When I imagine true love, Laura and Filippo are one of the couples that come to my mind. Going through my photo archive, I didn’t realized how many pictures I took of them, over the years. Maybe it’s because I like them both individually and it’s also good to have them together! We gathered a summer evening in a field just outside of Parma. About the rest…well, enjoy their pictures!
Beautiful Laura!
and a snappy memory together with the 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!!
There is no mystery about the fact that I am a reserved person but that I can also be quite communicative (well, to be honest, during my childhood years I loved to be the center of attention, even though I was too shy to impose myself). Nor about the fact that I am a bit lazy!!
Over the years many people asked me if I would organize a photo exhibition. I always replied that I didn’t know. Now, actually there was only one occasion when I printed a few pictures from my portraiture portfolio and displayed them in a shop! It was during BoulevArt 2011, in a clothes boutique (La sfinge of the great Laura Fabiano!). As you can gather from the 1st image (thanks Laura for this shot) I was not super pumped 🙂
About BoulevArt: The aim of BoulevArt (a Festival of Street Arts) was to invade the city’s historic centre, offering photographic sets, open-air art galleries, backdrops for music and dance performances. People were involved in experiencing art under various forms. And the appealing part was that shops, trattorias & pubs in the city centre were involved in hosting artists, and remained open until midnight.
Also, it’s a fact that miniature schnauzers are the best!!
Enjoy some street snapshots!
Here are some of Verena’s portraits taken by me. I have always been fascinated by big, blue eyes, possibly because they are the opposite of mine, which are tiny, almond shaped and deep brown. It was a lovely June afternoon (not too warm, if I recall correctly) and Parco Ferrari was the perfect location for this shoot.
“I should’ve known the eyes. Wide, bright blue, and something about the delicate arc of the lids: a cat’s slant, a pale jeweled girl in an old painting, a secret” – “The secret place” by Tana French
June 2011, Parma, Parco Ferrari. I took a serie of portraits of Verena, an Austrian student who was finishing her Erasmus year in Parma. And then at the end of the shoot, she took a couple of pictures of me! Well, if you wonder why I do have soap bubbles in my hand, it’s because I have always loved them…and I used them for effect in several of my sessions.
These pictures were taken at a friend’s wedding. It was June 2011. Cheers to the “good old days”, where to be happy I just needed a Canon Eos 1100D and I enjoyed even more the fact of not being the official photographer 🙂 The real one was an other dear friend of mine, Michele Galloni.
I am still in love with Elena’s (this is the name of my friend, the bride) stunning wedding gown! When I saw her, I remember thinking: “She is perfect!”. And she was, really. Also the bouquet was lovely (and the car was magnificent! 🙂
Elena, I hope you don’t mind me sharing these intimate photos!
I babysat these two beautiful sisters for a few years, many years ago! If you look at them now, you would not be able to recognize them, as they look in this old collage (dated May 2011). I had a soft spot for them at that time, as well as I root for them now (we are still in touch!). Weirdly enough, I can confess that the most difficult task for me was to be sure that they had their homework done 🙂
Love you girls!
It feels strange to look back at these photos and realise that they were taken 12 years ago! It was the 30th May 2011 and my grandmother passed away a year and a half ago and in these snapshots she was celebrating her 80th birthday (well, as you see, chocolate cake has always been a big family hit!). Still, it’s reassuring to see that Grandma had fun (yes, she always loved dressing up and taking the role of an actress!).
I am very happy to have kept these visual memories and I know that she would be glad to see them posted on my blog!
This is an old shoot from my early years in photography (dated April 2011), so technically speaking, you might find that the quality and the editing are not that outstanding 🙂 however I really love the spontaneity and the freshness of the pictures..as well as the subjects!! Enjoy this memory!
and now that’s what has always been my nemesis (driving me crazy!)…aka getting the subjects prepared for a group composition!!
Thanks for this shot, Cri, as a good recap of a lovely afternoon!
Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer 