It was the big night I was anticipating for almost two months, the opening of my first solo exhibition, Eye Prefer Paris, at the Pont Royal Hotel.
There was a great turnout of friends, old and new, blog readers, and journalists.
The Pont Royal was kind enough to provide Champagne and lovely, delicate hors d’ouevres for the guests. I caught up with friends who I haven’t seen in a while, chatted with some very interesting people who I have never met before and a few surprise guests showed up. There were also journalists and bloggers there, some who spoke with me at length. One blogger put me on his Instagram stories.
Boy, did I have to work that room.
The festivities started at 6:30PM and we left about 8:45PM, happy that the exhibition was well received.
I want to thank the following people who made the exhibition possible.
Pauline Bernard at the Hotel Pont Royal, whom I met in November and immediately liked my photos. She offered me the show and made all the details for the show so easy. She was generous enough to take time on her day off to come to the hotel and offer her assistance installing the show. The rest of the staff at the hotel was also very kind and accommodating.
Vincent Gagliostro, my partner. There was now way I could have done the show without him. I basically took and chose the photos and he did everything else, including hanging the show, individually sizing 55 photos, designing the invitation, price list, and press kit. He also wrapped photos in bubble wrap and lugged them to the hotel with me. Not to mention his undying support in this endeavor.
I’d also like to thank my friend Kristine Dreuilhe for skillfully translating the information about the show from English to French.
Please note the exhibit is up until March 31 at the Pont Royal Hotel 7-9 rue Montalembert, 75007. Metro: Rue du Bac
Here is my artist statement.
Eye Prefer Paris is a culmination of twelve years of photographing my beloved Paris. Since moving here in 2005 from New York City, my “eye” is always on the look out for new and interesting things to photograph. From the classic monuments like the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Place de la Concorde and Notre Dame, to architectural details such as doors, handles, and window boxes to my eccentric close ups of metro posters, I strive to capture places and objects in a unique way that hasn’t been seen before.
Strolling the streets of Paris as a photo flaneur with my I-Phone or camera, I rarely have a set agenda of what I am going photograph, and if I do, I always find something unexpected. Although the architecture of Paris is mostly permanent, the famous “light” is ever changing, making the buildings appear different each time.
For instance, the Eiffel Tower, the most iconic monument in the world, is changing all the time, with weather conditions of fog, rain, sun, and clouds plus daylight, nightlight, and sunset. I have been lucky enough to be able to record the changes I see with my camera.
Snow is one of my favorite backdrops, blanketing the city like a white canvas. Playing in the snow with my camera is an exhilarating but rare experience, since it falls so infrequently.
I have several of my favorite themes in this exhibition including doors, parks and gardens, sunset, night, abstract metro, monument, rooftop, and snow photos.
I am happy to share my “eye” with you and hope you walk away with a new perspective of Paris.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours. 
