Monthly Archives: February 2015

Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris – Part 3

In the final part of the visit to the Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris, we’ll look at some of the more industral objects and end with a room setting.

There were some truly wonderful and historical objects in this museum, but the largest percentage of them were enclosed in glass cases for their protection since they are quite valuable and culturally significant to the history of French design. However, since the museum galleries are splendidly well lit, that made it practically impossible to take a picture without some sort of glare or reflection, so I’m sticking to a few last pictures of things that were not encased in glass.

I don’t often share pictures of industrial objects, but they do quite often make me say “Oooo!” out loud. And there’s something quite wonderful about the technology of the early to mid 20th Century that I find especially appealing. Here are two examples.

The first one is a 1910 airplane engine — the inside — the structural elements that hold that set of propellers in place as the power zooms through the engine. I just think it’s gorgeous.

 

Close-up sideview  of 1910 French designed airplane engine.

Close-up sideview of 1910 French designed airplane engine.


 

Then there’s this early sound system for a movie projection set up in a cinema. The French were pioneers in film technology and they were quite early adopters of this new form of entertainment.

 

An early movie theatre sound system.

An early movie theatre sound system.


 

Finally, we were surprised to see just how many schoolchildren, from primary school age through high school age, were in the museum on the weekday that we attended. The museum is a fantastic educational resource for these students to learn about the wonderful inventions through the ages that their fellow Frenchmen have been either involved in or directly responsible for.

 

Students at a lecture inside the newer wing of the Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris.

Students at a lecture inside the newer wing of the Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris.


 

COPYRIGHT
©Deborah Harmes and ©A Wanderful Life
Please respect the words and images on this page.
All rights reserved.

Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris – Part Two

In this second part of our visit to the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris, today we’ll take a peek at some of the LARGE items that are displayed within the converted medieval priory portion of this extraordinary museum.

Designed to mimic the shape of a bat’s wings, this very early airplane by Clement Ader was designed between 1893 and 1897. The very fragile piece of engineering is suspended from the rather ornate ceiling inside the stairwell.

 

Very early aeroplane (airplane) designed by Clement Ader between 1893-1897

Very early aeroplane (airplane) designed by Clement Ader between 1893-1897


 
Ornate staircase in the Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris.

Ornate staircase in the Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris.


 
The high vaulted ceilings and ornate arches of the old church create the most impressive of the exhibition spaces. It’s quite stunning to walk into this vast area and look up to see several vintage airplaces hanging from the ceiling. On the floor below are old steam engines in a variety of sizes.
 
Planes above, trains below, automobiles in tiered racks on the side.

Planes above, trains below, automobiles in tiered racks on the side.


 
On the side of the large chapel are several levels of metal platforms, reached by stairs, which contain a variety of vintage automobiles — all perched high above the ground floor below. It could be a bit of a challenge for anyone with vertigo!
 
Vintage cars on suspended racks high above the floor below.

Vintage cars on suspended racks high above the floor below.


 
A timeless glimpse into the past.

A timeless glimpse into the past.


 
Hope you have enjoyed a peek at this wonderful museum which should be on everyone’s ‘must see’ list when they visit Paris.

COPYRIGHT
©Deborah Harmes and ©A Wanderful Life
Please respect the words and images on this page.
All rights reserved.

Time For A CHANGE!

I have had the same website layout for several years now — so I thought it was time for a change!

I have just finished installing a new theme and doing some streamlining. It’s definitely a less frou-frou look and is quite pared-down. It’s also nice to see a change in the font style and size and it’s much easier to read now.

Hope you enjoy it!

Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris – Part One

 
One of the best days out we had in Paris was at the glorious Musee des Arts et Metier. This wonderful museum opened right at the end of the 18th Century in what had been an abandoned medieval priory — Saint Martin des Champs. The museum has been expanded, most notably with a more contemporary addition in the 1990s, but the elegant old priory contains some of the most beautiful of the displays under those ornate and vaulted ceilings.

 

Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris, France. Housed in a converted medieval priory, this is one of the landmark museums of Paris. Made famous by the novel The Da Vinci Code, it contains a Foucault pendulum.

Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris, France. Housed in a converted medieval priory, this is one of the landmark museums of Paris. Made famous by the novel The Da Vinci Code, it contains a Foucault pendulum.


 

One example of the treasures within is the room that houses a Foucault Pendulum. I know that the former purpose of the space was reverential, but it still maintains an air of ‘sacred space’ in that hushed room with the pendulum right in the center.

 

Foucault Pendulum beneath the vaulted ceilings of the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris.

Foucault Pendulum beneath the vaulted ceilings of the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris.


 

 

The Foucault Pendulum within the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris.

The Foucault Pendulum within the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris.


 

When we were there, I noted that the glass table which has the pendulum suspended above it and the glossy flooring all around it appeared to be quite contemporary. That was a bit of a surprise. But as I was doing the research for this article, the information that I discovered explained all of that.

In 2010, the cable that held the pendulum snapped, damaging it badly and shattering the ancient marble floor beneath it. So the more contemporary appearance is a result of the reconstruction in the museum.

All of the photos above are available in my ZENFOLIO PORTFOLIO You may find them in the Portfolio tab under FRANCE — then under PARIS.

Enjoy!

 

COPYRIGHT
©Deborah Harmes and ©A Wanderful Life
Please respect the words and images on this page.
All rights reserved.

Finished With Brussels — On To France!

 

And don’t I just WISH that the header for today’s post meant that we were in Europe at present instead of hot and humid Australia. (groan!) At least I am travelling in spirit right now…

I’ve finished uploading images from our too-short 3 days in Brussels last year before we came back to Australia — and I am ‘into’ France now. Should be done with Paris in the next 24 hours.

Since we lived in France for 2 years-plus and we travelled back and forth to several areas other than our residential areas of Normandy and the Midi-Pyrenees, there will be new images from all over the place. Can’t WAIT to get back at the end of the year and fill up the image bank even more.

 

Boulangerie window displaying bread for sale in Paris, France

Boulangerie window displaying bread for sale in Paris, France

 

To streamline things a bit, I have taken off about half of the pricing on my drop-down price lists. If book publishers or magazines or advertising agencies want a quotation for the use of one of my images in a run of tens of thousands, they can contact me directly for a personalised quote. This will make it much easier for the everyday consumer to just choose images and have them printed onto canvas or paper or clothing. Good, eh?

Watch for a new category on the site in the next day or so. It will be called something like ALL ART PRINTS and it will contain the images that are most appropriate for making fine-art prints to hang on the wall or note cards and stationary or tote bags and aprons. Just let the possibilities sink in!

Until then, keep checking back at the link below for the ever-increasing portfolio.

Enjoy!

 

ZENFOLIO PORTFOLIO for Deborah Harmes Photography|A Wanderful Life

 

COPYRIGHT
©Deborah Harmes and ©A Wanderful Life
Please respect the words and images on this page.
All rights reserved.

The NEW Website for Photo Sales is LIVE!!!

I have to say, this past month or so has been both thrilling and exhausting. And it’s a whole other kind of learning curve to be creating a new website that is not WordPress based.

 

Expresso in the Cafe Horta in Brussels, Belgium.

Expresso in the Cafe Horta in Brussels, Belgium.


 

For quite a few years, people have been asking me where they could buy prints of my work. Due to all of the moving around we have done, especially since 2010, I simply didn’t have the time to set up an entire new site with a Shopping Cart and then deal with all of the banking aspects and photo printing.

For a decade now, I’ve also had a steady trickle of digital sales to publishing houses — producers of everything from textbooks to travel guides to retail non-fiction. I’ve also been selling images through advertising agencies that are used on packaging and which have been in magazines and brochures.

Working with various photographic agencies in Europe, the UK, and New York has been convenient, but those agencies take a hefty chunk percentage-wise. Now I have the ability to deal directly with publishing clients because there will be a new one-stop-shopping site for digital files as well as retail goods.

You’ll be seeing a lot of tweaking in the week ahead — both here and over on the new Zenfolio site — as I link things back and forth. Then over the coming weeks, you will see lots of new images appearing on the photo site as I continue to wade through thousands, seriously thousands of images on my hard drive.

There has never been one specific genre that I stuck to — so you’ll notice that my images contain everything from art and architecture to travel and tourism to human interest to ‘just because’ sort of shots. There are about 400 images on there currently with many, MANY more to come.

So for now — tah-dah! Just click on this link below and have a look around.

Enjoy!

Deborah Harmes Photography | A Wanderful Life

COPYRIGHT
©Deborah Harmes and ©A Wanderful Life
Please respect the words and images on this page.
All rights reserved.