Trying to catch up on my blog after a furious few weeks of shooting. The annual big daddy event of my photographic year – the Cannes Film Festival – came and went. It was relatively low-key this year compared to past festivals. Or maybe I’m more low key. 😉
Cannes ...
With my position in the front row on the red carpet and the experience of past festivals, I have to say that what was once a two-week struggle with lots of swearing and promises that I’ll never work this festival again has turned into one of my favorite events of the year (geographically and logistically, not photographically or artistically speaking).
Mick Jagger
There weren’t too many personalities there that I cared about this year (or ever). No Sean Penn, Robert De Niro, etc. My top festival sightings were Mick Jagger and my favorite photojournalist James Nachtwey, who inexplicably was on the red carpet shooting one night. One other highlight for me was the name of the director who won the Palme d’Or for best film – Apichatpong Weerasethakul; clearly the highest Scrabble value of any winning director in history.
One night of the festival, I hitched a ride with some photographers over to Monaco and shot the World Music Awards, which was a nice break from the festival. I was one of the few photographers who got to shoot the show inside and not just the arrivals. Jennifer Lopez, Akon, David Guetta, Kelly Rowland, Ludacris and a few others performed. But the highlight was a spectacular performance by Andrea Bocelli. I had never heard him sing live before and it was really moving.
Andrea Bocelli
To see some images from the Festival and World Music Awards, CLICK HERE.
To watch a 6-minute slideshow with music, CLICK HERE.
Back in Paris, I shot a couple of old-timers on the stage together: Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood. I wish I could have stayed longer to hear a few more of their tunes together but we only got to shoot the first 2 songs. The Bercy arena, which is the biggest indoor arena in Paris, was completely packed.
Clapton and Winwood in Paris
Finally, French farmers last week organized an event to publicize their plight (as if driving tractors through the streets of Paris a couple of weeks ago wasn’t enough publicity!). They covered the Champs-Elysees with grass, plants and flowers to draw attention to the crisis hitting the country’s agricultural sector.
Champs-Elysees Covered in Green
The event, which extended almost 1 mile from the Arc de Triomphe to halfway to the Place de la Concorde, was viewed by close to 2 million visitors over 2 days. The best part for me was that I got to go up in a hydraulic crane about 200 feet in the air and shoot a few photos.
Some photos of the week(s):
T-Shirt in Cannes
Old-School Street Work
My Favorite Cannes Hideaway
What Artistic Brilliance We Have To Look Forward To
Posted by The Second Baseman on June 1, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Great blog, very interesting and entertaining..