Le Havre on the beach at night

I showed the beach at night full of people among blazing lights. But usually, the beach is more like this. The immense space covered with pebbles with a board walk, which is no board anymore but concrete. Far away, you can see this food shop glowing and I don't think I would want to buy anything there. It is almost like a Fellini movie, except we are not in Italy but on the northern coast of France. Depending of the mood you are in, it could be sad, or on the contrary rather jolly.  Night pictures are treacherous. They give a false identity to what is really there. But maybe it is the same for daylight pictures. Do we really know where we are, where we stand ? Hidden behind the camera, you are in fact moving the time into the future. You think of what it will look like when you see the image sometimes later. It could be hours, but it could also be months or years. And over time, it will convey a different sensation. Sometimes, you don't want to see what happened years ago.

Le Havre light

This shot will contradict what I just wrote about the harmonious Perret architecture. Here it is a mess. A mix of remaining old villas with post Perret buildings. It is the sea front of le Havre. But it has one quality that you don't find in other beach fronts. The constructions are far from the sea and they are not too high. But most of all, and this is what makes this place unique : the light is always interesting. At dusk, when the sun is already down, the buildings seem to glow in a particular way. The next question is to wonder why is the light so special here, since there are other sea fronts oriented in the same way. No wonder there were a lot of famous painters, Monet in particular, attracted by the light of le Havre.

Le Havre Auguste Perret architecture

One of the reason that made me come to live in this city is the Auguste Perret architecture. This talented architect was commissioned to completely redesign a field of ruins into a modern mid 20th century town. And I feel well here. There is no explanation for this feeling. It just seems to fit my eyes. The proportions of the whole urbanistic organisation and its orientation in the existing light is something that works or makes me feel uncomfortable. I used to live in the East of Paris in an area I never liked, because the buildings didn't have the height that pleased my eyes. The streets did not take the light in a way that soothed me. Here, in le Havre, Perret, the architect in chief of the reconstruction, after the town was wiped out by bombs, seems to have found the miracle formula. At least he knew how to harmonize the building proportions and the width of the streets with the geography of the site.

Le Havre in the morning haze

When I saw this, not far from where I live, I had the impression to be in Japan for a few seconds. It was so hazy that I rushed down with a camera thinking it was not going to last long. I was mistaken. It went on for the day. This is the kind of light you could not have in Paris, where I used to live. For once I used a small tele lens. Most of the time, I have a medium wide angle or even a 24 mm lens on my camera. I do not like long lenses. They are detaching me from a reality that is already difficult to grasp. But here, I was  detached, floating I would say. And this is an impression I increasingly feel. Is it the location ? Or is it the privilege of age ? Le Havre seems to me in between ground and sky. Probably because of the constantly changing and amazing light. and maybe because as an old Parisian, I am still not used to this new environment.

Le Havre fishing boats

This is what I would call a reverse photograph. It is taken from a wonderful place, the top floor of the oldest building in le Havre, the "Maison de l'Armateur". It is one of the very rare places that escaped the September 1944 bombing of le Havre by the British. So this image is twice reversed in a way. You don't see one of the nicest museum of the town since you are in it and the view is from the place. Instead you see the activity of the harbor that the British tried to wipe out. Instead of a reminder of the war,  the quiet fleet of fishing boats seems a symbol of peace, and… you can see the back of the ferry that will take you to the British Islands once you have forgotten the bombs.

Le Havre harbor jetty

I was lucky. The rain was my friend that night. There were a lot of people on the jetty and it usually is rather empty and desolate. Everybody was waiting for one of those huge cruising ships to weigh anchor. The sky was very tempting for a photographer. There are so many sky photographs that even though it is beautiful, you hesitate to press the button because in the back of your mind you kind of know that it is going to be yet another sky picture. But the rain had left a large puddle of water and it did change the balance. I had two skies… and a red light, and even people wearing red clothes.

Le Havre in the morning

The museum in le Havre is "un havre de paix". I like to walk in this 1960s building that not only contains a wonderful collection of painting but that offers as well a breathtaking view on the harbor entrance. It gives an impression of floating in the past among those Boudin, Marquet, Valloton, Dufy and Monet paintings. But also floating in the space since the windows open on the way to the world. Sometimes, one of those huge container ships passes through to remind you that you are in a busy harbor, where things come from the rest of the planet. 

Le Havre night

Le Havre is where I live now. The beach is a huge pebble space where it is difficult to walk. But this was a special night. There were dozens of thousands of people in this usually rather empty place. The city had organized a gigantic installation of fires and the crowd was meandering in the middle of strange steel contraptions supporting bowls full of paraffin all burning at the same time. It changed the perspective of the space completely to the point of giving the impression of getting lost and not finding one's bearings anymore. A huge amount of people was happily getting immersed in this sea of lights. All this crowd was incredibly quiet. The cleverness of the design is that it was meant to be seen from the ground level. I thought that maybe a drone view would have been spectacular or better, but thinking about it, it would just have revealed the trick and all we would have seen would have been many lights from above. While from the ground, it was more like being in an illuminated forest of burning trees and it did look far more mysterious.

Los Angeles housing

Probably very expensive, this house borders the Venice canals. This is a strange area where most of the houses seem bigger than the space they are built on. But you can still find small wooden cabins dating from the creation of this grid of canals. At the time it probably was not such a sign of wealth to live in these dwellings. Needless to say that they are disappearing fast, replaced by the kind of construction that you can see here. What I find most symbolic in this picture is probably the barbecue right in the middle. I cannot avoid thinking of the fire hazard such a device presents surrounded by a very dry assortment of plants. The porch of course is another classic. The architects here have to develop a lot of imagination to bloat the buildings according to the tastes of the people who are determined to live in this once "bohemian" area. Their choice… We will soon be moving to another part of the world.

Los Angeles space

In the previous entry I was mentioning the space in which people live in Southern California. Here is only a small view of the spread out town. This is why the Automotive Museum is such an obvious place, a necessity in Los Angeles. I've gone back to the Griffith Observatory at dusk to a welcome hike, since I have been sitting in a car most of the time to try to explore and understand the spirit of this gigantic urban assembly. From this sight, you can appreciate the distances and realize you cannot walk around like you do in most big cities of Europe. For miles, you will see rows of houses looking quite similar. It is of course inspiring from above, as shown here, but down in these avenues, it can be discouraging to start a walk. I don't think the mayor of the city could decide that cars are not welcome, as it has been the case in Paris. Here the rules are indeed very different from those in a very old town where winding streets are narrow and space precious.

Los Angeles museum

Sometimes what you see is deceiving. This is an empty room of the Petersen Automotive Museum. I obviously missed some Italian Design hidden behind a greenish lit fence. This desolate part of an exhibition room had a mysterious appeal. At one point there was or there will be a lot of people here. The queuing ropes and their glistening metallic poles have probably witnessed a large amount of kids and their parents waiting in line to discover some weird car, some beautiful Italian work of art, or may be one of those amazing French Art Deco automobiles. I can see on the far left the silhouette of a Cisitalia, or is it a Ferrari, and even further back the blue lines of a 50's American convertible. This place is a must for car buffs and it does fit this city designed around automobile transportation. It could be the symbol of a certain way of life that is impossible to imagine in Europe. It reflects the immense space available in this part of the world.  

Los Angeles architecture

There is a lot of interesting architecture in L.A. but I liked the Getty Foundation for its unique situation. At last the sea ! I didn't show the sea before but here, far away, lined up with the shape of the building I thought it was an excellent introduction. The architect Richard Meier seems to have enjoyed the location. This elaborate construction was for me very difficult to photograph. Maybe too spectacular. Or maybe too comfortable visually to find enough energy for the camera. I felt very relaxed walking around the diverse building and to discover spectacular sceneries all around. On this picture I had the impression to be under a piano and as much as waited for some music, I could only hear a light wind. At that point precisely someone approached me to ask me what I thought of my digital Leica. I didn't know what to answer… I am so used to the machine that I don't even think about it.

Los Angeles roots

"Para toda la familia". And the family is there, waiting to get in. Downtown L.A. can be strange for a European visitor. Everything is in Spanish. This is supposed to be the center of this very spread out place, and nothing seems to be happening. In fact, it looks like nothing is happening anywhere for miles. Everything happens "inside" and if you want coffee in another place than the restaurant you have been eating, it may take an hour to get to the place you want. The distorsion might come once again from the movies. Since you think you know where you are after memorizing so many scenes of famous films, the city is like compressed in your mind. But unlike movie scripts, there is no editing and time is real, so the adjustment between memory and reality can be disturbing. I do not recall anything happening in a film in this picture. But I might be wrong…

Los Angeles transport

If you don't have a car in Los Angeles, you can still move around. In fact, many people use the public transport in this enormous rectangular grid of streets. I don't remember if this was Fairfax, all I know is that it was perpendicular to Wilshire. I took this bus to go back to Hollywood and Western. No freeways, just the normal streets, with many traffic lights, and quite a long ride. When I boarded the bus, it was still full daylight, and when I arrived, it was totally dark. This sort of ride is fascinating as you come to better understand how such a city functions. The people on board seem the same as any urban cluster. No movie stars, no glamour, just a working crowd.

Los Angeles window

The first thing I saw was the backlit palm trees lined up with the window horizontal frame. Then these stripes of sunlight passing through the tiny space between the window frames and the curtains. At this point I remembered I was in a museum. The LACMA - the Los Angeles County Museum of Art - is a huge assembly of buildings each different in style, There are many things to see there, but not many people to visit. Which in fact is much more comfortable. Going through museums packed with hordes of uninterested tourist is almost a torture. Yes I am selfish, I prefer empty museum galleries where you can stop and contemplate in silence, stay as long as you want in front of a piece appealing to you. This room was big and sparsely filled with 19th century sculptures. But as I said I was more attracted by the large window and what was behind. It was for me like a work of art in itself.

Los Angeles slope

Yet another vintage truck in the streets of Hollywood. I don't know if the texture of the wall is more attracting than this vehicle on the way down. Or is it the red stripe on the curb ? Or the shadow lines ? I think it is probably the contrast between the grainy looking wall and the matt metal of undefined green of the flat bed that seemed mysterious to me. In fact the wheel is the most mysterious element in the picture, with its chrome piece that should reflect everything but doesn't. I wish I could have seen myself and the whole landscape from the top of this hill in the center wheel dome. I like the atmosphere of this late afternoon light in the Hollywood hills. For once, it does not remind me of a movie set.  

Los Angeles food

Since we are on Venice Beach, let's have a look at the food situation there. And in this picture, the exact opposite of the previous photograph seems to be happening. I am the one looking for some food, and I stopped anywhere, looking for garbage food, just like the bird. But here everything looks flat in the image, contrary to the weird effect of the bird photograph. And the colors are warm contrary to the cold bluish atmosphere of the other picture. It looks to me almost like an abstract patch of different patterns.No perpective, weird couple on the right, and the inside of the place also seems like a dark "trompe l'œil" albeit n illuminated bar counter. Needless to say that I don't remember the taste of the food.  

Los Angeles bird

This looks like a typical fake picture. But the bird was really that close to me. And I was using a slightly wide angle lens. So in fact it was almost frightening. These gulls are agressive ! The amount of light in Venice Beach allows this freezing of the animal arriving to pick up some garbage. Fast shutter. But everything is on focus also. Small aperture. This does not happen very often. And since I was using a Leica range finder camera, I had no indication that it was going to be so sharp everywhere, except in my technical photographer's mind. This gives the impression that the bird has been detoured from another picture and pasted there. Well if such had been the case, I would probably have put the bird somewhere else in the frame. Anyway, although the situation does not look as dramatic as the Hitchcock movie and is happening fifty years later and three hundred miles south, I was not so much at ease, thinking of broken glasses, savagely pierced eyes and general panic. But nothing happened…

Los Angeles low light

The iconic Hollywood sign… you can't escape it. During a late afternoon walk up in Griffith Park with a good friend I reached the Observatory. It is a long and steep track, full of people dressed in sport outfits walking their dogs. The view at the top is breathless. All these straight illuminated avenues and streets making a yellow grid on a pinkish ground. If the sun is declining. From this place, there is a strange distorsion of perspective. You actually can't evaluate distances properly. The sign looks quite near, you could think it is only a few minutes walk. But like everything in this city, distances are huge, so for a European person like me it is easy to lose the sense of proportions. The people seen on the terrasse cannot even give you a proper scale. The famous observatory is also enormous. It is, as many locations in Los Angeles, yet another landmark of the movies history. Where could I find a spot not reminiscent of a classic film ?

Los Angeles lounge

Since we were in early spring, it was not yet too hot in the streets, so I could have decided to sit and rest on one of those appealing sofas. But I was on the other side of this narrow back street and I took a picture instead of lounging there. In fact, what I immediately noticed was the complementary colors proposition. A dark red set of seats opposed to a light green metal box behind the grilled fence ornated by barbed wires on top. The green thing was probably precious enough to justify such protection. At first, from where I was, I took it for a safe deposit box. Then I read the yellow panel : high voltage. So that was it ! But when you make some weird association, it could give you the idea of an execution place, a comfortable one, maybe, sofas instead of a crude wooden chair, gridded wall, barbed wire, electric high voltage transformer, everything for a proper death penalty location. Well, there are these orange pillars and the trees, maybe it can be something else.