That I worked for a few months as a secretary, on a construction site in northern France, you are already aware of that. But you might not remember that one day the guys took me to the construction site, in the phase where they were laying the gas pipes. The muddy, dusty, noisy pathways gave me a different perspective from the daily routine in the office which I enjoyed!
I met Katell in 2010, whilst doing an internship in Paris. We kept in touch since then, even although we haven’t met for several years now. I took these portraits of her in the spring of 2012. We were in a park in Paris (but I don’t remember which one!). Katell is a warm and welcoming person, open to others, with a hint of shyness so I really appreciated her willingness to pose for me as a model and a muse! What did these images reveal? Herself! : her unveiled spontaneity, her sweetness, a radiant, artistic side of her personality and… also a sensual one!
And now folks, the crazy part of the shoot…the lake with the swim fins!! She didn’t dive into it, though.
I love this one!
It was late April 2012 and a long weekend was ahead of me. Together with a friend, we decided to go to Rotterdam for a 3 days trip, as it was super easy to reach by train and relatively cheap. As my first time in the NL, it was a success: we got there right in time to celebrate Koniginnensdag (27/4)! I always heard of their open-minded and tolerant culture, however being there allowed me to fully acknowledge the uncomplicated, practical attitude and the steadfast, positive thinking of Dutch people. Throughout history, they have been able to merge the traditions of their past with the modern needs of the present, looking forward to ambitious goals of the future. We could admire an “oranje” triumph of shirts, hats, crowns and every sort of gadgets!
Even though I am not interested in modern architecture, I enjoyed the modern buildings and skyscrapers. Rotterdam was clean and tidy and I could notice a precise order, based on a simple, schematic disposition of many lines.
In April, on a Saturday morning, my friend Caroline drove me to Berck-sur-Mer and then to Étaples military cemetery. I left a piece of my heart on that insanely vast, light beige sanded beach. Berck is famous for its kites competition and, as there was one, I took some shots of these flying sheet 🙂 Many children had fun that day. In the afternoon, we headed to Étaples Military Cemetery. I love those commemorative places for their very simple and squared architecture. Also, I have always enjoyed history and remembering and honoring the past, and the people who fought and died for our own freedom, it is righteous.
A close-up of Caro!
Étaples cemetery
Because of my Italian heritage, I have always known the principles of Carnival. I remember lovely, fancy dresses that my mum would buy me on that occasion, to go to a children’s party (see the last picture of this article!). I stopped dressing-up when I was a teenager. However, when in Rome, do as Romans do! So, while I was in Saint-Omer, I could experience the craziness of the Carnaval of Dunquerque (to remember their dead fisherman, throughout the years), which I thought brought these principles to the “really next level”! It was a triumph of a very specific libertine style, it was noisy, had even too much colour, and people were uncomplicated, and delighted to have their picture taken! Even though colour was one of the main characters of this parade, I find that the most powerful shots, below, are possibly the ones in B&W. Enjoy these pictures dated March 2012!
Getting to the party! February 1992…
Sometimes things start one way and then the lead goes in another direction. This was the case! It had to be a “solo” portrait session that turned up into a group shooting! My idea was to take some shots of Margot (daughter of my friend Claudia), a sprint 8-year-old, sports enthusiast, in her after school, but unexpectedly a small, compact group of kids (who were on the playground) joined us! One point that fascinates me about working with kids, is that they are natural. Even when they are not laughing or playing, they usually have a catching, spontaneous expression. These images are dated 4/10/2011, it was a warmish late afternoon and the light was gorgeous. Enjoy these memories!
Bats-position, hanging upside down!
I have NO clue about how & why we skipped to this “shoes-off-show” part of the shooting! Whose idea was that?!
And to finish end, a out of focus photographer!
I met Francesca at university, we were on the same German course and hung out together for a while. She is a sweet, sensible, playful and artistic soul and has always had a connection with dance. You can detect that, thanks to a couple of extra pictures (showing Francesca as a young dancer) that I have attached to this article with her permission!
I wanted to take portraits of her in the nature. I opted for an unusual location where I had never worked before, a poplar grove adjacent to the bank of the River near Viadana. We decided that the theme of this shooting would be “Sonnentanzerin” (meaning “Sun dancer” in German) and it was a fitting choice: we wanted to capture dance steps, free body movement in an open space and…Gosh! it was S U N N Y!
To be a late September day, it was hot and the light was overwhelmingly bright and sharp. Too much of a strong, whitish light, everywhere, to put it mildly. Back in these days, overexposure was my photographic signature (with a couple of other weird stuff, that I won’t be mentioning there 🙂 so honestly I don’t know how I managed to handle that!
Enjoy these memories that I am happy to share!
1st location: poplar grove
The photo below shows how bright and sharp the light was that morning
These 2 pearls say something about Francesca’s connection to dance (her gentle concession):
Medal winner, yep!
2nd location, the beach, also know as “i sabbioni”:
Mysterious and pretty!!
Roberto (Robby to his friends!) is a nice guy, in fact, I’d rather say that he is handsome! He is tall, with a good body shape and has deep blue eyes! And girls, heads-up: he is not only handsome, he is also a real gentleman! It was with great pleasure that I took some portraits of him in the beautiful location of Torrechiara. It was a warmish late September afternoon and we got the right light. The editing of these old shots makes me smile: I find them quite creative, naive and multi-faceted! I have also included some of Robby’s favorite possessions: sunglasses and pc, that’s cool!
I had an internship in Paris in 2010 and I had the chance to travel back in 2011 for a catch-up session with friends. This was a good time of my life and I am a bit nostalgic of “la Capitale”, even though a thing that I don’t really miss is that life there was frantic and tiring: more than once I got the feeling that time never stops in Paris!
And to finish, a beautiful memory of the “Maurini”, the 2 cats owned by my friend Francesca who, at that time, was living in Montmartre!
Simple gadgets can offer satisfying results without much of an effort. In fact, it can be difficult to think of anything simpler than balloons and soap bubbles! I am very proud of these photos, taken of my friends Laura & Filippo in August 2011!! Yet the simplicity that shines through is quite disarming! A field in Marore, one summer evening, soap bubbles, balloons, a poster with LOVE cut out (one I made earlier :-). You’ll think that I am crazy…Well this was fun and I take full responsibility for them!
a bit of a poser!!
and now let’s skip to the “serious” part of the shoot!
Uhm, did someone mention: Soap bubbles?!
and to finish, a very county-style shot!
Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer 