A Day to Remember . . .

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This past Easter Sunday, the 4th of April, through a series of coincidences (as with most things in life) and a little bit of collective will, the authors of five blogs found each other in the long line of people waiting to get into the Maison Européenne de la Photographie to see, on its last day, the exhibition of photographs by Elliott Erwitt that had been runninng there since early February. The expo was titled "Personal Best", and encompassed over sixty years of Erwitt's fabulous photography. It was a real treat so see Erwitt's photos presented so beautifully in very large format prints, in such a lovely setting, and with such excellent company. Erwitt's photos were simply stunning . . .
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© Elliott Erwitt / Magnum Photos
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This next of Erwitt's was among my favorites . . .
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There were people dressed in black and white looking at these black and white photographs of people looking at pictures at an exhibition . . .
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I couldn't help wondering if Elliot Erwitt might have had in mind a title for this next photo of his something like, "Horse & Horse's Ass" ?
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Also being exhibited in parallel with the Erwitt show was an awesome exhibition from Philippe Bordas, with a selection of photos from over 20 years in Africa, of a rare emotional power. . . this gentleman was wearing a rather large snake around his neck . . .
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© Philippe Bordas
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The Philippe Bordas work included a long series of wrestlers and other athletics shots from Africa . . .
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A fellow blogger was caught here photographing one of Bordas' luminous portraits. They simply glowed. Although not very visible in this image, the person holding the digital camera here was none other than Nathalie, of Avignon in Photos . . . more photos with her below . . .
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This next is of course the delightful author of Spit & Baling Wire, who shall remain un-named here, (unless she says I may) but who goes by the nickname "The Pliers". A joy to see her again after meeting her for the first time at the airport when she finally arrived for good in France. And she came in the good company of her husband, and his brother and sister as well. Her smile is perhaps the most contagious I've ever seen on anyone . . .
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The third blogger present that fine afternoon was Peter, of Peter's Paris, an amazing blog in which he provides beautifully detailled accounts of his un-ending strolls through Paris. Pictured here with Nathalie who was dressed in red that day (see her photos of people in red on her blog) . . .
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This next portrait of Peter was taken by Nathalie, who very kindly sent me a copy . . .
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The next two shots of Peter were taken by myself. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the fourth blogger who was present that afternoon, but I can only recommend that you visit Catherine's blog The Five Of Us, which is brimming over with humorous stories about life, illustrated with many funny photos . . .
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And it was Peter who took this shot when Nathalie wasn't looking, thus catching the fifth blogger of the day . . . Mr Toad of the Magic Lantern, camera in hand . . .
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After the photo expo we all piled into a nearby café for crepes and cider or other refreshments, where this odd piece of art (?) adorned the wall . . .
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As we had just come out of Elliott Erwitt's show which featured several of his unforgettable dog photos, I couldn't resist doing a couple of dog portraits in the nearby streets . . . which I can only dedicate to Jilly of Riviera Dogs, who is a friend of Nathalie's, and would have been here that day I'm sure if she could have . . .
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If you are interested in seeing the photos which Elliott Erwitt selected as his Personal Best, I can only recommend you make a trip to Amazon.com where the exhibition book of the same title can still be found.
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Doggedly Blogging On . . .

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And while we are going to the dogs due to general "too much work and not enough play" syndrome, here are a couple more dog day afternoon photos to continue the homage in the preceeding post to that giant among mortals, Elliott Erwitt . . .
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Some days, this is exactly what I feel like . . . Let Me Out ! ! !
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A Dog Day Afternoon . . .

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This Sunday afternoon, as fate would have it, there was a conspiracy of vectorial forces which combined to bring the authors of five different blogs all together at the same time in front of la Maison Européenne de la Photographie, where they then proceeded to enter said establishment to see the exhibition, on its closing date, of Elliott Erwitt's personally chosen "best" photography from over a period spanning nearly 60 years. And what a show it was. Elliott Erwitt has long been a hero to me, so it was an immense pleasure to see his work in such a fine setting, and in such good company. More on all of that soon, but I wanted to get this up before I go hit the sack, in humble homage to one of the greatest living photographers of all time. Erwitt was a prolific photographer, travelling the world over in search of the images he captured, many of which feature our canine friends. I took this first photo in Montreal, Canada, in 1988.

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This next is in Paris back around 1991, and I've often wondered if this gentleman had only one leg, and was hopping along beside his dog . . . although I can't for the life of me remember if that was actually the case.

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Cat With Self Portrait

Another photo from that fun filled summer of 1986 in Paris, goes hand in hand with the photo just below of the dog in window with gauze curtains. I'm not trying to imitate the inimitable Elliott Erwitt or anything, but I have always loved photographing dogs and cats and other furry creatures wherever they may be found...