I have 3 projects to work on and there's only one me ...
Can you hear the sigh in that sentence? And I love all of the projects equally, so it's not about the one or two that are a nuisance. It's about wanting to do all of them beautifully.
And then there's the house, and other events, and a pile of books that I'd love to read. I caught one of those books as it slid off my desk when I sat down here this morning. The pile is very precariously stacked. Interwoven with papers and notes, covered in ideas of things I'd like to remember to do.
But anyway ... I made the 2.5 hour train trip to Ieper (Ypres) on Monday and met a family of 6, with 4 of the most beautifully behaved children I've ever met ... without any exaggeration. I went allowing for the chaos that can be a family portrait session and came away stunned by those kidlets.
Rolling across Belgium in a train has to one of my favourite things. I love the fact I'm in the world but out of it. If I find the right seat, then it's the perfect place to finish a book and/or nap. I did both, passing out in the 30 celsius+ heat after the photo-shoot.
You meet interesting people too. I met a young guy who was studying journalism and we talked for a while. I had been lost in my book and he heard me asking the conductor where we might be. I was quietly worried I had missed my train-changing stop. So I asked him about his studies and it was interesting to hear the state of journalism today, as told to him by his professors. He talked of the book he is planning. I love that about trains, well ... and planes too, the conversations you get to have with people you've never met before.
In other news, I'm back in France in a few days. Photographing a wedding that promises to be exquisite. Then over to Italy for the 5-day workshop where I get to work with some lovely women in a dreamlike setting.
September finds me back in Genova. Anna, at Beautiful Liguria, is working with me on a project that is so close to my heart. Perhaps that one will take me right through the winter.
And I have an editor for my book and an exhibition space for my photography and so ... work must be done. Perhaps if I stop for a moment and simply organise the books and papers piled up on my desk, then my day can go forward in the best kind of way.
Perhaps.
Anyway, I called the image below 'painting with light'. Sometimes, for me, it's all about the attempt to capture light where I find it ...
