I am in love/

I have always dreamed of living in one of these water towers or are they watch towers? What would you call these? Anyhow, yesterday I found my perfect one. It stand directly in the center of Mendocino village. I first spotted it when I was parking to get coffee. Then I walked around the block twice just admiring her from different angles. She is perfect! I could write here on the top floor...I know it! I am in love!

daily life/morning walk in Mendocino

Just a couple of shots from my rainy morning walk in Mendocino today. I am sequestered in a cabin writing the chapters for my new book. Apparently this is the only way I can effectively concentrate. So morning walks and then intensive writing for the rest of the day.

the last NYT People Watching/Carina Seth Andersson outtakes

I've been meaning to post some outtakes of Carina Seth Andersson from my People Watching post for the NYTimes so finally today here are a few. This will be my last People Watching post I am sad to say. There are big changes afoot at T Style online and that includes moving away from columns. So I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to my editors, Julia Felsenthal and Jane Herman Bishop who helped to make the column into something I will always be proud of. And of course a special thanks to all of you for following and sending kind and encouraging emails, comments, etc. People Watching sprang out of what I was doing already - namely finding people whose work I admire and basically inviting myself over to meet them - and I will continue to do just that. I find so much joy in it and even more in sharing these people with all of you. So maybe they will be posted here on my blog, or maybe they will be elsewhere. I have toyed with the idea of doing a one off magazine of all the wonderful people I have shot that have never been seen...there are so many possibilities! So we'll see...

For now, I am happily writing my new book and prepping a Kickstarter campaign that will post in the first weeks of 2013 to help me to finish that book. Lots of amazing things are on the horizon. So a deep and grateful thank you. I hope your holidays are filled with love, beauty and time with those that are dearest to you. 

Kisses from California! 

L-

gae aulenti/milan

I edited all the images from Gae Aulenti's home and I am bit in love with this one. It isn't from her home, though. I shot this in her architecture office which is attached to her apartment. There is something gorgeous with that reflection...so pretty!

bruno mathsson/sweden

My trip to Sweden a couple months ago was a very fruitful one, but my main reason for being there was to photograph Bruno Mathsson's home for my new book. During my lunch break I made a visit to the Bruno Mathsson International, where his offices were and where the company is still run from. There is a nice little archive...

alvar aalto studio/helsinki

I spent all day Sunday editing the images from Alvar Aalto's home in Helsinki and I ran across a few more from his studio that I had not shared yet. So here they are today! I don't have a lot of info on what you are looking at though. Sorry about that. Hopefully some of you will fill in the info? Thx!

centraal station/antwerp

Another travel day today but I have to say, it is so hard to leave Antwerp! I really love it here. But promises have been made for my return so I feel sure I will be back in the colder months. On to Paris and my last scheduled shoot of the trip!

antwerp/a walk in the park

My first day in Antwerp I arrived rather early at the house I was shooting. The curator was still eating breakfast and I felt so bad to interrupt! Luckily there was a break in the storm so I headed out for a coffee, but instead stumbled into this beautiful park that the house backs up to. The light was moving fast and furious that day making for breathtaking moments, fleeting, though they were. The light on this tree just took my breath away. Doesn't it look velvety? I know you all are just chomping at the bit to see interiors, but this walk in the park was so lovely I thought I would share it. The night before had been really windy (I can attest to this because I flew into the tiny Antwerp airport in a prop plane. What a ride!) so there were limbs down and leaves strewn everywhere.

london/random highlights

Just a few random shots from my time in London this past week. I was tooling around with friends enjoying the London Design Festival. A much needed week without any major photo shoots. These are all from my iPhone. The first is across the street from Established & Sons Studio Showroom.
The next two are from Jasper Morrison's tiny store in Shoreditch near his studio. My favorite exhibit was probably his crazy little show of different tape from around the world (you know how I love those collections). The last is from the beautiful Bruno Munari show at the Estorick Collection called "My Futurist Past". Of course I liked the utility of the fire extinguisher and alarm switches with his poster.

louisiana museum/humlebæk, denmark

So I love the Louisiana Museum but I really just fell in love with it's outdoor space more that the indoors. The collection of sculptures is wonderful. You can walk around and stumble upon a Serra or Henry Moore. But my favorite were these structures, in the children's area, each by a different architect. They just surprise you out of the trees. The first is by Ralph Erskine.

Aldo Rossi

Dominique Perrault

louisiana museum/humlebæk, denmark

During my stay in Denmark I headed out the the Louisiana Museum with a friend. My goodness what a beautiful museum. Just a couple of random images from the day. I ended up being far more enamored with the architecture of the place that the main exhibit which was on New Nordic Architecture. Of course the Giacometti exhibit was a lovely surprise. You can never see too many Giacometti's. I even saw one in one of the houses I shot. But that is another story...

Giacometti and Anselm Kiefer are a nice combo.

hans wegner/copenhagen

On my last day in Copenhagen, I paid a visit to the home of Hans Wegner. I had been hoping to shoot his house for my book but the family keeps it private and you have to respect that. So I wasn't able to shoot inside, but I at least wanted to share what I could. This is the exterior from the backyard. Downstairs is his studio and upstairs are the family living quarters. He only designed his own homes. Hans was too busy dreaming of furniture. I was lucky enough to help finish off the last of the raspberries from the Wegner's raspberry bushes. You all know how much I love my fresh fruit! They were delicious!!!
Today is day two of shooting Gae Aulenti's home in Milan. Then I am off to London for the London Design Festival. Should be fun!

ordrupgaard museum/

A couple of favorite shots from the end of my day on Friday. After I finished shooting Finn Juhl's home, I took a quick spin through the Ordrupgaard Museum, which is who runs the Juhl house now. It is so interesting to me that the Juhl house sat next door to this house, owned by Wilhelm and Henny Hansen. You cannot get two houses that are more different (and then add to this the fact that the museum has a Zaha Hadid extension). Anyhow, only two images today. I am taking it easy. But this week I'll post some previews from the book...Aalto and Juhl. Yeah, I thought you'd like that...

alvar aalto studio/helsinki

Believe it or not this was my lunch break yesterday. I am in Helsinki shooting the Alvar Aalto house for my book and at lunch I ran over to check out Aalto's studio a couple blocks away. Needless to say an amazing space. The house is equally so. I tweeted as I shot yesterday and plan to do the same today if you want to follow along you can follow me @lwillphoto.

skägga summer house/sauna

If I could transport myself somewhere right this second it would be here. With this weather (rain all day in Vienna makes this stipulation obligatory). And the second image would be my view.
Off to Helsinki tomorrow to shoot Alvar Aalto's House! I am super excited even though it is supposed to rain there too...

prague national theatre/

I finally had time to pick out a few of my favorite shots from the Prague National Theatre. The interiors of this place are just fantastic. All this green marble was apparently a gift from Cuba. Wish I knew the architect. I'll ask Adam Stech of Okolo and post it when I know. He knows everything Czech architecture (no joke).