So Busy, But Great Surprise

While trying to figure out my own life, I happened upon a great undiscovered Etsy Artist. JMVdigital offers the Etsy world a unique look at American life. The works can be described most as nostalgic. I'm loving this American Dream.

"I want to call out, or call forth the specialness of life – even in loss, emptiness, plainness and decay. That’s why my photographs are often rich in color and bold with contrast. I’m striving for simplicity and a keen attention to details as I try to capture timeless, yet temporary moments. I’m trying to convey a mood, a specific perspective – a perspective that’s not necessarily part of our universal human experience, but a perspective that evokes strong feelings about the unique scenes in the world around us."

- JMVdigital

On Self Fulfillment.

I have not been being completely efficient with my trip so far.

Reasons for not being efficient and making the most out of a trip.

1. Staying up too late, sleeping in too long.

          *self explanatory

2. Being cheap and handwashing and drying laundry.

• Laundry in France is EXPENSIVE. 1 Euro buys you 8.5 minutes of dryer time. Simple solution... handwash and dry. Obvious right? Today I spent 4 hours handwashing and drying my clothes. 
• Maybe my apartment is humid... maybe yours will not be... in any case... if you find you spend WAY to much time doing your laundry the first time... maybe it will be worth it to spend the Euros and use your time to go exploring... 
• Simple Solutions...
• Spend the Euros
• Ignore all you have heard about packing light if staying for a long trip in one location... Packing light is very important if you are going to be backpacking through Europe and changing locations frequently... but I must admit I would have had no problem checking two big bags filled with 50 lbs of clothes each... and then leaving them in my apartment for 5 weeks before repacking and going home... The good news... I will be doing lots of shopping while I am here and buying a second carry on :)

Since my revelation I have been waking up earlier and making the most out of my trip more effectively! :)

Here's a beautiful picture of the Seine from the morning after I first wrote this post...

And a few more from my walks about the city recently...

A stand in point between a triangular cross section of two streets, passers by feast on fresh seafood.

Street art is very common in Paris, there is of course some graffiti but for the most part the street art is well thought out and gives the city character!

Small lake in the middle of Luxembourg Gardens, a popular place to take a stroll or run, even in the middle of winter.

Very behind in the blogging, still to come photos from Arles and the Camargue and more!

Bonjour mes Amis!

Bonjour from Paris!

This month I have the amazing opportunity to study fashion and travel photography in Paris!

Stepping off the plane one is greeted immediately by a nouvelle experience... the slopescalator as I like to call it. The "slopescalator" is found in the airport and in various underground tunnels in the metro system. The transportation appears to be your normal escalator upon first step, then your realize no stairs form and you are in for a long ride up and down small hills. Feels weird on the feet. A ride on this device gets exciting below the metro, busy Parisians pass on the "fast lane" as others stand behind the elderly on the right side, peering behind to see if they have time to break in to the line of traffic. One may find this nearly as dangerous as driving the traffic circle encompassing l'Arc de Triomphe.
Yesterday was my first trip through the metro in 16 years, I did not want to bring out the camera because I was lost and nervous, but I hope to document this later on during the month.

There is a beautiful exhibition about the fashion designer Madeleine Vionnet at the Museum of Decor Design... although not as famous as CoCo Channel, the work of Madeleine Vionnet is considered by many to be equally outstanding. Her work includes many surprisingly simple bias cut garments, no photography was allowed inside but I did manage to do a few sketches!

The exhibit is definitely worth a visit! Located close to the Louvre... behind the Louvre is a beautiful garden area with fountains, iced over now but a great place to people watch.

More to come soon!

An Unexpected Gift

Being one who finds the  greatest pleasures in the smallest things, upon walking home from a lovely Christmas Dinner at the neighbors, I realized it would be a sin to not take advantage of a night stroll with my Nikon in the misty 54 degree weather that Christmas brought this year. Here's to show :)




















I took a few HUNDRED shots tonight, this was one of the best!


Heading to France in a week or two! Many more shots and stories to come soon!