PETER TU RN LEY
A Love Letter to Paris
I fell in love with Paris from the instant I first landed in this city as a young man in 1975. I have now lived in Paris and photographed the life of this city for almost forty years. I have traveled to over ninety countries and photographed many of the major world events of these past four decades. Throughout this time, the life of Paris, my adopted home, has always reminded my heart and my vision, in spite of the difficulties and challenges the world can present, of how beautiful and wonderful life can be.
In my early years in Paris in the mid-1970s, I sought out many of my heroes: photographers Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau, Kertész, Boubat, Ronis, and others, and had the incredible good fortune to have known most of them, not only as a source of inspiration, but as close friends and mentors. In the early 1980s, I worked as an assistant to Robert Doisneau. The one thing that all of these people had in common that touched me most was a spirit that when one walks out the door in the morning with heart and eyes open, there may be a gift waiting to be discovered at every street corner.
As my own career in photography took off and I began to travel widely, I would always return home to Paris to walk with joy and photograph life in the streets and on the riverbanks of this wonderful city. Possibly more than in any other city in the world, the visual landscape of Paris presents a constant expression of the beauty and power of love, seen through the tender kisses and embraces that can be publicly seen, literally anywhere, at any time, and always.
Photography is about sharing, with ourselves and others, moments that touch our eyes, and more importantly, our hearts. Implicit in sharing, like a kiss, is a notion of love, and of giving. Paris has given me so much, as it has given to so many. This book is my love letter to Paris. It is an expression of my profound gratitude to this city and to the many people whose paths I have crossed here. Like a kiss, I offer here an expression of hope and love for our present and our future.
jacket front The Right Bank of the Seine, 2013
page 1 Esplanade de Trocadero, 2012
page 2 Café Les Deux Magots, Saint Germain-des-Prés, 1980
page 4 Paris, 1991
page 7 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1993
page 8 Ile Saint-Louis, 2012
page 9 Barbès-Ro chechoart, 1982
page 10 Rue des Archives, Le Marais, 2012
page 11 Rue V ielle du Te mple, 1994
page 12 Esplanade de Trocadero, 2012
page 13 Quai Saint-Bernard, 2012
page 14 Le Petit Fer à Cheval, rue Vielle du Te mple, 2012
page 15 Canal Saint-Martin, 1984
page 16 Luxembourg Gardens, 2000
page 17 Paris, 1982
page 18 Jardin des Tu ileries, 1984
page 19 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1994
page 20 The Left Bank of the Seine, 1976
page 21 Behind the Notre Dame Cathedral, 2011
page 22 Paris, 2013
page 23 The Seine, Ile de la Cité, 1993
page 24 Le Tango, rue au Maire, 1975
page 25 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1993
page 26 Ne w Ye ar’s Eve, Chez Julien, 2012
page 27 Jardin des Tu ileries, 2012
page 28 Rue M arie-Stuart, 1982
page 29 Jardin des Tu ileries, 1981
page 30 Ile Saint-Louis, 2011
page 31 Bastille Day, Champs-Elysées, 1981
page 32 Seine River and the Ei ffel Tower, 1984
page 33 Fireman’s Ball, Bastille Day, Saint-Sulpice, 1993
page 34 Concierge and his wife, Rue de Lappe, 1984
page 35 Ne ar the Ile Saint-Louis, 2013
page 36 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1993
page 37 Cafe Lacour, Rue Saint Paul, 1976
page 38 Ile Saint-Louis, 2004
page 39 Canal Saint-Martin, Paris, 1984
page 40 Aux Bons Crus, Rue des Petits Champs, 1997
page 41 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1995
page 42 Canal Saint-Martin, 1982
page 43 Jardin des Tu ileries, 1984
page 44 Rue V ielle du Te mple, 2013
page 45 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1998
page 46 Sacré Coeur de Montmartre, 2013
page 47 Amy, Le Marais, 2000
page 48 Métro Le Rond-Point des Champs-Elysee, 2000
page 49 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 2011
page 50 Ile Saint-Louis, 2004
page 51 Le Pick-Clops, Rue V ielle du Te mple, 2012
page 52 Luxembourg Gardens, 1978–84
page 53 Le Marais, 2012
page 54 Café La Fronde, Rue des Archives, 2011
page 55 Boulevard Saint-Michel, 2011
page 56 Ile Saint-Louis, 2011
page 57 Palais Royal, 1984
page 58 Ile Saint-Louis, 2011
page 59 Quai Saint-Bernard, 2013
page 60 Le Pick-Clops, Rue V ielle du Te mple, 2011
page 61 Ile Saint-Louis, 2011
page 62 Ile Saint-Louis, 2012
page 63 Ile Saint-Louis, 2012
page 64 Café La Fronde, Rue des Archives, 2012
page 65 Le Petit Fer à Cheval, rue Vielle du Te mple, 2012
page 66 Monsieur Bernard, Ile Saint-Louis, 1999
page 67 Le Pont Ne uf, 2012
page 68 Tango, Ile Saint-Louis, 2012
page 69 Le Petit Fer à Cheval, rue Vielle du Te mple, 2012
page 70 Quai de la Seine, 2012
page 71 The Seine, 1984
page 72 Le Marais, 2012
page 73 Jardin des Tu ileries, 2012
page 74 Behind Notre Dame Cathedral, 2012
page 75 Ile Saint-Louis, 2013
page 76 Quai Saint Bernard, 2012
page 77 The Marais, rue du Te mple, 1975
page 78 Ile Saint-Louis, 2012
page 79 18th arrondissement, 1978
page 80 Ile Saint-Louis, 2012
page 81 Ile Saint-Louis, 2012
page 82 Esplanade de Trocadero, 2013
page 83 Ile de la Cité, 1982
page 84 Quai de la Seine, 2013
page 85 Ne ar Le Pont des Arts, 2012
page 86 Métro Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 1982
page 87 Ne ar the Ile Saint-Louis, 2012
page 88 Rue V ivienne, Place de la Bourse, 2012
page 89 Rue du Pont Louis Philippe, 2012
page 90 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1993
page 91 Bridge over the Seine, 2012
page 92 Café, rue des Ro siers, 1975
page 93 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 2013
page 94 Ne w Ye ar’s Eve, Chez Julien, 2012
page 95 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 2013
page 96 Métro, 1980
page 97 Vincennes, 1984
page 98 Esplanade de Trocadero, 2013
page 99 Rue des Archives, 2013
page 100 Rue des Archives, 2011
page 101 Café, 1980
page 102 Le Marais, 1975
page 103 Boulevard Saint-Michel, 1978
page 104 Ne ar Odeon, 1980
page 105 Quai Saint Bernard, 2012
page 106 Saint Germain des Prés, 1980
page 107 Along the Seine, near Notre Dame, 1981
page 108 McDonalds, 1981
page 109 Métro, the north of Paris, 1978
page 110 Marché d’Aligre, 1985
page 111 Marché rue Cler, 1983
page 112 Rue de Lappe, 1984
page 113 The Seine, Left Bank, 1982
page 114 Le Petit Fer à Cheval, 1982
page 115 Self portrait with Karen, Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1975
page 116 Outside the Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1994
page 117 Ma Bourgogne, place des Vosges, 1982
page 118 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1993
page 119 Métro,Ile de la Cité, 1981
page 120 Métro, 1982
page 121 Quai de la Seine, 1983
page 122 Rue de Rivoli, 1995
page 123 Marathon de Paris, 1982
page 124 Jardin des Tu ileries, 1983
page 125 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1994
page 126 Ile Saint-Louis, 1996
page 127 The Left Bank, 1982
page 128 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1995
page 129 Rue de Rivoli, 1998
page 130 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1994
page 131 Esplanade de Trocadero, 2013
page 132 Quai de la Seine, 1995
page 133 Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 2003
page 134 Ile Saint-Louis, 2004
page 135 Le Chinon, 2013
page 136 Ile Saint-Louis, 1991
page 137 Karen, Ile de la Cité, 1975
page 138 Esplanade de Trocadero, 2013
page 139 Métro, Saint Germain-des-Pres, 1980
page 140 Quai de la Seine, 2013
page 141 Banks of the Seine, Ile Saint-Louis, 1994
jacket back Esplanade de Trocadero, 2012
French Kiss: A Love Letter to Paris
Peter Turnley
Photographs 1975–96 © Corbis
Photographs 1996–2013 © Peter Turnley
Te xt © 2013 by Peter Turnley
All silver gelatin prints made for this book were printed by Voja Mitrovic in Paris.
All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing. Inquires should be addressed to Images of Life, Inc., P. O. Box 32097, Mesa, AZ 85275-2097 USA or by email through www.peterturnley.com.
Designed by Laura Lindgren
The text of this book is set in Berthold Baskerville Book.
First edition
ISBN: 978-0-615-85998-9
Printed and bound in China through Oceanic Graphic Printing
