This photo, originally published in 1932, is titled 'Baraques de Noël sur les Boulevards'. It shows the captive audience of a Christmas merchant on a boulevard in Paris. I especially like how we see an array of expressions in this photo, and yet are left to imagine what holiday delight the merchant has for sale. Originating in Germany and then Alsace, les marchés de Noel started popping up all over Europe in the 90s. The most famous one, Christkindelsmärik, is in Strasbourg, and last year marked it's 441th year.

This week's photo comes during Hanukkah (or Hanoukka in French), and features a Jewish bakery on Rue des Rosiers, the center of the Marais' historic Jewish neighborhood. The blue facade of the shop contrasts beautifully with the array of golden baked goods in the windows. The area is unofficially coined "the Pletzl" (Yiddish for "little place"), and shop signs along the pedestrian cobblestone road are marked in Hebrew and French. Although fashion boutiques have more recently opened along the street, two of it's most famous shops are L'as du Falafel, where crowds line up to get the best falafel in Paris, and the bakery Sacha Finkelsztajn. Nearby on Rue de Temple, there is a museum of Jewish History called Musée d'art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme.

This photo, originally published in 1918, captures the start of la Coupe de Noël, a swimming competition in the Seine at le pont Alexandre III. We see the swimmers lined up along the quai, making their first splash into the river. In 1934, another annual swimming competition of the same name was started in Geneva's Lake Léman. The race takes place each year on the last Sunday of December before Christmas. In groups of 20, participants race to cover 125 meters. In 1934, nine swimmers participated, and in 2011 there were 1,000.

The classic holiday decorations at Galeries Lafayette are up. And this year marks the 100th anniversary of the store's glass dome. For the occasion, the French fashion house Louis Vuitton has decorated a few of the store's window displays. Under the dome is the traditional 21 meter tall Christmas tree, covered in Swarovski crystal ornaments. The building itself, is also covered in lights. The photographer of this week's photo had the good idea to use a tripod and long exposure to capture both the store's lights and those of the cars passing along Boulevard Haussmann. The stores lights go on around 8am in the morning and are turned off by 1am if you are in town want to take a look!

The gorgeous colors and play on depth of field in this photo make it the perfect image to represent Thanksgiving in Paris - that is to say, just another lovely fall day! The boats on the Seine are perfectly framed by a vignette of golden autumn leaves, and the sun creates some soft highlights and shadows. Magnifique!

This week's shot was taken at Paris Photo, the contemporary photography art fair that has taken place each year in mid-November. Started in 1996, the fair is now held at the majestic Grand Palais, and this April the festival will also appear at Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles for the first time. I especially like how this image captures the photographic work exhibited at the fair, the spectators viewing that work, and the unique location that brought all those aspects under one roof. Paris Photo 2012 opened this Thursday and runs through Sunday November 18th.

Expats and French alike gathered in front of Harry's New York Bar on Tuesday night in honor of the U.S. presidential election. Screens were up to display some of the early results, and reporters interviewed Americans about their thoughts and views. The small rue Daunou in Paris' 2nd arrondissement has come to gain an American reputation with bars like Harry's, the oldest American bar in Paris, and the restaurant American Dream. Each presidential election, Harry's holds a faux election allowing customers with US citizenship a chance to vote in the poll. The results have accurately guessed every election outcome except for two since it's start in 1924.

Photography is a powerful medium. It is reality, imagination, expression, and confession.  It is public and private. It is a fleeting moment and a timeless expanse. It is a mysterious fragment and a complete story. It is a record of truth and a flight of the imagination. It is extraordinary vision and lucky accident.

Paris is no stranger to storms, though not of the same magnitude as Sandy. I picked this week's photo because of it's view of Pont Saint-Michel and the former palace and prison La Conciergerie under a foreboding sunset. The blue hues and shadows all work together to create a terrific mood. On average, Paris gets 111 days of precipitation a year.