Auteur: Paul Struijk

Geplaatst op

blog #19 Paris transformations

Only when you have time to watch closer

Paris street corner with a view. And what is in this view exactly? Old neglected house .. cafe probably .. closed. An African man walking there like he lives in the neighborhood. He walks to the left, out of the picture. A young man entering the door at the corner of the house with a case coming from the airport, for an Airbnb stay? He enters the image – from left to right how ‘we’ read – and the house, introducing the new?
How big is the chance they will see each other? And meet? In the mirroring glass we see a new building, money well spent on the walls and window cases. Is the neighborhood about to change?
created April 18, postproduction May 27, 2023
Leica M10, 24mm Summilux
©Paul Struijk

Geplaatst op

blog #18 Complex images

Paris perfectionism in social housing

The task at hand is: to make a picture with different textures, each corner of the image has to tell something else about the building. Keep it soft and gentile, human. People must live here. This is not a concrete statement, it is a place you want to live. A house with light and fresh air .. in a big metropolitan area. The image is built up with layers each one with another texture and feeling. Complex but simple and effective, right?

Geplaatst op

blog #17 The doors of perception

Naples: A marriage of heaven and hell

I walk to my home in Napoli / Naples over the Decumano Superiore (Via Anticaglia) and cannot believe my eyes. The Roman amphitheater is still visible in the structure of the streets and houses. Two thousand years of layers on top of layers. My house is built on and in the amphitheater. I am in heaven!! But the next moment I have to jump for my life when a scooter tries to go even faster when his eyes focus on me .. hell.
I find safety in one of the gates to a caravanserai like courtyard. These gates are huge. But the door to enter is very tiny indeed.

Geplaatst op

blog #16 Gino’s world

little children and little chairs were the only thing

he cared about. Holding tight to this made breathing almost possible. His world contained only sweet things. He tried to keep loud and sharp away. But his world was shrinking.
Of course neighbors loved him and his growing assembly of little chairs, they smiled to him or “Salve” to him but did not stay long. Children came often to him to watch him sanding a chair or listening to him while singing wild and sometimes tears flowed.
One day it was silent and the door closed. Never ever the parade of little chairs enchanted passengers anymore. Nobody knew what went wrong but Gino wasn’t here anymore.

Gino Napoli 2023