Brussels Monday!

Monday I will be in Brussels!!

Below is the information for the event.

Monday 17th May
Book Signing
Chic Outlet Village
Maasmechelen Village, Belgium
4PM till 6PM

It's my first time there so I am very excited.

Any suggestions on what I shouldn't miss?

Wednesday Frankfurt!

Great-Grandma with Che?, Vintage Photo

Eatmore, Vintage photos

The sassy woman in the saddle shoes is my grandma Lois. This photograph was probably taken in the 40's in Yakima Washington. Lois always spoke her mind and was sharp as a whip.

The Grandparents, Vintage Photo

The one enclosed is from my grand-parents. "Biarritz_1936" They lived normally in Reims, north-east from France.
This photo was taken just before the war in 1936 in Biarritz. They are on their honeymoon. I like this photo a lot because they just feel happy and they look incredibly elegant and stylish even if they are at the sea... it would never happen nowdays ! My grand-father was half english and until his death very elegant, a
real gentlman. I also like the contrast of the perfect hair for my grand-father and the wind blowing through the hair of my grand-mother.

I could not resist sending you a photo of them both in Bandol on the same vacation because I find them so beautiful even though they are just wearing the minimum: a swimsuit. The photo reminds me a little bit of Man Ray photo.
Best regards,
Alexandra

Garance's Birthday at Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa

Recently, when we were in Australia we spent Garance's birthday at a really great resort. The rooms, the spa, and the food were all wonderful, but all that interested me was mountain biking around the resort's grounds.

When we told our Australian friends we were gong to the "outback" for the weekend, they laughed when we told them that it was Wolgan Valley and said that the REAL outback was another hour away. After a few more incidents like this we stopped calling it the "outback" and started calling it the "halfback."

(click on image to enlarge photo)
This is Chris, Garance's assistant. Everywhere we turned was another photo-op. With the landscapes, animals, and food, this place truly made me fall in love wth the idea of photography outside of the big city.



I took this picture while riding my bike very fast, too fast in retrospect, on a bumpy dirt rode. I'm surprised that I got even one shot in focus.

Self-portrait of my shadow at sunset. The great/scary thing about these little grass-covered paths is that your bicycle moves so quietly that you can sneak up on a group of kangaroos before they even notice you. I wasn't particularly interested in surprising any kangaroos, so we spent a lot of time singing very loudly while we rode. Human League anyone?

I know that I'm a total city kid and I'm sure that some of you have wrestled bears and hunted dinosaurs, but for me, being this close to wild animals while on a mountain bike was pretty cool.

My primary reading material while flying to Berlin was a book on shooting better landscapes. Hopefully I will get a chance to shoot a few more soon. Maybe the Amish countryside could be cool?

On the Street....Claude, Berlin

I'm in Berlin right now shooting an ad campaign. Yesterday I met Claude, her name is Claudia but she hates that name. As you can see, Claude is a beautiful example of a young lady that knows how to play up her best assets. We cast her because she has the figure of a real, everyday girl: she stands about 5'1" and she is very curvy. You can't really appreciate her curves because of her coat, but they're there. It has actually been a little difficult to find samples that fit her correctly but really, who could get past her hair, lips and those legs? She knows that these are her best featues and works with us to find looks that suit her best.

To me, this is such a great reminder to stop obsessing about my own personal imperfections and start highlighting the little gifts.

Tomorrow I'm cutting the sleeves off all of my Guy Rover shirts and showing off the guns! (For those of you who didn't understand the Pocari Sweat post, that was a joke.)

On the Street....Tokyo Color, Japan

On the Street....Bleecker St., West village

To me, this is so American, strong/healthy, so perfectly Spring-ish in feeling that you don't even need to see the front of the look to understand exactly what it's all about.

On the Street....Wooster St., Soho

On the Street....Mercer St., Soho

On the Street.... Spring St., Soho

On the Street.... Crosby St., Soho

On the Street.... Prince St., Soho

On the Street......Off Bleecker, West Village

On the Street.... Crosby St., Soho

On Line at Calexico, Prince & Wooster, Soho

I don't know if Calexico has the best food (though I hear it's very good), but they do have the best looking line in New York.

On the Street......Broadway, New York City

Back in the City!

On the Street......Little Bit of Sparkle, Milano

A hard-drive crashed on me, and I thought I had lost this shot.

Originally, I stopped this woman because I loved her salt & pepper hair. It wasn't until we began speaking that I noticed the very subtle bit of sparkle on her cheeks; such an unexpected touch for a Milanese lady, like this.

It wasn't until even later, when I was working on the image at the hotel, that I noticed the smudge of sparkle on her earlobe. This lady is chic.

Lia Belle, Sydney

Inspiration print from Lia Belle's apartment

Inspiration print from Lia Belle's apartment

Do you see the seam in the middle of Lia Belle's Prada shoes?

Lia Belle HAD to have these Prada shoes, but they didn't have her size. She has very tiny feet, so this is a common issue for her.

Being the crafty Aussie that she is, she bought them in the nearest size she could find and took them to a shoe repair shop. There they removed the heel and cut-out a few centimeters from the middle length of the shoe. Then, they reattached the two severed pieces, re-sanded the heel, re-sewed the lining and refit the heel.

Sounds expensive, but she bought the shoes on sale for $250 and had $100 worth of alterations. Now, the shoes fit Lia Belle perfectly! No one can see the difference, AND she still spent less than the full retail price- smart lady.

Tailored Outerwear, Vintage Photo Contest

This photo is of my Grandpa, Richard Waltham (on the left) and his work friends taken in the late 1930s. My Grandpa was a banker and in his spare time he was an artist and photographer. I am a fan of the tailored look, not only do they have a very interesting sense of style, but it gives you an idea of what it was like back then, there is a lot of depth to it, from the water on the road, the advertisement to the left of them and the crowd of people behind them. My Grandpas story.

Hope this is of some help.

Peggy-Sue