Les arbres des quais avec le Pont-Neuf 1945

Brassai made this photograph of the trees on the banks of the Seine and the Pont-Neuf using a camera in Paris. Doesn’t it make you wonder what it was like for Brassai to wander through Paris at night? To be attuned to the soft glow of the streetlights, the silent, snowy branches? I can imagine him observing the way the light reflected off the water, like a ghostly impression of the bridge. It reminds me of when I am walking through the city at night; the quiet, reflective moments I have when the world is still and I can notice the beauty in the everyday. Brassai's urban nightscapes are so distinctive. Other photographers like Atget also roamed the streets of Paris, but Brassai’s really get under my skin. Maybe it’s the way he uses the dark to conjure mystery, transforming the city into a dreamlike place.