On the back of our postcard, we were to describe the connections between our work and the textbook photograph, as well as any personal connection to our work.

I originally chose Macpherson’s photograph of Moses by Michelangelo because I have a very similar photograph of an elaborate marble statue that I took in the Musee d’Orsay. But the photo I took was on my phone, and my printer coincidentally stopped working around the time I was working on this project, so I decided to get a bit more crafty.

I had also brought my polaroid to the museum that day, and snapped a few shots outside. The picture you see was one that I had up on my wall, so I took it down to use as the center piece for my postcard project - as it still featured stone statues and brought the same moodiness, I think, that Macpherson’s photograph displays.

From there, inspiration struck and I knew I wanted to show the rich complexity of experiences that make Paris, Paris: The City of Love. I decided to use clippings I had taken from vintage magazines like LIFE and National Geographic to showcase some of the things that Paris is famous for - lovers holding hands, a ballerina, a couple laughing, friends dining together, pastries, luxury, architecture, and of course - the arts. I also featured the “Locals Only” graffiti to showcase a bit of the local counterculture that exists in Paris as well.

The chapter that my inspiration photograph was selected from was all about highlighting the techniques used and challenges faced by photographers traveling with their cameras in the early to mid 1800’s. So using a polaroid photograph as the foundation of the project also served as a nod to the early traveling cameras discussed in the chapter.