Paris Photos: A Tour of the City with Emilie Johnson Joly

My relationship with Paris has been boisterous. On the one hand, the exquisite beauty of the city permeates every encounter of my life here. On the other, my position as foreigner, as culturally other (despite being married to a Frenchman), inherently taints or shifts my liaison with the place. Living in Paris is a visual feast. Every day, I walk with my head tilted at strange angles because I am admiring some new fold in the many layers of what I see in the city. I will continue walking this way undeterred by the time that passes; there is no end to these visual scales. I tote my camera everywhere I go, for my subject material is always lying bare-skinned before me, ready for seduction.

I moved to Paris almost three years ago after meeting my French husband on the streets of New York City. Our culturally mixed couple makes for heated arguments and a deep fascination for the articulations of each other we cannot hold. There are parts of Paris I love because it is beautiful, but there are also parts of Paris I love because I love Xavier. It was his city and now it is ours and mine.

I have divided my favorite photos of Paris into three themes: color, curiosity and light. To me, Paris’ beauty is pronounced and reiterated in these ways. These themes embody how I have come to see the city.

COLOR

LIGHT

CURIOSITY

About the Author:
Emilie Johnson Joly is a fancy-free girl who spends her life exploring her new-found home in Paris. On the side, she teaches a gender studies course for an American study abroad program and flirts with writing. Emilie has a master’s degree from the University of Oxford and lived in Hawaii, Massachusetts, Washington, Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Maine and England before her move to France. She blogs about her life in France at www.emiliejohnson.blogspot.com.