Flâneries: Paris

On several occasions, my friends have suggested that I develop a city guide of the places I've visited and start posting the guides to my blog.

'Who has the time?' I thought to myself.

But in the spirit of pleasing my small number of devoted followers, I have put my husband-less Friday night to good use.

I've named this city guide section 'Flâneries.'

I learnt about this word from the Hermès exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London years ago and it stuck with me.

“Flânerie is an attitude of curiosity, it’s about opening our minds and not taking anything for granted. It’s about always questioning the world we live in and looking for beauty...Being a Flâneur is about actively searching for what’s good for you, what will somehow resonate with your inner self...it is about actively searching for the essence of things.”

— Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Hermès’ Artistic Director

It is only appropriate that I start the first chapter of Flâneries in France.

I was in Paris a few months ago to attend a workshop with my favourite food photographer/stylist, Beth Kirby at Local Milk.

I learnt so many new technical skills and now have a new-found relationship with my camera.

The pictures in this post are shot and retouched using all of the techniques I learnt from Beth.

The lesson with her helped me to understand how to better capture the places and objects I encounter during my wandering and to translate the way I perceive things for other people to see my point of view better.

I hope you like it.

Let us perfect the art of Flânerie - the art of remaining open-minded, always questioning the world we live in and searching for beauty and the essence of things.

Happy wandering.