L'avenir, comme tout le reste, est pas ce qu'il était
The future, like everything else, is not what it used to be. ~ Paul Valery
The future, like everything else, is not what it used to be. ~ Paul Valery
The French Riviera, Nice
And so I watched the television screen replay the video while tears fell from my eyes and my heart cracked into a different kind of grief broken only by pauses of silent shock as it was a little less than one year ago today that I had a chance to spend three weeks in a paradise of blue and white light that bounces and reflects a warm radiance. A mythical city where each impression was a lyrical sensation - the language, the food, the people, the art, the antiquity in the modernity. I was struck by the care given to something as humble as a baguette and coffee, for the simple pleasure of sitting under the awning of a cafe lingering in timelessness - no particular place to be at any particular time sans agenda.
While my time in Nice wasn't particularly an easy one given the task I was there to fulfill, I was warmed by a beautiful group of people who embraced me in a way I hadn't expected. I was surprised by a rise of internal independence and a voice that had long gone silent finding it's way out into the world. On fragile wings I navigated this beautiful city in an ordinary way: walking the streets, sitting in outdoor cafes, strolling on the Promenade de Anglais, afternoon time at the beach to immerse in the sea and delighting in the simple pleasure of a meal. I had no phone to preoccupy me, no book or newspaper nor could I speak the language. I only had my senses to work with and my camera and pen/paper to relay and preserve my impressions.
So what has happened in Nice ripped through me in a way I cannot describe. And after ensuring the safety of those I adore who live in the city, I went to the photographs which I've never shown as a whole. As a way of extending love and my own little flower on an altar of prayer, I felt a need to share images from my time both in color and black and white. For this is the city I had the great fortune to spend time in and a place I will return to again.
This is the city of Nice. A jewel that shines in the heart of the French Riviera.
In color
and black and white
living in color | new mexico
The path to this week-long story of photographs started the year before in creating a lifestyle website for Michelle and an ensuing need for photographs ...
The path to this week-long story of photographs started the year before in creating a lifestyle website for Michelle and an ensuing need for photographs - in particular, portraits of her surfing. And as she'd learned how to surf in on the seacoast of New Hampshire, she decided to travel to New England. One year later, and a need for new photographs, a refreshed website and a new food and wisdom website which she was launching the following year, Michelle decided it was time for me to travel to her home in Albuquerque for a week-long documentary featuring all the elements of her life - her dogs, entertaining, food, writing, cooking, restaurants, grocery shopping, her faith and her love of sports - golf, tennis and swimming. Additionally, we wove in a fair number of portraits and stock images of her home and surroundings. While I've opted to pull just a few of the many presented, I can only say I hope this opportunity presents itself again. Traveling to a new area, being inspired by different surroundings ... and for me, working primarily in color - it's a project I'd take again in a heartbeat.
all together
As a season often marked by gatherings around a table - to eat, drink, laugh, share, remember, it's here that our memories are often born and shaped. So when I received an inquiry for holiday portraits for an extended family of four siblings with one in-law sibling & child + two cousins along with their grandparents, I had an idea to literally begin around a table with them sharing stories of holidays past.
As I try to consider ways to cultivate natural connections, this felt like a format that would help ease any awkward tension (particularly at the very beginning of a session) and allow me to slip into the background. As it was, I found myself asking questions and listening along to their stories, looking for angles which showed the details in their grandparents home and offered insights into the larger story - particularly given grandparents in their early 90s. So my belief is that this family will remember this day as one of laughter and sharing stories along with family photographs... from the youngest with tangible views of his little self and his great grandparents & their faces filled with the love and pride and gratitude that lives in their hearts to the grandchildren who can perhaps think back to other years and other times along with this fine day.
I will end by saying that I look for ways to offer an experience that extends into and beyond the photographs. While I seek the emotion that naturally surfaces when we are comfortable, I strive to offer clients an experience that is meaningful and memorable AND enjoyable. And as the idea I used here was visualized for a book - photograph on one side, a memory story on the other - it is one I'm going to offer more frequently for extended gatherings.
lifestyle photographs in color
last year at this time i spent a week in Albuquerque photographing lifestyle images for a client's website with a shot list that spanned sports (tennis/golf), entertaining, cooking, food shopping, manicures, restaurants, church, four doggies, writing, home vignettes and portraits. it was an experience that brought me into the world of another and i feel helped me create a strong portfolio of photographs that reflect her personality and spirit.
inspire by michelle collage concept for homepage
the website is inspirebymichelle.com and was created by fladdap, inc. the company i'm part of with my husband.
as photographs can tell the story in ways no words or graphic illustrations can, custom photography for professionals, lifestyle writers, fitness and healthy living coaches, hair stylists, makeup artists and others who's service can be told with a story of photographs has become a growing part of our web design business.
Wells Blog
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