Severine 002

Severine was the first model in my busy schedule in Paris. Doing this evening photo shoot was really a matter of improvisation. I arrived in the hotel just an hour before the appointment with Severine so there was little time to search for suitable locations. Fortunately, there was no rain or snow, but it was quite cold. The location is on the banks of the Canal St. Martin, not far from Gare de l'Est. The canal is currently under reconstruction so there is no water in it.
Safety has always been an issue in Paris but even more so during the past year. The first minutes of a photo shoot can feel "out of one's element" - especially in the cold streets at night - and Severine was clearly on her guard. When this photo appeared on my PC screen, the following lines ran through my head:

"But try to watch where you go
for you don't really know
who's friend or foe....
In the street, boy, that's where the action is
Where the wheelers and the dealers and the hustlers and the crooks get the suckers
And the cops, they try to keep the order
breaking up another row
But they never end somehow"

(from "The Street", by Sailor, a somewhat innovative pop group that enjoyed worldwide popularity during the mid and late 1970's. They were arguably even better on stage than on their records)