8 free desktop wallpaper photos from Paris

My quest to keep my desktop fresh continues. After combing through my most recent Paris photos, here are eight that might end up on my screen, and yours if you like. They aren't meant to be crowd pleasers. There's no Eiffel Tower or child holding a baguette. Instead, these are a few of my own idiosyncratic choices (you can download any of them from my gallery). I think the size should work on most laptops and will probably still look good on a monitor around 20 inches, but I'm guessing here. And I don't mean the size of the photos in this post. If you want one of the images, you'll need to click on the link to my gallery, view at full size, and then right-click to download from there.


1. graffiti and a camera—two of my favorite things


2. I like to imagine the person who has all of this stuff crammed behind the front windshield of their truck. I'm sure they won't mind if I add to the clutter with a few stray folders.

3. What could be more French than this? It just makes me laugh.

4. The creepy ambiance of this photo pleases my morbid side.

5. From a window display at the Bon Marché during the holidays. I have a thing for letters and typography.

6. From the Vanves flea market. I love flea markets and my son is a cellist, so this is a good one for me.

7. These crates of oh-so-French beverages were sitting at the end of one of the passages that the flâneurs loved so much. I like the graphic nature of the image, but the cigarette butt in the foreground is the cherry on top.

8. I find this scene from the Tuileries gardens both enchanting and creepy, like a good old fashioned children's tale.

That dodge and burn post is coming up very very soon, and after that, the complete portrait retouch workflow, so stay tuned.

Desktop makeover

Crap! It's nearly 3 a.m. and I was going to kick back and watch guilty pleasure "Heroes" on TV (I know it's never regained its season 1 vibe, but oh well...).

Instead, I got distracted (I tend to do that) and sorted through my 2009 Paris photos looking for something to replace my desktop wallpaper (a way too old Daft Punk graphic). Then, I thought "Hey! Since I'm still not ready for that dodge and burn post, maybe I should do a "list" post of possible desktop photos and make the post less lame by giving away my possible choices." Seems quick enough, right? Could have been, had I not chosen 72 contenders.

I'll put some of them up tomorrow once I check how this size works on my desktop. The photo at the top of the post an Abelardo Morell-inspired shot from inside the Louvre. I put it on my desktop and it immediately demanded that I clean up that mess. I tidied up a bit and at least dragged everything off his face, but now he seems to be staring disapprovingly at the items hovering over the white space. You can view it at the 1680 x 1050 px size that I used on my desktop and then download it by right-clicking from my Smugmug site if you think you can handle the constant scrutiny.

I don't think I can. At least not at 3 a.m.