[LargeFormat] LF'ing in Paris

[Clive Warren]

At 7:29 am -0800 9/11/01, David wrote:
>I am planning a trip to Paris over the Xmas/new year
>holidays and was wondering if anyone had any
>suggestions or warnings about taking photographs in
>Paris.  I think I remember someone saying that you
>needed a special permit to set up a tripod in Paris.
>
>I am not a professional and would probably take most
>of my pictures either early morning or at sundown.
>Are there time restrictions. 
>
>Any suggestions or referrals on the web would be
>greatly appreciated.
>
>David  (SF)

David,

Am a regular visitor to Paris both for work and pleasure - although 
the largest camera format I have taken along for the Paris trips is 
6cm x 7cm. Having said that I always carry a tripod because I tend to 
indulge in infrared photography and the film I use dictates use of a 
tripod.

I have never been asked to show a permit for use of a tripod, 
although there are some places where I believe that this is required 
and some places where tripods are banned, such as the Musee D'Orse. 
In general, inside museums and churches tripods are not welcome; this 
is understandable where there lots of people floating about with 
their eyes on their surroundings rather than where they are walking!

So, Paris is no different to many other capital cities - although 
there are also some parks where tripods can be a problem.

Your main concern should be about carrying your gear. I have been 
travelling throughout Europe since September 11th and security is now 
very high. It is no longer possible to carry more than one piece of 
hand luggage on board an aircraft.  This may not be a problem for 
you, however when I go "large format" I like to carry everything with 
me including the tripod. Lost or delayed luggage is just a bit of a 
pain - arriving in a foreign country to find that your camera gear is 
on another continent can ruin your planned photographic trip......

Because of this I have started using medium format and 35mm for my 
foreign trips.  I now plan to kit out an old field 4x5 Korona that is 
very compact with a couple of lenses. This will all fit in one bag 
and the tripod will travel in the baggage hold for future trips.

If you are based in the UK and intend using the Channel Tunnel then 
this will not be a problem for you......

Hope this helps,

Cheers,
        Clive