River Thompson grew up in France, and is the photographer behind our new book Paris: 24 Hours and 250 Photos in One City. Over the following pages, his visual diary reflects on morning, noon and night in the French capital.
‘I wanted to capture the wonderful everyday moments in Paris: the sharp shadows in the morning, the colours, the sounds of locals and tourists, and the quiet cobbled streets. It’s such a treat strolling around in the early morning, before the hot sun starts to peer in between the buildings and bounce off the windows.
‘For me, these few minutes before the rest of Paris wakes up feel like going back in time. While the bakeries are just opening their doors, tourist attractions such as the Arc de Triomphe glow in the morning light. Suddenly, it doesn’t feel like an attraction or big, crowd-packed site any more, rather just another natural aspect of the beautiful city, like the lamp-posts or cobblestones.