As I was photographing the signs in the city of Paris, I realized one notable thing.
I usually take pictures manually, adjusting the aperture, lighting, exposure, etc., just to make the pictures come out the way I like. Then, in Paris, I realized that this city has very warm lighting – yellowish, pinkish, but anyway, a warmer tone, which typically I’m not in favor of.
But now I feel that temperature is really Parisian – all the iconic white buildings that are called “Haussmann Architecture” get tinged, and even reflect these lightings. This warmness is something that wouldn’t be seen in NYC or Tokyo.
And of course, all the signs were in French.
I haven’t been to cities where I don’t understand the languages for a while, so I was overwhelmed, but the signs didn’t feel that foreign comparatively. The French language was tough phonetically, but visually, it looked really charming.
Also, I liked seeing Asian signs in Paris. For me, a Japanese girl living in NYC, Asian signs in NYC are like expatriates, but in Paris, again, where I don’t understand their language, those Asian signs almost felt like the ones in a fictional world. They almost didn’t feel real, although of course they were, and that was such a unique feeling.
SIGNS: WHAT THEY TELL YOU – “PARIS” is the last entry from my trip to Paris last month. When I was younger, I thought Paris was filthy and scary, but now I truly believe that Paris is a very special city just as NYC and Tokyo. Please look forward to my next visit to Paris in the early summer!
