Paris and Épernay

Photos from a few days in Paris and a short stay in Épernay: great food and fine fizz, record shop cats, showcase sumo, la Coupe du monde on the TV, and stifling heat. I didn’t put much effort into taking photos on this trip, but I’ve recently dusted off my old Canon Ixus 105 and enjoyed bouncing between it and my tired iPhone 13. The Ixus is obviously digital, but in the right situations it gives me far more control than the phone and offers a film-like feeling. I love the depth of shadow and tone of the light. It also has a brilliant form factor and feels great in my palm. So, not the best set of photos—but a new tool has made many of them more interesting. This is the first time I’ve used Aphera (currently in beta) to edit my photos. I’d originally tried it several months ago, but its focus was very much on RAW, which I don’t bother with. It now supports JPG, and I just ploughed in—used it on instinct—and found my flow right away. It’s a superb app: very intuitive, keyboard-driven,…