In 1972, I was living in London. I was in my early twenties, and I was working for an advertising agency. That summer, I went on a camping holiday with my parents in the south of France. One night, I went to a nightclub on the beach and I met a young Frenchman, and we fell in love. When I got home, I immediately started looking for a job in Paris., He was at university there – he was studying medicine. In the end, I found a job as a secretary with UNESCO, and I went to live there., We lived together for six years. On Sundays, we often went for a walk, and one of our favourite places was the botanical gardens. It had a zoo, and I often put some bread in my pocket to give to the animals. We were walking in the gardens one Sunday in autumn when we stopped because a lot of noise was coming from one of the trees., There was an owl there, maybe escaped from the zoo, and some little birds were attacking it. I also noticed a man with a camera. When we started walking again, I said ‘Why was that man taking photographs of us?’, I now know that Cartier-Bresson often waited in parks in Paris for the perfect photo opportunity. The following year, one of my boyfriend’s friends saw the photo in a magazine. Before I returned to London, I phoned the magazine and I got Cartier-Bresson’s phone number., I was very shy, but I called him. He was very friendly, and he sent me a copy. Years later I met him and he signed the photo for me., I love this picture. It was a happy time for me. And although my French boyfriend and I broke up in the end, we’re still in touch.

reading 2b

by
Print
Embed

Leaderboard

Visual style

Options

Switch template

Continue editing: ?