Picture Stories by Stephen Alvarez

All day on the Metro

So I am getting ready to spend all day shooting the Metro tomorrow. The  Paris Metro moves over 4 million people a day, it is crowded and endlessly fascinating. What to bring?

Kevin Francis Sweeney on Burn

 Kevin Francis Sweeney has a very intimate essay about his family on Burn (here). Shooting close to home is always the hardest thing.

-Stephen Alvarez

Contrails over Paris

Planes are flying over Paris again. It was somewhat amazing to spend a week here with good weather and no contrails in the sky. CDG and Orly are opened again, but it will be weeks before air travel is back to normal.

-Stephen Alvarez
 

Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Association Photography Award

The application of the the 8000 euro Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Association Award is now available (here or the link below). It is given to a photographer in support of a project that no one else will fund. Kudos to Canon Europe for their support.

Deadline is June 30

-Stephen Alvarez

Paris

Download Rules 2010 

What I am carrying, making life easier on assignment

Not a sexy picture I know but what a photographer carries on assignment and how he (or she) carries it is critically important. This is a quick shot of today's lighting equipment. An elinchrom ranger quadra pack, 2 heads, cords, radios, canon 580 EXII and a coollights 256 led light with a battery back all fit comfortably into a Pelican 1510 case. 

The 1510 is great ($156 here). Its a roller case and I use it to bring my cameras onto the plane (it fits in the overhead bin). In Paris out come the cameras and in go a day's lights.

Ok time to wake up the writer and head to a Nazi bunker.

Have a great weekend.

-Stephen Alvarez

Paris

 

Life on assignment

Since I am on assignment I shouldn't really post pictures of what I'm shooting, but what I can do is talk about things that make the assignment go well and my life easier. One thing that is NOT making it easier is the ash cloud stalking European skies. Flights have begun to resume, but air transit is still chaos. The writer I am working with is still stuck in Boston.

One issue that I have is my editor would really like to see what I am up to. Normally I would send a hard drive to her with everything I've shot every week or two. That isn't possible this week and next week who knows... 

Glen Campbell's blog

If you haven't looked at Glen Campbell's blog about Austalia lately check out today's post (here). Its a good one. 

I'm off for my first meeting with the Paris quarry inspection office. Another crushingly beautiful day here, still no planes in the sky.

-Stephen Alvarez

Paris

The last American in Paris

Ok, well maybe not literally the last American, but ours was among the last flights from the US to land at Charles de Gaulle before the airport closed. For those of you living under a rock, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano has been erupting and the resulting ash cloud has closed most Northern European airspace (here). Closed, no flights in or out. They sky over Paris is clear, blue and eerily free of airplanes. I do feel for anyone trying to travel in Europe this week.  

Dimity Markov, Awkward Age on Burn

 There is a strong essay on Burn by Dmitry Mrkov (here). Burn is the best photo site on the internet. 

-Stephen Alvarez

Paris

Ash in Paris

We made it to Paris just before Charles de Gaul airport closed due to ash from iceland (here). I walked past an Air France office near Tour Montparnasse today and the line of people trying to rebook tickets stretched out the door and down the block. On any assignment getting there is 1/2 the battle. Glad we've made it.

-Stephen Alvarez

Paris