A Quick Stroll in Père Lachaise . . .

.
.
.
I've been away from the blog and the blogosphere for a little while, have been a bit under the weather of late, but am hoping all that will pass and the breezes that blow will soon fill my sails again, and set us off across the blogging seas, full speed ahead, and damn the icebergs !
.
The two books of photos that were in the works have just arrived, and I'm thrilled with the quality of the printing, they are a pleasure to peruse. I've added links in the post about them (here) which you can click on to see a full simulation of both books, with pages you can turn right on your screen.
.
In the meanwhile, I was in Paris again the other day, and couldn't resist the opportunity to go take a quick stroll in Père Lachaise on a chilly but sunny late afternoon. These are a few of the photos done that day. The problem with Père Lachaise Cemetery is that it is so incredibly densely packed, and vast, that one could spend months trying to explore all its nooks and crannies and alleys and cul de sacs. Nearly everywhere one looks there is art, art from over the past few hundred years. A gold mine for photographers who enjoy that sort of thing. Like me. Believe me, I often count my blessings for living so close to Paris and being able to go spend a day there whenever the spirit moves me. For even just a short walk in a previously unexplored corner of Père Lachaise can yield up unsuspected visual treasure.
.
Just inside the entrance on the west side, along the Boulevard de Mesnilmontant, this woman in bronze greets the arriving visitor. I can think of worse welcomes. And then setting off into the maze, one quickly stumbles on all sorts of sights. Oh, and am entering this over at Taphophile Tuesday, as I suppose after all these years, I am a confirmed taphophile, there can be no doubt.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
This translates as : "The book of life is the supreme book, which one can neither close nor open of one's own volition, and when you would like to return to the page in the book where you were in love, you find that you are already at the page where you die"
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
The Alpha and the Omega...
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
This next is interesting in that the name at the base of the bust, if you can make it out, is Pozzo di Borgo. Over the past few months a new French movie titled "Intouchables" has set records for attendance, a truly fabulous film, about a paralyzed man and his caretaker. The film is based on a true story, and the name of the handicapped person the film is about is Pozzo di Borgo. Am wondering what the relationship between the person buried here in Père Lachaise and the man in the film is, but most probably an ancestor. A chance find, out of the tens of thousands of graves in Père Lachaise.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

Reflections from Saint Denis . . .

.
.
.
A week ago Monday la Grenouille and I travelled to Saint Denis on the northern outskirts of Paris to meet up with Virginia (Paris Through My Lens), Genie (Paris and Beyond), Genie's daughter Holly, and Peter (Peter's Paris), ostensibly to visit the Basilica where the majority of French royalty were buried over the centuries of monarchy, but especially simply to enjoy some good blogging company in person. I think it is safe to say a good time was had by all. Especially when the conversation toward the end of the afternoon over hot chocolates, coffee, and tea turned to how to make macaroons and the finer points of powdered sugar and the proper humidity of macaroon dough. That there were some macaroon experts present become abundantly apparent. Thanks for a great time you all ! (Or for those who hail from Alabama perhaps I should say : y'all !)
.
As it is the weekend, and a few reflections were seen that afternoon in Saint Denis, I don't want to miss James' Weekend Reflections, so some of the following photos may count as my submission there. It was a brilliantly clear winter afternoon, with the Paris sun low in the sky, light was bouncing every which way, reflections were almost inevitable. Like this first of the Basilica facade reflected in a shuttered bistro window opposite.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
The Saint Denis town hall was adorned with a large poster wishing all a fine year in 2012, the same image was reproduced on smaller posters visible around town. The sun was dazzling ! And even at just shy of quarter after two in the afternoon already shadows were quite long.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
On the glass case covering a fine piece of funerary art inside the basilica I noticed the upper windows of the basilica were offering reflections, a bit blurry here.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
But changing the focal point allowed to see the stained glass windows reflected clearly, while the art under the glass went out of focus.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
From left to right, la Grenouille, Virginia, Genie, Holly, and last, but certainly not least, Peter. Thanks again for a fine afternoon you gals and guy !
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

Odds and Ends From a Book Maker . . .

.
.
As mentioned in a recent posting here, I've been very busy of late putting together two books with collections of photographs in them. The second one just went off to the publisher today, with a large number of cemetery photos in it from over the years. The books were put together with software from the web site www.photographiesbook.com , both will be hardbound, 98 pages long (their maximum possible) in a 30cm x 30cm format, on high quality satin finish paper. Can't wait to see them in the flesh. If by any chance anyone would be interested in owning a copy of either or both, please send me an email to owenmart333 at gmail dot com, and I'll be happy to give you more details. 
.
And both of the books can now be viewed in their entirety by clicking here for the book about the Causse Mejean, or by clicking here for the cemetery project.
.
Here are a few screen shots of the cover and some pages from the cemetery project . . .
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
And following are the cover, the title page, and a few interior pages from the first project that was sent off to the printer already two weeks ago, and which should be ready very soon. The photos are all from the area around Florac in the south of France, mainly on the Causse Méjean, that small corner of paradise.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

Giving Thanks...

.
.
.
.
.
Here's giving thanks to all of you for your visits to these pages in 2011, and hoping for more fine blogging exchanges in warmth and levity and joy and poignancy throughout the year in 2012. It never ceases to amaze me that anyone ever found there way here at all, out of all the millions of blogs out there to visit on the internet.
.
This wall of plaques saying "Merci", or "Thanks", was in a cemetery on Reunion Island. Hope to return there one of these days, it was one of the most amazing places I've ever been.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

Where To From Here ?

.
.
.
.
These past few weeks I've been going through nearly all my photographic archives. A first book of photos about the Causse Méjean in southern France is at the publisher. A second book project with even more photos in it, about cemeteries, is in the works. Selecting the photos and doing the page layout for each of the 98 pages in these books is a monumental task, but there is something highly satisfying about the work. The time spent in these efforts, not to mention the recent holidays, explains why I haven't been out and around the blogosphere as much as I would like. Hopefully when the second book is off to the publisher I'll be able to get some more sleep and get out to visit more.
.
When I set out to start this blog over three years ago I had in mind that the Magic Lantern Show was in itself a sort of book project, a web book if you like, documenting a small part of my past photographic work, and continuing to present new photos as time goes by. I would be dishonest if I were to say that I didn't harbor some hopes that the blog would in some unknown way lead on to other opportunities to see some of the many photos herein published in one way or another, or perhaps give rise to ways to display them in public, and even sell some of them. That hasn't really happened yet ; perhaps a blog among all the millions of blogs out there, all clamoring for attention, is not the right vector for seeking further outlets for creativity, although it has led to meeting all of you wonderful people, which is priceless of course.
.
The small showing still in progress in Paris is a first step in the direction of finding other outlets. The opening of a virtual gallery on the ImageKind.com site is a second step. Having two self-published books in hand is a third step. But I can see that if any further progress is to be made, I will have to put together a portable "show" of sorts, between large prints of photos, the books, and a collection on an iPad, and then go start pounding the streets of Paris, knocking on doors, wearing down shoe leather, talking to people, asking for direction, and hoping somewhere a door will open, a receptive eye and mind will resonate on the same wavelength as these photographs, such as they are. And then where ? Realistic ? Unrealistic ? I honestly don't know. But without trying I will certainly never know. Time will tell.
.
In the meanwhile, here are a few photos for your pleasure. The first two will be in the cemetery book. The second is my entry for Weekend Reflections over at James' fine meme site. The yellow leaf in rainwater with trees reflected was on a memorial marker in a German cemetery near the Verdun battlefield. And the third is for those of you who enjoyed the previous post below of scrapbooked photos on a wall in Paris. . . another collection of images, under glass this time.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

Messages From Far and Wide . . .

.
.
.
.
I found this wall covered in postcards and scraps from far and wide in an abandoned place in Paris quite some years ago, and came across these images while going through some photos in preparation for a small book project. A first book is off to the publisher, and a second is soon to follow... self published of course, no book deals in the works here yet. (:-) But for some reason this scrapbooked wall seemed appropriate, someone was publishing their own book here, and left it as a creation when they moved on. The place has no doubt long since been bulldozed, but at least these pictures remain to attest that someone pinned up all these odds and ends. Will no doubt post more info here about the books that are in the works when they come off the press, so stay tuned if curious to see what has been percolating on a back burner over the holidays. And may your new year be full of messages from far and wide, postcards to tack up on walls, scraps to glue in the scrapbooks of your life, and happiness, health, love, wealth... and whatever else you may be hankering after.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.