Café Life in Paris, a photo from Ile-de-France, North

Photographer's Note

Café Life in Paris – Café at the Rue de Seine

The first café in France was Le Procope in 1686, and the literati soon began to congregate there, keen to exchange ideas. More sprang up all over the country, and it wasn’t long before there was at least one in every village. In the 19th century, the neighbourhood zinc, named after its metal counter, became part of the fabric of French life. In Paris, each café developed its own character, and with the widening of the boulevards, their tables spilled out onto the pavements. By 1910 there were 510,000 zincs in France, but today café life is waning.

While the invasion of fast-food restaurants is partly to blame, changes in the French way of life are also culpable. When customers move out to homes in the suburbs, they tend to “cocoon”, staying in to watch TV, and the local café eventually has to close. Then there are the ageing proprietors to consider: a café is traditionally a family business, but today fewer sons and daughters are prepared to take on gruelling 16-hour days.

Sadly, even the atmosphere of remaining cafés is not what it was. There is formica where once there was marble. Piped muzak and the beep of video games have replaced accordionists and the furious volleys of players on baby-foot machines. Only the Gauloise-fed haze (attitudes to the 1992 smoking ban are casual) and the hazards of the lavatories (some still holes in the ground) are the same.

In search of the authentic Parisien café

Yet all is not lost. Authentic zincs can still be found in Paris, and many are thriving. Try stylish Café de l’Industrie on Rue St- Sabin, La Palette on Rue de Seine or the tiny but lovingly restored Le Cochon à l’Oreille on Rue Montmartre. For literary atmosphere there’s the Café de Flore, where Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir wrote by the stove. “My worst customer, Sartre,” recalled the patron. “He spent the entire day scribbling away over one drink.” (Source: insightguides.com)

snunney, jlbrthnn, danos, lakshmip1949, bona, Sonata11, mohammad_H, macjake has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

TopGeo (37994) 2012-09-04 1:35

Hello George! Excellent daily life scene and beautiful architecture photo at the same time! Great composition and framing, perfect light management, wonderful colours! A corner with old charm and try stylish Café d Congratulations!
best regards
Georgios

snunney (67334) 2012-09-04 1:52

Hello George,
Fine capture of this typical Parisian scene. I like the point of view and animated atmosphere. Fine presentation.

lousat (57626) 2012-09-04 2:51

Hi George,beautiful pic of the daily life in Paris.I like your high brightness and perfect saturation,very rich composition full of details and colors despite the difficult light.Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

rbassin (11121) 2012-09-04 4:03

hello George
joli point de vue, scène de rue intéressante et animée.
Belle présence de la couleur rouge.
Bonne soirée
Roland

cornejo (18054) 2012-09-04 4:31

Hello György, excellent and lovely photo of this beautiful everyday scene in Paris, very good and nice details, very good framing and sharpness, good light and color. Very good and interesting job well done, congratulations my friend. Tfs.

Good afternoon and happy week.
Best regards and best wishes.
Angel.

timecapturer (30324) 2012-09-04 4:41

Hi György
lovely everyday shot of Paris, with a laid back feel about it and creative composition. The detail and colours here add so much to the atmosphere. Excellent!

Enjoy your day - Brian.

Sergiom (39223) 2012-09-04 5:17

Bonjour George,

Ah! les petits cafés de Paris. Comme c'est plaisant de s'assoir et de savourer un petit café tout en regardant les gens passer. De belles couleurs bien saturées.

Amicalement

Serge

jlbrthnn (79773) 2012-09-04 8:04

Hello George,
it is a time to relax in a nice place. Beautiful scene of daily life. A photo skillfully made and excellent quality. Bravo.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

danos (73974) 2012-09-04 9:28

Hello George,
nice the view of this corner of Paris cafe,with the people to enjoy the day as their coffee too.I like the well chosen vertical format with the light and the colour management to are well captured.

Have a good afternoon,Danos

lakshmip1949 (19110) 2012-09-04 12:45

Hello George,

A nice view of this corner cafe where people are sitting and having nice time. Like the atmosphere, colors and sharpness. Details are well captured.

Lakshmi

carlo62 (12582) 2012-09-04 15:19

Ciao George
classico caffè parigino, in questo caso, sottolineato di rosso, il colore sembra scendere dall'alto e dividere la foto diagonalmente. Indispensabile la presenza delle persone e piacevole l'inserimento del lampione.
Saluti
Carlo

bona (10144) 2012-09-04 15:28

Hi George,

Love this place! Great colors and point of view showing both the architecture and the people over there.

Nice done.
Andre

Sonata11 (28331) 2012-09-04 20:31

Hello George,
very beautiful snapshot of daily life and architecture. Lovely and interesting place to spend the time. Great management of light, colors, sharpness, perfect clarity. I love POV and DOF as well. Great job. Congratulation!!!! Thanks for sharing.
All the best,
Barbara

mohammad_H (6598) 2012-09-04 23:54

Hello dear friend
Well you look at everyday life in the awesome view
Her extensive notes about the traditional cafe
Very good resolution
Good day and be happy

dkmurphys (36801) 2012-09-05 1:44

HI Gyorgy,
Lovely mood around the coffe shop. I like the colors and the specific architecture. Well seen scene.

Daniel

abmdsudi (26233) 2012-09-05 9:45

Hi George
Lovely ambience and really does look cozy corner but full of colors and heaps of human interest. This shot captured some of the essence of this place and its cafe culture. A lot stands out, particularly that the red triangular shape and lines drawing the eyes in. Excellent work, you turn an everyday scene into something good of this type of imagery. Well done.
Best regards

npecanhuk (53901) 2012-09-05 18:21

Hi George!
Very charming urban spot!
Very beautiful and truly lovely picture!
Sharpness, exposure, colors, chosen pov, vertical format, contrasts, black & white borders and composition are all excellent!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

macjake (39227) 2012-09-11 23:35

Hi George
a very attractive photo.
this is a scene that we can all relate to, and that makes it that much more enjoyable.
i like that you included the yellow and red chair to compliment the red awning above.
a fine display of daily life, and relaxation.
cheers
craig