Roger Schall, one of France's most distinguished photographers of the 1930s and 40s, captured this telling glimpse of occupied Paris in 1943. The image shows a vélo-taxi scene near the Louvre, with the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel rising in the misty background.

Schall, who began his career working alongside his father in 1918, was among the pioneering photojournalists to embrace the Leica and Rolleiflex cameras, allowing him to capture such candid moments with remarkable clarity.

He secretly documented daily Parisian life during the occupation, hiding his negatives from German censors. This photograph of two vélo-taxi drivers chatting with a woman in a tailored coat is particularly significant as these bicycle taxis became a symbol of Parisian adaptation during wartime fuel shortages.

Schall's keen eye for composition and timing, evident in the balanced arrangement of figures against the iconic architecture, demonstrates why his work appeared in prestigious magazines like Vogue, Life, and Paris Match throughout his career.

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