I found this book when I was wandering the streets of Paris alone and feeling the loneliness. I loved the photos instantly, but it wasn’t until afterwards that I read the introduction. What an amazing way to see the world! I felt so inspired by Robert Doisneau’s work and by the man himself.

Excerpt of the book’s introduction:

Doisneau delighted in gleaning the instant. Clear of gaze, a man with a winning smile, he liked to say "I never noticed time passing, I was too taken up with the spectacle afforded by my contemporaries, that gratuitous, never-ending show for which no ticket is needed, and when the occasion arose, I offered them, in passing, the ephemeral solace of an image". Throughout the years Doisneau captured, day after day, "the ordinary gestures of ordinary people in ordinary situations". Joys he felt and discoveries he made as he walked the city make up the subject-matter of his photographs: "There are days when simply seeing feels like happiness itself ... You feel so rich, the elation seems almost excessive and you want to share it"