handcrafted modern/outtakes/blunk

JB Blunk's work in his home. Damn.

handcrafted modern/outtakes/blunk

I guess it makes sense that all this work on my new book has led to reviewing my first one, Handcrafted Modern. There are so many images that have never been seen, including this one at JB Blunk's home. I have been posting some outtakes on Instagram as well so you can follow me there if you'd like. I'd love to have you. I'm lesliewilliamson on IG.

notes from the writing cabin/a thought

Sometimes the images I like the most have nothing to do with where I am shooting. They don't talk about the place at all but are just a nice moment.

grandma project/prints

While doing an unexpected/emergency flood clean out of my closet (groan) I ran across my bag of prints from the last time I was at the darkroom. These two stopped me. I have had to set aside the project on my Grandmother's house for so long that it actually pains me. But, alas...
These prints are of my Grandfather's garage. It had been cleaned out and a couple days after I shot these, the sale of the house closed and it was subsequently ripped down. My writing "Leslie was here" probably dates back to when I was 8 years old. That chalkboard was some sort of time capsule for me. How often do you have a record of your writing and drawings in such a transitory media a chalk? It makes me happy to have shot this. A self portrait of sorts.

the Future Perfect SF/

A couple of favorite phone shots from my shoot at the new San Francisco outpost of The Future Perfect. You have to stop by if you are in town...it is a gorgeous.
Happy Weekend friends!

hands/

favorite from yesterday/

Just a couple of favorites from the shoot I am working on right now. I am fascinated with this antiquated alarm. It looks rather ominous...

seeing/

Sometimes you just need to stop seeing for awhile to be able to see better. Does that make sense?
My eyes needed a bit of a rest, but I am slowly coming back. Ran across this image from Ivan Ruller's apartment in Brno and feel like I have seen it for the first time. How did I never notice this one?
And it is a quiet image. Perfect.

Kickstarter/24 hours left!

I am at a loss for words that my Kickstarter has made its goal and then some at this point. Wow! Thanks to everyone who has pledged their support and endured my emails. Fundraising is a new thing for me and it has been a trial by fire but all wonderful lessons I am happy to have in my arsenal!
You still have time to pre buy your book and/or some prints should you want to. Even though I am over my goal every cent goes right back into my work of documenting the homes of these wonderful mid century architects and designers. It looks like there is just one more set of 16x20" prints left too. Someone should grab that! My prints go back to regular price with the end of this Kickstarter. They won't ever be priced this low again.
Thanks for all your support you beautiful people!

european moderns/the blurry stuff

Yes...a blurry picture today but I really love it. When I started on my European adventure photographing all the homes of architects and designers, I wasn't sure how much I could/should share. It is always a little dance with the internet and images and I just wasn't so sure of the steps. So I started taking these blurry shots of the houses I was shooting. Like a teaser image. I am a bit disappointed I didn't do this for all the houses because I am loving the ones I did take. Like this one from Carlo Mollino's kitchen. I am not sure if I love it because I know what the focused version looks like or if it is actually a good image. I guess time will tell.

A special thanks to Remodelista for including my Kickstarter fundraising campaign in their Current Obsessions post yesterday. It is nice to be obsessed over...  ; )
Less than two weeks left for my Kickstarter and about $11,000 still to raise! Exciting times!
Thanks to everyone who has pledged so far, you are all amazing!

writing/kickstarter...hmmm...

Well, goodness me my friends! Doing a Kickstarter campaign takes a lot of time! I've been back a week and have not written one word for my book since I have been home. Just a heck of a lot of emails (which is fun too).
I am so grateful for all the support thus far, but I still have a long way to go. So please check out the Kickstarter and support in whatever way you can - pledge, tell your friends, all of the above... you get the idea.
Me? I'll get back to writing tomorrow about this place...one of my favorite houses I have ever shot.

editing/heartbreaking at times

I swear sometimes editing feels a million tiny little deaths. I keep saying to myself "this is a good problem to have" this many good images, but Ugh! Here is one of my favorites from Gae Aulenti's apartment that I have just reluctantly cut away. Such a beautiful little moment, no?

I continue to write and edit away in this Mendocino cabin. Have a beautiful weekend friends.

american craft Q&A/

Just wanted to let you all know there is a really nice feature story on me and a Q&A about my work and some of my unseen projects in the Feb/March issue of American Craft. It should be hitting newsstands now. You can link to the online article here.
This image is from Paul Loebach's studio. I really wanted it in the story, but it didn't make so...here you go! I have become obsessed with the combination of copper and pink since I shot this. So good!

scenes from vienna/the MAK

As I was looking for more Otto Wagner images from my time in Vienna (which I didn't find yet...) I ran into these images I shot really quick at the MAK museum. When I asked some friends what I should not miss in Vienna, every single one said the MAK. I would agree. The building and bookstore alone are really good. I didn't get to see the collection because they were redoing a bunch of it, but I just sat on that pink couch in the second image and enjoyed the space.

scenes from Vienna/Otto Wagner

A couple of images from the cafe across from the Karlsplatz station designed by Otto Wagner in Vienna. I am pretty sure he designed this as well, but not positive...
This fantastic avocado green used to be my favorite color and is still close to my heart. I am always excited when I see refridgerators in this color. Or cars! I am fortunate that such simple and random things make me happy. It makes everyday a discovery.
Happy weekend!

angler's club pt. 2/golden gate park

Before the weekend I thought I would share the rest of my images from the San Francisco Angler's Club in Golden Gate Park. It is a peaceful place to just go and sit. Fly casting seems like an incredibly meditative activity, and watching from the sidelines is equally so.
Wish I had more to write today, but I am writing up my Kickstarter project summary and I have to keep to it. My Kickstarter will be launching soon (next week I hope?) and for all of you that have been wanting a sneak peek into the new book, this will be it. I'll keep you posted.
Have a lovely weekend beautiful people.

angler's club/golden gate park

This past weekend I took a walk in Golden Gate Park and stopped by the Angler's Clubhouse. This is one of my usual haunts for my walks but this day the clubhouse was open and they let me snoop around. I got a little obsessed with this corner and the red cross head pad, boraxo dispenser and grease - a winning combo! For what I have no idea...

writing/aalto

I am steeped in all things Alvar Aalto today since I am writing his chapter right now. I actually posted this image on Instagram  (my handle is @lesliewilliamson) so I thought I would share it properly here. As I am writing about Aalto my admiration grows. Plus it is a pleasure to be able to relive and review the discoveries as I shot. His paintings, in this image, were one such discovery. How good is that white on white painting? Love, love, love...

I see love/

Photography is so much of the time merely a projection. Does that make sense? What I mean is that when I take pictures of things in houses, I tend to see something more in them. On a psychological level, it could be more about me than it is about the person whose home it is. Hopefully it's about both of us. I have been thinking about this a lot with all the editing I have been doing for the European book (really need to figure out a title!). This image is the perfect example, although not from the book. It is from Věra Janoušková's atelier in Prague. It seems innocuous - a bookshelf with some pipes. But I saw this and I saw love. I had seen a couple of photographs of Vera's husband sitting around smoking pipes. It is clear that these were his, but he passed away years ago, so clearly she kept them beyond their "use". So to me they were a symbol of her love for her husband. How much of this is about me and how much is about Vera? I honestly have no idea...

finn juhl/

Just a quiet image for this Friday. Shot in Finn Juhl's home office. Have a lovely weekend friends.