Notre-Dame evening walk
- 📍 Location: Quais de Seine, Paris, France
- 📅 Date: 2021
Two people walking the lower quay near Notre-Dame at the end of the day, seen under the arch of a bridge, with the river on the right and the next bridge closing the perspective. The couple are walking away, in the middle distance, and everything else is stone and water.
The picture is built on a single receding line, the parapet of the quay, and on the black frame of the arch above it. I stayed under the bridge and used it as a mask, which compresses the view into a horizontal band and keeps the sky to a minimum.
The light is soft, late and coming from downstream, so the stone holds a pale grey and the two figures read as dark shapes without silhouetting completely. In monochrome the river becomes a smooth mid tone that separates cleanly from the quay.
This stretch has changed since: the cathedral behind the frame was rebuilding, the quays were quieter than usual, and the people walking here were almost all locals. A photograph of an ordinary evening that turned out to be dated.
I wanted an image about the oldest habit this city has, which is walking beside its river at the end of the day.
Limited-edition fine-art print from the Skywaven Studios collection, available in several sizes, papers and framing options.
