Paris on Film: A Cinematic Photo Walk Along Canal Saint Martin
Photographers and cinephiles will love the views in this quiet neighborhood
This neighborhood has served as a movie backdrop for decades. If you also love the film Amélie, you’ll remember the opening scene when Audrey Tautou skipped stones across this very canal. Seeing it in person made my eyes sparkle. The lush, tree-lined canal with green, sparkling water, paired with streets full of colorful art and cute storefronts, makes Canal Saint-Martin an amazing location for a photo walk.
With historic iron bridges arching over glassy water and thick trees forming natural frames along the embankments, Canal Saint-Martin is sure to satisfy your eyes. This neighborhood embodies a Parisian ideal, but with far less chaos than the crowded Marais or the Champs-Élysées. While filming our YouTube video, we even stumbled upon a fashion shoot taking place by the canal.
Be sure to walk over the Passerelle Michèle Morgan, the bridge near the brightly painted houses, which offers one of the best views of boats passing through the series of old locks. Mesmerized by the sound of rushing water, many locals paused with me to watch the boats waiting patiently as the lock filled up by.
During our photowalk, I shot my first roll of OptiColour 200, a new film stock from Optik Oldschool in Germany. The dappled light pouring through the plane tree canopy created shifting patterns on the water.
Above images: Rolleiflex 2.8F with Opti-Colour 200.
Below imgaes: Nikon N75 with Kodak Ultramax
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