france – Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer

Claudia [Labenne-Océan, 2014]

8 July 2024Posted in portraitureTagged 2014, digital photography, france, nikon, women photographyLeave a comment

Claudia was a colleague, we worked together for a few weeks on the construction site. I still remember her genuine laugh and her simplicity. When she knew that I was into photography, she asked me some questions about my activity, I asked her to pose for me, she accepted and…we met in Labenne-Océan, where I lived. My place was real close to the Ocean, one of my dreams that became true (even though for a short while)! It was an unusually hot October afternoon, we were not far from 30 degrees. The beach was beautiful and relatively quiet, and the golden hour was just around the corner…

Trying to get serious but, hey, a few photo-bombers dived in our shooting!

Portraits serie by Stéphane Amelinck [Seignosse, 2014]

8 July 202417 September 2024Posted in portraitureTagged 2014, beach photo shooting, digital photography, france, stéphane amelinck, women photography1 Comment

I still remember the uncertainties related to that period but also the enthusiasm for the untamed nature of those beautiful place and those beaches that had captured me for their vastness and wildness. I was impressed by the professionalism and the confidence shown by photographer Stéphane Amelinck. I cherish his images!

Capbreton [Landes, 2014]

7 July 20247 July 2024Posted in Travels and landscapesTagged 2014, beach, capbreton, coastal life, digital photography, elena arvasi, france, landscape, travelsLeave a comment

In 2014, I worked in the Basque Country for a couple of months. This part of France has remained in my heart. I cannot forget the beauty of the hinterland, the green hills, but at the same time I was ravished by the beauty of the coast, by the vastness of beautiful beaches which are a Paradise for surfers. Nor can I deny a sense of belonging or closeness to the sea, which I still feel strong in me.

Delphine & Mathieu [Paris, 2014]

20 May 202425 June 2024Posted in weddingTagged 2014, delphine et mathieu, elena arvasi, france, paris, wedding photographyLeave a comment

I consider this my first international wedding even though, technically speaking, it is my second! In 2014 I lived in England and Delphine and Mathieu reached me because of Parisian mutual friends who had recommended me!! After browsing my portfolio they contacted me. I remember that Skype call, months before the wedding, when they informed me that they expected a spontaneous, documentary approach from their photographer and that they really didn’t want posed portraits. I also recall a certain amount of pre-shooting anxiety on the train on my way to Paris😚 Guess what?! Everything went well: Delphine and Mathieu were warm, welcoming, uncomplicated and so in love! The weather turned out to be decent, the details and the decos were enchanting, their family (with the couple’s son, gorgeous baby Adam!) and friends were the soul of the party and their wedding venue was this magnificent “guinguette” where we enjoyed, till late, such a good music (this being one of Mathieu’s passions). Also, their wedding photo booth was a win! It was an honour for me to be part of their big day, and I mean it. Enjoy these memories!

30 minutes on a Microlight [Saint-Omer, 2012]

9 January 202426 June 2024Posted in Personal & othersTagged 2012, aéroclub de Saint Omer, digital photography, france, microlight, saint-omerLeave a comment

The owner of the house where I lived in Saint-Omer had two passions: vintage cars and…the aéroclub de Saint Omer! Luckily, I have never suffered from vertigo, so when he offered to take me out, on a ride on his microlight, I accepted without hesitation. Actually I was really excited about that! Don’t ask me how I managed to take pictures while we were flying over the countryside (without letting the camera drop!). Whilst we were up (it was a glorious summer evening), I wasn’t scared but I still remember the very strong impact of the air on our bodies.

Powerful bodies

That was ours!

Ready, steady…fly!

Sunset was approaching

Safely back to the ground, we are almost there!

Anne [Parma, 2012]

1 January 20246 July 2024Posted in portraitureTagged anne, august 2012, digital photography, france, friend, italy, parma, portraitureLeave a comment

I met Anne in 2009, during a Master’s course in Poitiers. We have stayed in touch ever since. She can be loquacious, she is cute, she has a stature of a tiny ballerina but she has a big personality. I have always admired her fearless, relentless vitality. She is a blue-eyed babe who has two babies now! She came to Parma to visit me in 2012, and we organised a portrait session in the city center (with Parma’s glorious summer sky, at its best) where she captured my attention with her meaningful expressions. I know that I shouldn’t say that (Malraux ladies!) but I I have a soft spot for her!

Below the welcoming committee…

My favorite shots below, I don’t mind if they are blurry!

City center

Photographer and subject together (it looks like the lens cap has not been removed!)

Her determined gaze!

Family shoot [Wissant, 2012]

18 December 20236 July 2024Posted in Kids & familiesTagged 2012, beach, family, family shoot, france, love, pas de calaisLeave a comment

I had the pleasure of taking some portraits of this family back in July 2012. We had the chance to meet up on a beach. The kids, Clara and Adam, were both photogenic. Clara was so outgoing, lively and a bit of a show-off while Adam was as sweet as any almost 1 year old could be! Enjoy this memory!

Her tv advert smile!!

I loved her pink dress

SO cute that it hurts!

Free and light like a butterfly

Angela & Mikaël [Paris, 2012]

16 December 20236 July 2024Posted in CouplesTagged 2012, angela, beauty, couple shoot, france, friends, june, love, Mikaël, paris, passion for life, summerLeave a comment

I don’t really have a lot to say about this shoot, as I can sum it up in one sentence: I loved EVERY SINGLE THING OF IT! I loved them, their love, their passion for life, artistic side, the details at their flat, I loved Paris, the weather of that day, that summer season…There’s just one question I don’t have an answer to, when I look at their shots, will I also experience such passion? Enjoy this loving and lovely memory!

Sporty [Saint-Omer, 2012]

13 December 20236 July 2024Posted in portraitureTagged 2012, adults portraiture, digital photography, franceLeave a comment

Gosh, to be a July morning, it was chilly! I had the pleasure to take some portraits of this sporty and young gentleman in a field near Saint-Omer and to chat with him. The sky was grey and the rain was on and off but the result the result was gratifying. Enjoy this photo memory!

On the field, literally! [Pas-de-Calais, 2012]

10 December 20236 July 2024Posted in Personal & othersTagged 2012, digital photography, france, gazoduc, nord, on the field, pas de calais, pipelineLeave a comment

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!

Berck + Étaples Military Cemetery [2012]

3 December 20236 July 2024Posted in Travels and landscapesTagged 2012, berck, canon, daily trip, digital photography, etaples, france, friends, military cemetery, pas de calaisLeave a comment

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

Le Carnaval de Dunquerque [2012]

25 November 20236 July 2024Posted in Travels and landscapesTagged 2012, canon, carnaval de dunquerque, culture, digital photography, france, travelsLeave a comment

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…

Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

Parisian snapshots [2011]

15 October 202329 September 2024Posted in Travels and landscapesTagged 2011, digital photography, europe, france, memories, paris, travelsLeave a comment

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!