Steven

I photographed a first communion celebration yesterday, out on Flanders Fields and I'm delighted with what I captured.  I blame the family.  They're entirely inspirational.

When I photograph any kind of family event, my objective is to tell the story of the people involved, to capture them as they are, interacting, loving, simply being themselves.

This is Steven, one of the nicest Belgian's I know.  And he has a most beautiful family.

Last night, as I downloaded and viewed the images captured from a day where his son's milestone was celebrated, my soul sang.  It was a good day.

Today ... and some other days too.

We shopped for our monthly supplies, Colruyt and Makro.  Later, we slipped away to our favourite secondhand shop by the airport and voila, found the beautiful orange bicycle for Miss 'Almost' 9 ... it has flowers.  It is a little early, as her birthday is actually 4th of July but it was meant for her.  We're sure.

Then I slept. 

Last night I was out with Lucy and Ruth, there was some red wine involved, much laughter and many conversations.  And then, cycling home after midnight, I learned that using my phone while riding a bike is to be avoided.  Only my finger was hurting this morning.  I was lucky.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Westhoek, really really early, to photograph a special moment in the lives of one of my favourite Belgian families.   I love this kind of photo-shoot, the kind that involves extended family.  I love attempting to capture not just the day but the emotions and connections too. 

Let's see how it goes.  Meanwhile, there was this poppy in Piedmont and I was there photographing it, just a few days ago.

It's all about details too ...

One of the things that really struck me about Diana and Micha's B&B were the details ... exquisite details.

I felt concentrated, like a kid playing in mud, using flowers and twigs for decoration.  I had light and colour.  I was that lost during those moments when I played with my camera ... lost in the light, and the details.

This is an odd photograph and yet  I think I like it.  The light struck me but perhaps I saw the mosaic first.  I don't remember but it's like this.  You can spend hours in each room, outside, and in doorways, just noticing the details, one by one.

And so, the rooms ... B&B Baur, Italy

After I had wandered outside for a while, I stepped inside.  Oh my, I could  spend weeks in some of those rooms ... walking through the early mornings and out into the evenings but writing, just writing, all day.

They're inspirational rooms but see for yourself.   And this, incidentally, is one of the rooms our workshop clients will be staying in ...

Note: I had no tripod this trip and so I made do with a ledge which was limited.  I was sherpa enough without carrying a tripod this trip.

Before Photography ...

Before I committed to photography, I was pursuing a writing career.

I attended writing workshops with New Zealand writers and have this novel I've been carrying since the early 90's.  As I develop, move countries, learn new things, so too does my main character.  By chance.

Currently she's a war photographer who was in Iraq but who somehow ... happens to have relocated to Genova, Italy.  Before that, she was a woman in retreat, living in the mountains of New Zealand, alone with her dog, once again retired from a previously intense life.

There's a book of interviews with New Zealand climbers and mountaineers, almost published, two publishing meetings and an apology but 'they didn't think there was a big reading public for it', despite them liking it a lot.  The Everest tragedy happened later and climbing literature became more mainstream however, by then, I had enrolled at university: age 34.

I was heading for Bill Manhire's writing course in Wellington.  I ended up in Istanbul.

It makes me laugh to write that.  One never knows where life might take them if they allow it to take them ...

Anyway, back in my days of writing I used to drive my first husband crazy.  No, that's not why he divorced me.  I used to edit and correct as I wrote.  I would reach 27,000 words and edit it down to 3,000 words.  I was brutal and a perfectionist too. 

But it was my editing that made him crazy.  As I got closer to the final edit ... on a first chapter (hence I never finished the book), my editing would become minute.  I would give him the manuscript to see what he thought of my edit.  He would say, 'there's no change!'.  Exasperated, I would explain that I had moved two 'the's' and deleted an 'and'.  How could he not see the difference that made.

Children, never edit an unfinished manuscript.  Write it.  Fix it afterwards.  Or you will never finish.

The reason I write all of this is because ... there was another photograph of B&B Baur, like the previous one  but different.  I think the edit isn't so small but perhaps it is tedious to those reading this blog.

This is me and I need to 'see' both of them here, so that I can happen upon them unexpectedly later, and really 'see' them as a stranger.

Baur B&B, Italy

And so you arrive ...at Diana and Micha's house.

They offer the most beautiful surroundings at their B&B in Italy. 

I went wandering in the early morning light on Tuesday.  The light, the buildings, the colours, the countryside ... I risked Stendhal Syndrome.

Note: this is where we will be hosting the photography and storytelling workshop in Italy.  There is one place left. 

What say you?

Francesca - Le Gramole, Genova

Each product, be it pasta, olive oil, pesto, cheese, sauces or wine, has been tasted by us. This is the only way we be sure of truly advising you. We travel around Italy searching for the local products that bring excellence to your table. This is our passion !!!!

Francesca, writing about the shop, Le Gramole.

I interviewed Francesca and Norma about their shop, located deep in the historical heart of old Genova, back in 2011. 

It's a special shop, in a special area of the city.  As for Francesca and Norma, they're really special too but I imagine you knew that was coming.

They welcome everyone into their shop.  They're happy to take the time to talk, to advise, to suggest.  I have heard them speak Italian, French, and English, and there are always smiles.

I really recommend you take the time to visit them when in Genova.  You won't regret it. 

Francesca was preparing for a one-on-one food tasting while I was there at the weekend ...

Sapori al Ducale, Genova

I happened to be in Genova on a weekend when the food market, known as Sapori al Ducale, was open and trading.

Researching it, I discovered that the food on display came from farms and food artisans located all over Italy.  You can imagine the quality ... it was mouthwatering. 

There were oil producers, all kinds of wines and spirits, cheese, cold meats, sausages, honey, preserves, handmade pasta, desserts and organic produce, just to mention a little of what I saw there. 

It is surely a place where' passion, professionalism, tradition and history' come together.


Main Street, Genova.

And now I am in a beautiful city, in a truly beautiful city, Genoa.  I walk on marble, everything is marble: the stairways, the balconies, and palaces.  The palaces are so close they almost touch and from the street, one can see noble ceilings, all richly painted and gilded... 

Here I open my eyes wide on everything, innocently, simply ...'

Gustave Flaubert.

There are streets like this in Genova ...

Via XX Settembre is a street that always makes me want to stop and attempt to capture something of the light. 

It's still beautiful even when it rains.

GENOVA!

I flew over to Genova last Friday and immediately, upon arriving ... stories began to unfold.

It was a madly-busy, exquisitely-joyfilled 5-days.  And I couldn't reach the back-end of my website for some reason but honestly, I had no spare time. 

I stayed with the kindest friends out at Arenzano.  And I met their friend, the talented artist Giorgio Bormida.  Actually, I wanted to cook dinner for Francesca and Beppe before I left, and ended up cooking for Giorgio too.  It was only as I began dinner prep that I thought ... 'What have I done??!  Cooking isn't really my best thing'.  But they were all very kind.

I caught up with some of my favourite people there in the city but completely missed out on catching up with others.  It was lovely to catch up with Stefano, the owner/operator of Righicam, over lunch.  And with Francesca and Norma, from Le Gramole.

And then there was that 24 hours spent working with Diana, staying at B&B Baur with her and Micha.  It was sublime ... photographs and words to follow in the days to come.  I heard my first cuckoo as I sat by the open window in the morning.  And the views  ...

The kindness of Genovese strangers stunned me and ... well, it made me smile.  A lot really.  I met a lovely guy at a concert in Palazzo Ducale, who kindly explained all that was happening, to Outi and I.  But Outi and I is another whole story.

Meanwhile, here I am, just in from an 11-hour day of traveling.  It was a day that involved a train, a taxi, a plane from Genova to Rome, a bus to and from the plane, another plane to Brussels, then a bus and a tram home.

I shall return with photographs downloaded, with a mind rested and ready to tell you some stories.

Portrait Photography

Above all, life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indifference.

Robert Frank.

I love portrait photography. 

I enjoy people intensely and I think that informs the work that I do.  

My intention is always to show the person just how beautiful they really are ... without Photoshop.  No intervention required.  Really, show me something of your true self, something of your soul ... trust me, and I'll show you you. 

Not that those words are ever stated.  And as a photographer you need permeable boundaries on your own self.  It's good if you're gentle.  Be willing to show some of your soul too. 

Portrait photography, at it's best, is an exchange.  And it's about trust. 

I met a remarkable woman yesterday and I can't wait to write of her work here.  More to follow, just as soon as her website is up. 

Di's Plush New Office Chair ... the song

It's been busy lately.  Really busy.  But I guess that's nothing new however, on the list of things that make me smile, this song arrived on Saturday night.  Peter and Julie are back in Berlin but they read of my plush new office chair over on Facebook.  Hilarity followed, as they penned and then sang me a song.

Then yesterday was a beautiful blue-sky Sunday so Gert and I got up early and wandered off to Waterloo.  There's an antiques/flea market over there.  300 stalls.  Europe.  It's delicious.  A 5 euro leather coin purse was found.  The gorgeous Wendy was there too and, somehow, we bumped into each other in the crowds.

We came home via the most glorious bakery ... I exaggerate not.  Located not too far from Waterloo,  the La ferme du Hameau du Roy makes the most stunning baked goods I've tasted in a long time.  Gert took the photograph at the end of this post, using his iPhone.  We sat on the bench outside, with our food, enjoying the idyllic scene laid out in front of us.

It's been like that, the sublime mixed with the mess of everyday life.

It's life. 

Life as a Cascade ...

Last Thursday Peter and Julie arrived. 

Actually, I should write ... the fantastically talented Tenor, Mr Peter Furlong, and the exquisitely talented  Julie Wyma, Soprano, arrived last Thursday.

They were here for a private performance.  Hosted by lovely friends, Ruth and Marc, all reports tell me that it was very very well-received.

But back to the beginning of this cascade, this avalanche of people and events ... on Saturday, the incorrigible Baritone and Pianist, Chas Elliot arrived to stay too.  Meanwhile, Gert's parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and there I was, on Saturday night, abandoning our guests to eat my first-ever Thai meal, at the Sombat Restaurant here in Antwerp.

Without exaggerating (I may say that often in this post), I can tell you that it was the most exquisite meal ...

Sunday.  I wandered off to Brussels to capture a First Communion celebration for Irish/English friends. It was just lovely.  The people were some the of nicest people you could hope to spend time with and the weather was perfect.

Sunday evening, a small nap on the train home before meeting up with Gert and heading over to Marc and Ruth's house for dinner ... where we caught up with the 3 opera stars, who had managed to impress their Antwerp audience.  We were all exhausted but very happy.

And suddenly, NYC was in the building.  Stefano and Shannon would surely have loved it.  'Dawg' and 'cawfee', and other 'w' words, flew round the table.  And then came the stories.  No one can tell stories like those three.  It was hilarious.

All of this AND Marc was sharing his quietly spectacular supply of red wine from Puerta Del Sol.  Las Ocho 2009, from Bodegas Chozas Carrascal would have to be the most divine red wine I have tasted ...  Ever.  It was that good.   I'm not exaggerating.  Not at all. 

Actually, when a wine is really good there is no hangover and it's true, on Monday we were all fine.  Exhausted because we had pushed ourselves as artists but no hangover. 

Monday.  We talked but lacked the will to attempt much.  Chas managed to leave after expressing a desire to stay but I'm sure he'll be back.  Peter and Julie had a round of meetings with various people in the afternoon and then we had the good fortune to end our day at Puerta del Sol. 

Well yes, that is the wine shop I love best in the world.  They import Spanish wine to Belgium but only after rigorously checking the quality.  Guy, Frank, and Jules really love Spanish wine, and Spain too.  It shows in the quality of what they sell.  (No, they really don't pay me to  write things like this.)

Today it's sunshine and laundry for me, and quite some work to catch up on...still.  I've sent Julie and Peter out to the park to relax before they return to their Berlin world tomorrow.  I think we're just all really pleased with how this week has unfolded.  The ongoing nature of good people, fine wine, and experiences that were kind of divine.

They will be back.  And maybe I can organise my next party around them and their remarkable voices. 

Meet Peter ...

 

 

Take down a musical instrument ...

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
- Rumi

A beautiful soul I met and was fortunate enough to photograph in those days when I lived in Berlin for a while.  Thank you, Noga.

Early Morning, Rome

My cousin and I were up early one morning in Rome.  And we wandered, cameras in hand, in love with the light. 

And we crossed the River Tiber and I caught this reflection ... this blur, and looking at it today it seems like a beautiful abstract painting.  The kind I would so love to paint.  I am hungry for colour in these days.  The winter was long.