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A Tourist in Paris |
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A Tourist in Paris : Behind the Eiffel Tower
Paris is known the world over for its art, fashion and photography. It
is the city of Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau and many more great
photographers. The streets and boulevards are full of images just
waiting to be taken. The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the
millions of tourists who visit this beautiful city each year come to
capture some of these images, and also to get themselves on film
standing in front of the tourist attractions that the city has to offer.
 Lone Traveller
The appeal of this subject began many years ago when I was “A
Tourist In Paris.” Sitting quietly in the gardens behind the Cathedral
of Notre Dame I was amazed to see a busload of Japanese tourists file
into the gardens. The frenzy of activity that took place was in itself
an unbelievable sight. The object of all this frenzy was to have your
photograph taken with the Cathedral in the background. Group’s, couples
and individuals all jostled for position, cameras were exchanged and
the process continued. All of this took less than ten minutes from
beginning to end and the gardens were once more returned to
tranquillity. I still have this image in my mind after 20 years.
 Japanese Circle
I have continued over the years to watch tourists
do their thing, fascinated, as always by their antics, but I never
thought to photograph tourists photographing themselves. A number years
ago, and just two weeks after the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales,
Dodi Al Fayed and the vehicle’s driver I visited what has become the
place that people now come to pay homage to the deaths that occurred in
the underpass by the Pont L’Alma in Paris. A new tourist attraction had
been tragically and instantly added to Paris. The Liberty Flame, a full
sized replica of the flame that sits atop the Statue of Liberty in New
York’s harbour was given to the city of Paris by America in celebration
of the bi-centennial of the French Revolution.
 Liberty Flame Pont L'Alma
The Liberty Flame by the Pont L’Alma was now added
to the list of places to visit when in Paris. Watching these people
having their photograph taken in front of this perhaps appropriately
adopted monument rekindled my interest. People did not know whether to
smile or be sad, but one thing was sure, they had to have their
photograph taken with the monument in the background. In was time to
get my own cameras clicking.
 Beautiful Art
Stepping out on to the Champs Elysees from the metro station Etoile I
was confronted with the Arc de Triomphe and scores of tourists having
their photographs taken in front of the structure. Families would ask a
complete stranger to take their camera and photograph them; groups
select a volunteer, give them numerous cameras and all line up for this
person to struggle through the array of compacts and get the group
picture on film. Finally the person exchanges places with someone in
the group, swapping the tangle of cameras in the passing and pointing
out the one that belongs to them. Then the final picture is taken with
no one left out. Perhaps no more than five minutes have passed for this
occurrence to take place, and then they are gone, off to another
tourist sight. The constant drifting of people towards and away from
these places of interest and the relatively small amount of time that
is spent viewing these famous sights, that some have flown round the
world to see, makes an amusing sight in its self.
 Take that!
As a photographer it created a fascinating attraction in me. The
position that people get into to obtain the photo they want and the
amateur film directors who must get their wife, husband, girlfriend or
boyfriend into the right position to make the photo perfect. All of
this gave me many laughs, and of course the last laugh was on me,
because over the years of taking photographs, I have done all of the
things I watched other people doing. I make a bad tourist myself and it
gave me a great deal of delight to be among people and have some of
their excitement rub off on me. The intrigue is just how much film is
used and just how many photographs are taken?
 Got you.
The tourist industry is big business in any part
of the world and Paris is no exception. From the postcard and trinket
sellers, who bustle around the queues beneath the Eiffel Tower, to the
street artists and musician of Montmartre, these are only some of the
ways that people earn their living by teasing a few coins from the
pockets of tourists in Paris.
 Looking up Venus
The process of standing in front of whatever you want included in the
photograph continues in the museums. In the Louvre at peak times there
is a traffic jam leading up to the Mona Lisa with people waiting to
snatch a place in front of her lovely smiling face. The ultimate irony
of recording images was watching a Japanese tourist wander round the
Louvre with a video camera clamped to his eye. To travel that distance,
only to see through the lens of a video camera what could be seen first
hand, seemed such a waste. Perhaps he had his other eye open!
 Video de Milo
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