A flâneur is someone who wanders without a specific destination, acting as a detached, philosophical observer of modern life, crowds, and society.
Nothing in that definition explicitly says that such a person has to dress in a particular way. And yet the notion goes hand in hand with someone who cares about their dress, and may well feel more at home in a more analogue time. A more analogue time’ was how a flaneur described it to me during the walk of the flaneurs.
The gathering began at Covent Garden and went in procession to Piccadilly Circus.
The man in black on the right in the photo above reminds me of a European version of Oddjob from the Bond film, Goldfinger.
The flaneurs walk was well publicised, and lots of photographers showed up at Covent Garden to shoot the participants.
And now I’ll sum up what I like to photograph and what I don’t like to photograph.
If I strike up a conversation with someone. then I might want to take their photograph, and when that happens, I like the process. There is a tension, something ineffable in the interaction.
What I don’t like to do, generally, unless I am really struck by someone, is to photograph strangers who pose where there is no setup.
My mind takes a dark turn with shades of Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard.
At the flaneurs walkabout yesterday, I could feel myself being swept up in the mood of other photographers.
And it took willpower to identify what I like to do versus the general mood.
I would rather the people I photograph were involved in something and I photograph them doing whatever it is.
Two Gentlemen
These two gentlemen noticed me and asked whether I would photograph them. The gentleman with the top hat handed me an iPhone and instructed me that they wanted to be photographed with the statue of Eros between them. Of course I said yes, thinking that my friendly demeanour must have outweighed the impression created by the North Face shell jacket I was wearing.
A Couple Of Swells
They are so over the top, but I like it – from the man’s straw boater to his shoes and socks.
It’s funny how thoughts flit across the mind in the crush of events. I wondered whether that is her hair, or a wig.
And now I see that, as Tamara told me recently, she is wearing a fascinator – a kind of non-hat decorated with feathers, or similar.
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