I have spent almost a month without taking any picture between mid-July and mid-August. Call it a breakdown of inspiration, maybe. All I know is that it couldn’t go on that way any longer. So I did as I always do when in lack of inspiration : wait for the rain to come, and get out at sunset with your camera in hands in the streets of Paris.
I’ve noticed it often happens when something’s on my mind. And there’s been a lot on my mind lately. Actually, I’d say a bit too much for me to cope correctly. So much so that even when I visited London with a friend I think of as the funniest and wittiest person I have the opportunity to get along with, I just couldn’t take a picture of the city (well, the weather was far from great, to be fair, but I loved London anyway).
It disturbed me quite a lot to be photographically mute all of a sudden. It happens, as said before, but one month, especially in July, is a bit too long. So on the 31st day without any picture, I decided enough was enough and went out with my camera to take some pictures, whatever would come to me.
I first walked from Nation to Bastille, and then from Bastille to République, without taking any picture. I was about to give up when I chanced upon a puddle that could do the trick. I took a picture, and tadaaaa, I had my first picture in the box! Generally, the first picture is the hardest to take for me. Once I’ve taken it, I’m able to take other pictures more easily. A bit like when you pick mushrooms : once you’ve found one, there’s no patch of green moss that could hide a mushroom from your sight.
So I walked down Rue Réaumur, with my camera in hand, taking pictures here and there. It’s really a nice street where you can take beautiful pictures at sunrise as well as at sunset. With its elegant Hausmannian buildings, it’s one of the prettiest streets to walk along if you want to go from Place de la République to Opéra.
The next day, I did the same, and this time took some photos near Saint-Augustin, a church that’s always intrigued me with it enormous dome sitting upon its narrow nave, and then near Rue de Rivoli, which is the most famous street of Paris, yet a bit too touristic to my tastes. Come to think of it, after having visited London, Paris really has a lot for it, when it comes to sightseeing.
Paris, France – Rue de Rivoli 
Paris, France – Rue de Rivoli 
Paris, France – Rue de Rivoli at sunset 
Paris, France – Saint-Augustin
I guess I needed those excursions to sort things out. Inspiration breakdowns generally come when you’ve got too much bothering you, so that you can’t let your mind wander freely and discover new things. It’s been a tough month, and I’ve been pondering over too many things. I guess I’m afraid to love someone new, to live again, to follow my dreams at last. I’ve turned 30 in July, and it’s time I lived my life. And follow my inspiration.
