How Travel Photography Inspiration Found its Beginnings in History For Me

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Eugène Atget inspires my travel photography

Eugène Atget is one of my favorite photographers who just happens to also be French. Born in 1857, 18 years after the invention of the camera, he gained his notoriety through his photos of Paris at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Today, he is well known for these iconic photographs of Parisian architecture and streets scenes of period.

Atget’s photos capture a moment in time for us before Baron Haussmann instituted his sweeping changes to the face of Paris. I like to think of his photographs as a type of travel photography as they allow the viewer to travel back in time to visit places in Paris that no longer exist. To me, the most visible of these changes can be seen from this view of Paris I took from the top of the majestic Arc de Triomphe.

Gone are the wonderful little cobbled streets that we still see in Montmartre or in the Marais neighborhoods.

I adore the architectural details that Atget preserved for us. The details in the door knockers, doors and buildings themselves speak loudly to me of this time period.

Atget’s Photographs Freeze Time

In addition to capturing Paris architecture, Atget’s photographs seemingly freeze time as he captured people about their daily lives in the streets of Paris. In fact his business card read « E. Atget, Creator and Purveyor of a ‘Collection of Photographic Views of Old Paris.” (Szarkowski and Hambourg, The Work of Atget, vol. II, 16) But we must remember that barely 2% of his photos included people.

This superb photo is from page 47 of the book “Eugène Atget, Old Paris” which is a curated collection of his photographs that appeared in exhibition in Paris (Musée Carnavalet), Rotterdam, Sydney and Madrid. The title that appears beneath the photo reads:

“Street Vendors selling herbs and pimpernel, place Saint-Médard, 5th arrondissement, September 1898”

It was no small task

It was no small task to capture these images whether architectural or human. Atget’s  large format bellows camera weighed some 20 kg. In addition, there were a number of chemical steps to follow in capturing the image on a sheet of glass.

Requiring long exposure times, people are often just ghostly images as they passed through his photos. Which is why he was out and about at first light when the streets were empty ! Those images he captured of people about their daily lives are real treasures.

Then and Now

Well before Atget, the first photograph taken in 1826 took almost 8 hours to expose. Then Louis Daguerre (the namesake of rue Daguerre in Paris) decreased this time to just 15 minutes with his introduction of the daguerreotype in 1839. An in-depth look at the history of daguerreotypes can be found at fberq.com.

Modern times have seen us progress from film cameras to digital cameras and then to highly sophisticate cell phones cameras. We snap a quick shot with our cell phone for our travel photography and then move on. However, if you use a digital camera you may take a bit more time to select the desired lens and frame the subject “just so”. Never-the-less, the time considered is trivial compared to those photographers who have preceded us.

I love that Atget was able capture people going about their daily lives in Paris. I hesitate to do that today as I feel as if I am invading their privacy. However, there are plenty of architectural details, doors and door knockers that fascinate and keep me well occupied ! Let me share a few of my favorite heurtoirs/door knockers with you.

My Travel Photography Collectibles

Le main de Fátima – The Hand of Fatima

These door knockers fascinate me and they have an intriguing background. Each of these have slight differences but yet they are all very much the same.

According to an antiquities site, in the world of Judaism and Islam, hands are associated with the number 5. In Judaism, the number 5 represents the 5 books of the Torah. In Islam, the number 5 represents the five pillars of Islam.

Behuard, France :Hand of Fatima

This heurtoir I spotted in Candes Saint-Martin in the Loire Valley is a slightly different variation of the Hand of Fatima.

Candes Saint-Martin

Le coq gaulois – The French Rooster

Here is a door knocker that requires little explanation. The “coq gaulois” is one of the symbols of France. This particular majestic door knocker is found at number 7, rue Vivienne, the National Library of France, Paris. I discovered it as I exited Galerie Vivienne one day while exploring the Galeries and Passages.

Le coq at 7 rue Vivienne, 1e arrondissement, Paris

Perhaps my favorite is….

The door knocker that intrigues me the most is the one I saw at the Château de Brissac, also in the Loire Valley. It is not the first time in my travel photography that I have seen a brass casting that was multicolored.  The part of this brass knocker that shines makes me believe that people rub it for luck. It is an interesting combination of a Greek head with horns and cherubs.

Heurtoir – Château de Brissac

In searching for information on the design, I found that the Egyptian deity Amun was represented by a Greek style head with horns. This deity was the god of all things. Cherubs are considered the angels closest to God in both Christianity and Islamique beliefs. Besides the intricate details, the symbolic meanings I find fascinating !

Other Heurtoirs that I’ve collected in my travel photography

Collecting photos of specific objects when traveling means my suitcase doesn’t ever get too heavy with souvenirs. These are a few other door knockers I’ve found in France that I like.

Angers France

This door knocker is located on rue Saint-Aignan in the medieval city center of  Angers, France. What the photo does not relate is the size of this heurtoir. It is approximately 8 inches long!

Medieval city center, Angers France

A similar door knocker on this same street, where the houses date from 1400 is considerably smaller in size, about 4-5 inches in length. I love this 600+ year old heurtoir and its tenacity. Just look at how thinly worn the loop is that attaches it to the door.

Angers, France

Angers France

Chavigny France

The lock with this door knocker  in Chavigny (below) just had to be included as it is what makes this photo so special.

Château de Chavigny

Langeais: Château de Langeais

This heurtoir includes two winged dragons, a shell and fleur de lys which together resemble a crown. The Château de Langeais is fascinating on many levels including this door knocker but my search was futile for the symbolism connected to it.

Château de Langeais

Paris: Hôtel de Sully

This door knocker below with twin serpents adorns a door of  the Hôtel de Sully in the Paris Marais. Similarly, this style door knocker also appears on the Bank of France door in Paris.

Hôtel de Sully, Paris France

Like Atget, architectural details fascinate me and my travel photography reflects that. Buildings, stairwells, door knockers, door pulls, carvings on buildings, it is these details that speak to me. What inspires your travel photography? Feel free to post the idea or even a photo in the comments!

Mon histoire (en bref) en français…

Quand je voyage en France et je prends des photos ce sont les détails architecturaux des bâtiments qui m’attirent. À cet égard, je suppose que je sois comme le photographe Atget. Il est bien connu pour préserver les détails des bâtiments et des rues à la fin de XIXe siècle avant que M. Haussmann ait changé le visage des rues parisiennes. Voici quelques photos des heurtoirs français qui me plaisent. J’ai inclus aussi un peu de l’histoire pour chaque style de heurtoir.

La main de Fátima

Le premier style de heurtoir s’appelle « la main de Fátima ». Selon un site d’antiquités, dans les modes judaïques et islamiques, les mains sont associées au nombre 5. Dans le judaïsme, le nombre 5 représente les 5 livres de la Torah et dans l’islam le nombre 5 représente les 5 piliers de l’islam.

À peine besoin d’explication

Le deuxième style de heurtoir a à peine besoin d’explication. Le coq gaulois est un des symboles e la France. On trouve ce heurtoir à no 7 rue Vivienne, la Bibliothèque nationale de France, à Paris.

Le heurtoir qui m’intrigue le plus…

Enfin, le heurtoir qui m’intrigue le plus est celui que j’ai trouvé au Château de Brissac. Parce qu’il a des parties qui brillent, je pense que les gens y frottent pour la chance. Il m’intéresse aussi parce que la tête ressemble une statue grecque mais elle a des cornes. En cherchant plu d’information, j’ai découvert que la déité égyptienne Amun était représentée par une tête grecque avec des cornes. Il était le seigneur de tout. Les chérubins sont les anges les plus proches de Dieu dans les croyances chrétienne et islamique. Tous les détails sont fascinants !