Nikos Liapis

Cities. Overcrowded, noisy, smelly, tough, impersonal, alienating. True city lovers, however, go beyond the stereotypes. They spend a little longer than urban detractors to patiently cut through the unattractive crust and uncover the hidden gems. The charming, unique spots and details that make all the difference between urban hell and intimate paradise.

Looking at a photograph can very often generate a similar experience. Glance at it for an instant and you may like it or dismiss it. Those in the know, say that a photograph has achieved its purpose if it commands your attention for more than three seconds. TRUE! Because it’s only when you linger on it, you actually get inside it and start uncovering an ever increasing number of details that you would have otherwise missed. Time well spent.

Miniature pavement art on Fournier Street, Spitalfields, E1

History blend on Fournier Street, Spitalfields, E1

A London bus caught rushing down The Strand. So what? Take a closer look and behind the palpable speed and noise you can see the entrance of Somerset House. Look even more carefully and you can just about see the wonderful courtyard. A heaven of peace. Another world. The beauty of cities…

“…you should blog about your trips around the world”.

A friend’s comment, a couple of days ago that captured my imagination and led to this entry. The first of hopefully many.

If this is going to be a log of my photography work as I’m passing through places in the world, what better place to start than Paris on this special date! Paris, a city that has never fully won my heart. A city, however, which I associate with some of the fondest and most personal memories in my my life. So here’s a commemorative cliché seen through my eyes. It’s part of my “blurry world” project. A long-term study of famous world monuments, photographed at night and blurred to the bare limits of recognition. A project of shapes, lights and dreamy atmospheres. A series of images that force the viewer to linger on them just a little longer as they exercise their cognitive faculties to make out what they’re looking at. My vision, my perception.