Movement in Paris: A City Constantly in Motion

The Paris Vignettes series features the inspired work of street photographer William “Bill” O’Such in themed installments

I’m often inspired by the themes of the monthly Street Photography France competitions, and recently I came up with my own theme: “Movement.” I wanted to try to capture how things “bouge” in Paris. With this in mind, I suddenly found that my Parisian walks revealed a city constantly in motion.

Slowly walking across Rue de Rivoli, I saw a very “mobile” person on a bike, engrossed in a phone conversation (“au telephone tres mobile”) and oblivious to his surroundings… including me. As I crossed over to Île Saint-Louis, I detoured to one of my favorite spots: the downstream tip at Place Louis Aragon. Descending the stairs, I found a young man dancing energetically to hip-hop and caught the “hop” part (“dans l’air”). A few hours later, en route to a rendezvous at the Jardin du Luxembourg, I spotted a building facade with an intriguing array of angled mirrors that reflected the pedestrians in multiple, shifting scenes (“reflections dans un façade”).

The next day started with a museum trip. We took line 1 to see the Worth exhibit. After exiting the metro (“sortant le metro”) and incorrectly going to the Grand Palais, we finally arrived at the exhibit. Inside, the sheer number of people viewing the displays created a palpable sense of movement (“dans le petit palais”). Exiting the exhibit, a young woman was heading downstairs (“elle descende”) and eventually we merged into the departing crowd (“vers la porte”). As we exited the return metro at La Bastille, an unexpected rain shower forced us to wait as we were not well prepared (“sur le pluie”) but soon we were home, anticipating the adventures of the next day.

On Thursday, I met a friend for lunch near the Palais Royal, where a lively group of salsa and rhythmic dancers (“les danseurs”) entertained everyone. Returning to the Bastille again (no rain this time!), I spotted a young woman, “sans” music, moving to an invisible rhythm with intricate hand movements (“les mains parlent”). Later that evening, we enjoyed after-dinner drinks crafted by skilled bartenders (“les mixologists”). These master mixologists seemed to anticipate the liquid’s trajectory as they dramatically prepared our Aviations.

So, as you walk through Paris, enjoy the myriad demonstrations of movement wherever you may be (“se tenir bien”), as the city moves in countless ways.