View of the past along the Canal..., a photo from Ile-de-France, North

Photographer's Note

I decided to make a walk along the Saint-Martin canal this afternoon, a place I don't know much yet.

It's a world apart in Paris. I wasn't aware there were such a specific mood in this area. Not a rich part of Paris, these streets along the canal become more and more fashionable and one can feel that a some kind of colors from the past remain here with people riding their bicycle everywhere, lots of old Caf�, a great perspective on the Canal and its steep bridges.

Right there, I know that two famous movies were shot : "Hotel du Nord", the typical french film of the 50's and a recent one which brought this place back under the lights "Amelie Poulain".

Still, I believe that only few people can afford a flat in this area because this nice mood attracts more and more young wealthy people which leads to an amazing increase of the real estates prices.

To tell the truth, It was several weeks that I wasn't satisfied by my pictures. And I was thinking of duplicate a new kind of framing. And today, the result was quite close from what I was looking for.

Shot in color, I turned the picture in B&W with the Gradient map in Photoshop. I adjusted the light balance so as to make the scene a bit dramatic with more contrasts. Then, I played with the unsharp mask to enhance the presence of this lovely old Vespa...

Jebelis, Rute_Santos, Catli, Bardalau, erthmuffin has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

sita4ram (814) 2004-02-15 11:21

I love this shot. perspective, atmosphere, even choice of B/W.
well done. it looks well composed !

sarastro (590) 2004-02-15 12:19

Wonderful use of B&W! it is a lovely composition on the whole, with the houses and their reflection and the very dynamic light in the sky. Well done!

khamoon (162) 2004-02-15 12:39

Very good shot. Good atmosphere. B&W is a perfect choice here, but maybe too dark, like Clochette ?

carper (96) 2004-02-15 13:11

Superieur Photo, Steven

Very good composition, and well chosen for the b&w. There is a good depth in the photo, and realy I like this one. You did a good work here

Didi (61589) 2004-02-15 13:18

Mon 馗ran est calibr� correctement en fonction de l'馗helle ci-dessous.
L'image n'est pas sous-expos馥, c'est le style "Curioso" qui est tr鑚 particulier; j'appr馗ie personnellement.
Ciel dramatiquue, la Vespa r騁ro est bien positionn馥 dans l'image.
Bel effet de perspective du quai.

elias (222) 2004-02-15 18:40

Very good composition, and well chosen for the b&w.I love this shot.

Clochette (8076) 2004-02-16 4:24

Etrange. Vous avez trouv� ma derni鑽e photo surexpos馥, et moi je trouve votre photo d'aujourd'hui trop sombre. N'y aurait-il pas l� un effet d'馗ran ? Le mien est plat, et n'est pas inclin�. Mais si je me l钁e, avec un angle diff駻ent je r饌lise que votre photo parait tout � coup plus claire, mieux expos馥.

Je vais donc m'abstenir de juger de la luminosit�, dans le doute. En revanche j'aime l'endroit, et le Vespa en premier plan est une bonne id馥 pour accentuer l'atmosph鑽e r騁ro donn馥 par le noir et blanc.

albiback (8751) 2004-02-16 5:51

Week-end rital, Paris est sous la pluie
Bonheur, soupirs, chanson pour rire
Chanson ritale, humm, chanson ritale pour une escale

ilouy (3370) 2004-02-16 12:06

Great B&W shot Steven. Nice composition along the canal with this diagonal. Reflexions in water are great too. Clouds add a dramatic mood to the picture. well seen and done!

AJMOA (930) 2004-02-19 20:13

Para alem de um belo lugar, a foto esta com um recorte fant疽tico. Gosto muito deste p/b.

zto (268) 2004-02-20 14:19

Great view and B&W seem to have been the perfect choise. The scooter really makes the difrence here. Without it the photo would not have as much intrest.

Great shot.

cmartos (242) 2004-03-16 8:46

Belle athmosph鑽e r騁ro et composition plaisante mais l'image est un peu dense de mon point de vue.

merpb (2001) 2004-04-01 13:08

Wow this blew me away, it's great, sorry I missed it originaly.

ZWEI-KATZEN (135) 2004-04-10 4:14

awesome shot, great perspective, nice soft b&w tone:))just great picture.

Mrg (825) 2004-04-24 9:16

A escolha pelo P&B est� optima. Conseguiu captar a atmosfera desta magnifica cidade que � Paris. Tamnb駑 gosteu muito do enquadramento que escolheu.Parab駭s

Rute_Santos (494) 2004-06-14 16:37

Beautifull photo.great prespective,the choice of b&w was perfect.Love the reflection on the canal.The old vespa is great in the photo.great composition.Well done.

irishkiwi (90) 2004-07-07 9:05

Neat shot. Great DOF and sharpness. The reflections and clouds are cool but it's the Vespa that makes the shot. Well done, I think you've captured a great mood.

Luko (14000) 2004-09-21 10:35

See the building on the extreme right hand side? 10 years ago I was living in it, first floor...finshed university, rent was still affordable, wine poured and glasses tinted almost everyday.

Canal Saint-Martin was a cool place though not very population friendly at this time, I moved a year after my daughter was born.

I like your pic Steven, the Vespa recalls the old times but I wish the overall rendition was not metallic razorsharp, specially in the background) and introduced a bit of grain like a true TriX film. Also, I wouldn't be against more overall brightness.

stefi (1230) 2005-10-13 17:38

I love this photo Steven, the Vespa, perspective, BW and the channel gives me the idea of really being in the past.
Thank you
Stefano

erthmuffin (1551) 2006-02-01 12:38

love the vespa! love the black and white, the dark tones, and the various shades of grey! love the point of view!