I went back to Lyon, back to the haven that is my girlfriend's downtown apartment.
I needed a taste of city life again, to trade my mudboots for heels, to stride past the warm glow of cafes open late, the shimmer of tight jeans on transvestites, the intricate, soaring cathedrals, picking my way across pavement speckled with dog excrement.
The city with all its edges requires a ready sharpness. You never know when you'll see the flash of a grin through the haze, you need your equally clever throwaway line unsheathed and ready for that slim interactive second with a stranger, so much briefer than what occurs in the countryside.
The scale shifts.
I just wish I could better capture those ephemeral city congruences, the way Matt Stuart can. The photos below are his. 
If you live in London or plan to visit in February, catch his show (details at his site). Otherwise, check out many more of this gifted--and patient--photographer's images at his eponymous website.
I needed a taste of city life again, to trade my mudboots for heels, to stride past the warm glow of cafes open late, the shimmer of tight jeans on transvestites, the intricate, soaring cathedrals, picking my way across pavement speckled with dog excrement.
The city with all its edges requires a ready sharpness. You never know when you'll see the flash of a grin through the haze, you need your equally clever throwaway line unsheathed and ready for that slim interactive second with a stranger, so much briefer than what occurs in the countryside.
The scale shifts.
I just wish I could better capture those ephemeral city congruences, the way Matt Stuart can. The photos below are his. If you live in London or plan to visit in February, catch his show (details at his site). Otherwise, check out many more of this gifted--and patient--photographer's images at his eponymous website. 
