I went to Paris with a goal; I wanted to come home with a story about food. The first two days in Paris I walked from market to market, taking photos and videos. Frankly, my photos from those first days were pretty terrible. I was taking simple photos of fruits and vegetables and raw fish. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but the results were not what I wanted. The best photo I made in the beginning of my trip was of my breakfast at the AirBnb. I couldn't get the stove to work, so I cooked eggs in the microwave. They were pretty rubbery, but photographically beautiful.

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I decided to let go and not focus so hard on finding the perfect photos of food. Instead, I went for a walk without my camera. On my way out, I noticed a storefront that said "Boulangerie," across the street. The windows were lined with boxes and no customers were going in or out. I peeked in the window and saw a large sheet of pie crust dough and dozens of mini tart pans lined with it.

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Coming back from my walk, the door was open and two men were carrying boxes in to the mysterious storefront. I mustered my courage and my French and approached them. I learned that this was the "laboratory" where they prepared the food for a boulangerie a block away. In broken French, I talked my way in and spent several hours with them, photographing their process and learning about (and sampling) the beautiful baked goods they were preparing.

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