The Gargoyles of Notre Dame Through a Modern Lens

The famous "thinker" gargoyle that sits high atop Notre Dame in Paris is the carving that inspired Dorian, the gargoyle character in The Accidental Alchemist. Even though I've climbed the 387 steps to the gallery of gargoyles many times, whenever I visit Paris I can't resist doing it once more.

Each time I visit Viollet-le-Duc's gargoyles up close, I try to capture their spirit in a different way. In addition to using regular print and digital cameras, I've take photos of these gargoyles with my lensbaby selective focus lens and with a Holga plastic camera. And the last time I visited, I used my cell phone. I never imagined those cellphone pictures would be some of my favorite images, but that's what happened. That day, a storm was approaching, and one of the Instagram filters perfectly rendered the ominous feeling of the storm clouds.

 

Instagram Gargoyles

Last week I posted the last of my gargoyle highlights from my recent trip to New York City. (I have a lot more, but need to stop somewhere!) It took a long time to sort through all the photos I took, which made me tempted to supplement the photos on my next trip with some instant gratification. Yup, Instagram. And when I decided to download the Instagram App on my phone this week, I knew I should take the first photo of a gargoyle. The little fellow in my garden is reminiscent of the Irving Place gargoyle from NYC.

—Gigi

Real Life Instagram: Holga Plastic Camera Photos of Paris

Cleaning out my home office the other day, I came across an undeveloped roll of 120 film from my Holga plastic camera. I took it to be developed, and was happily surprised to see the roll had a few pictures I'd taken during a trip to Paris over two years ago.

Looking at the contact sheet of these photos, I started thinking that two years ago was also the year Instagram got started. The cool vintage photo filters Instagram applies to your digital photos are a big reason why the photo-sharing site has such appeal. The filters are meant to mimic the imperfections of old analog cameras such as my Holga. I'm not an Instagram user, but I do love the look of many of the photos. Are my plastic camera photos really do different from a photo taken on a cell phone with an Instagram filter applied?

On that 2010 trip to Paris, I took pictures with a digital camera as well, which is why I never remembered to get this old roll of film developed. I haven't taken my Holga with me on a trip since, and I wonder if I will again. I love the camera, but it's another thing to carry, and I can create the same effects in Photoshop when I get home. Yet there's something different about plastic cameras that draws me back to them—I think it's the fact that I don't have total control the way I do with Photoshop. The light and the color captures a moment I experienced as it was really happening, with light seeping into the plastic box through the duct tape...All right, if I don't stop rambling about this I'll turn into my college age self in a Hal Hartley film. So here are those Holga camera photos of Paris!

—Gigi