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!

cabinet war rooms/london

While I was visiting London a couple of weeks ago I went to the Winston Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms. For those of you that are unfamiliar, this was the secret bunker where Winston Churchill and the British government worked and planned during WW2. I remember my first visit when I was 19. It had a huge effect on me. The idea that a door would be locked and not opened for 30 years was so thrilling somehow. I was thinking about it is fair to say that my obsession with preserved and "time capsule" interiors started here. The first time I was there I was not even shooting (I did not start taking pictures until I was 20 or 21), so I brought my camera this time. Of course it was so dark it was like shooting in night time and the images are all grainy, etc. but I still love it in there.
On another note, I was working on this post yesterday and had to laugh when I realized that everything is beds. You see yesterday I did my last shoot for this trip (whohoo!!!) and it had the funniest effect on me. I just got sooo sleepy! I am practically narcoleptic, falling asleep anywhere and everywhere. Even my subconscious is telling me I need some rest though the edit of this post! Guess it is a good thing I am heading back to California early tomorrow.

antwerp/

I cannot get this creepy doll out of my head. I went to have a coffee a La Chascona yesterday before I jumped on the train and was compelled to photograph her again. Isn't she crazy? Why do I keep thinking about her? Look at her strange hand gesture.
But you can see from the last image why I returned to La Chascona. How cute is just the mix of coffee cup, saucer and creamer alone- AND good coffee!
Of course, I am in Paris now and shooting my last shoot of this trip today! Crazy!

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!

renaat braem/sneak peek!

I thought I would share a bit from my shoot at Belgian Modernist architect, Renaat Braem's home today. Nothing better to start a weekend than a little sneak peek! Plus I just love these material samples from his office! I was the girl that loved 'back to school' because I could get new paper and pencils and notebooks. Yes, a total geek. I think this love of materials somehow stems from that.
These images were the last thing I shot on Wednesday. I was all packed up and ready to go and Jo Braeken, the curator of the house, and I started chatting about some of the pieces in the house. I always have a lot of questions and after awhile, I get my courage up and I hear "what's in that box?" come out of my mouth. Luckily Jo was just as enthralled as I was. My favorite is the box of wood samples. I mean how gorgeous is the box alone? So beautiful. The carpet samples had me lamenting what is available on the market today. Nothing this good...
Have a beautiful weekend my friends. Monday I head to Paris and by the end of next week I'll be back in California! Crazy.

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.

antwerp/office equipment

I am not sure why but I am a little obsessed with this image I shot at Renaat Braem's house yesterday. In fact all the old office equipment looks so damn lovely. Computers are just so - oh I don't know - current. Give me an adding machine any day. The blue helps too.