Love is light

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

- Martin Luther King

This quote has run through my mind on and off for a while now, especially after the horrific attacks in Paris, Brussels and around the world. I've quite pondered about how my work, how my passion for love stories and for the beauty of life in general could, in some ways, bring light in others' lives, or a breath of life to the lifeless minds who are driven by hate. Tough question, I know right ? To date, I don't have a clear answer to it. But the project I wanted to share with you today was a sort of revelation to me, a sort of glimpse of how light, love and art can do when they're put together. A few weeks ago, my friend Nick from Greece showed me some pictures of an amazing place called Tatoi, I booked my flights straight away because I knew I wanted to shoot there. It used to be a Royal Palace (you can read more about it here and see some pictures of how it used to be here). But it's now completely abandoned and what used to be a magnificent Palace is now turning into ruins. It's quite an amazing experience to walk through these abandoned buildings and imagined how life was back then...Some buildings still have some furniture, old cars and wine barrels are still left there. The fate of this Royal estate is both sad and mesmerizing at the same time. I couldn't help but compare it to Versailles, imagine how it would be to see it abandoned and turn to ruins ?! 

So our aim was to kind of bring back to life this lifeless place. To bring the light of love within this complete chaos of ruins. To see life and motion where you think it wouldn't be anymore. Here are the pictures:

White dress : Violette Tannenbaum | Lilac Dress : Shopgossamer | MUHA : Frantzeska Koukoula | Headpiece and Silk runner & ribbons : Orchidée de Soie | Calligraphy : Nice Plume Calligraphies | Bespoke rings : Myrtille Beck | Film Lab : Carmencita Film Lab

On life and passing

I came back from a photoshoot with a gorgeous bouquet - one of my favorite perks of being a wedding photographer ! -  there were these gorgeous tulips that I couldn't stop staring at for the next few days. I kinda felt upset when they started to fade and lose their petals but I then noticed how beautiful the process actually was. That kind of mystical beauty about breathing their last breath after having fulfilled their purpose of bringing beauty in this world and given the best version of themselves. As I looked at the petals slowly falling one after another, it was like seeing someone saying : I've given everything I could, I've fulfilled my life purpose, now I can leave.

And it kinda pushed me to reflect back on our lives: are we aware of our life purpose? If so, are we developing ourselves to our full potential to serve this purpose, like a bud blooms into a full flower? Being alive is already a miracle (read more HERE), so are we living a life that celebrate this miracle? I believe my life purpose is to be of service, to contribute to make other people's life a happy(ier) one, at my own scale. I really love 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

I've recently read the book "The Miracle Morning" and I have to admit that it kinda changed my lifestyle ever since. And combined with the recent horrible events that happened in Paris, Brussels and around the world, I now wake up every day knowing that my life can stop anytime therefore I can't settle for less than the best version of myself, starting from the very moment I wake up. I mean, don't you want to leave this world feeling you've achieved the best that you could, that you've given everything you've been created for - just like the tulips ?  (more about why I'm a photographer, HERE) “Those who overcome the temptations of mediocrity and achieve everything they want in life have an extraordinarily compelling why that drives them. They have defined a clear life purpose that is more powerful than the collective sum of their petty problems and the countless obstacles they will inevitably face, and they wake up each day and work towards their purpose.” 
― Hal Elrod

I'd love for each one of us to wake up everyday with this thought in mind:

"Let each morn be better than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday." - Bahá’u’lláh

The Secret of a happy(ier) life : RESILIENCE

Last January, I've traveled through Australia and visited the amazing  Blue Mountains. The slate-blue haze that gives the mountains their name comes from a fine mist of oil exuded by the huge Eucalyptus trees that form a dense canopy across the landscape.
What I've learned is that Eucalyptus are one of the most resilient trees as it can grow back leaves only within 48 hours after being completely burnt! Isn't amazing? 48 hours !
I remember telling myself that one of my 2016 resolutions would be to learn to become as resilient as an Eucalyptus! Little did I know that it is scientifically proven that our human body actually stores emotions -  physiologically speaking - for only 90 seconds. Yep, you read well, 90 seconds. Now, I do hear you say : "well, when I get angry, it surely lasts more than 90 seconds!"... Sorry to say that if it does last longer than 90 seconds, it's because you choose to. It is actually our brain and the choice we make once the emotional trigger hits that will determine how we feel. We can either decide to let our thoughts escalate to a more frenzied state or down talk ourselves into a calm state. Honestly, I was blown away when I read about it. You can read more about this in Jill Bolte Taylor's book on how she discovered the brain's functioning after she suffered a stroke. She's talking about it with Oprah, here. Here's what she discovered:

"When a person has a reaction to something in their environment, there’s a 90 second chemical process that happens in the body; after that, any remaining emotional response is just the person choosing to stay in that emotional loop. Something happens in the external world and chemicals are flushed through your body which puts it on full alert. For those chemicals to totally flush out of the body it takes less than 90 seconds.

This means that for 90 seconds you can watch the process happening, you can feel it happening, and then you can watch it go away.

After that, if you continue to feel fear, anger, and so on, you need to look at the thoughts that you’re thinking that are re-stimulating the circuitry that is resulting in you having this physiological response over and over again."

NOW, isn't this a-ma-zing ? So here's a secret to a happier life : 90 seconds of ...patience! #2016goals

Spring is just around the corner, I think it is a great opportunity for us to do a little "spring cleaning" in our mind. As a baha'i, I will also celebrate Naw-Ruz, the beginning of a New Year with new resolutions!

Film photos are shot on Mamiya 645 AFD with Portra 400 | Dev and Scans by Carmencita Film Lab