I don't speak french. I wish that wasn't the case, but it's true. In fact, I can probably count the words I do know on a single hand. Bonjour, oui, merci, baguette, charcuterie: that's about it. Luckily, communication does not exist through words alone, and today was just the reassurance I needed.

After visiting the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, I walked out to a vibrantly active Place des Terreaux. I had some free time before I had to be at the next museum, so I sat down in the middle of the square to take a few long exposures. The scene through my lens at first was mediocre at best, until a woman passed by and tossed some bread. Pigeons came flying.

For the people that are familiar with me personally, it's open knowledge that I'm afraid of birds. However, behind my camera, I can usually ignore my fear, and I knew to capture an image I truly enjoyed in Terreaux square, I'd have to ignore my fear as much as possible. The woman who'd thrown the first bread was long gone, so it was up to me if I wanted any more pigeon action. I'd bought a sandwich for lunch, but since I wasn't hungry, the setup was perfect.

I began to tear off small pieces of bread and threw them in groups to the ground in front of me. The flocking began, and not long after, I had an observer. A young french boy ran through a grouping of birds, his father watching from a distance. The pigeon chase continued, and although at first, the boy hesitated to come near me and my camera, once he realized I had the bread, we quickly became the best of friends.

For the next 15 minutes, the boy and I had a perfect system. He'd run up to me, palm outstretched; I'd hand him the torn-up sandwich bread, and he'd throw it. Some bread throws made it to the center of my frame, but most of them didn't make it far from our feet. We continued, back and forth, until my sandwich was breadless and the pigeons found a new food source. In the end, the boy's father walked over as I packed my bag and urged the boy to say his goodbyes. We exchanged a French "merci" and an English "you're welcome" and I was on my way.