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Window or Aisle: Greg Finck

July 25, 2012

Do you know the feeling of recognizing a photographer for one aspect of his work, and then discovering something new about him? A real delight! This is exactly how I felt when I asked Greg Finck to participate in Window or Aisle.

I knew Greg mostly for his beautiful Wedding Photography, as I keep following his posts on facebook and on his website and blog, amazed by the way he captures these French couples.

With the perfect back drop of a Parisian street or a French country side, his images of Wedding photography look like a scene from a French movie, seriously! I love the romantic feel in his pictures and I keep telling Greg that if I ever get engaged or married in Paris, he will be the one to capture it with his camera.

I was lucky to meet Greg in person. In one of my previous visits to Paris we met for a drink one afternoon in one of my favorite areas of Paris; down the hill of the Pantheon, overlooking Jardin du Luxembourg. Greg knows all the right locations in Paris and he can tell you when is the perfect time of the day to go there and take pictures. I followed some of his tips and found some new locations in the city of light.

For my column Window or Aisle? I asked Greg to share some of his recent travel shots. He just got back from Bali and captured it so well, that one can tell how much thought and passion Greg puts into his photography, whether it is a Wedding session or a Travel one. Looking at his blog is a real inspiration.

You don’t want to miss it.

Merci Greg!

Where are you from? I’m a French wedding photographer living in Paris, France. I’ve always loved wedding photography as it gives me the opportunity to live a unique moment in the life of two persons and to capture emotions I’m really sensitive to. A real blessing when you live in the world’s most romantic city!

Where did you study photography? Actually I didn’t study photography at school as it has been a passion since childhood and I kind of learned on the job. I always try to improve myself by reading books, following photographers who inspire me, or wandering in Paris streets to still more apprehend light, but I don’t have any academic degrees. Even though photographers need to master some basics, wedding photography needs to come from the heart first and to me, that cannot be taught at school!

What made you want to learn it? As a kid, I grew up by observing the world more than interacting with it. I never read any book but could spend hours looking at drawings or photos. I exclusively have a visual memory and some photos can mark me forever. So that’s something I’ve always wanted to do: capture people through the lens and retrace their emotions, fears or feelings. As years go by, I think I may still be more exposed to emotions, and that’s something I try to convey via my camera. To me a photograph is much more than just a picture.

If you weren’t a photographer, what would you do? I’m a photographer but photography is not my primary job. That’s a passion I do in parallel of a corporate job. Photography has become a major part of my personal balance, just like sport can be to some people. It really heals me and I need it!

Where do you get your inspiration from? I always arrive on a new wedding as it was the first one. I don’t want to compromise and photograph on the basis of certain habits, as it kills inspiration to me. I want to propose the best possible images to my couples so I try to inspire myself from the place, the mood, the love around, and I just let the flow do the rest. Once again, I really believe that wedding photography must come from the heart.

Where do you get your inspiration from? L.O.V.E. Period. Whether it is on a wedding, with a couple in the streets of Paris, or with kids playing… I love to photograph where there is love.

What are you working on right now? I am currently working on my 2012 wedding season, which lasts until end October. This implies covering a wedding every week-end and editing the rest of the week. Besides, I meet couples to book my 2013 wedding agenda… Tough period, but I just love it!

Window or Aisle? Window. I love to look at the sky, the clouds, and sometimes the incredible chains of mountains you can observe from a plane. People can wait long hours to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower but some don’t look by the windows of a plane. I don’t get it.

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Intimacy Under the Wires

Featured in Le Cool Lisboa

July 11, 2012

I spent only 48 hours in Lisbon and yet, I managed to do, see and shoot so many things.

Especially Laundry!

I’m really excited and honored my on going photography project ‘Intimacy under the Wires’ grabbed the attention of the Editor of Le Cool Lisboa that he has decided to feature one of my laundry images on the cover of the magazine (issue *348) and also interview me about it. If you know Portuguese, here is the interview.

The week after I was also surprised to find another image on the cover of the magazine (issue *349) in which I am talking about the Love signs on the walls of Lisbon.

Le Cool Magazine is a free weekly magazine distributed every Thursday that features a selection of cultural events and leisure activities, revealing the things you really shouldn’t miss. The magazine filters out, among other things, the best art, film, music, and club nights, as well as a careful selection of extraordinary bars, restaurants and other fine places. Le Cool is featured in Barcelona, Budapest, Dublin, Istanbul, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, Rome and Vienna.

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Window or Aisle?

Window or Aisle: Lindsey Tramuta

July 11, 2012

I can stare at the picture above for hours. In fact, I’ve been doing so for a while. In the same way I kept staring and reading Lindsey’s blog ‘Lost in Cheeseland’ when I first stumble upon it few months ago. I’ve been having this love affair with the French Capital for the last year or so and every creative blog or website or an image about this city grabbed my attention almost instantly. Same with ‘Lost in Cheeseland’. So one day, I think it was sometimes after my March visit to Paris, I did my ‘Israeli thing’ and contacted Lindsey herself, showing her my latest images of her city. I also wanted to take part in her blog somehow, and Lindsey, as a smart and well experienced blogger, waited for the right moment.

Few days later she contacted me back and offered me to be a guest blogger while she was exploring San Francisco and I jumped to the roof!

One thing led to another and I ended up in Paris in June and had the opportunity to meet the girl behind the name in person. But before I introduce you to Lindsey, I have a confession to make; If I ever thought my daily schedule is busy and hectic and I am juggling few things at the same time, that was BEFORE I met Lindsey. Not only does she hold that successful blog of hers that has a lot of avid followers, she also works for an international digital marketing and advertising agency, she is a freelance writer (her articles were published in the New York Times) and a cookie baker!

Who can beat that!?

I can’t wait to introduce you to Lindsey and hopefully next time I see her it will be longer than a glass of wine.

Thanks Lindsey!

Where are you from? Philadelphia but I’ve called Paris home for the last six years and it feels like a lifetime!

Where did you study Photography? I actually studied French and Communication. My passion for photography developed once I began blogging and realized how important strong, quality visuals were in creating a site readers would want to frequent. Content remains king but the photos go a long way in my storytelling. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by extraordinarily talented photographers who graciously helped me as I got started but I’m self-taught. A part of me wishes I had become a professional photographer – followed the necessary course of study, learned proper composition and technique – but overall it’s been a wonderful challenge to tackle it myself!

What made you want to learn it? Blogging and reading other blogs really drove my desire to learn. I found myself gravitating toward blogs with spectacular photography and realized I’d need to rise to the challenge for my own site. Almost instantly, I started seeing my surroundings in a different light and began to appreciate the derelict as much as the divine at home in Paris and in my travels.

If you weren’t a blogger/photographer what would you do? I already wear a number of different hats so I look at photography as an extension of the rest of my work. I work in social media for an international digital marketing and advertising agency, I’m a freelance writer and I’m a cookie baker – I co-founded an online American cookie company in Paris called Lola’s Cookies. It’s definitely tough to juggle all these passions but they seem to fit together naturally and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Where do you see your blog going next? I’m not sure, to be honest. It has been a catalyst for my writing and even my photography but that happened rather naturally over time. I try not to force anything, just wait and see where things take me and that’s the strategy I employ for the blog too.

What made you move to Paris? I moved to Paris after several stints studying abroad and after having met the Frenchman who is now my husband. I started studying French in middle school and kept with it through high school and college, never really thinking I would be able to make the jump to expat life. One fortuitous encounter changed my life and showed me what WAS possible. I didn’t necessarily foresee the challenges that awaited but I know that my resilience and work is stronger for the stones I had to doge and hoops I had to jump through to define my own place in a city fraught with talented and inspiring people.

Where do you get your inspiration from? My surroundings, books, music, friends, blogs – but all of it depends on my mood and what I’m going through in life. I tend to pick out the darker underbellies of places I visit and focus on that but sometimes it’s the most beautifully mundane spots and moments that trigger an idea.

How do you usually approach a new project? Usually my photography projects are linked to a writing gig so first, I map out my approach and craft as much of the story as possible first and then I head out, away from the words, to see how best to incorporate photo.

What are you working on right now? I have a food writing project that will begin in July and last about 8 weeks (can’t share yet!) but the mental wheels are turning for some other stories as well- stories that will hopefully require a strong image to go with it!

Window or Aisle? Aisle ! I need to have the space to stretch out my leg and make sure I have quick access to the restroom !

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Window or Aisle?

Window or Aisle: Carla Coulson

July 4, 2012

I’ve been following ‘Carla Loves Photography’ website for almost a month now. It was after Carla herself commented on one of my previous guest blogs for ‘Lost in Cheeseland’ (another great blog I am following) and I got intrigued. I just love how people connect with other inspiring and creative people through their blogs, thoughts and photos. It has been the THEME of my life recently. Seriously!

Carla’s website and facebook page are filled with inspiration. If you sign up for it, I can only guarantee some beautiful images and inspiring quotes on a daily basis. Oh, and of course, Carla’s Photography as well. She is an Ausie who lives in Paris and is married to an italian man. Sounds confusing? Not really when it has to do with such a creative and inspiring woman like her. I haven’t met Carla yet (and I say ‘yet’ because I really want to meet her) but something tells me she is very charismatic and energetic woman. She has been shooting Travel and Fashion stories for magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue Entertaining and Traveling and more. When she is not traveling with her husband to Italy (one of her favorite destinations) she is shooting women in Paris. She has a series called ‘Midnight in Paris’ in which she offers a private shoot at night in Paris and another one ‘Paris Muse’, a private shoot in a chic hotel in Paris, including a hair and a make up artist which are part of Carla’s team. If I had known about it earlier, I would have booked a Paris Muse session myself, when I’ve celebrated my Birthday in Paris last month. (note to self for next time)

So without further ado, I’m really excited to have Carla as a guest blogger and sharing some of her travel images taken in her husband’s home town, Terlizzi in Puglia in the south of Italy, and share the little snaps of daily life in this untouristy town..

Thanks Carla!

Where are you from? I am from Sydney Australia although I grew up in the country of New South Wales and returned to the city as an adult.

Where did you photography? I studied photography in Florence Italy and loved it. I have since done further courses and workshops in Australia.

What made you want to learn it? It was the one thing I truly loved when I decided to leave my career behind. I felt as though photography was an accessible art and I didn’t realise at the time that it would be a great way to express my emotions. It taught me that what’s inside a photographer, comes out in their pictures.

If you weren’t a photographer what would you do? I think I would like to work in a garden. I am fascinated by nature and spend far too little time in natural surroundings (living in Paris) and now when I have the chance to get out of town I really feel the difference, it’s so soothing, beautiful, restorative and you can really feel the impact on your body and mind.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Inspiration comes from everything and anything, nature, old films, history, the seasons, a person, my mood, I think we just need to open our eyes and our hearts and inspiration is everywhere.

What do you mostly love shooting? I love shooting people and the little details of daily life. I have always had an obsession with washing, Madonnas and crinkly faces!! I never tire of the beauty of Italy.

How do you usually approach a new project? Sometimes I put a lot of research into it and others I just jump in and start shooting and see where it takes me.

What are you working on right now? I am usually working on different projects at a time, so right now I am finishing the images for a book and I have started shooting portraits at night in Paris. I have always loved Europe at night, in particular Paris and there is something about being photographed at night that makes us look like we are in a movie. I recently started doing night portraits and to my surprise everybody wants one!

Window or Aisle? Aisle always! After travelling backwards and forwards from Europe to Australia I have realised that the window seat is like a prison and you only get to see the world for about 10 mins during take-off and 10 mins when you land. I love the freedom of the aisle.

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Travel

In case of traveling….

July 1, 2012

Can’t believe it is July already…

As for some, the Summer is just about to start, I feel mine has already started. New York is quite hot and humid these days and the New Yorkers know they should take advantage of the sun, because who knows how the weather be tomorrow. Besides, I feel the Summers in New York are quite short (in comparison to Tel Aviv, for example) so every minute counts. In case you feel like running in Central Park, consider doing it before 9am, otherwise it might be a disaster, and if you are looking for an alternative to cool off, I highly recommend checking one of the hotels’ rooftops or pools (Americano and Dream Downtown are great alternatives if you know the right people) instead of passing through the air conditioned stores on 5th Avenue.

Summer seems to be the perfect season and reason for Traveling. Hope you got your passport handy and you know where you are heading. (with me, it can be a last minute thing). And don’t forget that once you are in a different country, there are so many differences you should respect.

I stumbled upon this funny card the other day that really made me laugh, as I can very much relate to this situation ‘Generally speaking, people in foreign countries understand you better if you speak louder’

Wishing you an adventurous Summer and stay tuned for my next.

Sivan

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Picture is worth a 1000 Words

A picture is worth a 1000 words

June 15, 2012

“If you fail the first time, consider yourself normal. if you fail a second time, consider yourself special for you have what it takes to succeed. If you fail a third time, consider yourself extraordinary, for many people would have already given up”

Montmartre, Paris April 2011

I couldn’t think of a better timing to post these words, as I am currently spending my last few days in the Montmartre in Paris. This picture was taken over a year ago on a weekend afternoon when the area was packed with people, mostly tourists and yet, the images and the words are still so relevant.

I was visiting Paris for few days last April and my friend took me to this area as he knew I would love the view. But not only did I LOVED the view, but also this amazing Street performer, Iya Traore, who is known as the soccer player of the Montmartre and is doing these courageous acrobatic moves while standing on a ledge, overlooking Paris. His performance was quite extreme and I was amazed by his energy and fearlessness. And yesterday, while I was running my morning run all the way to the Sacre -Coeur just to overlook the city and do my stretches, this guy’s presence was missing. And all I could think of was how far can someone go and how extraordinary he could be if he follows his courage.

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Window or Aisle?

Window or Aisle: Juliette Charvet

June 12, 2012

I know Juliette for over a year now.

We first met in a Food Photography’s weekend class at ICP. I think we both had the same camera (Nikon D90) and we worked together on some assignments. Since then we made it as a habit to meet each other once in a while, ALWAYS in a Le Pain Quotidien somewhere in the city (I think we almost covered all the branches in NY) and catch up about our recent or up-coming travels plans or the photography projects we both have in line. (yes, these images of mine were taken by Juliette during one of our Summer Session over a drink in the Lower East Side)

I think it was because of Juliette that I got the courage to travel by myself to Vietnam, as Juliette used to live in Hanoi few years ago. And maybe she got the idea to visit Tokyo because of my recent trip there. In any case, I find Juliette a vibrant photographer who is passionate about travel as much as I do. For my column Window or Aisle, Juliette chose to focus on Black and White portraits; ‘I thought it would add a B&W touch to your blog -haha!- and also thought it would be nice to show that travel photography is also about portraits and how you can travel even in your own neighborhood’ she wrote me, and I couldn’t agree more.

As I write these words I happen to be in Paris, waiting for Juliette’s first exhibit to kick in. The exhibit ‘NY Figures’ will be showing on June 14 till July 28 in Le Village Royal. If you happen to be in Paris on that time, don’t miss Juliette’s exhibition.

Thanks Juliette!

Where are you from? I am a French photographer. I grew up in France and I now live in New York.

Where did you study photography ? Like a lot of photographers I guess, I learned the fundamentals of photography from my father. I studied journalism and in 2001, I traveled to Beirut and perfected my skills at the news agency AFP’s photo service. This is where I learned how to shoot digital. Since I moved to New York, more than 7 years ago, I have been involved with the International Center of Photography, first as a student and now as a Teachers’ Assistant.

What made you want to learn it? I have always wanted to catch and frame certain moments, faces, looks and situations. It’s when I traveled to the US for the first time as a teenager, that I first realized that photography could allow me to take a step back and a certain distance with reality. By taking a picture I could literally “freeze” my surroundings.

If you weren’t a photographer, what would you do? I would be a wine maker and oenologist, maybe in the South of France or in Italy. I LOVE wine!

Where do you get your inspiration from? I get my inspiration from the places I travel to. Different people, atmospheres, lights, streets, landscapes, architecture, that make each place unique. That’s what I try to capture.

How do you usually approach a new project? For me, the usual approach is to look at my environment with wonderment and to let me get “surprised” by a subject, a situation, an idea. Then I start working from there.

What are you working on right now? I am completing a series called ‘Faces of the Lower East Side’. It’s a series of portraits I started to shoot last summer in my neighborhood, the lower east side of manhattan. I have been leaving in this neighborhood for 7 years and have been witnessing the recent evolution of the neighborhood. Gentrification is slowly forcing out low-income families of all ethnic backgrounds. One day I realized that the deli down my building was closed and that I won’t see the Pakistani owner and his nice face any more. That is when I decided to start this series, in order to document my neighbors, the people who live on my block, in my street, who are the faces of the Lower East Side. Taking these pictures make me travel in my own neighborhood. It is a journey through places and time: people from Cuba, Porto Rico, Jewish people, Chinese, young hipsters…

Window or Aisle? Window definitely! I want to see what is going on down under. But you don’t want to seat next to me as I will constantly go back and forth, I can not seat still in a plane! I am too impatient and cannot wait to arrive to the next place.

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Picture is worth a 1000 Words

A picture is worth a 1000 words

June 10, 2012

“No matter how serious life gets, you still gotta have that one person you can be completely stupid with…”

Île de la Cité, Paris June 2012

I was walking in the streets of Paris for hours yesterday with my sister. She came from Tel Aviv and I came from New York to celebrate my Birthday here, in Paris. It was quite a last-minute-plan that worked out very well like a last-minute-plan can work out. My sister hasn’t been to Paris for a while and I am here for a shoot (and I don’t need an excuse to go to Paris) so the timing was perfect for both of us.

Talking about timing. Today I am celebrating my Birthday. And I think the sentence attached to this image, describes very well the essence of an Age. or Aging. or an Attitude towards life. Being able to laugh at yourself from time to time or allowing yourself to be silly or stupid, can be a great thing.

Talking about timing. What makes a photograph to a good one, is timing as well. We were walking in the area of Île de la Cité, right about to cross to the Notre Dame de Paris, when we saw this clown with the aquarium on his head. I wasn’t really impressed or paying attention as I saw him already in my previous visit to Paris but my sister got quite curious so she stood there to look at him.

When I turned my head back to call my sister to join me, I saw this kid. The way these two were interacting was amazingly funny, naive and so….pure. I couldn’t help myself and I took these pictures.

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Design & Lifestyle Travel

Palacio Belmonte; Behind red doors

June 7, 2012

I love how things work out and how coincidences can sometimes run my life and get me into interesting situations. A random turn can lead into a completely new experience, as it happened to me in Lisbon. As a travel photographer who is visiting places outside my New York radius, these coincidences are what sometimes make it all so rewarding and part of the nature of the business. I am in Lisbon for 48 hours, as I am on my way from New York to Paris. My only agenda is to discover the city as much as possible. A random turn because of a graffiti I saw on one of the walls in Alfama yesterday led me into a coffee place I stepped into, in a hunt for a wifi connection and a bathroom. Besides a cute and charming bartender, who turned out to be also a designer for movies’ interiors, there was another man sitting in front of a computer on a wooden table with piles of books in front of him. A few minutes later I was sitting next to him, showing him my website and my published work and having a conversation.

This man is Fredric Coustols. In addition to being an avid book reader (he reads a book a day) he is also a creative artist, a landscape collector and the owner of Palacio Belmonte, an enchanted palace transformed into a luxurious hotel of ten designed suites in it.

Fredric was kind enough and gave me a free access to some of the rooms and opportunity to take as many pictures as I liked. So I did!

The History of Palacio Belmonte

Some might see Palacio Belmonte as one of the most veiled secrets in Lisbon and the history of the place is the story of Portugal itself. It is the oldest building of its kind in the city, the Palace was the residence of the Marques d’Atalia, Alvares Cabral and the Earls of Belmonte for over 500 years. It was built in 1449, atop ancient Roman and Moorish walls. In 1503, one of Portugal’s most famous adventurers, Pedro Alvares Cabral, who owned the palace, added more space to the existing house so he could host some well known historic figures, including Vasco de Gama, who was welcomed in the palace right after he got back from his triumphant in India.

In 1640, the building was expanded to include stunning terraces overlooking the ocean and between 1720-1730, two great masters of Portuguese tiles were commissioned by the Belmonte family to create a unique collection of 59 panels with more than 3000! tiles that portray the daily life of the Portuguese royal court. The tremendous earthquake of 1775 that destroyed most of the Lisbon’s major constructions, didn’t hit the palace.

In 1994 Fredric Coustols bought Palacio Belmonte and started a six-years restoration project to convert this beautiful space into ten luxurious suites, each different to the other. Suites that preserve the history and the beauty of the place and at the same time, equipped with modern comforts and conveniences to better accommodate the lifestyle of the sophisticated traveler.

You have to meet Fredric and his wife Maria in person, in order to understand the uniqueness of the place, its style and more important, the inviting atmosphere. They are both down to earth, creative, friendly and warm people. Their personality and creativity blends well with everything in the space. While Fredric’s books are in every corner in the palace, Maria’s paintings decorate some of the walls.

Interiors and Design

Each of the ten exquisite suites is an original masterpiece with its own individual character, blending historic architectural features with contemporary design. Each suite is named for a Portuguese writer, artist, philosopher, adventurer or inventor. You can choose to lay your head in the Ricardo Reis, Alberto Caeiro for example, or have breakfast at the Gil Vicente one for a change.

Images above: This is one of my favorite corners in Palacio Belmonte. The simplicity of everything, the bold complimentary colors, the way the three pictures on the wall ‘talk’ to the book on the table in terms of colors and symmetry. I love the clean white table cloth, the right book and the yellow pillow.

God is definitely in the small details.

Images above: Amadeo Souza Cardoso Suite, is also known as the Presidential suite. An extraordinary suite lined with an impressive collection of the 18th century Azulejo tile panels and sporting a cathedral ceiling, a living room with a fireplace, a dining room and a queen size half-canopied bed hung with deep red silks. Running along the length of the suite there is a large veranda with a stunning view of the garden and the river beyond, giving the entire suite incredible lighting. I love the blue Azulejos panels on the walls and the writing desk which is from a 19th century Portuguese ship and has so many secret drawers…and of course.. books are everywhere.

Images above: Ahhhh, this dining room! I love it. Filled with light and great space. It reminded me of all the movies I used to watch where the royal family used to throw all these banquets. This room has a 25-foot-high ceiling, huge double white doors and the magnificent views of the old city and the sea. I could stare at this view for hours. Seriously! The azulejos panels date to 1725 and are signed by one of the best Portuguese masters of the time, Manuel dos Santos.

Images above: Another hidden reading corner in the palace, overlooking the sea. The color of the chair matches the cover of the magazine on the coffee table. If you want to hide for a while, this might be the place.

Images above: When I entered this suite, all I could say was ‘WOW’. This is the Ricardo Reis Suite, which is a real gem. The bedroom is stunning and filled with light and the frescos are so fresh that nobody could believe they were covered by 20 layers of paint and had been discovered by the electricians while digging to hide their tubes.

The yellow room is the suite’s sitting room, and the cameo portraits are figures of one of the Marquis and Marchionness of Belmonte. The floor was designed using jacaranda wood in the traditional pattern.

Images above: Alberto Caeiro Suite, is a family suit of two bedrooms with beautiful low ceilings, a living room, a bathroom and one shower room. The blue painting is by Maria Mendonca, the owner of the place, while she was in China. The table under the painting is from an antique dealer in Monsaraz, Portugal. It’s from the 17th century, and Fredric chose it for its simple, elegant lines that pair perfectly with the white lime-washed walls. The carpet is a 50-year-old kilim rug. I just love the green doors that match perfectly with the color of the armchairs, and the ocean-blue painting is such a comfort to look at.

Palacio Belmonte is indeed, one of the most veiled secrets in Lisbon. I’m glad I had the opportunity to walk through its halls and catch a piece of history of Lisbon. When looking at these pictures I sometimes think it was all just a dream, a beautiful one.

Thanks Maria and Fredric for opening the Red Doors for me and my readers!

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Travel

I am (also) Lost in Cheeseland

June 7, 2012

When I first read Lindsey’s blog Lost in Cheeseland I couldn’t help but thinking how exciting her life is. Falling in love with a French guy and living in Paris as an expat can be both exciting and challenging. Nevertheless, living in Paris, one of the most romantic cities in the world, is a rewarding experience onto itself. When Lindsey asked me to guest post, obviously I couldn’t say no. I didn’t even have to think twice and already had in mind what I was going to write about. The only thing I didn’t know was that by the time the post would be up, I would be on my way to Paris for the 6th time.

Thanks Lindsey for having me!

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