Sunday Smiles
April in Paris
In this case it was actually late March of 1999. I was standing beside the Seine which was unusually high that year. I noticed a young couple trying to walk on a path that I supposed was not usually submerged. The woman did not want to follow her boyfriend but he kept walking, trying to persuade her all was well. It was clear he thought he could safely skim along the water from atop the wall he was walking on. After some distance though, he paused, surveyed his chances and realized it was hopeless to push on. However, by this time, his girlfriend had decided to follow him. As cautious and as displeased as a kitten forced to navigate a mud puddle, she started out towards him. His retreat was her relief but she had already proven her love with the steps taken.
Once they were almost safe and dry, he kissed her and I read it as his apology for not listening to her in the first place. He deftly jumped back to higher ground and tried to help her but she misjudged her landing ever so slightly. I snapped the last shot just as they passed me. They never knew this intimate negotiation in the early stages of their love was captured by me. I say early stages because let's face it, do you know any married woman who would have followed her husband that far into a swollen river for a romantic walk? Some things are obvious like that and it's obvious this young man adored this young woman and she, like Alice Cass wanted to have "full confidence" in her man.
In this case it was actually late March of 1999. I was standing beside the Seine which was unusually high that year. I noticed a young couple trying to walk on a path that I supposed was not usually submerged. The woman did not want to follow her boyfriend but he kept walking, trying to persuade her all was well. It was clear he thought he could safely skim along the water from atop the wall he was walking on. After some distance though, he paused, surveyed his chances and realized it was hopeless to push on. However, by this time, his girlfriend had decided to follow him. As cautious and as displeased as a kitten forced to navigate a mud puddle, she started out towards him. His retreat was her relief but she had already proven her love with the steps taken.
Once they were almost safe and dry, he kissed her and I read it as his apology for not listening to her in the first place. He deftly jumped back to higher ground and tried to help her but she misjudged her landing ever so slightly. I snapped the last shot just as they passed me. They never knew this intimate negotiation in the early stages of their love was captured by me. I say early stages because let's face it, do you know any married woman who would have followed her husband that far into a swollen river for a romantic walk? Some things are obvious like that and it's obvious this young man adored this young woman and she, like Alice Cass wanted to have "full confidence" in her man.
The ghost of Henri Cartier is smiling upon you for this photoset.
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