Photojournalist Peter Turnley has documented some of the world’s major conflicts for decades. Barry Petersen shows us how Turnley finds peace in the beauty of Paris. Turnley’s work can be found at www.peterturnley.com
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– We end this holiday weekend with a feast for your eyes. In tonight’s Weekend Journal, CBS’s Barry Peterson introduces us to a photojournalist who’s documented some of the world’s major conflicts for decades while finding peace in the beauty of Paris.
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BARRY PETERSON (VOICEOVER): When photographer Peter Turnley wanders the streets of Paris, he’s always looking for moments to capture.
– What motivates me and what interests me most is the soul of the city, the human soul of the city. How the city feels, not what it looks like. I’m not interested in describing life in Paris. I want you to have an opportunity to feel it as I do it.
BARRY PETERSON (VOICEOVER): It inspired a new book, Paris, Je t’aime, Paris, I Love You, from 50 years living here. 50 years photographing Parisian life. This is his other world, covering wars, famine, despair.
– You say that you’ve come back to Paris, and have for these last 50 years, to heal from many of the other assignments you’ve been on. What does Paris give you that is healing?
– You have life at its very best with family, love, affection, tenderness, and then everything in between, which is most people’s daily life.
– I think the essential about photography really has little to do with cameras.
BARRY PETERSON (VOICEOVER): He teaches people from around the world to see what he sees.
– I think vision is a function of what you know about the world, not what you know about photography.
– And there seems to be just a pure joy of just talking, yeah, sharing stories and laughing. Truly a sense of romanticism. The French take love very seriously, and I think that’s a beautiful quality.
BARRY PETERSON (VOICEOVER): A vision of the quirky and the cute. Visions of joy and of contemplation. A vision of life well-lived.
I’m Barry Peterson, CBS News, Paris.