Anagha, film photo session [Edinburgh, 2024]

Anagha is in her early 20s and is a student and one of the tenants in the house where I live. I love her common sense, simplicity and also her innocence. Last week-end, when I asked her to pose for me, she cheerfully accepted (blessed youth!). What hit me was that, when I asked her whether she preferred me to shoot her with my new digital body (R6 II) or with my old film Nikon camera (f801s), without hesitation, she replied : “Your film camera, please. This kind of pictures reminds me when I was a child and I was being shot in film by my dad”. Well, the rest is history 🙂 the results are below. She fit flawlessly into the spring context of our garden: she was indeed a flower between the flowers. And if you look carefully, in one photo some daisies emerge from her beautiful mane!

Robert [Edinburgh, 2024]

Robert is a friend who has recently graduated in psychology. It was a pleasure to take some portraits of him with my digital camera in Edinburgh’s city center. The weather was not promising (grayish, plus it drizzled for part of the shoot) but there is some charm emanating from the images. Robert, you were a good model, your gaze looking like some actor’s! I wish you all the Best for your present and future!!

Stéphanie [Edinburgh, 2024]

Stéphanie is a French friend and one of my models. I believe that most of us, to some degree, dislike parts of our bodies and it can be normal to become reluctant to pose in front of the camera. It is a kind of step that you need to overcome. I wanted to keep practicing with my R6 II so I offered to take some portraits of her and this time she accepted more readily than the first time we had a shoot at the Botanical Gardens. Last Sunday afternoon it was chilly (7 degrees) with a slight wind so it was a real quick session: I took 42 shots in record time of 15 minutes 🙂 I had never taken portraits of an archer before! In some images she reminds me of some historical person, perhaps the keeper of a secret garden. Stéph, thank you for putting yourself out there, you are beautiful!

Olivia [Edinburgh, 2024]

Below some portraits of energetic and vibrant Olivia. She will turn 23 this week and is in the prime of her life. The red never goes out of style and I find that this tutu gave her a badass attitude!! I took these shots on 14/01, using my Canon R6 II which proved to have an unbelievable autofocus with wide (and wild!) ISO options. Photo number 4 was selected by PhotoVogue. Enjoy!

What I would say to the old me [Edinburgh, 2024]

Here I am with an old portrait dated September 2012. I had super long hair and, back in those days, I was in the silly phase of “Fake it till you make it”. I was never deeply in love with my physical appearance and at that time, as I still had acne, I used Photoshop extensively to soften my skin. I also was a huge fan of hair clips (a passion for which I have not completely forgotten!). More than a decade has passed and I I’d like to share a few thoughts that I would have liked to be aware of, 12 years ago, and that I should have repeated to myself every day in front of the mirror:

  • Don’t be afraid, girl, you can make it happen!
  • Accept yourself and embrace your imperfection, that is more appealing than your idea of perfection!
  • Trust your guts in order to realise your projects without further ado, you are a good decision-maker!
  • Don’t waste your time (which is the ultimate and irreplaceable value), get straight to the point
  • Open your mouth to tell what you think, at the right moment
  • Act more, do not fall in the overthinking’s tunnel (that’s always a sensitive issue!)
  • Comparing to others is a loss of time, as you really don’t know what is going on in their lives
  • Don’t neglect your body: also your appearance contributes to your psychological well-being
  • Be honest about yourself, do not fear to be judged by others
  • Stay warm and open to others, be compassionate

And finally: Keep going, girl, you are enough! Your achievements with photography over the past decade have been impressive 🙂

PhotoVogue publication [Edinburgh, 2024]

As they say, “a new year and a new beginning”. And I might add, a new camera with a new publication on PhotoVogue 🙂 Last weekend, I “baptised” my new Canon R6 II by taking a few portraits of a friend who, with a minimum of insistence, agreed to pose in a beautiful red tutu that she had used at Halloween. As first impressions, the autofocus and ISO capability blew me away!

I am delighted that this photo was accepted today by PhotoVogue. I cherish this photo: Olivia is very expressive and she has beautiful features. She was brave to put herself out there, actually she dared greatly. We all share insecurities about our bodies, especially women. The point is that a young person will deal with them in a certain way, while an adult will handle them differently. The older you get, the less you might care 🙂 the more you become body conscious and accept yourself more easily. Olivia is a beautiful girl and displays a great personality and she can be proud of this shot. If PhotoVogue selected this picture, much of the credit goes to the subject, not just the photographic technique, the editing or the photograph itself.

PhotoVogue publication [Edinburgh, 2024]

The picture on the left shows the togetherness of Laura & Filippo, a couple of friends. This was taken in Italy in the summer of 2011. The picture on the right shows a puzzled cat in a house in Saint-Omer, and this was taken in the spring 2012. I don’t have a rational explanation for combining these two photos, other than the contrast between the feelings of fullness and happiness on one side, and sadness, loneliness, like a “chronic waiting” discernible in the feline’s image.

I consider myself a photographer, even though I have not trained professionally and photography is not my job. I like the everlasting sense that a good picture can release and, in many aspects, I consider myself a classic and traditional soul. However, in order to stand out from the crowd, you need to present something different. Sometimes you need to push yourself over a silent creativity hack, via an out-of-ordinary, possibly illogical path, trusting your guts.

As last consideration, a big Thanks to PhotoVogue editors who chose this collage! My pictures do not get published often but this is a huge achievement and success releases…a sense of content and peace!