Paris, 1962. Amazing flickr set here.
I’m reblogging this from Mr. Meloy.
To me, these photos are mesmerizing. Partly because they’re of Paris. Mostly, though, because the time and place they show are beyond our reach. The potency of some of these scenes flows precisely from how quotidian they are. People lined up to buy fish, for instance.
Others, though, have what I’m tempted to call “timelessness.” But that’s a tired word. Here, look at this one. Maybe you’ll just see what I mean. Maybe, like me, you’ll look at this young woman and have trouble imagining that she’s probably pushing 70 by now.
The photographer, as you’ll see if you follow the links, is named Tom Palumbo. If you’d like to explore his work beyond Flickr, his own web site is here.
While I wish I’d seen his photos sooner, it’s thrilling when anything this old retains enough freshness to remind me, all over again, that I am lucky to have eyes, a camera, and a pulse.
