l'antipodeuse

Les Fruits de Mer

2012-01-31T11:43:00.011+01:00

Back from New Zealand at the weekend it seemed a good way to counter my wish to be back in a kiwi summer, by having a seafood lunch at Les Halles in Sète.
The crumbed oysters were delicous & the tiny glasses of white wine just enough for soothing a jetlagged head.

The Seal Nursery

2012-01-20T01:52:00.007+01:00

Just north of Kaikoura, where the Southern alps come down to meet the sea, about a 150m walk up into the bush, is a place where mother seals & their pups climb up along a mountain stream to this waterfall.
The babies play here, under the watchful eyes of one or two adults, while the rest of the mothers go out to sea to fish for the day.

The seal pups are only a couple of months old at this time of year and are still too small to go to nursery.
But the short climb up was worth it just for this view.

A shaky start to 2012

2012-01-02T12:44:00.014+01:00

I love the way Christmas is extended well into January here in France. I'm not going to be here for the galettes at epiphany this year but I am going to be enjoying the kiwi summer in New Zealand for a few weeks.

I'm flying out to visit family & friends in a few days time & will be spending time in Christchurch. This city has been through so much last year after the devastating February earthquake and the literally thousands of aftershocks throughout the rest of 2010. They had another couple of big shocks just before Christmas, resulting in a very shaky New Year. I hope that 2012 brings better times for the city.

La Cité Radieuse

2011-12-13T09:01:00.018+01:00

A few more images from Le Corbusier's Masion du Fada.

I've written a guest post over at the brilliant YHBHS.

Le Bouchon

2011-12-12T16:56:00.014+01:00

It was thanks to this post by Molly, that we had one of the most memorable meals in a long time on a recent trip to Lyon.

kodak portra 800

WEBSITE UPDATE

2011-12-05T15:38:00.006+01:00

My website has been updated with a new Life Book interior - Andy & Kate's beautiful & witty London home.

Thank you for all you comments on the Corbusier post. I've more photos to share with you from the apartment soon.

610

2011-11-30T16:46:00.015+01:00

Our very own apartment in Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse in Marseille for 3 whole days.
I truely didn't want to leave.

fujichrome provia 400

Il pleut sur la ville

2011-11-11T17:45:00.015+01:00

It's been a very wet autumn so far down this way.

The official posters for the London 2012 Olympics & Paralympics have been announced.
Rachel Whiteread's one is clever. Gary Hume's is beautiful but I cannot see the connection with sport. For me though, Howard Hodgkin's is the pick of them.

Sandra & Elias

2011-11-04T17:10:00.024+01:00

An engagement shoot with a lovely couple - Sandra & Elias - on a beautiful sunny autumn day out & about in London town.

Kate & Andy's home, London

2011-10-27T17:12:00.007+02:00

Silver Fern

2011-10-22T08:09:00.005+02:00

My talisman - a gold, silver fern given to me by my grandmother.

There's a little game happening between France & New Zealand tomorrow morning.

Go All Blacks!

BBQ for 2

2011-10-13T21:39:00.017+02:00

I've been looking back through my films from the summer & found these shots from an evening in the Aveyron.

Brunswick House Café

2011-10-02T15:01:00.023+02:00

Brunswick House Cafe is an 18th century mansion sandwiched between all the horrible new apartment developments along the river at Vauhall Bridge. It's a gem and completely unique.
You can read the Time Out review here.
I hadn't realised how much I'd missed eating these little Portuguese custard tarts in the second to last shot. I used to have them regularly while living in South London as it's an area with a big Portuguese community.

UN ÉTÉ INDIEN

2011-09-28T11:28:00.011+02:00

Sicilian Granita

2011-09-20T13:16:00.017+02:00

Limone

Mandorla - made from almonds.

A killer choccolatta granita.

Limone with flecks of lemon rind.

Pistachio and mandorla- a favourite with the locals.

Gelsi - a blackcurrant flavoured granita.

We were told to try granitas made from local Catanian flavours.
So there was a lot of limone sampling, much pistachio, a fair amount of mandorla and sadly, only one taste of gelsi.

The Water Polo Hour

2011-09-14T18:21:00.012+02:00

a glass of sicilian sunshine

2011-09-08T19:14:00.009+02:00

Oranges from the property we were staying at, freshly squeezed by hand + pastries from Roberto's*, equals a pretty perfect summer breakfast.

* post about Roberto to follow.

Kodak elitechrome 100

LOOKING DOWN & UP

2011-09-07T16:54:00.009+02:00

Fish Eyes & Car Keys

2011-09-06T15:57:00.012+02:00

Catania fish market, Sicily

Kodak portra 160

ETNA

2011-09-01T17:28:00.024+02:00

Etna got under my skin. We planned a trip with some friends to Sicily way back in January and since then we've been closely following Etna's activity throughout the year. It turns out that 2011 has been quite an active year for her, with Catania airport closing several times due to the amounts of ash in the air.
I hadn't paid close attention to just how close we were going to be staying to Etna - a mere 20kms or so away from the active crater. Needless to say we were eager to see what it would be like staying under her shadow.

It turned out that we had a superb view of her from the villa garden (photos 3 & 4) and each morning we looked up to chart her activity. We timed our evening drives back from the beach so we could watch the superb back lighting effects as the sun went down behind the cone.

None of the locals pay much attention to Etna - at least you don't see anyone looking up at her. Perhaps it's seen as tempting fate or a sign of weakness. But living between a volcano and the sea has shaped the character of this part of Sicily & of the Catanians.
Etna dominates the skyline with its omnipresent blackness.
You drive through towns which have bags of black abrasive volcanic dust out ready for rubbish collection. This black grit is everywhere and did awful things to my lens autofocus.

We drove up to the south crater & collected bits of volcanic rocks. We drove on the new roads built since the last major eruption in 2002, where you drive past fresh lava flows and see houses buried up to their roofs in lava.

Gradually we became used to Etna's reliable plume of smoke almost becoming part of the scenery.
Then one morning we were having our breakfast of brioche con granita only to look up to see an enormous mushroom cloud rising into the air. We rushed out into the town square to find that noone was really paying much attention to the plume of smoke. An old couple were looking up & we asked them in our broken Italian if this was normal. The old guy seemed to say that it was pretty normal'ish.
Having no internet, we brought the local paper the following day. It was clearly not very newsworthy, with just a small picture & article saying that Catania airport had briefly been closed, as the only evidence of what had been to us a pretty impressive show.
So just a normal'ish occurence for Catania then. We were hooked though & I have to admit that I've now a Mount Etna webcam as my homepage.

sunday morning's at sète

2011-08-29T17:10:00.012+02:00

What I really love about cafés in France is the relaxed attitude towards bringing your own food. It's more than tolerated, it's actively encouraged. We often go to Sète on a Sunday morning & always to the same café, waiting for a table if needs be. We bring pastries brought from a local boulangerie & sometimes stay long enough to order a plate of oysters & mussels from les Halles across the road. The waiter then brings us each a glass of wine that he's chosen, always a different variety for me & another for F.

I spotted these biscuits on our last visit. As a child we called them 'snail biscuits' & I spent many an afternoon baking & promptly eating them.

kodak elitechrome ebx 100

SONO SICILIANA

2011-08-28T22:29:00.011+02:00

We're back from a couple of weeks staying in the shadow of Mount Etna.

cathar country

2011-08-11T14:36:00.012+02:00

Thanks Suzie, I should have mentioned that these were taken at Queribus in Rousillion.

kodak elitechrome

luca's

2011-08-05T19:57:00.003+02:00

I can never decide which I like taking best - before or after fika shots.
At any rate the cinnamon buns at Luca's Bakery on Lordship Lane are some of the best.

kodak elitechrome

*

2011-08-02T23:43:00.015+02:00

the gilbert scott

2011-07-07T13:43:00.018+02:00

I took coffee at the newly opened Gilbert Scott Hotel beside St Pancras station while waiting for a Eurostar train.
It really is "taking" coffee the old fashioned way - complete with coffee pot and warm milk in a jug.

kodak elite chrome ebx 100

cy twombly

2011-07-06T10:59:00.010+02:00

Do not move
Let the wind speak
that is paradise.
... the verb is "see ", not "walk on"

Ezra Pound

Cy Twombly
24 Short Pieces.

coffee & cameras

2011-07-04T12:35:00.011+02:00

I met Marion & Robert for breakfast on a very rainy morning in Paris a couple of weeks ago.
You can see her side of the table here.

kodak elitechrome 100eb

Anish Kapoor au Grand Palais

2011-06-30T17:02:00.012+02:00

I was luckily enough to see Anish Kapoor's scultpure at the Grand Palais in Paris last week. Mille merci Marion for the tip. I went early to beat the ques. It was the last day of exhibition. Merci encore Marion! I'd never been to the Grand Palais before and was completely wowed by the space.

You can see more shots of Monumenta here, here & here.

kodak ektar 100

up, up & away

2011-06-27T12:03:00.007+02:00

Sadly not taken flying over England from a hot air balloon but from the rather less glamorous window of a red eye easyjet flight.

kodak portra 400

THE AALTO HOUSE

2011-06-18T12:45:00.017+02:00

I've made a little book of photos taken in Alvar Aalto's House in Helsinki.
If anyone is interested in a copy, it's available here.

It's a 32 page square format soft covered book, printed on heavy archival-quality (148 GSM) uncoated matt paper.

a week in the country

2011-06-17T14:08:00.012+02:00

A couple of weeks ago we had a few days staying at a friend's place in the Aveyron deep in the heart of Roquefort country. Much cheese was had, accompanied by lots of good reds from Rousillion.

kodak portra 400

coffee & donuts

2011-06-09T22:04:00.015+02:00

Ever since Nigel Slater wrote in the Observer food monthly about the St. John doughnuts, I've been wanting to go down to Maltby Street market to try one. I finally made it down on my last trip to London, early one sunny Saturday morning.

Fuji provia 400

how to make a cup of tea*

2011-06-05T17:03:00.016+02:00

warm cup

pour milk into said cup

draw tea

and pour

draw again

then fill to the brim

drink, preferably with dunking biscuit.

* the old fashioned way by my dad.

BLANCHE aka dog*

2011-05-24T13:21:00.003+02:00

* from Footrot Flats.

Kodak portra 160

ST. JOHN HOTEL

2011-05-22T17:53:00.019+02:00

It started sedately with an anticipated little bun moment - anchovy, prune & bitter chocolate.

Chatting to the waitress, she asked if I'd like to see one of the rooms.

Post royal wedding bunting.

then coffee while waiting for Charlotte.

and finally a glass of port & seed cake.

5 hours later, it was tempting to have gone down to the restaurant for dinner.
Next time.

fuji superia 400

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

2011-05-21T01:28:00.007+02:00

... on a ridiculously early Easyjet flight from Gatwick.

°

2011-05-08T20:38:00.008+02:00

Kodak Ektar 100

life books

2011-05-02T12:34:00.004+02:00

David over at the brilliant YHBHS has posted an interview with me.

kingston-upon-thames

2011-04-17T22:18:00.007+02:00

Tea & coffee cake go well together, especially when taken outside on a sunny spring afternoon beside the Thames.

kodak elite chrome ebx 100

•

2011-04-15T08:50:00.010+02:00

Audrey kept me company, while I had afternoon tea at the bar on the 5th floor of the National Portrait Gallery. The view wasn't bad either.

kodak elite chrome ebx 100

the sussex coast

2011-04-11T19:03:00.007+02:00

We nipped into a pub on our walk along the Sussex coast close to Brighton, to have a coffee.
It was a bright & clear early spring morning. After our coffees we came back outside to find a sea fog had rolled in over the coast.

fuji provia 400x

parador'ing

2011-03-31T14:59:00.010+02:00

Some more photos from Aiguablava.

Loving these tones in Georges Damblier's fashion images from the 50s.

Kodak ektar 100

a sunday in les cévennes

2011-03-26T09:08:00.007+01:00

Kodak Ektar 100

a week in the country

2011-03-24T21:33:00.005+01:00

Spring was just beginning to show its face in Wiltshire last week.

Kodak Ektar 100

second harvest

2011-03-18T15:06:00.004+01:00

Thanks for all your comments about the exhibition. It would've been such a superb evening if all of you had been there. Maybe one day we'll all get the chance to meet up in one place somewhere!

All the proceeds from the show will be going here.

•

2011-03-11T15:32:00.003+01:00

My thoughts are with the people of Japan.

photographies du japon

2011-03-07T20:54:00.014+01:00

I'll be showing some images from Japan at a bar in Montpellier over the next couple of weeks. If anyone is close enough to be able to, please come down for a drink this Thursday 10th of March. I'll be around from about 8ish.

En visite au Japon en 2010, j'ai été subjuguée par l'esthétique portée au quotidien. Le moindre détail est valorisé et célébré. En tant que photographe, je m'intéresse à la capture des fragments, aux nuances les plus infimes, aux textures, aux instants fugitifs. Pour mes recherches le Japon est un lieu privilégié. J'ai promené mes appareils entre Osaka et Kyoto, j'en ai ramené ces photographies.

Ce ne sont pas des portraits, mais plutôt des instantanés obliques, pris sur le vif, pour mieux saisir "les petits moments". On peut dire qu'il s'agit d'images de surfaces. Surfaces de choses cachés, de traces. Un Japon, dont je n'ai fait qu'effleurer la surface.

By the way Astrid kindly asked me to be part of her 'Why Do you Shoot Film Series'.
Take a look here & read the contributions by lots of creative photographers.

a weekend on the costa brava

2011-03-04T18:09:00.006+01:00

Over our long weekend staying at Aiguablava, much time was spent on our balcony watching the changing light & cloud formations over the Med. Highly recommended.

Fuji chrome sensia 100

to a brighter day

2011-02-24T12:25:00.011+01:00

Thank you for all your messages & concern for my family in Christchurch after the terrifying earthquake on Tuesday lunchtime. They are all fine physically & pretty much just taking each day as it comes.
Much of the city is still without power & water. It's going to take a lot of time & support to get over this frightening natural disaster.

the hare with amber eyes

2011-02-18T14:56:00.008+01:00

This is one of those books you read as slowly as possible in the hope that it won't come to an end.
Edmund de Waal's book is a biography of things as much as of people, specifically a collection of minature Japanese sculptures - netsuke.

We're off on a much needed break away to the wilds of the Catalunya coast this weekend.

sugar daddy

2011-02-14T17:01:00.003+01:00

An interview with Patrick Roger the French chocolatier at Nowness.

gruissan-plage

2011-02-09T20:12:00.008+01:00

Gruissan des Chalets is a small beach town with characteristic beach huts on stilts. It's where Betty Blue or 37.2ºC le Matin was filmed.
It was actually the first proper adult French film I saw years ago in New Zealand. I remember it more for it's exotic setting than for the antics of Béatrice Dalle.

fuji pro 160

galette des rois

2011-01-29T18:50:00.010+01:00

Throughout January in French bakeries you'll find epiphany cakes. They come in 2 sorts - either a flakey pastry filled with frangipane version or my preference, a brioche covered with candied fruit royaume. There's always a trinket or une fève (traditionally a broad bean) inside and the lucky finder gets to wear a crown which comes with every galette.

lumière

2011-01-26T14:59:00.011+01:00

We gave F's grandfather's Lumière twin lens from the 50s, an overhaul. I like the fact that his grandfather decided on a French camera. Perhaps back then it was a popular camera to have.
After some ok results from a test roll, on va sortir avec lui quelque part.

chez bebelle

2011-01-19T13:56:00.010+01:00

Chez Bebelle is a café / bistro in the midst of Les halles in Narboone. We breakfasted there a few Sundays ago and liked it so much decided to go back for lunch as well.
What at 10am had been a quiet Sunday morning café, had at midday turned into a mass of people, with groups of families & friends drinking wine and eating plates of charcuterie or fruits de mer brought over from neighbouring stalls.
We shared a table with a couple who'd come up from Beziers for the day.
It was very good fun and I ran out of film. Problem solved by nippng across the road to the tabac for a couple of rolls of kodak gold.

fuji superia 200

l'hiver

2011-01-13T17:17:00.005+01:00

fuji superia 200

old school

2011-01-11T12:21:00.009+01:00

On Sunday morning we ventured out on a trip to Narboone, about an hour's drive west of Montpellier.
We were aiming for the covered market but we walked through this brilliant old fashioned bits & bobs market first.
Those slippers look as though they've been put out every weekend since the 70s!

kodak gold 200

potatoes • potatoes • potatoes

2011-01-09T17:56:00.010+01:00

The weather has been so wet & grey here recently that we've been exploring the covered markets in our area. On Sunday mornings in France about the only places open are covered markets!
These shots are from Les halles in the old centre of Nîmes. It's a superb market, full of lots of old fashioned stalls. Something we'd not seen before were the potatoe, onion & garlic stalls. There were at least 3 of them in the market. We wondered if all French markets used to have such stalls?

What are your favourite market food stalls?

fuji pro400

au marché

2011-01-05T10:13:00.011+01:00

I was given a new-old Canon film camera for Christmas. I'd been wanting a film camera with which I could use my EF lens. The EOS 30 isn't the most beautiful of cameras it must be said, being one of the last film cameras before canon went digital. The idea was to try and combine the effects of film with the sharpness of my canon lens. These are some shots from the test roll taken during the holidays.

I'm looking forward to 2011 being a year of much film experimentation.

We didn't go far over the Christmas break so most of the roll were photos taken at various markets we went to. These are from our local organic market at Les Arceaux.

fuji pro400

les douceurs

2011-01-02T17:14:00.016+01:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
May 2011 be full of sweetness for you all.
Thank you for all your comments & encouragement during 2010.

Speaking of which, if any of you feel like voting for a food photo of mine on the Nowness site, ça sera vraiment sympa.
In any case Nowness is worth checking out. It's a site featuring daily snippets from the cultural world.

le comptoir dugommier

2010-12-30T20:12:00.012+01:00

Back in November I spent the day in Marseille & had lunch with a friend at Le Comptoir Dugommier.
For many years this was a restuarant run by an elderly Lithuanian woman & each Friday this friend used to lunch there. It was the first time she'd been since the old lady retired last year, so she was keen to see how it had changed.
All the old charm is still there in spades with the addition of some funky 70s touches, including coloured formica tables & chairs and red checked wax tablecloths.
Oh and the food is really good too.

Marion had lunch there a few weeks ago also. Have a look at her pics.

I love this time between Christmas & New Year. I hope you're all having a merry time!

Le Comptoir Dugommier
14 boulevard Dugommier
13001 Marseille • 04 91 62 21 21
Les midis du lundi au vendredi.

14 Boulevard Dugommier, 13001 Marseille

Tél : 04 91 62 21 2114 boulevard Dugommier

14 Boulevard Dugommier, 13001 Marseille

Tél : 04 91 62 21 21

*

2010-12-19T17:05:00.005+01:00

A few more details from the wedding I shot in september.
A big thank you to Celine from Bonjour who gave me lots of practical tips & advice for shooting weddings!

à votre santé

2010-12-17T15:09:00.005+01:00

Back in at the beginning of September I photographed a wedding for a couple in Nîmes.
It was my first!
It seemed a good time of year to post some of the glass shots I took of the celebrations.

Cheers!

image de la semaine

2010-12-15T12:37:00.012+01:00

Monade, based in Marseille, is a project entitled 'Image de la Semaine'. They've recently put together a book of 200 weeks of images - exhibited by faberNovel in Paris last week.
My image is on the left - week 69.

Have a look at the other 199 - there are some beauts.

Thursday in London town

2010-12-10T11:02:00.009+01:00

Yesterday after I'd finished some work in central London, I found myself in the midst of the student protest against increased tution fees. I got my camera out & took some shots along with the press guys with their huge zooms & multiple cameras around their necks. It was funny to see their bemused looks.
I then walked across the river to Waterloo Station to pick up a bus as transport had been disrupted due to the protests. Quite soon after it was dusk. An interesting day out in London town.

au bon restaurant

2010-12-05T12:34:00.009+01:00

These shots are from a test roll on a new 33mm pentax which I took with us on a short trip to Toulouse last week. They're disappointly dark but it was a pretty gloomy day & the slide film wasn't so fast.
Bon...
The Marché Victor Hugo is a covered market open each morning in the centre of the city. Above the market is a string of superb restaurants open for lunch. Toulouse is one of those places where you can't help but eat really well. You have no choice really :)

kodak elite chrome 200

more autocord musings

2010-11-29T09:57:00.011+01:00

I really loved my couple of days experimenting with the autocord. Thank you Chris!
This camera forces you to slow down completely. I love the poetic nature of it. The autocord is certainly not a camera that likes to be rushed.
I did find it quite tricky to line shots up. I guess I like my verticals vertical & horizontals horizontal.
Next time I'll use a tripod and try some portraits.
In any case I'm keeping my eye on ebay for 6x6 cameras.

What are your favourite medium format cameras?

marylebone nordic bakery

2010-11-23T15:29:00.012+01:00

While I was last in London a couple of weeks ago I borrowed a friend's Minolta a utocord twin lens to play with for a couple of days.
These were taken in the recently opened Marylebone branch of the Nordic Bakery where I met up with Charlotte one evening for tea & cinnamon buns.

Kodak Provia 400nc

pumps

2010-11-19T13:28:00.008+01:00

I'm celebrating with a Japanese birthday meal this evening. It's warm enough here today to be wearing my Repetto ballet pumps. Which is reason enough for a glass or two of celebratory plum wine!
However after seeing Marion's post this morning, I've now some serious Repetto boot envy.

Wishing you all the best of weekends!

slide film

2010-11-13T18:15:00.003+01:00

Some film shots on the Rollei 35 from the summer in Italy.

Fujichrome Sensia 100

this & that

2010-11-04T23:52:00.005+01:00

A few days in Wiltshire dog sitting & doing countryish things, before heading to London for a few days of culturalish things. Plus some experimenting with this camera.

I'm also looking forward to seeing this exhibtion at RIBA.

La Bastide de Marie

2010-10-21T12:45:00.019+02:00

During the summer I spent a weekend in the Luberon doing research for an article. Part of the research involved visiting a Provençal country hotel - La Bastide de Marie.
It is Peter Mayle country and in fact, is not far from the surprisingly unspoilt Ménerbes, the village which he wrote about in 'A Year in Provence'.

La Bastide de Marie is luxurious, in an understated Provençal kindof way. It's set amongst a vineyard, with views looking out to the Luberon hills. The kitchen is open and airy. In fact the morning I was there, a freshly baked tray of madeleines was cooling outside the kitchen, wafting delicious smells over the guests eating leur petit dejeuner in the morning sun.

It was relaxed & friendly and reminded me of similar upmarket hotels set amongst working vineyards, in New Zealand.

Life Book interiors

2010-10-18T15:46:00.008+02:00

I've finally updated my website with images of some recent Life Books.

Thanks for your comments on Aalto's home. I've discovered that Apartment Therapy have done a
house tour of his home. So there's lots more images to be seen there.

the real thing - part 3

2010-10-11T09:18:00.003+02:00

These pieces of Aalto & Aino glassware had a very different feel from the mass produced ones you find today. The golden hues were especially lovely; the quality of the glass more fluid & natural.

the real thing - part 2

2010-10-08T16:02:00.006+02:00

More Aalto goodness with a selection of the light fittings in his home.
The chairs in the second image are from Venice where Aalto & Aino honeymooned.

the real thing - part 1

2010-10-07T14:39:00.009+02:00

Whilst in Helsinki, I went on a little excursion on the tram out to the suburbs to find the house Alvar Aalto designed and lived in for 40 years. It was his home and also working studio for many years.
It's a mixture of his well known furniture, vases and lights and also one off sample pieces which never went into production. Alongside Aalto's pieces, are designs from both his first wife Aino - a superb designer and second wife Elissa - also an architect.

These are from the upstairs bedrooms.

If you go down to the woods

2010-09-28T17:17:00.011+02:00

My first night in Finland was at Hotel Helka in Helsinki. The furniture & light fittings are Aalto and there's Finlandia vodka in the minibar.
Watch out for bears lurking on the 6th floor though.

i ♥ italia

2010-09-10T11:57:00.012+02:00

I've still got lots of images from Italy I want to post but they'll have to wait for a few weeks.
I have lots of work on at the moment & also fly to London tomorrow. So I'm going to take a break from here for awhile.

Thanks for all your comments recently & also for your tips for cafés in Helsinki. I shall be trying them all!

my name is lucca

2010-09-08T09:03:00.007+02:00

One of our days in Italy was spent wandering around Lucca. I really liked the city. It's full of all the best things Tuscane - great food & wine, beautiful piazzas, Renaissance towers & wicked shopping.

grainy summer

2010-09-02T09:41:00.007+02:00

Inspired by Charlotte's beautiful, grainy images on Ilford delta 3200 black & white film, I decided to give it a go & shoot a roll over the summer.
I especially like it's graphic quality and the way it captures typography.

Many thanks for your Helsinki suggestions!

villa anna

2010-08-31T14:41:00.007+02:00

I'll be in Helsinki in a few weeks time for a couple of nights and wondered if any of you could recommend any nice hotels to stay in.
Also I'd love to hear of any tips for good cafés - especially if they have cinnamon buns.
Thanks!

I'll be looking for this café most definitely.

ciao bella

2010-08-30T11:08:00.011+02:00

In Florence... we brought a very gold handbag for our 4 year old neice,

watched the sunset over the Arno,

found red currants in the Mercato Centrale,

ate masses of gelati *,

and had coffee in Piazza Santo Spirito, whilst looking up at the facade of Brunelleschi's church.

* photo by f

argentique

2010-08-12T17:23:00.016+02:00

Last week the rollei and I went on our first 'proper' outing together.
We met Marion at Les Rencontres Arles Photographie and wandered around the exhibitions for the day.
The results were a mixed bag - most of the shots inside were pretty overexposed. I have lots more experimenting to do. So I think that rollei will be coming along on holiday with us to Italy next week!

Have a look at Marion's version of the day.

fujichrome sensia 100

focus

2010-08-11T14:06:00.005+02:00

just a little skite*

2010-07-29T11:40:00.015+02:00

A new toy to play with.
It's a tiny pocket handkerchief of a camera from the '60s.

* kiwi speak

do le RinQuinQuin

2010-07-28T10:06:00.021+02:00

A few weeks ago we spent the weekend in the Luberon as I had a magazine article to take pictures for. One day we lunched in this superbly old school restaurant in Bonnieux. It was one of the best restuarant meals I've had for ages; especially as for research & photographic purposes, we had to sample some of the apéritifs de Provence.
It was the RinQuinQuin that totally had me. It rolls off the tongue like a cross between a Moulin Rouge show girl and a Noël Coward play. There's usually à la pêche added to the name but I prefer to call it simply le RinQuinQuin.

Hôtel Restaurant Panoramique César
Place de la Liberté,
84480, Bonnieux

out of focus

2010-07-26T12:26:00.006+02:00

Some blurry mistakes from Japan.
Feeling slightly hazy myself these days.

People watching in Gion district, Kyoto

2010-07-22T14:08:00.009+02:00

食べる

2010-07-19T12:19:00.008+02:00

soba noddles

unagi (smoked eel)

japanese tea

dumplings

green tea ice-cream

& cucumbers on a stick!

boom!

2010-07-15T15:45:00.004+02:00

We biked out to a park just outside of Montpellier to watch the 14th juillet feu d'artifice.
It started late. I suspect, late enough, for one's meal out to have been suitably digested.
Life centres around food here after all.

Osaka aquarium

2010-07-12T13:52:00.003+02:00

day tripper

2010-07-09T17:20:00.013+02:00

It's thanks to Marion that I saw this superb exhibition on Tuesday and what a brilliant excuse to take the train to Marseille for the day. I wandered around Le Panier, had lunch at la Caravelle & then saw the exhibiton with Marion later on in the afternoon.
It was brilliant to meet her finally. She's a great gal; as I knew she would be. Funny and sweet and of course très chic!
If you haven't found her exquisite blog yet, then I suggest you do so tout de suite!

Thank you for all your comments on my Japanese posts. Bear with me, as I 've got a few more up my sleeve yet.

thé vert partout

2010-07-05T14:47:00.008+02:00

Being in Japan, Nakamura Toukiti is a green tea ice-cream parlour at Kyoto's train station. My parfait was made up of green tea jelly & ice-cream, red bean paste, rice bubbles, cream and a few things i couldn't recognise. It took my taste buds a little while to get used to the toned down sweetness but in the end, as with most things in Japan, i was won over by it's sheer gorgeousness.

on tatami

2010-07-02T18:20:00.025+02:00

Not so long ago, I'm ashamed to admit, I hadn't heard of the word tatami.
But after a night sleeping on tatami mats in Japan, I was completely sold on the concept. In fact i really, really like the whole concept of tatami mats. I like the fact that each region in Japan has particluar sized tatami and the way traditionally a room was built according to a specific number of tatami mats.
I especailly like how each morning you neatly fold up your bedding and store it in a cupboard, to be brought out again in the evening. Voila, you have an instant living room; a rearranged space, tidy and serene.

I've always liked the idea of using the same space in different ways and also changing room layouts. As a child I used to be constantly rearranging my bedroom furniture. In fact I also really quite like the feeling of being in a new apartment before all the boxes have been unpacked and all the living spaces have been defined. I'm not so keen on change in general but I do quite like room changes.

sushi time

2010-06-30T13:51:00.009+02:00

This was Yo Sushi with a difference. The real McHoy and super cheap. Those in the know ordered fresh plates, rather than grabbing them off the conveyor belt. Freshness was paramount, as was beer!

the philosopher's walk

2010-06-28T15:31:00.017+02:00

The Philosopher's walk in Kyoto is so named after a philosophy professor - Nishida Kitaro, who used to walk along this cherry tree lined canal for his daily constitutional.
We started at the Ginkaku-ji (Silver temple) end and wandered down until hunger got the better of us and we stopped for a bowl of noddles & tofu - a specialty of this part of Kyoto.
Although it must be spectacular during sakura season, we really enjoyed the quietness, incredible greens of the trees in early summer, little cafés & shops and glimpses through doorways along the way.

Hiki recently did the same walk. You can see it through her eyes here.

breakfast japanese style

2010-06-24T06:47:00.009+02:00

I'm back from my travels, after having to cut short my trip to Japan to go to New Zealand for family reasons. Still, I had a superb few days and took lots & lots of photos.
The food was incredible and I was lucky to have a very disserning guide to show me some of her favourite Japanese foods.

日本

2010-05-31T15:37:00.005+02:00

I've been in Wiltshire dog sitting and enjoying the gorgeous English country. England really is a 'green and pleasant land'. I even found my own mini sakura blossom; very apt as I'm off on an adventure to Japan.
I'll be back in a couple of weeks with lots of photos.

SE5

2010-05-24T22:47:00.009+02:00

When I lived in London it was mostly in Camberwell in South east London. Camberwell Grove is the one of the prettiest streets with its tree lined Georgian architecture, brightly painted doors and iron railings. It was looking very summery in the mini English heatwave of last weekend.