Given to France by the Ottoman Khedive of Egypt, the 3300 year old Luxor Obelisk stands tall in the Place de la Concorde brimming with it’s own history and artfully covering up the history of the Place itself.
The Place de la Concorde once had a different name: the Place de la Revolution. And the spot now taken by the obelisk had hosted the famed gallows of the revolution. This is the spot where Marie Antoinette, Robespierre, and Louis XVI were killed. Their heads removed by the remorseless blade in front of approving, sometimes cheering crowds. The famous were not the only ones to fear the National Razor, perhaps as many as 40,000 people died - not all in the gallows - in the two years of the Reign of Terror including 1300 in one month in the very spot you are looking at now.
Of course, this plaza was not innocent before the arrival of the revolution. It was the Place de Grève and this was the spot for the bourgeoisie to watch the torture and executions of criminals and opponents no doubt fostering some of the resentment that lead to the revolution.
Once again, blood is used to wash away blood.
I used damn near the whole kit on this one: Camera Bag, Mill Colour, Photo fx, Best Camera, Pro HDR, Pastebot and PS Mobile (which now has sharpening). Why use all of them? Well, I wanted to separate the sky from the clouds which, in (real) Photoshop is easy: just use channels to get the B&W contrast right but on the phone I had to do some gymnastics with Mill Colour and Photo fx to get the contrast. Blended the HDR images, filtered with the other filter apps, cropped with pastebot and sharpened with PS mobile. Whew.
For several reasons, Granville Street has seen a lot of construction over the past two years. A new subway line passes directly underneath it now — going all the way out to the airport — and yet another attempt to clean it up a bit — just in time for the Olympics.
The first is fine, the second is expected but what bothers me is that they’ve cut down all of the trees that lined the street.
With just over two weeks before the show, the street still looks terrible.
HDR with Pro HDR, B&W and contrast with Mill Colour, frame and vignette with Best Camera.
Standing at Checkpoint Charlie, I couldn’t help thinking what a nightmare it must have been to have survived WWII and then to be stuck on the wrong side of Berlin. That’s where I took this photo from — the wrong side, the east side. How excruciating, to go from the certainty of death to the torture of a captive life.
Now, though, it is easy to find those young enough to have never known a divided city and it felt strange for me to be able to cross the inset line of bricks that mark where the wall once was with ease. It felt as though I should be able to feel the pain of that horrible division, that it should be darker on the east side — if only by a little bit — but there was nothing. No feeling at all.
Time goes on, the past is the past. Only the future is important.
B&W and contrast with Mill Colour, HDR with Pro HDR, cropping with Pastebot.
The café remains the theatre
Of daily life Where each person is in turn
Both actor and spectator.
It engenders a permanent forum
Of ideas and opinions.
So it says on the back of the business card from L’Authre Bistro.
This is where we sat, both as actors and spectators, as we talked and drank beer, watching students studying with a glass of wine and enjoying the Latin quarter on an afternoon in Paris.
Rue des Ecoles.
B&W with Mill Colour, Frame with Best Camera.
White truck parked in front of my old office. I’m sure the owner’s not happy about the graffiti, but if it was just a white truck, it wouldn’t be interesting.
Stitched with AutoStitch, B&W with Mill Colour, frame with Best Camera.
