london!/instagram

And just like that, the book is finished and off to the printers, I get a bit of work done for one of my favorite (and first!) clients and I am off to London. Time for a bit of an adventure for me. YAY!!!!!!!!
I am here for all the fun and friends of London Design Festival and then off to Antwerp to photograph some wonderful places and people. If you want to follow along in real time, your best bet is to follow me on Instagram . My handle is lesliewilliamson . Don't be alarmed that my account is private. I love to get followers and will accept your request asap, I just keep it private for copyright reasons. If you have been missing my posts which have been rather sporadic as of late, you'll get a nice hit of images from following on Instagram.
I will be posting here for longer posts where I have something to say and images that are not from my iPhone (my IG is Iphone pics only).
Whichever way works best for you, I look forward to sharing another adventure with you all! Here we go!!  : )

Bowerbirds Kickstarter/treat yourself for 2013

As a lot of you know, music is really important to my life. This is doubly true when I am on the road, like I was for most of the 2012. During my first trip to Europe this spring, my sonic traveling companions were the band the Bowerbirds. To say I am a fan is a bit of an understatement. Some music just speaks to your heart to the point that it just becomes a part of you. When I left for my first trip in April, their album, The Clearing, had just come out. I honestly think I listened to that single album almost exclusively for 6 weeks straight. I started following them on Twitter as they were traveling around on tour at the same time. I thought about how lucky they were to have people to travel with since in some ways it felt like I was "on tour" alone. But their music made me not so alone, you know? When I found out they had a Kickstarter campaign up to help fund their next album and building a solar studio for them to record it in, I felt I had to share it with you. $20 for music that changes your life is such a tiny price to pay. So treat yourself and support their music. It is the perfect way to start this amazing lucky 2013!

prague/randoms

Just some random favorites off my phone from my time in Prague today.

travel day/california bound!

The last leg of this amazing trip is today. I am jumping on a plane from Paris to San Francisco. In other words I am heading home. Looking forward to a little rest before I jump into all the editing I have to do.
This image I shot above Italy somewhere. I loved the way the clouds were nestling the mountains.
See you in California!

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!

scandinavian skies/

As many of you know, yesterday was a travel day for me. Not a long journey - I flew from Helsinki to Copenhagen and happily the plane wasn't full and it was easy going. I know it is such a cliche to take pictures out the windows of planes, especially for photographers...you see it all the time. But it is because it is so very pretty! So the first two images today are just before landing. I woke up (I sleep on every flight now. Planes taking off is like a sedative to me.) and saw this out the window. I am a sucker for cloud shadows on earth. The second two are from takeoff in Helsinki. I was having a little dorky fun...no app required!
But now I am happily installed with a lovely host in a Copenhagen suburb about 15 minutes away from Finn Juhl's house. I am finally washing some clothes (hallelujah!) had a home cooked meal and am enjoying the quiet - a still kind of quiet that you only get in houses. There is a whole back story to this particular house that I will share the details of at some point, but this shoot has been in the works since 2007! I'll be tweeting during the shoot day again, internet willing, so find me on twitter @lwillphoto and let me know what you think! I love hearing from you during my day!

post from the road/france

A couple more images from my weekend in Paris. The first is a quick shot at the wonderful store Merci and the second was just in the food stalls across the street from my hotel. Seeing the Kodak sign gave me a pang of sadness knowing this book won't be on film. Just too expensive and complicated with the travel this book involves.
I am currently somewhere between Paris and Le Corbusier's Cabanon in the S. of France in a roadside motel. So fantastic to be on a mini road trip! I loooooove road trips!

post from paris/le weekend

Arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon to the quiet of early August. I realized that the city would just be shutting down for the August holiday when I got here but it was actually perfect. A couple of shots from my mellow weekend. Lunches and dinners with friends in the Marais and just a bit dejetlagging. I unexpectedly bumped into someone  I knew on the street on Saturday which is always a lovely way to start a trip. It is nice to feel like you friends everywhere, n'est pas?
Today I begin the journey out to the South of France with my friend Monika. We are making it a mini road trip with our final destination being shoot one - Le Corbusier's Cabanon!!! To say I am excited is just seems like the silliest understatement on the planet...more soon...

note from london/the realities of travel

I've been thinking about this post for awhile. Some of you have asked about the daily things that go on on the road and how I manage such a long trip so today I'll talk about that. It is funny, but it is the little things...
First of all, I am a bit shy about portraits of me so I posted this image first, which I took somewhere in Milan, because the thought of a picture of me right there on everyone's Facebook feeds was not my favorite thought. The second shot is me with all my gear at the Torino train station. This was shot by my host in Torino, Maurizio Beucci, who is a Leica toting photographer himself. I asked him to shoot this because it is hard to explain what the reality of this kind of traveling is. Well this is what it looks like. My gear is heavy. This is the part that is not incredibly fun, but necessary. Trains are the most challenging because getting on and off take a bit of wrangling. I can do it though. but I am bruised on my shoulders and all over my legs (bruising easy doesn't make the situation better...) The other things that are necessary are the following. Staying in apartments, with friends or with hosts. This is key because you can cook for yourself and sometimes that is the only way to get grounded. On this trip for some reason my comfort meal have been scrambled eggs, toast and OJ. It started in Milan that first week and has carried over throughout the trip. The second key to travel for me is the "comfort kit". This consists of my cashmere wrap and my music, and honestly, if I have my music I can be OK anywhere. What else...texting helps...and Skype. But all in all, this travel has not had as huge an effect on me as I though it would. It has in the great ways. I have seen some of the most amazing places and met the most wonderful people! But no longing for home or anything. I used to be someone who could not be away from my nest very long and this trip, at a month, I was sitting there scratching my head and wondering how long I had been away. So I guess this is my life for the next few months. Heading to NY on Sunday, SF on Tuesday, Ukiah on Friday and then a bit of a rest back in SF. Of course there is plenty to do for the next trip in late June...