Compiled by Jan Nicolaas Kind - Brazil
[Came across this incredible photo and short write up on Instagram and felt I had to share it with the readers in the category MEDLEY. Although currently Paris is not as described by Harvey Stein, due to the many demonstrations, it is to be hoped it will soon return to its majestic beauty. JNK]
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Harvey Stein is a professional photographer, teacher, lecturer, author, and curator based in New York City. He currently teaches at the International Center of Photography and has taught in several undergraduate and graduate photography programs.
Self-portrait with Mona Lisa by Harvey Stein.
As if by magic I find myself walking the narrow streets of the 6th and 7th Arrondisements of Paris. I had forgotten how beautiful Paris is, maybe more so in rainy weather. There is so much to look at, the creative storefront displays, (this photograph incorporates one such display), the iron balconies of hundreds of historic buildings, and the beautiful people. I have yet to see an empty storefront, a far cry from the usual empty storefronts on every commercial block in Manhattan. I may get in trouble for saying this but to me Paris is feminine whereas New York is masculine. Paris is charming and nuanced. New York with its phallic skyscrapers, rough demeanor and aggressive behavior is masculine. Paris, with the enigmatic smile of its Mona Lisa, stirs the heart with hope. New York, the town I could never move away from with its endless excitements is a city to be tolerated and forgiven. Both are to be cherished but only in one can we find the Mona Lisa and its optimism that makes us human.
Check out Harvey’s website:
