage II ]

 

Following my experiments on raw file processing, here's a little fun with a photo taken in Le Pub St. Germain in Paris, a week ago. Le Pub St. Germain is the most amazing place, a very hip restaurant open 24h a day, seven days a week. Three floors, round the clock DJ, and a constant full house. The indisputable proof that Paris never sleeps.

Artists are invited to exhibit and sell their pieces in this gorgeous location, and this is just another example of one of those artworks. A pencil drawing, embellished by the subtle grain and by the hand written number tag.

Another gorgeous thing about this place, is the way they play with the vintage light fixtures. A very soft warm light that's selectively placed and in perfect harmony with the candle lit tables, setting the mood for endless conversations, sprinkled with juicy long drinks, flavored by the fusion cuisine, and intimate, like the place itself...

[ Police ]

 

Straight from Paris, here's a scene from todays walk. It's a stick-on graffiti that's growing more and more popular here, taken in the Bastille monument.

Small detail, I've finally fully converted to raw imagery, which is a bit more time consuming in the post-processing of the photos, but gives a whole new range of possibilities in intensity, color balance and contrast. This is one of my first try outs.

It's amazing how much I've missed this gorgeous city, and how much pleasure it gives me just to walk around and capture all the small details. There are no words to describe the mood difference between Paris and Porto. Some of the Christmas lightings are still up, and you can feel the joy and positive attitude everywhere you go - a refreshing change from the ever growing crisis and weird political climate from Portugal...

[ Just breathe ]

 

"Yes I understand that every life must end, aw huh,..
As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw huh,..
I’m a lucky man to count on both hands
The ones I love,..

Some folks just have one,
Others they got none, aw huh,..

Stay with me,..
Let’s just breathe.

Practiced are my sins,
Never gonna let me win, aw huh,..
Under everything, just another human being, aw huh,..
Yeh, I don’t wanna hurt, there’s so much in this world
To make me bleed.

Stay with me,..
You’re all I see.

Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn’t now I’m a fool you see,..
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean.

I wonder everyday
as I look upon your face, aw huh,..
Everything you gave
And nothing you would take, aw huh,..
Nothing you would take,..
Everything you gave.

Did I say that I need you?
Oh, Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn’t now I’m a fool you see,..
No one know this more than me.
As I come clean.

Nothing you would take,..
everything you gave.
Hold me till I die,..
Meet you on the other side."

Video and lyrics by Pearl Jam

[ Lace ]

 

The writing of this post was interrupted by a phone call, and with it came some reflections about human nature. I promise I'll keep it brief and simple: one of the most extraordinary features of the human being is the incredible capability to perform something that's called an assumption.

Please, don't mistake it for a deduction, it's a completely different thing. Deduction is defined as the inference of particular instances by reference to general law or principle, while an assumption is a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.

Well, I suppose that the definition is sufficient to understand what I'm talking about. So, here's a word of the wise: think twice before you speak, and above all, don't assume. An assumption is the easiest of all judgments, it depends on perception instead of facts, on opinions instead of study, like the difference between a looking at photo or at a painting.

Even the greatest Paris paintings don't compare to the real thing, and if you didn't know better, you might assume that this photo is from a nice piece of vintage lace, if I told you it was made of steel and glass, you might infer it was a building, if I told you it is in Paris, you might deduct it's the dome from the Galleries Lafayette in Boulevard Haussman.

[ Tower of dreams II ]

 

Paris.

It's not that I don't respect those who don't love Paris, because I do. I swear I do! ... but don't ask me to understand the reasons, because I wont.

I mean, Paris has it's faults like every city in the world, for example, all the gorgeous monuments and architecture all around, the wonderful and original people you see everywhere on the street, on the subway, all the different cultures and identities... wait, those aren't faults.

Oh, I know! The traffic! The horrible traffic that I miss completely because of the outstanding Metro system... ops...

Who am I kidding?...

[ I miss you ]

 

 
I'm not a huge fan of stenciled graffiti's, but some of them work out pretty well. This one was taken in Paris last June and it illustrates perfectly how I feel about this gorgeous city: I miss you...

[ Paris, people and places ]

Someone asked me why in the world, of all places, should Paris be my favorite one. Just two simple reasons:

the people...

... and the places...

[ Art in the sky ]

If you could paint a graffiti anywhere, where would you put it? Well, probably in the sky where everyone could see it...

In Paris, they're not making them in the sky, but they're pretty close...

[ Liberty ]

Just to clear out any doubt about the "Made in France" tag in the big version in New York... Taken in the Jardin du Luxembourg, about one hundred meters away from our hotel.

[ Tower of dreams ]

I can't even tell how many times I've been to Paris, but being a truly a-tipical tourist, I don't make a point to walk around every monument every time. This one was taken after today's dinner at the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. Here it is, right off the camera.

Tower of dreams, signifying the fact that this wonderful city is more than the gorgeous scenery - it's home. Everybody has a place in the world where they know they fit, and this is the one for me... Maybe it's just a dream, but what's life without dreams that we fight every day to become a reality?

[ rue de Buci ]

We stopped by Paul in rue de Buci for a refreshment and a cup of coffee before heading off to the hotel. A typical Sunday afternoon in Paris, with all the open places packed with people hanging out with their friends, enjoying the nice weather and the spare time to catch up on the conversations...

It's what I love most in Paris. In the middle of the crazy city, always moving, always busy, there's still time to take a coffee and hang out. And the details we see around us are theme for endless conversations. Just try it: stop in a terrace, ask for a coffee and take a look at the small details in the buildings around you...

... the items for sale in the local shops...

... at the sometimes crazy, sometimes working, but always absolutely authentic people walking around the street...

... but above all, enjoy your company, and enjoy Paris. Once you do it, you'll never forget this wonderful city.

[ Now you see it, now you don't ]

Remember last tuesday's [ Love is the answer ] post? Well, this one was taken just yesterday in rue de Buci... I guess quality work on the street has that inherit risk to it... I'm just glad I took the first one, and love is still the answer!

[ Love is the answer ]

On the corner of rue de Buci and rue de Seine in Paris taken last May 6th, posted especially for Sofia that kept asking for the latest Paris photos.

Looking for the perfect graffiti, Einstein seems to have found the solution: 'Love is the answer'.

[ Happiness ]

Paris, Place Vendôme, January 01st 2007, at 8pm.

The first day of that year was a rainy one. We didn't care... The New Year party got cancelled, and the police had to come to keep the mob from pulling the organizers' head off. We didn't care... The first minutes of this year were spent in traffic in the middle of the Trocadero Square, standing outside our car. We didn't care... Ended up eating a steak at 3am in an Hippopotamus restaurant somewhere. We didn't care... But then again, we don't have a single daylight photo from those vacations... We still don't care.

[ Sadness ]

I miss Paris...