「我覺得巴黎是攝影師一生人必去的城市，當地的建築、巴黎人的生活態度，那種文化底蘊十分吸引，令我更投入地拍攝。」鍾情攝影逾30年的香港攝影師Laurence Lai，如此回憶他對花都的印象。

早於1991年遊覽歐洲多國時，他已與巴黎匆匆相遇，對當地的人文風景與浪漫情懷心生嚮往，可惜當年只是走馬看花，印象早已模糊，然而自此卻在他心中埋下情迷巴黎的種子。這些年來，Laurence因工作關係曾數次踏足法國，但同樣只是來去匆匆，無法感受當地的文化氣息。疫情過後，許多人紛紛外出旅行，也令他萌生再訪法蘭西的念頭，於是在今年初用三星期時間漫遊浪漫之都，藉著菲林相機記錄每日的所見所聞。

每天早上天微亮，他帶著兩部相機遊走巴黎街頭，露天的小餐館、牽著小狗的途人、街頭畫家、在地鐵車廂閱讀的乘客、牆上的塗鴉等，一一定格在他的黑白菲林裡。Laurence也喜歡拍攝當地的建築物，雨天的凱旋門街景、途人在羅浮宮外快步流星，令人想起布列松1932年的名作《Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare》。最令人印象深刻的一幅巴黎鐵塔的照片，冬日的枯枝與地標巴黎鐵塔形成對比，恍如靜態版的電影畫面。攝影師刻意選用暖色調相紙，將菲林影像沖曬成黑白銀鹽相片，感覺就如上世紀的懷舊風景。

遊歷巴黎後，他深刻感受到巴黎人的生活態度，「香港人普遍工作壓力大，我們經常說work-life balance，但法國人卻是放慢腳步去享受生活。」身為攝影師，同時在中環碼頭經營攝影畫廊Laurence Lai Gallery，日常生活固然忙碌，因此這次巴黎之旅也令他感觸良多。

在上環展覽現場，Laurence不但展出多幅他親手在黑房沖曬的黑白銀鹽相片，呈現不一樣的巴黎城市風景，還展示35mm及120菲林的底片印樣(Contact Sheet)，從中可見他的拍攝及思考過程，讓觀者更好地了解攝影師的想法。

Photographer Laurence Lai’s first visit to France was in 1991. It was a short stay, and his memories have become fuzzy. He always wanted to spend more time truly appreciating and immersing himself in the local culture. Finally, he embarked on his journey through Paris earlier this year.

Laurence wandered around some of Paris’s major landmarks and captured urban landscapes. He also photographed people and buildings on the streets. He noticed that the French have a great sense of style—men and women dress impeccably! Whether sitting in a café or public transportation commuters, they exuded a unique fashion culture. This city deeply captivated him!

He carefully selected some of his favorite works for this exhibition. The iconic Eiffel Tower, the historical Arc de Triomphe in the rain, and the snow-covered quaint streets are all black-and-white silver gelatin prints handmade in the darkroom. The warm-toned museum-grade cotton fiber paper emphasizes the historical context of the artwork and his emotions.