Before this trip, most readers could identity my “style” of photography. It is not that all my images looked the same, but many of them contained the same or similar subjects and were photographed in similar ways with the same gear. My photography here in Paris may have confused some people, because I have photographed lots of different things. There have been buildings and people, close-ups and extreme wide angle shots, and touristy and artsy images.
Today I would like to confuse things a little more with an abstract architectural shot that I took earlier this week. The image is a shot of a ramp that is part of the Passerelle Léopold Sédar Senghor, a footbridge over the Seine River that I photographed from close to the ground looking upwards using a mini tripod. If I were to ask you what the French word for “bridge” is, many of you could correctly answer “pont.” Maybe you grew up singing “Sur le pont d’Avignon” or know the word from some incidental contact with France. So what exactly is a “passerelle?” It is the word that the French use for a footbridge, a gangplank, or a catwalk.
This bridge is pretty cool for several reasons. It crosses the Seine in a single span with no piers in the middle. Its deck is made of ipe, a kind of exotic wood from Brazil. Finally, this bridge is really new, especially by Parisian standards—it was built between 1997 and 1999.
So what is my style? “Eclectic” might be the right word now.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
LOVE this perspective. Have seen roads disappearing into blue sky but this is a different!
People kept walking down the ramp and I waited and waited until finally I had the scene the way I imagined it. 🙂
My wife and I walked across this bridge back in a few years ago, while exploring the park, Jardin des Tuileries. Love relating your images to the remarkable few days we enjoyed so much in a Paris back then. M 🙂
Paris is a wonderful place to make memories. I think those memories (“souvenirs” in French) are much more important than any trinkets we bring back and call “souvenirs.”
I love all of them. I also really enjoy your commentary and explanations!
I think it is good to shake things up now and again. 🙂 May you continue your expansion/exploration when you return home. It’s life enhancing!