samedi 13 novembre 2004

Double Take... It's not the drink... it's the camera Le bar... I'm increasingly there... I go in first thing in the morning when I buy my bread, croissants and an English newspaper. I don't know why I continue to buy "The Daily Telegraph" at 2,80 euros (now 3,20) when it arrives the following day having been printed in Belgium. I've read all the news on the excellent Guardian International on-line site... and only minutes after anything has happened. I also get to read excellent journalism from the likes of Robin Cook who went from being a man of ridicule, mimicked by the BBC Radio's "Dead Ringers" team and castigated by his ex-wife (deserved if you ask me), to a man of principle for his stand against the dodgy evidence given by Prime Minister Blair in his persuasive (to his doting and unquestioning followers in the House of Commons but probably not to the common man when he goes to the country next May) arguments leading up to Parliament voting for support of the arguably unlawful invasion of Iraq. I'll pop into the bar again mid-morning after I've done my fresh food shopping for the day's two main meals, maybe un pain tradition if I've found some nice Brie. The "traditional" loaf is a marvel of shattering, crumbly crust enclosing an elastic, light doughy interior... but after three hours it loses it's bite - which is why it comes out of the ovens at 11am - whereas the wholemeal pain complet I buy before breakfast lasts until the next day. I'm taking photographs of how French people carry their bread... there are probably as many ways of holding a loaf as there are types of loaves... which is about twenty at the nearest boulangerie... the other one around the corner probably doubles the count. Another observation, which could become a photo story, is how the French eat their bread... it's not pretty, nor what you would exactly call messy... but rather untidy. Crumbs fly everywhere (well, that's how the men eat theirs) and breakfast bread (as well as their croissant or pain au chocolat) is usually plunged, buttered and spread with jam, into whatever they're drinking. I guess that's why they use bowls for breakfast coffee rather than cups. One dunk of the end of a baguette into an espresso cup and it would wedge there with the coffee flowing into the saucer. The habit (or rather ploy) of handing out prints to the regulars, often after capturing them in less than flattering poses, is generating a surprising amount of goodwill. The French are generally very private and the Privacy Laws here are stricter than in some areas of the USA. But none of the regulars here have an internet connection... so when I show the guy in the photo a print-out of tonight's weblog and say that his image may have been seen in Hollywood or Hawaii... he'll feel his "15 Minutes of Fame" has actually happened. During the day I think about what I'll photograph and write about on these pages. Sometimes I find a photograph from many years ago and write around it... but that's not a very challenging exercise. Today I hadn't a clue... so I went into the bar for a third time on my way back from the library... sat down... had a coffee... had a chat... had a laugh... had another coffee... started clicking the camera... and by accident made a double-exposure on the same frame of film. I could only have done it by turning the camera from vertical to horizontal and in a moment my finger or thumb curled around the base plate of the Nikon F2 touched the rewind release-button so that when I manually re-cocked the shutter the film didn't advance. The image I accidentally made is rather good of the man it portrays... he works hard in the local "Domaine de Ris" vineyard, continually acts the fool, hugs like a bear, understands more English that he admits... and is good company. The "double take" at the top of this page is my best image of the day... but I include another... typically he was acting the fool before he entered the bar and I caught him appropriately. Tomorrow after Mass he'll probably hug me with joy and force all the breath out of my body... whilst he forces his garlic breath into my face. C'est la vie! 8:52:55 PM    comment []