This is what happiness looks like.

Willy Ronis

Willy Ronis (1910 – 2009) is a legendary name in French photography. He began his career in his father’s photography studio selling photographs and when his father died in 1936, he set up his own freelance business. In a career that spanned over sixty years, Ronis mingled with the great photographers of his time, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, David Seymour, and Robert Capa, and he was the first French photographer to work with LIFE magazine.

Although he enjoyed a wide-ranging career, one that included fashion photography for publications like Vogue, it was his street photography —particularly his images of post-WW2 Paris—that defined his work. Ordinary citizens, young and old enjoying the simple pleasures of life gave him a fascinating lens into a city that was pulling itself out of the hardships of war. Ronis continued his work in photography until 2001. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 99.