street portraits
It was not too high (the fever), just enough to give me a splitting headache and to make my bones hurt. It was a tricky cold virus that one and I couldn't get rid of it. I had to cancel my current photographic investigations and stay home, re-investigating old cases. Like this one.
Read MoreThere is a space in between shifts that it's size and length in the time/space construct not only is unfixed, but, as anything that includes the concept of time, is very subjective, psychological, even. The job of a photographic investigator is not to unveil it's mysteries, but to fully take advantage of it.
Read MoreWhen a photographic investigator wants to get some specific effects on her photographic investigation, all she has to do is feed her subjects psychedelic cookies. They do the job every time.
Read MoreI was investigating a birthday party that was taking place outside of time and in an unspecified place. I was transported there by pure will -one of the most important skills of a photographic investigator who cares about surviving- and when I got to the dinner table Pizza and Karaoke were already there. There was also a fellow time traveller who had assumed the appearance of a child -her name should remain unspoken, I was told. A presence was still missing. Jasmine. We waited and waited. And suddenly, the phone rang. (To be continued)
Read MoreMy subject was radioactive. And the only way to photographically investigate a radioactive boy -as well as a radioactive toy, by the way- is through myopia glasses. Luckily, they were available.
Read MoreKanella means "cinnamon" in greek and as I am sure you have guessed by now, the word was the only clue I was given about this particular assignment. But nothing can beat an assignment on a greek beach so, I went, I investigated and the only thing I can reveal about my subject is that she gave me the opportunity to taste the best lamb stew in the galaxy. Kanella made it spicy, just like her name and her personality... To be continued...
Read MoreI had 2 major assignments for the summer of 2017... Pink flamingos and beach vamps... I was lucky in both photographic investigations. You'll have to wait a little longer for the pink flamingo extravaganza though...
Read MoreShe's got a license to kill... and she is going straight for your heart...
I saw once a documentary about New York. I remember something a Queen's resident said, sitting in the stairs in front of his house, smoking: "You can go around the world meeting all kinds of people or you can stay in your porch day by day, watching people go by... It's exactly the same thing...". I know now this is so true! This photographic investigation took place in la Pizzeria delle Zattere, in Dorsoduro, Venice.
Read MoreSometimes a photographic investigator has to invent her own words...
Read MoreEaster photographic investigations are all about letting the Light in (even if it destroys the exposure) and getting your subjects' true Self out, free from the fears and restrictions of the mind. When Light washes away the contents of the mind, all that is left is Love.
Read MoreLight can disrupt the darkest shot, whereas dark can't do the opposite. Another great truth an experienced photographic investigator inevitably finds out...
Read MoreNo, it's definitely not easy being a comic book hero... You have to live up to your loyal fan's expectations... On the contrary, it's wonderfully easy to be a comic book hero's photographic investigator. Because when comic book heros find themselves outside of a comic book they are subject to a certain number of restrictions: for example, they cannot use the 90% of their super powers for obvious reasons (one of them being that most of the people around them, actually believe that they see some weird guys dressed up like comic book heroes - which is very convenient). The only super power that is allowed in full force is the power to disappear -for the ones who possess it of course. Not being able to use their powers makes comic book heroes easy subjects to photographic investigators such as I, although this time I must admit defeat, since I lost 2-3 of them by disappearance. Ah well... maybe next year!
Read MoreOne of my subjects once told me that the secret to longevity is "good thoughts, good company, sunshine and a glass of red wine -or maybe a good coffee"... I don't know if it's the secret to longevity, but it certainly makes my photographic investigations a lot more fun...
Read MoreA photographic investigator creates consciously her reality. So, it was a sunny spring Sunday, these guys were there, I wished we were all in LA, J Lo's "My love don't cost a thing" was playing on the radio... You get my point...
Read MoreA relatively new field of philosophy that comprises Zen, positive thinking and stoicism, that photographic investigators, such as I, just can't get enough of... The secret to engage one's subjects of the investigation in coffeelosophic chatter is to present them with a problem of the human existence or situation. And then shoot, trying to be a part of the chatter. It's not easy, subjects tend to get frustrated when the realise it's just a trick. An experienced photographic investigator always participates convincingly!
Read MoreIt is essential for my photographic investigations!
Read MoreThere is something in common between Mona Lisa and my subjects: no matter how many times they have been "investigated" they never lost their essence. After infinite variations and approaches, they remain their beautiful, amazing, unique self... Always different, always unchanged.
Read MoreSomething that stayed with me since I first read George Mc Donald's beautiful story, "The Day Boy and the Night Girl"(The Romance of Photogen and Nycteris). I quote: "She followed the firefly, which, like herself, was seeking the way out. If it did not know the way, it was yet light; and, because all light is one, any light may serve to guide to more light. If she was mistaken in thinking it the spirit of her lamp, it was of the same spirit as her lamp and had wings". An excellent weekend reading that I strongly recommend especially now that light works it's way to gaining more ground every day...
Read MoreMM had secret powers. Powers one would call magical or supernatural. When extremely pressured, she could see -simultaneously- visions of 8 different versions (or "parallel realities") of the life of the person that was sitting in front of her. My job was to investigate her thoroughly -therefore to put great pressure on her, psychological or otherwise. I didn't have much time to prepare, so I had to improvise with what I had handy that day. I locked myself in an empty room with her and started to sing all my favourite bluegrass songs -with vigor! (These first shots were taken at the beginning of my performance, which is why she looks so courageous and cool...) Of course she cracked after 25 minutes, while I was in the middle of one my Alison Krauss and the Union Station's favourites: "Oh My Lord"... It's true I was merciless but at the same time merciful and kinda compassionate... I released her after she revealed to me that in one of my parallel lives I was working as a photographic investigator -and a surf teacher- in the beautiful Caribbean island of Guadeloupe... I needed no more. I released her, knowing that I had to concentrate immediately to my next project: "Switching realities". More about that on a future blog post...
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