Photojournalist Peter Turnley has spent decades documenting some of the world’s fiercest conflicts. Yet when he walks the streets of Paris, his eye turns to moments of everyday grace and quiet joy. CBS correspondent Barry Petersen follows Turnley as he explains how the city has become a place of healing and renewal.
Turnley’s street photography seeks the city’s human soul rather than a literal portrait of its landmarks. “What motivates me is the soul of the city,” he says: how it feels, not simply how it looks. His aim is to let viewers experience Paris the way he does—through fleeting gestures, small exchanges, tenderness and humor.
That body of work appears in his book Paris, Je t’aime, Paris, I Love You, a collection that celebrates fifty years of living and photographing life in the French capital. For Turnley, Paris is the counterpoint to his other assignments—years covering war, famine and despair around the globe. He says the city offers the restorative presence of family, affection and everyday tenderness, and that those ordinary moments are a balm after harder scenes.
Turnley also teaches, inviting students from around the world to learn to see beyond technique. He argues that vision is shaped more by what you know about life than by the camera you use. In his classes and on the streets, Turnley delights in storytelling, laughter and the little eccentricities of Parisian life. He finds a deep romanticism in how the French treat love and connection, a quality he calls beautiful.
The images he captures range from the quirky and charming to contemplative scenes that celebrate life lived fully. For Turnley, photography is less about devices and more about feeling—finding beauty, empathy and quiet moments of grace amid a complicated world.
I’m Barry Petersen, CBS News, Paris. Visit www.peterturnley.com to see his work.