Hello July ! | A summer full of Love

Le mois de juillet est là et l'été aussi ! Qui dit été dit pleine saison des mariages  :)

Je serai donc forcément un peu absente du blog mais ce n'est que pour mieux revenir, la valise pleine d'images à vous partager. N'hésitez pas à suivre mes aventures sur Instagram ou sur Facebook. 

En attendant, voici un condensé du week-end dernier, passé en Normandie sous le soleil et l'air frais des plages normandes; en compagnie de Fanny et Romain pour leur joli mariage en bleu marine. Hâte de vous partager tout ça en photos, ici un petit extrait de notre séance sur Omaha Beach

July is here and summer with it ! Summer means wedding season in full swing :) So I might be a bit away from the blog but fear not, it won't be long before I share with you some of the beauty of these weddings. Feel free to follow my adventures on Instagram or on Facebook.

Meanwhile, here's a summary of last weekend in Normandy, spent under the sunshine and the fresh breeze of the ocean, with Fanny and Romain for their pretty wedding in blue. This is a sneak peak of our session on Omaha Beach.

Love,

C x

Ethereal Beauty

La beauté de mes mariées me laisse toujours sans voix, mais celle-ci encore plus que les autres... Mana, c'est son prénom. Dans la culture polynésienne, "mana" fait référence à des pouvoirs magiques ou surnaturels. Je crois qu'elle ne pouvait pas mieux porter son nom. Bientôt d'autres photos sur le blog.

The beauty of all the brides always leaves me speechless, this one is no exception probably even more than the others... Mana, that's her name. in the Polynesian culture, "mana" refers to magical or supernatural powers. No others names could fit her better I guess. More photos coming soon...

Bonne Fête Papa | Tribute to Fatherhood

Immense, immense précarité de la paternité qui n'est jamais donnée, comme la maternité, mais conquise, réellement conquise, de jour en jour, d'instants partagés en instants partagés, de mains doucement serrées en jeux turbulents, de questions déroutantes en réponses appliquées, de paroles en silences, d'émotions en habitudes, de confiance en énigmes.

-Pierre Péju

Colin & Sarah in Paris | When Instagram works its magic

"He's more myself than I am,

Whatever our souls are made of,

His and mine are the same."

-Emilie Brontë

This is what these two lovebirds inspire me. 

If you're a little bit active on Instagram, you might have stumbled upon one of their accounts for sure (@colincabalka and @sarahcabalka). Colin is a filmaker and Sarah is a photographer. They have been among the most inspiring persons to me since I joined Instagram. The love they show for one another but also for humanity in general is so uplifting and inspiring. Yeah I know, I've used the word "inspiring" too many times in these four first lines. But they just are! Anyways, when I knew they were travelling through Europe, I really wanted to meet them if they happened to pass by Paris. Unfortunately, Paris wasn't on their initial plan. But fate finally decided that they should go to Paris after they scribbled country names on paper and threw them into a hat, France came out twice and here they were, in my city. I didn't have time to show them all my favorite spots in Paris on the day we met, nonetheless we still had a great afternoon strolling around the city, of course we couldn't miss my favorite bookshop : Shakespeare and Company and a great coffee at la Caféothèque since they're both coffee lovers.

Sharing our experience about being young (can't believe they're not even 25...) and entrepreneurs, about travelling and having meaningful experiences; made me realize how much I want to use photography not only to create beauty but also to serve others, give back what God has given me as a gift in order to create something meaningful for people, souvenirs they will hold dear from generation to generation. I really like this quote:

"When I stand before God at the end of my life,

 I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me."

Erma Bombeck

Truly, this makes me feel very grateful and thankful that photography walked into my life, I don't really think I deserve any of what has been happening in my life for the past few years, but THANK YOU to anyone who has made all this possible, I'm feeling blessed. (Tanya J. if you're reading this, you're the angel who offered me that analog Olympus one fine day in 2007. Kindface, you're the one who has been developing my first rolls for free. You guys made it all started. M.E.R.C.I). 

And lastly, to anyone out there reading this : BELIEVE YOU CAN, YOU WILL.

Mariage dans les Montagnes Suisses | A Magical Wedding in the Swiss Mountains

Un joli mariage d'hiver avec finalement beaucoup de soleil alors que nous attendions la neige ! Le parapluie a donc servi d'ombrelle...
Virgnie et Nicolas se sont dit oui en février dernier. Tous deux mélomanes, ils ont choisi un mariage sous le signe de la musique: disque vinyle en guise d'invitation, pass de concerts pour les marques places, et le groupe bernois (qui - à mon humble avis- gagne vraiment à être connu. A écouter juste au-dessus) Patrick Bishop  pour sublimer la cérémonie religieuse - une des plus belles auxquelles j'ai assisté. J'ai également redécouvert la magnifique chanson "Wedding Song" de Bob Dylan qui a été lue durant la cérémonie, petit extrait :

I love you more than ever, more than time and more than love

I love you more than money and more than the stars above

I love you more than madness, more than waves upon the sea

I love you more than life itself, you mean that much to me.

Ever since you walked right in the circle's been complete

I've said goodbye to haunted rooms and faces in the street

In the courtyard of the jester which is hidden from the sun

I love you more than ever and I haven't yet begun.

You breathed on me and made my life a richer one to live

When I was deep in powerty you taught me how to give

Dried the tears up from my dreams and pulled me from the hole

I love you more than ever and it binds me to this all.

I finally had some time to share with you this beautiful winter wedding in Switzerland, where we were expecting snow but turned out to be finally quite warm ! The umbrella hence turned to a sunshade :)
Virginie & Nicolas are both music-lovers and decided to have a wedding filled with music, starting from the wedding invitations and save-the-date that were actual vinyles. Rock bands as table names and concert pass as seat name tags...Getting an "all-access" pass was a first for me, I felt pretty cool :)
They also had the amazing (and -to my opinion- so underrated ) German band : Patrick Bishop, who turned the religious ceremony into one of the most sublime I've ever attended. Feel free to play their song, just right above. Some beautiful texts have also been read during the ceremony, such as the lyrics of the "Wedding Song" by Bob Dylan - which reminded me how genius this guy was -read above, it's gorgeous ain't it ?

Merci Virginie et Nicolas de m'avoir fait confiance pour votre beau jour.

Je t'aime, moi non plus | The Parisian Metro

Chaque parisien a son histoire avec le métro, il nous est forcément tous déjà arrivé quelque chose sur l'une de ses 14 lignes... Pour la plupart, en tous les cas pour moi, c'est "Je t'aime, moi non plus" avec ce métro. Parfois, c'est l'homme idéal, toujours là, prêt à nous emmener où l'on veut, quand on veut...enfin, quand il est pas trop fatigué. Et parfois, il te pose un lapin, te laisse poireauter sans te prévenir. Y'en a qui, comme Cabrel, l'aime à mourir, il l'aime tellement qu'ils décident de finir leur vie avec lui, sur ses rails, ce qui n'est pas du goût de tout le monde...
Parfois, chez lui, dans ses couloirs, y'a des super concerts improvisés, parfois tu assistes aussi au pire concert de ta vie genre The Voice avec tous les perdants de la Star Ac.
Parfois il te permet de faire les plus jolies rencontres, parfois il emmène avec lui les gens les plus bizarres de la ville, et bien sûr comme le placement de table c'est pas son fort, ils se retrouvent tous dans ton wagon, assis juste à côté de toi. Et là, tu as juste envie de lui dire : Ecoute métro, on a vécu une belle histoire mais j'en ai ma claque, toi et moi c'est fini ! Et puis au final, tu te rends compte qu'il est comme les artères de Paris, et que c'est quand même difficile de se passer de lui.

///

Every Parisian has his own story with the Parisian Metro, we all have a story to tell about what happened on one of its 14 lines... For most of us, at least for me, it's a love-hate relationship with this metro.

Sometimes, the metro is like the perfect guy, always there, ready to take you anywhere you want, anytime you want to...well, that's when he's not too tired. And sometimes, he can stand you up, let you wait for ages without a call. Some love him to death - literally. They throw themselves at his feet rails. Which of course, annoys a lot of us, we all want to be selfish with him and expect him to be here whenever we need him...

Sometimes, the most amazing improvised gigs happened along his corridors, sometimes he take you to the worst gig ever, like a mashup with all the losers from The Voice and X-factor.

Sometimes, when you travel with him you have the most beautiful encounters, sometimes he just travels with the weirdest people in the city and of course, he sat them just beside you. That's when you lose your temper and wanna shout at him : Listen dear metro, I loved you, but I can't take it anymore, let's call it quits! But then, you come to realize, metro is like the arteries of Paris, you can't really live without him.

Welcome to the World : Raphael | Séance photo nouveau-né

 

"I brought children into this dark world because it needed the light that only a child can bring"

   

On Love and Light | Wedding in Switzerland

When you possess light within,

You see it externally.

 - Anaïs Nin -

Pour faire revenir le printemps, voici un petit extrait du mariage en Suisse de Mana & Patrick

             

A fun family session | Photographe Portrait de famille sur Paris

Aujourd'hui je partage avec vous une chouette séance avec la super famille G. composée de Justine, Matthieu et leurs deux enfants : Ezra & Iñaki. J'ai rencontré Justine il y a de ça quelque temps déjà , elle venait tout juste de se marier et je savais qu'avec cette fille au caractère bien trempé, on allait être copines :). Ce n'est que quelques années plus tard, lors de son retour à Paris après un détour par le Québec, que je la retrouve, cette fois maman de deux petits gars aux caractères bien trempés aussi !
C'est au cours d'une après-midi plutôt pluvieuse que je retrouve tout ce petit monde dans leur appartement parisien... qu'ils ont quitté depuis pour s'installer de nouveau à Montréal.
Matthieu est chef cuistot et passionné de cuisine, c'est donc sans hésitation que j'ai dis oui pour une séance à midi ! Une invitation à la table de chef Matthieu ça ne pouvait pas se refuser :) et j'ai bien été gâtée...la suite en image, enjoy !

Today, I'd like to share with you a fun family session I had with Justine, Matthieu and their two boys: Ezra & Iñaki. I met Justine quite a while ago and I knew straight away that this bold girl and I would be good friends :) . But it's only a few years later, when she was back in Paris from a few year-stay in Montreal, that I would meet her again, mother of two boys - as bold as her, i must say !
We started the photoshoot in their Parisian appartment - that they since left for Montreal, again !
Justine's husband being an awesome chef, I couldn't say no to a photoshoot starting at noon with a lunch prepared by Chef Matthieu :) It was a feast for my stomach and for the eyes too...

Tomates trois couleurs avec sa sauce huile vanillée, chorizo, cébette // Tree colors tomatoes with a  chorizo & vanilla fragrant oil sauce, spring onion

Iñaki : Comment bien se laver les mains avant de manger - Showing me how to wash hands properly before eating

Amuse-bouche : Pomme de terre, jambon-comté, salade, gelée de cerfeuil, graine de sarrasin // Appetizer : Potatoes, ham-comté cheese, salad, chervil aspic, buckwheat seeds

Pré-dessert : pêche pochée au Rooibos // Pre-dessert : poched peach in Rooibos

Iñaki : me montre comment bien skater sur sa planche de bois - Showing me how to skate properly on his wood board

Biscuit macaron aux framboises fraîches // Macaron with fresh rasberries Yes, I was in heaven ...

Merci Justine pour ton amitié et tes précieux conseils ;)
Merci Matthieu de m'avoir régalé et conseillé aussi
Merci Iñaki de m'avoir appris à faire du skate comme les vrais
Merci Ezra d'avoir décalé ta sieste pour moi

Love,
Cx

Series of Portraits | People of Melbourne.

For those who have missed the part I, it's here and part II is here. As promised, here's part III of the OZ trip, dedicated to Melbourne. It is a pretty long post I have to say, but if you have patience, read on friends ! Coz I have met some amazing people.

Forum Theatre

One of the highlights of my Australian trip is definitely the city of Melbourne. This city struck me by its amazing diversity. It’s one of those cities where you definitely can’t judge a book by its cover. Everyone is different, everyone has his own style, his own story to tell, a unique background, etc. And you surely won't be able to tell what the person's occupation is by the way he/she looks.

It’s a vibrant city, artistically speaking, it might be the place to be; very inspiring, innovative, cultural mix, old and new can share the same space without it being aesthetically disturbing; it also has this European touch to it with some small alleys and little cafés, some very nice arcades like the ones you can find in Paris.

Royal Arcade on Bourke street

 A lot of street art, fell in love with Hosier Lane, here's a glimpse of it :

Anyways, you got it, I REALLY loved this city where unfortunately, I only stayed 4 days . So on the last day of my stay, I felt I couldn’t leave this city without grabbing a photographic witness of its great vibes. So I decided to go on the streets with my camera, talked to people, asked to share a little bit of their story with me and if I could take their portrait. To my great surprise, NONE of the people I asked refused.

I asked them these three questions: 
What’s your occupation / What do you like about Melbourne / What’s your biggest dream ?

Here are the amazing people I met on that day :

Peter was the first person I talked to for this series of portraits. Because with his own unique look: this big ginger beard and tattooed arms, I was pretty sure that he would have an interesting story to tell. And I wasn’t wrong, he is the typical example of the “can’t judge a book by its cover”-people that Melbourne can offer.

Occupation: Former cook, now Chaplaincy for the Protestant Church of Melbourne
4 days a week, Peter is working on the streets of Melbourne, with homeless and whoever would need help or just an ear to talk to. (If you ever want to meet him, he’s on Bourke Street every Thursdays). “Everyone has a story to tell” Peter said and most of the time, “our prejudices shape us and the way we interact with others.” Peter wishes that people could realize that we’re all from the same family: the human family; that no one can live in isolation but can only survive through a community. Community doesn’t mean sharing the same religion, community means that “we care for our neighbours like we care for ourselves, as Jesus asked – because can you say that you don’t love your neighbors but love God??” Wise question Peter...

About Melbourne: “I love Melbourne for its warmth, for the friendliness”

Biggest dream : “I would like to inspire my grand children to grow up and care not only for others but for the entire creation. To look after the planet we’ve been given because it’s not ours, we’re only takers and must take care of it”

I heard a nice bluesy-jazzy raw voice from the other side of the street and loved it so I crossed to see who was singing. It was John. Feathered hat, small round black shades, and a voice with some notes of Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen. His cover of “Secret Heart” by Feist blew me away.

In between two songs, I just time to chat for 5 mins with him.

Occupation : Singer/Songwriter. Been working in the Australian music industry for nearly 40 years now.

  

Biggest dream : “It’s now kinda impossible but I was close, I always dreamt to play with Miles Davis”

Gary, the Frenchie :) 

For those who know me a little, you might know that I’m a little really obsessed with Caramel Beurre Salé (Salted butter Caramel). So when I saw this little kiosque selling French Crêpes with Salted Caramel then I couldn’t NOT stop. That’s when I met Gary. 26 year-old French man, from Bordeaux. He used to be a croupier in Casinos and decided to travel to Australia under a Working Holiday Visa, just to discover something different, to break the routine. He never really travelled far, so that was the further he could go. He’s been in Melbourne for almost three months now after having visited Fraser Island and the Whit Sundays

About Melbourne : “Open minded-people, cultural events all the time, I never get bored here, it’s very easy to meet new people.”

Biggest dream : “Ermm… be Rich ! No, actually I don’t really know, I just take one day at a time”

In Melbourne, every corner of each street will have something going on. So as I was walking down Bourke Street, I heard this pretty amazing classical music played on the piano, I couldn’t help but walk back up the whole street to see who was playing this. And then again, all I was expecting that is someone pretty mid-aged with a classical look was washed away by this “cant’ judge a book by its cover type of person”. Gareth was here, playing his amazing music, wearing his basic hoody with his ginger hair and earpieces that were probably bigger than any of mine. Nonetheless, the rest of the street was just like me : mesmerized by Gareth’s talent. There was something special about the vibrations of his pieces, something only music can bring, this magical thing that brings everyone on the same level of understanding, the universal language everyone can hear and understand: there were locals, there were tourists, there were a group of  ear-impaired kids, none of us was left indifferent by Gareth’s music. In less than 15mins, the street was filled with magic and Gareth’s hat with more money than it could contain. When Gareth took his break, I went to talk to him and ask him what was his motivations to play on the streets of Melbourne. He told me he came to Australia from Wales and stayed here because he fell in love but the story didn’t work out; however he really want to stay in this amazing city and also go back to studies because “Education is Key”; for that he needs 8,000AU$ per semester ! That sounded amazing to me, but looking at how fast people connected, paid for his music and album, I’m pretty sure he will reach his goal.

If you want to hear his music, head to his website

About Melbourne : Accessible city with so much diversity

Biggest dream: “I’d like people to hear my music and be touched by it. If it could be used for movies or ads, that would be awesome”

 

Shea and his friend Tania were just having lunch on the grass, with Shea's son : Blythe - the amazing kid I'm talking about just below. Don't ask me why, but I was drawn to them. I felt that those three were sensitive and kind souls. I wasn't wrong. Despite a standout style that made them look charismatic to my eyes (just like so many people in Melbourne though), both were pretty quiet and shy kind of persons. 

Shea is 28 year-old, father of Blythe, an amazing 6 year-old boy (see below). 

Occupation : Artist. 

Shea didn't talk much about what he is doing, just said he was into many stuff like photography, drawings etc then back home I did a little research and found more about his work through his son's website (yes, the 6 year-old Blythe has his own website...yes, he's pretty amazing, read on, you'll see..)

This is how Shea describes his work "Using the the most basic of tools - a humble two dollar 0.5mm mechanical pencil, an eraser or two and some paper. Grandpa Shea creates emotive dark detailed imagery." His work is really cool, the details he can create with his pencil are pretty awesome, visit his website to find out more. Some of his photography work is here.

About Melbourne : "I love this city for the arts scene"

Biggest dream:  Shea simply replied : "To be healthy and Happy". And I quite like this answer :)

Tania, 23 year old. From Indonesia, but has traveled a lot from country to country with her family.

Occupation : Currently studying but not passionate about her studies. She would like to do more artistic stuff like music.

Biggest dream : To travel more, see other cultures, live with the locals , eat their food, dance with them

Well, you must have understood from above, I kinda fell in love with this lil boy. He is a one-of-kind special kid. 

Blythe is 6 and when I asked him what was his occupation, he replied " I'm an artist !". So I was like, "Oh great! what do you do ??". He said : "I draw, I take photos, I do sculptures, I do websites...I'm also a dancer". So like any stupid adults would, I thought to myself  "Oh how cute is this kid, dreaming about being so many things at the same time..." that's when Blythe went into his bag and pulled out a stack of BUSINESS CARDS and handed me one. Then he said "they're all unique because each one has a unqiue drawing at the back"... OK just that, would have sufficed for me to love him and find him utterly clever and cute. That was before I checked his website (www.blythehamlinkirk.com). This kid just blows me away by his creativity, confidence and uniqueness at 6. Go check out, and let me know what you think !

Biggest dream : "explore the world !" ... I mean, how can you not love the kid !!

I couldn't end this amazing day in a better way. I went to an Italian Restaurant (very good by the way. Olio Cucina e trattoria on Block Place), was greeted by this excessively Italian-mannered waiter : Sam ! Turned out that Sam isn't Italian at all, but his Italian façade works really well with the place.

Like any good Italian man would ask, Sam asked what a "beautiful lady" was doing in Melbourne and was my occupation. I said I was a French photographer on holiday in Australia. He then looked at me and said " We were meant to meet ! Wait, I will tell you my story" he then went to serve other customers and came back and told me his story while I was eating. And it goes like this :

Sam is from Lebanon which he left when he was 15 during the war. One day, back in Lebanon, he found in his street a camera bag that probably belonged to a photojournalist who got killed during an assault. He took the bag that contained cameras and thousands of rolls of film. Since then he fell in love with photography, he has at least 35 000 digital photos stored! Some on his phone, on which he showed me beautiful pictures of his wife and kids. As for the bag, he kept it for 35 years and now and then, he still scan some films on his Epson scanner to see some pictures. Bringing back memories of his dear Lebanon and of course crazy moments of war...

So yes, I guess we were meant to meet Sam. It's Mektoub ! ;)

Biggest dream : "Contribute to the Australian society to pay back what they've given me ever since I came from Lebanon"

So this is how my last day in Melbourne was spent, and I must say that this was the most enriching day I ever spent. Thank you Peter, John, Gareth, Gary, Shea, Tania, Blythe and Sam for having taken a bit of your time to talk to a complete stranger who asked you if she could take your portrait ! You made my day and remain one of my highlights on this trip. I hope you're all well and that life is treating you well wherever you are now.

Peace,

Cx