It’s a grey day today in Paris, with light rain at times. I decide to visit the Jardin des Plantes, to see if they have photography exhibition on the iron railings of the garden. On the way, I wander in to the Institut de Monde Arabe, which has an outdoor terrace on the 9th floor. Entry is free, and provides a near 90 degree view of the Right Bank, with Notre Dame. It’s another perfect day for a black and white view of Paris.
The Institut is famous for it’s architecture, which allows the light entering the building to be controlled by motorised photo-sensitive apertures. The gallery below shows the interior view of the apertures and the exterior view with one of the apertures closed.
The terrace lacks the tourist crowds found on the popular outdoor terraces of Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, but ten years ago provided one of my favourite images of Paris….
There is photography exhibition on the railings of the Jardin des Plantes, curated by the Museum of Natural History. It features large colour photographs of the most interesting items in their collection of exotic minerals.
Tonight it’s a 7.30pm visit to the Cartier exhibition at the Grand Palais. The Champs-Élysées is heaving with tourists, even though it’s raining again. It’s a great time to go to the exhibition though – the last entry for the evening, no queues, no crowds. The exhibition is fantastic, with many famous pieces on loan from private collections, and just as interesting are the stories of the extraordinary women (and a couple of maharajahs) who collected them. The exhibition allows private-use photography so long as no flash or tripods are used, so I’m slightly regretting only having the Samsung Note 3 with me. Which does a terrible job at night photography, but does quite well indoors when it is well-lit.
