note from london/freudian goodness

My time here is London is coming to a close. I had so many things I wanted to do and see and in the end I was working on the next People Watching post for the NYTimes a lot longer than I planned. But hey...you gotta get it right.
Anyhow, it all works out the way it is supposed to. I did get to see the Lucian Freud exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery on Thursday, which was an absolute priority for me. So today when I was deciding what to do with my last day I just could not resist the pull of the Sigmund Freud Museum. I have wanted to go for years. I am fascinated by him and his office - the couch the chair. No photos allowed in the museum (of course I will be returning for a proper shoot soon), but they did let me shoot the ceiling in what is now the gift shop. Ernst Freud (Sigmund's son and Lucian's father) was an architect, so these fantastic skylights were his work. A couple more from all the Freud experiences as well. Both powerful emotional experiences for me. But the Lucian Freud show had me in tears. I saw some of my most favorite paintings on the planet for the first time.
Heading to NYC tomorrow for a brief shoot! Tomorrow I'll be in the USofA. How strange!

Sigmund Freud's home in Hampstead.

Something about this quote really resonates with me. Of course the rooms I shoot, I don't know when I enter, but I know them as intimately as I can when I leave. And I am there because I love and am interested in the people.

note from london/bethan laura wood

Spent a really lovely afternoon with designer Bethan Laura Wood today talking about laminate and light. I kinda love her! Just one quick image from her tiny studio! Check out her work here or at Nilufar.

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...

jesse schlesinger/nyt.people watching/outtakes

Here I am in London working on the next NYTimes People Watching post and I realized I never shared my outtakes of Jesse Schlesinger! So here they are, including my favorite portrait of Jesse and my favorite image of them all of the blue string study with that amazing triangle of light. A new People Watching post is coming soon. Just need to get it written!

note from london/hofmobiliendepot vienna

Just arrived in London yesterday and I admit it to you freely my friends! It is 3h30 in the afternoon and I am still in my PJs! Feels pretty good to languish around for a day.
But I had to tell you about the most amazing place that Maria Aubock sent me to in Vienna on Saturday. Wow did she have my number!! She sent me to the Hofmobiliendepot, which is basically a museum for Austrian furniture, but also looks at the era where the Habsburg monarchy moved their furniture around from castle to castle in long processions of carriages. So all of their residences were empty and furnished from a huge warehouse of furniture. Part of this museum is like a big furniture warehouse...it is amazing! I am not really one to read all those little placards at museums, but I read every one here and my eyes were wide with the slight craziness of this whole concept! Can you imagine how many carriages and horses and how much furniture there would be to furnish just one? The caravan would be a mile long!
The upper floors look rather in depth at the rish history of furniture design in Austria. Here are my favorite pics from the day. But honestly there are a lot more. I thought my iPhone was going to burst into flames it was so hot from taking pictures!

Love the mix of modern patterns with classic shapes here.

Couldn't ignore my cheeky little cherub, especially when surrounded by such serious faces. Of course what you cannot see is that he is actually pulling out his own heart, but I didn't want that part in the image. Not nice...


Shot in the stairwell, but just such good wallpaper!

One of my absolute favorite parts of the exhibit turned out to be about Lucie Rie again. I tweeted an interior of her Potters studio at the V&A awhile ago ( https://twitter.com/#!/lwillphoto/status/189459124235415552/photo/1 ). I was admiring this particular room and it turned out to be her home before she fled Vienna for London. Designed by then 25 year old Ernst Plischke. When she left for London, she deconstructed the room and took it with her and then customised it to fit her little London flat. She lived in this same space for the rest of her life. Love it!

note from vienna/carl aubock, architekt

As some of you know, for the past two days I have been photographing Werkstatte Carl Aubock. It has been a dream...but I knew it was going to be good the second I walked into Carl Aubock IV architecture office. You know how I knew? He has collections on his wall. Masses of the same thing. Groupings. I am obsessed with things that are grouped together and I have been for a long time. But Carl's collections are the best. My favorite are the collections of string that the postman brings around the mail everyday. He has kept them and they hang on a corkboard with a few choice (beautiful) objects. And his collections of harvest instruments is impressive and diverse. It gave me another push to hang all my scissors on my wall.
Back to London on Sunday after tomorrow's early morning floumarkt (flea market) trip and hopefully a little architecture tour!
Have a lovely weekend friends!

note from vienna/

Excuse me while I take a breather today. I need an early night.
Here is a shot from my time in Torino, Italy. Back tomorrow.