Paris vue depuis les toits, by Alain Cornu

'Paris vue depuis les toits', translates to 'Paris, as seen from the rooftops'... These majestic photographs are the work of French photographer Alain Cornu. I recently stumbled across his work, as well as an interview with the photographer, on the Vivre Paris website. It's no secret that I am taken aback by all that is Paris. And, I mean,  'literally' taken aback, to when I used to live in this magical city. But one can live in Paris all their life and never attain this secret glimpse of night-time rooftops that Cornu has captured...

My favourite shot is the one just above, with the Sacre Coeur. When I look at this image I just think 'home', because for almost four years of my six spent in Paris I lived just behind this breathtaking church. Beyond my emotional little link, however, the image is nevertheless excellent in its composition. It captures the grandeur of the Sacre Coeur in the background, all while bringing to light the notorious bargain den that is Tati, in all its neon glory. Moreover, I see at least four different stages of life that Cornu has captured, giving this image all that much more depth for the viewer to escape into; the street, the metro line above the street, the high windows of the Tati store, and then the Sacre Coeur in the heavens...   

If you dabble in French, there is a really good interview with the photographer on Vivre Paris. He talks of how he gets access to the rooftops via friends, and friends of friends, because it is really difficult to attain access through official channels, especially during the night. He explains that he chose to capture Paris from its rooftops because he has always loved the mountain, and the relation to being at a height gives him an aspect of danger as well as goose-bumps. He is also asked which is his favourite monument in Paris, to which he responds that it is the Sacre Ceour. While it appears to him as a grandiose cake at first glance, look at it longer and it turns into a beautiful Indian palace... 

Source - vivre paris

Images - vivre paris

Photography - alain cornu 

Related Nest of Pearls post - The sheer magic of Parisian rooftops, by Michael Wolf