p.1 #10 · War photographer on finding peace and healing in Paris
Vision is a function of what you know about the world, not what you know about photography
That may be true, but there are other essentials too. Turnleys first book Parisians is superb - all shot on 35mm film. I have spent hours enjoying the book, which is just full of quirky, enchanting situations, and has an immediate energy and vitality. Maybe because he was young and immersed in the energy of the city himself.
His much slicker book French Kiss produced when he was much older, and perhaps more established, successful and more settled, using a digital monochrom and very sophisticated reproduction processes is far less interesting to me. He repeats motifs from the first book, but somehow the images seem less spontaneous, more contrived, more tired, and more sterile. Something of the raw, spontaneous, joyful energy and vision got lost in the intervening years.
I would not buy his new book without giving it a full appraisal beforehand.
p.1 #11 · War photographer on finding peace and healing in Paris
Fred Miranda wrote:
He said: "The essentials of photography really have little to do with cameras".
Wonder what his twin brother thinks about that. He started shooting large format in situations where one usually doesnt use that, if I remember correctly.
p.1 #14 · War photographer on finding peace and healing in Paris
All is I know that he was very inspiring for me to get into "street/candid" photography when I first met him.
I do not shoot the way he does as he almost asks his some subjects to pose for him (and with others literally poses them for him) in a certain way which to me is too contrived as I like spontaneous and more "what I see is what I get".
Neither approach is easy to master, but my approach is just me. Keep in mind I started this adventure with him in about 2012 whereas he had 20+ years to prefect what he does/did.
The main thing I take from him is being at ease around strangers with a camera in hand and then also putting them at ease.
p.1 #15 · War photographer on finding peace and healing in Paris
stgrove wrote:
All is I know that he was very inspiring for me to get into "street/candid" photography when I first met him.
I do not shoot the way he does as he almost asks his some subjects to pose for him (and with others literally poses them for him) in a certain way which to me is too contrived as I like spontaneous and more "what I see is what I get".
Neither approach is easy to master, but my approach is just me. Keep in mind I started this adventure with him in about 2012 whereas he had 20+ years to prefect what he does/did.
The main thing I take from him is being at ease around strangers with a camera in hand and then also putting them at ease....Show more →
I think that one reason that he asks for people to pose and/or their permission, is that in his day job as a war photographer he has photographed the horrors of hell.
Doing what he does in his street photography allows him to create the world he wishes could be.
p.1 #16 · War photographer on finding peace and healing in Paris
Desmolicious wrote:
I think that one reason that he asks for people to pose and/or their permission, is that in his day job as a war photographer he has photographed the horrors of hell.
Doing what he does in his street photography allows him to create the world he wishes could be.
Or that hes in Paris and sells his images. In France, youre not allowed to take someones picture without their permission. He could be sued.
p.1 #17 · War photographer on finding peace and healing in Paris
Great video. I think interacting with your subject can yield new output and opens up new social doors to invite more interesting paths (learned it from 1999 photography video game lol). But the contrast from shooting the worst aspects of humanity make his peace time work that much more meaningful. I can feel his gratitude for life through his work.
p.1 #19 · War photographer on finding peace and healing in Paris
johnvanr wrote:
In France, youre not allowed to take someones picture without their permission. He could be sued.
As far as I know (and I'm french, lives in France, shoot picture in the street and checked), in France, you can take any picture you want, this is legal.
But when you publish it, then you must respect the right of the person to privacy. It means that if someone is in a crowd and not the main subject, it's ok.
If not, then it depends: you can be sued but you may also win. Years ago, the photographer of a book of candids shot in the subway was relaxed: the court found that no harm was done, the people were not shown in a bad light (pun intended), etc.
Even the "you can shoot without permission" is not absolute: in one case, a famous actor lost but the court said that you can object to your picture being taken. And this is in line with the European law.
Of course, if you are shooting an event as a journalist to inform the public, then you are exempt from these restrictions. But I remember some debate and maybe a complaint about pictures of terrorism victims arguing that their images were a blow to their dignity.
In the end, it comes to "it's complicated" and "if you want to publish, it is better to get permission to do so" but "if you are not a paparazzi, the risk is low".
I for one find this ridiculous: we should be allowed to shoot and publish and people should be allowed to sue if they can demonstrate some real damage done to their life.
p.1 #20 · War photographer on finding peace and healing in Paris
pmeheut wrote:
As far as I know (and I'm french, lives in France, shoot picture in the street and checked), in France, you can take any picture you want, this is legal.
But when you publish it, then you must respect the right of the person to privacy. It means that if someone is in a crowd and not the main subject, it's ok.
If not, then it depends: you can be sued but you may also win. Years ago, the photographer of a book of candids shot in the subway was relaxed: the court found that no harm was done, the people were not shown in a bad light (pun intended), etc.
Even the "you can shoot without permission" is not absolute: in one case, a famous actor lost but the court said that you can object to your picture being taken. And this is in line with the European law.
Of course, if you are shooting an event as a journalist to inform the public, then you are exempt from these restrictions. But I remember some debate and maybe a complaint about pictures of terrorism victims arguing that their images were a blow to their dignity.
In the end, it comes to "it's complicated" and "if you want to publish, it is better to get permission to do so" but "if you are not a paparazzi, the risk is low".
I for one find this ridiculous: we should be allowed to shoot and publish and people should be allowed to sue if they can demonstrate some real damage done to their life.
This is an excellent summary. While the laws are pretty clear, how they are applied in practice seems a bit arbitrary. Generally speaking you are ok to take pictures in public but the risk increases with publishing.
That being said, during my 18 months or so in Paris, I ran across many French (and other) street photographers that were taking images without asking for consent (and publishing those images on Instagram). None of them have run into any legal issues that I'm aware of.
I saw Peter many times while walking the streets of Paris and also chatted with him. Seeing him work, it's evident that what he cares about is documenting the human condition. That's the case with his war/documentary work just as much as it is with his Paris body of work.
The camera is just a tool for him. And yes, he likes Leica M's and has been using them for at least 4 decades I think. Unless he changed cameras since I ran into him (probably a little over a year ago), he doesn't use a Monochrom camera even though most of his personal work is in black and white. He was using an M11-P when I ran into him and I believe before that he had an M10.
I do have a copy of his current book, "Paris Je t'aime" which I think does a great job of capturing the essence of what Paris was since he arrived them in the 1970's to today. Being back in the USA now, I find great pleasure perusing the images. They call me back to its streets. I do not currently have a copy of his older book on Paris, "Parisiens", but I did find a copy that is on it's way to me. I'm looking forward to enjoying that one as well.
