Grenoble Photowalk – a story in photos
August 28th, 2009 | Published in Comment, Features
“Keep walking at rue Saint Laurent”
Prakhar Amba is an avid amateur photographer and regular contributor to the Grenoble Life Gallery. On 18th July 2009 he participated in the Worldwide Photowalk in Grenoble, Grenoble Life invited Prakhar to share his photos and experience …
by Prakhar Amba
“Keep Walking” says the logo of a leading whisky manufacturer. It is slightly difficult for me to imagine the sight of a figure in a black hat and waistcoat striding along with a half empty bottle in his hand. Oops! He tripped and fell down! Anyway, it could serve well for photographers who like to bring out the extraordinary in the seemingly mundane tasks and places which occupy our lives. On 18th July a Worldwide Photowalk was organized where more than 32,000 photographers walked (and shot thousands of photos) in more than 900 cities of the world. I walked in Grenoble.
For me the best way to see a city is not to visit its monuments and museums but to walk in its streets, for it provides a window to observe the daily rhythms of the life of its denizens. So I love to walk, in the rush hour or the afternoon pause, to observe life flow around, oblivious of the clothes lines, the graffiti, the flowerpots on the balcony, the empty beer cans, the rusty paint and so many small things which gives each city a unique character. On July 18th 2009 I walked in the company of 40 other photographers, which made it even more interesting because each individual has his own way of approaching the street. It was a sensory overload to walk the streets of Grenoble through the eyes (or the lens) of so many.
"Kids with cameras"
We started from Place aux herbes and walked towards the Quai underneath snow flake-shaped electric lights and worn-out shoes hanging between balconies. I am yet to understand the significance of the shoes being hung in the city streets – back at home it would be to ward-off evil. We walk through narrow alleyways along shops evoking Aromes D’Asie & D’Orient and several restaurants from all four corners of the world. All around me are people shooting and, well, we are a sight in ourselves. Seeing so many cameras a little boy gets excited and has his moment of fame.
"Rock da party"
A little further along someone is enjoying his cuppa of mint tea in a couscous shop. If the world was black and white, England would be tea and France would be café, but thankfully we live in shades of grey and so in France we can enjoy aromatic tea and tisane.
"Mint tea"
Closer to the Quai Stéphane Jay a girl walks by as the signal turns green. As an Indian, I am told by the French how colourful my country is. No doubt, but I should say so is France, home to the fashion industry which is, afterall, all about colour. In India tea is always brown but here I have drunk tea in shades of vanilla, mint, orange and several others. A glass of red wine adds colour to your meal. And red and green chairs add colour to the streets of Grenoble.
"... and she walks away"
Finally the Quai, to the sight Grenoble is famous for: Les Bulles. There was a photographer who made the same shot with a pinhole camera. He had stuck a hole in a tin spaghetti can and put a black tape to cover it. Inside there was light-sensitive film: peel the tape off to make an exposure. I always saw those in physics books but this was the first time in action. It was difficult to frame shots at the bridge because there were so many photographers around. As I walked across the bridge an old lady walked her four dogs, someone flew a kite in the middle of the bridge and many watched the world pass by from their balconies.
Grenoble - Les Bulles
On the other side of the bridge at “La Cymaise” someone enjoyed his smoke while another his café and croissant. And all the while people kept shooting. There was one crouched on road waiting for the man to light his smoke. As an old photographer’s guidebook says, “one mans smoke is another man’s photo”. Ok, no one says that but I personally find smokers an interesting subject. The way they hold the stick, the smoke breathing out of the nose and the signs of pleasure of their face.
"Café and croissant"
"Smokers at La Cymaise"
"Draw a smoke"
Now we climb towards the Musée Dauphinois, and here its not the artwork displayed inside but the gentle curve of a door knob which makes me wonder of the countless hands which turned it.
"Turn me gently"
Have you seen the movie Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain)? In the movie one of Snow White’s dwarves travels around the world getting photographed at all the major sights. People have their idiosyncrasies, they like to get photographed with their Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse at the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower. I met one who liked to photograph his (not her) Barbie doll.
"Barbie on a fence"
We climb down and walk through Place Victor Hugo to one of Grenoble’s well kept secrets, the Garage Hélicoidale just behind the FNAC. You enter it amidst the sooty walls and smell of fumes not expecting to see much really but its so much more than just un parking. Numerous floors wind upwards in a circular helix topped by a glass roof that becomes its source of skylight, emphasizing and illuminating its climbing gradient. The best part of the for me was to see the whole structure reflected in a car parked in the basement.
"Garage Hélicoidale"
Goodbyes said and ‘Au revoir’ wished and we disperse. I walk back home with the thought in my head “Keep walking and keep shooting” – for in each nook and corner of our world are hidden moments worth capturing. Even garages can be more than just for parking your car and then forgetting where you left it.