About

Intro

Hello, everyone! My name is Bon and I live in Paris. I am a self-taught photographer.

I’ve always been into capturing images for as long as I can remember, fascinated by how a small device such as a camera can instantly capture something and immortalize a moment.

My history with photography

During my first trip to Europe in 2005, I borrowed one of those old film cameras from my best friend and I remember arriving in Europe with five rolls of film, taking photos of everything and anything under the sun, and then leaving the continent with 32 rolls of film – only in a span of 2 months!

I came back to France to study in 2006 to 2007, and all I had was a small Samsung camera phone and a cheap Kodak digital cam. Again, I took pictures of whatever passed my vision – and there was a lot of it! By then, pictures were easily uploaded online so I didn’t have to worry about the cost of having a roll of film developed.

I didn’t own a camera that I could call 100% mine until my mum bought me a Canon point-&-shoot the night before I moved to France for good in 2008. I used that pocket camera to take pictures of everything – people, food, animals, streets, monuments, tables, walls… you name it, I captured it.

Stepping up

It was in the summer of 2012 that I decided to take photography a bit more seriously than just toying around with my point-&-shoot. An Italian guy, who was an avid photographer, told me that I composed my shots really well. I honestly had no idea what “composing a shot” was or what he even meant by that but it piqued my interest and that’s when I started studying the basics of photography and getting serious about taking photos.

From my point-&-shoot (that I’d already had for about 4 years at that point), I moved up to an Olympus micro 4/3 and a 45mm 1.8 lens. It was then that I started to realize my love for capturing moments. I started doing street photography with it because I found myself to be really at home when I was out and about taking pictures of, again, everything and anything under the sun. I remember going out in -10°C weather just for the sole purpose of taking photos of Paris while everything was blanketed in freezing snow!

That Olympus micro 4/3 didn’t last long though. I found myself wanting to step it up even further. That’s when I dumped my Olympus cam for a Canon 650D. It’s the one that I’m currently using. I never go anywhere without it. I always bring it with me. I’ve discovered even more things with it. I feel like I’ve unlocked even more secrets of the trade (so to speak), falling in love with immortalizing moments even more than I thought I possibly could.

What photography means to me

With photography, I get to try different things and I get to meet different people. Photography has helped me express situations and moods that I can’t articulate with words. I’ve never been an artistic person, but I’ve found that it’s only through photography that I’m able to express myself visually, creatively, and emotionally. In a way, it helps me to observe, focus, then immortalize the present, and not have to be bothered with the past or the future. Taking a picture helps me to be in the now, even if only for a moment. I like the fact that with just a photo, I can always go back to a memory, a feeling, however fleeting. I keep on discovering and I keep on learning. It encourages me to push boundaries. And honestly, it doesn’t get any better than that.

My lenses

I own a 50mm f/1.4, which is the one that I’ve used to capture most of the photos featured on this blog. I also use an 85mm f/1.8 from time to time.

Contact

Feel free to message me by leaving a comment or by emailing me at bonparisien1@gmail.com. I’m also on Instagram (bonparisien), Twitter (bonparisien), Flickr (click here), and Tumblr (click here), so you can contact me easily. I hope you enjoy the photos. I’ll be uploading more, that’s for sure.