September 2003 - Some Fun Facts on Paris...

• Paris is a 2,000 year old city -- most of the buildings were built in the 12th and 19th centuries -- Paris was not built with cars in mind. Some intersections have 5 directions!
• There are almost a quarter of a million dogs in Paris, collectively producing over four thousand pounds (1800 kilos) of feces per day. There are designated areas on the sidewalks for dogs where the city will clean.
• Public transport is organized so well that one is rarely more than 600 meters from a Subway Station.
• Paris is divided into 20 numbered districts known as arrondissements - read more about each of these neighborhoods.
• Percentage of French adults who smoke at least one pack of cigarettes a day: 40% (source: http://www.avantguide.com/paris/index.php)
• In-line skating is extremely popular in Paris. Police have a Roller Brigade of 38 officers who move about the city on in-line skates enforcing traffic law.
• Every Friday night (weather permitting) 20,000 inline-skaters meet near Montparnasse Station for a vigorous 3 hour ride shutting down major Paris streets.
  

Technical Notes:

My third visit to Paris, I have all the typical tourist photos of the pyramids at the Louvre, Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel Tower etc. This time, I wanted to experiment with ISO 1600 film.

1600 speed film is extremely fast, and does not show all the fine detail as does slower, more common film (e.g. ISO 100 or 200). With this film you can create the impression of an old photograph. So you will notice more contrast and a grainy look. This is part of the effect.

Taking these shots were a lot of fun and the results are exciting. Scroll down the page to see some of the examples.

Photographers: Mira Jelic, Lindsay Abbey.

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