Full Archive
- Brilliant Mistake
It was a fine idea at the time. One of the reasons the SLR got overthrown was its tendency to have shutter jams… In a church in Lyon, for what it’s worth.
- [ filed under “texture” ]
- No Parking III
Don’t even think about it—I might want to repaint this door one day…
- [ filed under “signs” ]
- No Parking II
When your garage door is an expressionnist canvas, no-one dare park in front of it…
- [ filed under “signs” ]
- No Parking I
Nowhere to park in this town except in front of someone’s driveway. A series of picturesque interdictions.
- [ filed under “signs” ]
- Tag
Tagging as we’d like to see the art develop, from a cellar door in the back streets of Clermont.
- [ filed under “surfaces” ]
- Volcanic Cathedral
The black spires of Clermont’s volcanic stone cathedral scrape at the rushing clouds.
- [ filed under “monuments” ]
- Licence
Only in France could a legal requirement also be a work of art.
- [ filed under “signs” ]
- Domestic Wall Coverings
Decorating tip #1—the weathered look: Travel back to the early 20th century. Paint vivid colour and elegant typography on your wall in Clermont. Return to the present to find that time has done its work…
- [ filed under “surfaces” ]
- Rue Albert Camus
Existential musings on the fence outside the wife’s former primary school as a new year rises on Le Coteau. Every famous person who ever came out of France has a street named after him or her somewhere — usually every other town you visit.
- [ filed under “location” ]
- Mercerie
At the foot of the path up to the walled city of Carcassonne, one of the most densely visited sites in France, the “new” city has seen better days.
- [ filed under “signs” ]
- Shadows
Cutting through the pine forests of the Beaujolais in high summer, the stripes mark the passage of one of France’s Grand Randonnée circuits, linking the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
- [ filed under “lifestyle” ]
- Bagni Lido
The view from the beach uphill to the dwellings of Camogli.
- [ filed under “tour d'europe” ]
- End of Advertising
In the streets of Le Coteau, often high on walls, hidden by trees in the summer, lurk the ghost signs…
- [ filed under “signs” ]
- Palais des Papes
Inside the Palais des Papes in Avignon at dusk in winter.
- [ filed under “monuments” ]
- 2bis
Writing on the wall in the back streets of Aix-en-Provence. The old woman told me “Aix is finished,” but you wouldn’t know it from the influx of property speculators.
- [ filed under “surfaces” ]
- 1964
In the cellars of La Reine Pedauque in Beaune. 40 year old bottles await their destiny.
- [ filed under “signs” ]
- Pont du Coteau
In honour of Saturday’s launch of the Agenda Roannais here’s the image from the masthead. The bridge gets its name from our little town on the south bank of the Loire, rather than the big smoke to the north.
- [ filed under “location” ]
- Louis I
Having spent all week slaving over this and still not having any viable text in place, it’s time to start an occasional series of my old favourites converted to wallpaper format to add a touch of cuture to your computer desktop. Download your preferred resolution here:
800×600 | 1024×768 | 1280×960- [ filed under “wallpaper” ]
- Trial by Real Estate
Searching for our homestead, we sometimes wondered if we’d ever find it, or if we’d be lashed to chairs in the corner of a collapsing ex-restaurant while it fell down around our ears…
- [ filed under “renovation” ]
- Postcard from Camogli
Camogli, on the Italian coast, east of Genoa. Home of superb gelato—even in January. Late afternoon sun gives a classical painterly aspect.
- [ filed under “tour d'europe” ]
- Picnic
Hiding from the heat in the forest. Off-stage left, les personnes âgées play cards (again). Off-stage right, the young folk sleep off the feast.
- [ filed under “lifestyle” ]
- Moulin de Daudet
The moulin de Alphonse Daudet in Fontvieille [ Bouches du Rhone ] was the location for the writing of his Lettres de mon moulin and today houses a small museum.
It also provides a splendid back-drop to a grimy winter’s day.
- [ filed under “monuments” ]
- Le Coteau XIII
Identifying the bar where the Costelloise rugby league team meets to drown their sorrows. If the fortunes of the team and its sign are similar, we imagine them playing beautifully but languishing, forgotten near the bottom of the table.
- [ filed under “signs” ]
- Fanfare
Welcome to the new Stillness Project: photos of France and Europe.
Having dabbled with the concept of a photo-blog as part of point-final.net, It’s time to move up a level and provide professional quality images for our visitors’ use. We will be making high resolution stock versions of our images available for purchase, producing calendars and publicity materials and desktop images for design professionals and francophiles alike. As part of the publicity services we’re offering to some of the most beautiful villages in France, we will also be offering portfolios of images presenting those villages.
The initial phase of the site will see the archiving of the better images from the old stillness project and the development of an intuitive classification and search system to enable you to find what you want with the minimum of fuss. And because we’re here on the ground in south-eastern France, we’re also open to commissions if you’ve got specific requirements.
The site will gain its true colours over the next few days as the templates fall into place. For now, sit back and enjoy the show, and don’t forget to check in regularly for a wee gift…
- [ filed under “about us” ]
