March 2008 Archives

As part of my own interest and my undergraduate degree, I was required to take classes in photography. One of the classes was 'Photojournalism', and one of the assignments was to take photographs of unsuspecting people.

Some people can get away with this unnoticed, but I always got noticed. I've never been able to 'blend' into a crowd. At work, at school, everywhere - I just seem to get noticed. Perhaps it is because I had no style sense or I am tall; I am just shy of 5'9". Perhaps I have an aurora or energy around me. For someone who has always been shy, being noticed was a problem for me. Anyway, needless to say, I never had many decent photographs in these assignments for 'Photojournalism.' I was envious of the photographs that some of the others had managed to take, and I have always been envious of their ability to 'blend in' without being noticed.

I came across an article about street photographer Garry Winogrand (1). According to the article, his technique was simply to take photographs as he was walking down the street, and he usually went unnoticed. As a result of these techniques, several examples of beautiful photographs of ordinary street scenes and people were documented.

Perhaps it is a case of 'practice makes perfect' and not drawing attention to oneself.

(1) Riggs, Ronson. Taking Pictures of Strangers, Part II: Garry Winogrand. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12903 [March 5, 2008].

The architecture in Lille is delicate and detailed, and some of the more artistic buildings were located in and off of the main square, Place de General de Gaulle. Lille also has a beautiful park (with a zoo) and shops selling designer goods; I would have loved to have taken home some furnishings for the new house. I love the style of the furniture and home furnishings that I discovered in the shops, and this sense of style does not seem to be found in England. At least, I've never seen it.

Another excellent find were the flower shops and the chocolate shops. The flower shops had beautiful arrangements and colours; I would have loved to have taken a vase of the beautiful flowers back as well. I particularly enjoyed the arrangements of one flower shop on a corner off the beaten track. More than a few chocolate shops were dotted around Lille. Since Easter was approaching, the chocolate shops were filled with giant chocolate eggs, chocolate spring chicks and bunnies, sugar-coated and coloured foil-wrapped eggs. I discovered cases of real brown egg shells, which had been hollowed out and filled with chocolate. Giant eggs were beautifully decorated with bits of gold foil and patterned with different colours of chocolate and decorated with large bows. They looked delicious, but it would be a shame to eat such a beautiful work of art. 

After visiting Lille, I conclude that the French are probably the nation who appreciate art the most. Below are some of my photos around Lille.