A woman sits at a café table by a window, holding a small cup and looking thoughtfully to the side. Several empty cups and plates are on the tables around her, with other people visible in the background. The photo is in black and white.Café de Flore, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 2022.

Photographer Peter Turnley arrived in Paris in 1975 aged 20. Since then he has thrown himself into the City of Light, documenting its comings and goings on his trusty Leicas.

“While Paris is a large metropolitan city with problems that many big cities have, and some specific to Paris, it is without doubt the city in the world where one can see on a daily basis the most public expressions of love, romance, elegance, friendship, sensuality, and grace, in the world,” Turnley tells PetaPixel.

“It is a city that represents a multitude of tones of grey, making it a place where black and white photographs best express certain universal and timeless humanistic qualities.”

A woman in a sweater and jeans sits on a moped at a city street intersection, looking at the camera. Leafless trees and several people on a bench are visible in the background.Boulevard Saint-Germain, 1983. An elderly man wearing a beret stands in a café, leaning against a pole while reading a newspaper. A glass of wine sits on the bar beside him, and the street is visible through the window behind him.Café Lacour, Saint-Paul, 1975. A black-and-white view of Paris featuring the Eiffel Tower in the distance, several bridges crossing the Seine River, and historic city buildings in the foreground under a cloudy sky.Paris, 1991.
A woman in a fur coat, gloves, and high heels sits at a café table with legs crossed, holding a cup and saucer. Her quilted handbag rests on her lap. The image is in black and white.Café de Flore, Saint-Germain-des-Prés 2024. A woman with curly dark hair in a floral dress stands at a bar, looking to her left with a pensive expression. An empty glass sits on the counter, and the background shows a vintage-looking café interior.Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis, 1994.

Turnley says he has documented Paris as much as any other photographer in the past 50 years. “I am proud to think that my photographs carry on the strong legacy of humanistic photography that has been expressed by many of my predecessors like Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau, Boubat, Brassai, Weiss, Stettner, and others. Most were not only my mentors, but also my close friends.”

Two men sit at a café counter; one lights the other's cigarette. Both wear work clothes and caps. Empty glass bottles and cups are on the counter. In the background, two other patrons sit and talk near the window.Café, the Marais, 1975. A young child stands on a sidewalk, smiling and watching as an adult kicks a soccer ball on the street in a black-and-white urban scene. Pedestrians walk in the background.Rue de Lappe, Paris, 1984. A woman in a vintage outfit and wide-brimmed hat stands on a balcony, looking over her shoulder with eyes closed. The background shows a blurred city street with cars and bare trees. The image is in black and white.Paris, 1982. An older man relaxes in an old bathtub on a rooftop, reading a book with one leg propped up. The city skyline, chimneys, and antennas are visible in the background under a cloudy sky.Monsieur Bernard, Ile Saint-Louis, 1999.
A man wearing a trench coat and tie holds a camera, standing outdoors in front of a historic building with pointed arches and towers. The photo is in black and white.Peter Turnley next to Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1981.

Turnley, who has shot most of his photos on Leica M cameras — both analog and digital editions — says he is most interested in communicating what life in Paris feels like.

“I avoid communicating about photography as any form of formula,” he says. “What is most important is authenticity, emotion, and spontaneity. The great French photographer Robert Doisneau, whom I assisted in the early 1980s, once said to me, ‘Peter, description kills.’ Questions are always much more important than answers, in photography and in life.”

Two women sit closely at a café table, smiling and leaning toward each other in conversation. They both have drinks and bowls, and one wears a scarf while the other wears a hat and loose sweater. Other patrons are in the background.Ma Bourgogne, Place des Vosges, 1982. Couples dance closely in front of the Eiffel Tower. The photo is black and white, showing people in elegant clothes and high heels, highlighting movement and romance in a Parisian setting.Esplanade de Trocadéro, 2012. A man with light hair and glasses, wearing a dark coat, stands outdoors under a canopy and holds a camera in his hands. The background shows buildings and scaffolding. The image is in black and white.Peter-Turnley in Paris, 2021.

Turnley has worked for Newsweek, Harper’s, Stern, Paris Match, Geo, LIFE, National Geographic, among many others. He has worked all over the world and has witnessed most major stories of international geopolitical and historic significance in the last 40 years. He has both American and French nationality.

“During my life in photography, I have documented most of the world’s important news stories and have traveled to over 90 countries,” he says. “I have witnessed most of the wars in the world during this time, natural and man-made disasters, and major world socio-economic and geo-political change. I was in Iraq, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Somalia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Chechnya, Haiti, and much more.”

“Amid all this that has profoundly impacted my heart, there has been one constant: I have always returned to Paris, my adopted home, which has been both a necessary and essential balm for my soul.”

Paris Je t’aime can be purchased by visiting Turnley’s website.

Image credits: Photographs by Peter Turnley