Robert Frank was one of the photographers that most influenced my own work. He recently died and here's a piece about what he meant to me.


https://www.shutterbug.com/content/5-ways-robert-frank-made-me-better-photographer-and-how-he-can-improve-your-photos-too?fbclid=IwAR3Xkyl60gAk0gYOQ8suVe8fOETKEj8uQRhzly7l8cqQH7hka7vwvJ5HEBU

Beautiful affordable photographs of France to brighten your home or office

After years of photographing life in France, the natural beauty of the land and its magical ancient villages I’ve decided to make some of my favorite images  available on the web for everyone to enjoy. 

These images are offered as high quality JPEG downloads that I have personally edited for sharpness and color accuracy. They are ready to print and frame for display in your home or office up prints sizes as large as 13 x 19 inches

Many of these images have previously appeared on this blog, on my Instagram and Facebook pages and have been liked hundreds of times. 

I am an award winning professional photographer and it important to me that every photo I take is unique and interesting. Whether I’m photographing the Eiffel Tower or the vineyards of the Languedoc I try to make beautiful eye catching images that you will enjoy for years to come.

The price of these downloads is $ 5.00 per image and you an make as many prints as you want for gifts, note cards and so on.

So please take a minute and follow this link to visit my Etsy sales site and enjoy these images  

https://www.etsy.com/shop/stevesfrenchphotos

And bookmark this page as I will regularly be uploading new and exciting photographs to it.  Merci

Steve Meltzer 

Travelling to Paris?

Book into a Photographer’s Delight 

the Photography Themed Hôtel Déclic

By Steve Meltzer © 2017

I was planning a trip to Paris this spring for the publication of a book of my photographs and I was surfing the web looking accommodations when I came upon the Hôtel Déclic; a hotel that turns out to be a photographer’s wonderland dream wrapped up in elegant 4 star luxury. Crammed full of cameras and imagery Déclic was almost too good to be true. Even its name echoed its photographic ambiance; “déclic” is slang for a camera shutter release which is French « le déclencheur».

The Contact Sheet Suite

Checking it out, I discovered that the Hôtel Déclic was the creation of designer Sandrine Alouf of the company “Groupe Maranatha.” Alouf's vision was to create a unique hotel that surrounds its guests in a sumptuous photographic environment of images, nostalgia and deluxe furnishings. The hotel is located in Montmartre one of the city’s most romantic “quartiers.” Since the late 19^th century it has been known for its art and the artists who resided there; which includes everyone from Matisse to Picasso. As well as art this charming 18th arrondisement neighborhood exudes romance. Sensuality is in the air and Montmartre has been the setting for films like “Can-Can”, “Moulin Rouge” and “Amélie." The hotel itself is not too far from the famous “Folies Bergère.” 

The Photo Booth Room

From the street the hotel’s rather plain exterior belies the nearly hallucinogenic universe within. Entering the hotel you walk down corridors lined with cameras and hundreds of images. Checking in you discover rooms with names like the Reflex, the Contact Sheet and the Selfie. In fact all 18 rooms and 9 suites at Déclic are named for different photographic themes and decorated accordingly; often with tongue deeply in cheek. For a photographer it’s the perfect place to end a day after metro-schlepping across Paris taking photos.

The Reflex Room

In the Reflex Room for example you can stretch out on a bed shaped like a vintage interchangeable lens camera while in the Black & White room your bed’s headboard is a giant screen that projects a show of “retro” B/W images taken by anonymous photographers. As Sandrine Alouf charmingly puts it, “it captures the beauty of the art of photography, the taste of the image, and the joy of snapping”. It’s a room ready made for dreaming in black and white.

The Darkroom Suite 

Hotel Déclic blends sensuality and romance and it is nowhere more evident than in the “Darkroom Suite” (which is also known as the “Sexy Noire Suite.”) This room’s darkroom theme includes overhead ‘safelight’ illumination which will bring back fond memories to any analog era photographers. Having worked in a photo lab for 30 years myself I must say that this is the most deluxe darkroom I’ve ever been in. However the hotel frowns on actual darkroom work in suite as yellow fixer stains are impossible to get out of bed sheets and towels.

The Paparazzi Suite

Red is the color of passion and it dominates several rooms like the lusciously intense red décor of the “Paparazzi” suite. Fit for a visiting celebrity-- trying to avoid paparazzi-- it features a red carpet with a Hollywood gold star that leads to a sleek four poster bed. Looking up while in bed guests come face to face with a satiric pack of paparazzi armed with cameras staring down at them.

There’s also a "photo shoot" room for guests who want to sharpen their studio skills and the photographer Thierry Hugo is available through the hotel for classes and for private photo tours around the city.

The  Photo Studio Suite

Hôtel Déclic is an amazing place to stay. Comfort and luxury with prices that are quite in line with most 4 star Paris hotels (129-499€). You can find out more about Hôtel Déclic in my expanded article at

http://www.shutterbug.com/content/book-your-next-vacation-hotel-declic-fantastic-photography-themed-hotel-paris#adRmL3WECo84mDZb.97

For reservations or more information contact the hotel directly at  

http://declichotel.com/en/contact.html

(All photos abaca press courtesy Hôtel Déclic)   

le Wine Shop— A New Wine Shop in Pézenas Features Local Domain Wines and stocks English Beers and Ales.

Photos and text © 2015 Steve Meltzer

If you love discovering niche and boutique wines then le Wine Shop in Pézenas, France is the place to go. The proprietor Dominic George has a passion for artisanal wines from small Languedocian domains. For several years he has operated wine tours of many of these wineries and had dreamed one day of having his own wine shop. Then last September he took the plunge and he opened his place. 

We found out about le Wine Shop from an English friend who, ironically, told us about it because it is his favorite place to buy British beers and ales. Intrigued, we hit the road to Pézenas and to give the shop it a look.  Tucked away behind the L'Assiette du boucher, adjacent to the main Pézenas round point-- le Carrefour de la paix-- it’s easily accessible from the D13 and A75 and the Avenue de Verdun.

A large open space the walls of le Wine Shop are lined with wines from several dozen local domains. These are the products of small and medium size producers many of whom, as is often the case in the Languedoc, are a bit off the beaten track or in some cases nearly impossible to find.

That’s one of the things I like about a good wine shop. A wine maven like Dominic does a lot of the hard work of travelling the countryside to find great wines. Now this not to say that I don’t like to visit domains on my own. But I find that one of these visits can turn a bit awkward when none of the wines are to my taste. I end up having to make a very “merci, désolé” retreat. 

Dominic likes to talk about wine and once started you quickly get a feel for the breadth and depth of his knowledge. That he likes to share this enthusiasm is evident. When you enter the shop you immediately see a large gray rural table surrounded by chairs where Dominic conducts his wine and food tastings 

When we arrived at the shop Dominic asked us about our wine preferences and soon had opened six bottles for us to taste. We ended up buying several bottles of a wonderful red --“Domaine de Cadablès (2012)” a niche domain near Gabian. It cost € 8 bottle. After a while our conversation turned to another of Dominic favorite topics, the astonishing landscapes of the Languedoc. He spoke about some of the incredible places he had encountered while travelling to small domains and recommended half a dozen great locations for photography; all the while as he opened bottles for tasting. The wines at le Wine Shop are all ‘domain’ (cellar) priced and start at € 5. There are also special sales.

le Wine Shop offers almost daily wine tastings programs.'s the Wines of the Languedoc--a tasting of eight wines-- The Wines and Food of the Languedoc--6 wines paired with 6 typical regional foods--and a Wine and Cheese Tasting. Dominic told us that he’s also happy to create custom wine and food tastings for groups of six or more people. 

Besides wine, Dominic loves the beer and ales of his native England and has a large selection of them; you are bound to take a few of them home too. 

For something entirely different at the end of the week Dominic offers a most special tasting. Summer Fridays at 17h he has a Wine and Chocolate Tasting (€25). It is a remarkable blending of six great domain wines matched with six amazing chocolates from a local master Chocolatier.  It sounds like the perfect way to end a week and to experience Languedoc living at its best.

le Wine Shop is located at the west end of the Avenue de Verdun (its # 65) adjacent to the restaurant/butcher shop, L'Assiette du boucher about 500 meters west of the McDonalds.

le Wine Shop

65, Avenue de Verdun

34120 Pézenas

04.99.41.11.71

06.50.61.99.03

contact@lewineshop.fr

www.lewineshop.fr

The Return of La Maison

Looking for a Great Meal?  Try This Unique Dining Experience

Living in the Languedoc we are surrounded by an astonishingly lush landscape with an abundance of fresh local products. Luckily we also have many restaurants that make exciting use of our natural abundance and to that list of great restaurants add La Maison. Located in the charming village of Tourbes on the outskirts of Pézenas. It has been a part a focus of Tourbain life for decades and now it has reopened under new management. Guided by the culinary skill of Chef Damian Martin and the solid management experience of his wife Florence, the new La Maison is sure to find its place at the top of the Languedoc’s fine dining list.

Damian and Florence bought the restaurant from its former owners Aurelien and Adeline Houyez and after remodeling re-opened it in late April. They work as a team with Chef Damian running the kitchen while Florence manages the front of the house and coordinates the restaurant’s chambre d’hotes rooms. As the welcoming ‘face’ of La Maison, Florence’s warmth and professionalism--as well as her fluency in French and English--clearly puts guests at ease. “I love meeting people and my work is enhanced by doing my best to ensure that all our customers have a pleasant experience, “she told me. 

The La Maison experience begins with your first bite; the cuisine is inventive, surprisingand daring. Damian riffs on conventional cooking formulas and like a jazz musician drawing on his broad experience guided by intelligence, he spins the spicing or introduces an unexpected ingredient to make something familiar altogether new.

At the heart of Damian’s approach is his short menu. 

Offering just a few dishes allows him to concentrate on each dish and to best express his creativity. Working with the day’s freshest ingredients-red tuna brought to him by a local fisherman or lamb from the Averyon-- he produces his day's fishes. But this pursuit of quality products necessitates a menu offering just two or three entrees, two or three plates and a few desserts. There are no frozen or chilled standby dishes waiting for reheating in the microwave. By limiting the menu Damian can better focus on every dish that leaves his kitchen.

It has been a long journey to La Maison for the Martins. Damian was born in Galway on Ireland’s rugged West coast and grew up in a family immersed in the food trade. “ My father was a butcher and passionately taught me this art,” he explains.”I proudly worked as a butcher for 6 six years before embarking on my culinary apprenticeship. It was at this point I realised my destiny to dedicate my working life to the culinary arts.” 

After receiving his initial culinary training and certification in Galway Damian promptly set off to travel the world and hone his skills, a journey that took him across Asia and Europe. 

Florence comes from a small village in the Averyon and grew up in the restaurant trade. “ My mother worked in our local restaurant and on many occasions I helped her with village fetes and weddings. This was my learning block for organising and delivering quality service.” After receiving her diploma in hospitality, Florence moved to Plymouth, England and a few years later moved to Dublin.

Damian returned to Ireland in 1998 he found work in one of Dublin's finest dining establishments and that is where he met Florence. They fell in love and after many years in Dublin decided to move to Florence’s native Averyon. While Damian worked at local restaurants, Florence got a job with one of France’s top chefs, Michel Bras at his Michelin three-star restaurant Bras, in Aubrac. The couple got to know Bras and Damian recalls that he was touched by the great man’s “simplicity and kindness.” 

Their training and experience shines through at La Maison. Damian’s commitment to quality has paid off and since its opening has developed a loyal following simply by word of mouth recommendations. My wife and I have dined at La Maison manyl times and whether we had fish or meat dishes; everything was superbly prepared and scrumptious. I photographed many of the dishes we had to give readers some idea of Chef Damian’s output.  

Damian Martin says that he has a goal of making his culinary “mark” with La Maison. Judging by the reception he’s gotten so far he’s well on his way to achieving his goal.

La Maison

Restaurant and Chambre d’Hotes

9 Avenue de la Gare

34120 Tourbes

 

Hours: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday Lunch service 12h-14h

           Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Lunch 12h-15h, Dinner 19.30h-21h

           Closed Wednesdays.

 

Dinner menu 30€

 

Reservations are definitely advisable: 04.67.98.86.95

email contact@restaurant-lamaison.fr

Website: www.restaurant-lamaison.fr

 

Souvenirs d’ombre et lumière

Souvenirs d’ombre et lumière 

--Memories of shadow and light--

 photographies de Steve Meltzer 

Je suis blasé, fatigué de mes photographies, épuisé par ces moments décisifs, leurs couleurs vives et leur insistance sur la vérité. Leurs détails, et leurs respects méticuleux du monde réel émoussent mon imagination, tel un rasoir qui tranche à travers mes yeux. Tout… a été révélé et rien.

Photographies à la recherche de la perfection - nus gracieux, insectes monstrueux, palmiers, plages, visages étrangers, champs de fleurs, couchers de soleil et jeux d’enfants  - ont toutes été des clichés bien avant mes prises de vue. Les «idées reçues» du visuel ont simplement servi à renforcer les attentes et les croyances des spectateurs sur un univers reconnu de la «beauté».

L’ennui qui m'a poussé à me risquer, à rompre avec mes méthodes établies et mes longues habitudes m’a fait réaliser ces images. Pour cela j’ai utilisé une lentille trou d’épingle (sans verre) sur mon appareil numérique. Cette «lentille» laisse passer la lumière à travers un minuscule trou. Non modifiée par l'optique du verre, la lumière tombe sur le sensor de l’appareil en laissant sur ces images sa signature.

En violant les règles de la netteté, de la couleur, et de la fidélité qui sont la norme dans la photographie moderne, ces images deviennent complexes. Elles racontent des histoires incomplètes dont le récit est mystérieux. Elles suggèrent, mais laissent le spectateur libre de son interprétation.

Ces souvenirs d’ombres et lumières sont des énigmes attractives qui séduisent l'œil et le leurrent, peut-être pour stimuler l'imagination.

I had grown tired of my photographs, exhausted by their decisive moments, their brilliant colors, and their insistence on “truth.” Their detail and their meticulous adherence to the real world dulled my imagination, like a razor slashed across my eyes. Everything was revealed and yet nothing was revealed.

Images in whose perfection--graceful nudes, monstrous insects, palm trees, beaches, foreign faces, fields of flowers, sunsets and children at play--were all clichés long before my shutter snapped. Visual “received wisdom” they served to reinforce the viewers’ expectations and beliefs about a knowable universe of “beauty.” 

Ennui drove me to risk, to break with long established methods and habits. I made these images with a glassless “pinhole lens” on my camera. The “lens” passes light unmodified onto the camera sensor leaving these images as its signature.

By violating the rules of the norm --sharpness, color and fidelity--these images become difficult. They are incomplete stories whose narratives are mysterious. They suggest but do not indicate. They are memories of light and shadow, enigmas that seduce the eye and luring it in perhaps stir the imagination.

Le Sud de France 6.5: Le Vendage et le Primeur Vin

The grape harvest and the presentation of the “first” wine.

It has been a year since we arrived in France with our jam-packed suitcases and drugged out wild cat, and we managed to celebrate this anniversary with our whole community. We live in a “vigneron” village where most residents either own a vineyard or work on one. The vines are the main source of income and the very existence of Tourbes depends on them.

At the beginning of October, the vendage, the harvest, began and the roads and vineyards were filled with huge harvesters. Unlike the movie version of a wine harvest, with happy peasants taking days to pick the grapes, these monsters harvest a vineyard in a few hours. The harvested grapes are loaded onto trucks that deliver the tons of fresh grapes to the wineries co-ops where they will be pressed.  

However, viniculture has had a particularly tough grind for the last few years. The Languedoc-Roussillon has had a drought with rainfall in some areas down by 80%. Water tables are precariously low; and you need water to make wine and for the mundane tasks of cleaning vats, trucks and other equipment. In the last few years, the drought reduced vineyard production around our village to the point that our cave stopped producing wine and the vignerons elected to merge their operation with that of another co-op. 

The arrangement is that while grapes would continue to be pressed at our co-op, the juice would be transported by tanker the dozen kilometers to a cave in the town of  Montagnac for fermentation and bottling. The wines would then be sold under their “Montagnac” label.

Once the vendage was over, wineries around the region celebrated by opening their “primeur” wines. Most wineries produce many different wines and the primeur is simply the first drinkable red, white or rosé, from the previous year’s harvest. These openings are part celebration and part marketing event with speeches, food and music.

Although le Sud de France had had an exceptionally hot and long Indian summer, by mid-October, autumn arrived, gray and wet and we ended up walking to the cave in a cold rain. As we neared it we heard music and people singing, and it turned out to be a guy was playing accordion with a bunch of people performing old French songs. Diane and I joined in, although knowing neither the words or the music, the best I could do was to hum and scat along.                                                 

After about half an hour of music making, the official program began. The president of the regional winemakers association got up and spoke about how hard it was to market wine, especially with competition from the well know wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy. He spoke of the irony that these famous wines were actually made largely from Languedoc grape juice that those wineries quietly bought from us.  Next the mayor spoke, reminding everyone that wine making was the very life of the village. He is a vigneron himself and happily announced that the vendage had gone well. It had been a good harvest and this year they were getting good prices for their grapes. The mayor was followed by the director of the co-op, who spoke about the new wine. 

When he finished the vignerons and their wives began to bring out tray after tray of slices of paté, cheeses, hors d’oeuvres and of course, bottle upon bottle of the new wine.

The mayor came over to me, filled our glasses with the new wine and we tasted it together. He sipped and I sipped, we sipped again and then agreed that this “sauvignon nouveau,” as it was called, is a damn fine wine. 

The trays of food and the bottles of wine kept coming out. When I looked around me, I realized that this was a rather private gathering of our village. In an atmosphere of “Bonheur,” it seemed that we were reinforcing community bonds as well as celebrating a good harvest. This was a crowd of no nonsense, tough vignerons, who were relieved as people refilled their glasses again and again, visibly enjoying the new wine. Oddly, this means that once again, like so many great Languedoc wines, all of it would be sold locally before it had a chance to reach a larger, worldwide audience.

After a while, one of our friends pulled us aside and led us out of a side door where we found ourselves in front of a fire pit of burning grapevine stems, the glowing embers swirling up in the currents of hot air like fireworks, exploding in the darkness. Sitting over the fire pit was a steel wheelbarrow contraption filled to overflowing with mussels. Several men stood stirring the mussels with long ladles that were also used to scoop up the cooked mussels and pile them onto paper plates. Soaked in olive oil and garlic before barbequing, the hot barbequed mussels were delicious and despite the quantity of hors d’oeuvres everyone had consumed earlier, the wheelbarrow quickly emptied. 

 

We sat eating with a group of friends, mostly Parisian émigrés, on an old stone wall, struggling to balance the plates of hot mussels on our laps. We had no silverware so we ate with our fingers and ended up laughing at ourselves. Here we were a bunch of big city sophisticates, sitting around a blazing campfire, eating mussels with our fingers like children, happy as clams. No one even minded the persistent, cold drizzle anymore.