modern originals/available april 15!

April 15 is fast approaching! Yes, I know it is tax day but it is also the day my new book, Modern Originals, is released! As some of you know I have been working on this book for a couple of years now. So...yeah...I'm super excited for you all to finally see it! If you absolutely cannot wait to see more there is a little sneak peek over on my website www.lesliewilliamson.com at the moment. And there is a preorder link if you feel so inclined...  ; )

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.

favorite picture I took today/gustavsberg, sweden

Ok, there are two favorites, both from my visit to an amazing glass artist out in Gustavsberg, Sweden. I cannot wait to talk more about her because I am in love with her work. But People Watching has first dibs on that, so it will have to wait. But I can share a couple of iphone shots.
Tomorrow I go out to the Swedish countryside to see a girl about an ax!!!

bruno mathsson office/sweden

A quick shot I took yesterday of the Bruno Mathsson office in Varnamo, Sweden. I was shooting his house there for the new book and at lunch I made a quickie trip to the Mathsson Design Office. The company is still run by the sons of Mathsson's original business partner - another family run, multi generational business! Much like Mathsson, who was the 6th generation in a family of cabinet mankers. You cannot tell here, but the IBM typewriter matched the color of the chair exactly! So good!

twitter/yeah I'm on twitter

Hello lovely people!
Just a quick note from the Swedish countryside. I am on the road again shooting the European version of Handcrafted Modern. For a solid two months this time. I know some of you like your updates when they happen, in real time,  so if that is the case, you should follow me on Twitter. You can find me @lwillphoto
I post images from the train and when I lose my mind at a house I am shooting for the European book. You never know. But since I am never that good at sharing across all these digital platforms ( I am trying to be better, I swear), I thought I would do it now. While I am thinking about it.
Kisses from Varnamo, Sweden. The land of Bruno Mathsson! See you on Twitter or here on the blog! ; )

foundation maeght/josep lluis sert

Heyhey everyone! I am actually in the Swedish countryside at the moment, but I have so much more to share from Foundation Maeght in St-Paul-De-Vence. Today a few of the architecture. It is hard to describe this place so I am just going to let the images do the talking. Plus I have a bit of prep for tomorrows shoot. The buildings are by Josep Lluis Sert. This is a place you have to experience first hand if you can. I arrived late in the afternoon, so the sun was dipping just right as the heat subsided a bit and the cicadas buzzed - very visceral.

I love the way the roofline echoes the top of the bookshelves in this one.

foundation maeght/raoul ubac

I finally made the pilgrimage to Foundation Maeght in St- Paul-de-Vence on Thursday. I say pilgrimage because if you are a Giacometti lover, you will know that they have such an amazing collection. I shot like a crazy woman to be honest. But since tonight I am on a deadline and heading to Stockholm super early in the morning, I will share my 3 favorites of the chapel and my new love, Raoul Ubac. I had never heard of him, but in the chapel are his 12 "Stations of the Cross". You see some in the first image and the last. They are just sublime! The actually remind me in some way of Alexandre Noll for some reason. Maybe it is all those crosses Noll did in ebony. But anyhow I am just in love with Ubac's work! cannot wait to have time to do a little digging on him. Of course the Josep Lluis Sert buildings were another draw beyond the Giacometti.
I am leaving out a lot here. I will share more once I turn in the next NYT People Watching. Just polishing it up!

note from cap martin/

A couple images from the beach across the street for me in Cap Martin. I am in the S. of France one more day and then off to Stockholm!
Just shot Le Corbusier's Cabanon. A dream come true...

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...

travel day/let the adventure begin

I met a dear friend at Trouble Coffee in San Francisco the other day and this sat before my eyes. Yep. That is what this whole adventure is going to be. I am not really one to use the word "epic" but this book and trip is probably the biggest thing I have ever done in my life. The word fits I daresay.
By the time you read this I will be on a plane to Paris. And then the adventure begins! I continue shooting the European book. Eleven countries in about 9 weeks.
For those of you that have asked, this book is a continuation of the project that turned into Handcrafted Modern. Mid twentieth century architects and designers homes and studios. My dream list and quite a few new ones. I will be tweeting ( @lwillphoto ) and keeping up with the blog as best I can from the road. A Kickstarter campaign will be up soon as well so get ready to pre-buy your book and support my project while I am on the road. Here we go!

countdown begins/

Just a pretty and mentally relaxing image today since I am in the countdown to leaving for Europe on Thursday. Trip two to shoot the European book. This is the big trip. One to two houses a week for the next 9 weeks. It is gonna be good. Hope you all come along.  : )

bell's bookstore/

One more from Bell's bookstore in Palo Alto. I thought I posted this yesterday but apparently not...my brain is a bit of mush lately with my impending travels. I am in the "trying to get everything done before I leave" mode.

chair/aubock werkstatte

I got a crush on this chair when I was shooting at the Carl Aubock Werkstatte in Vienna. The only way I know this is that when I was editing through my images the other day I ran across about 15 images of this same chair. But isn't she cute? It's that tilt of her head. I feel like she is winking at me.

torino/

I was meeting with a friend yesterday and swapping travel stories and invariably that means me handing over my phone at the beginning of the pictures I shot on my time in Europe. He ran across this one that I shot in Torino and it just made me start thinking about all the iron work in Italy. I mean, look at this light! This was just a courtyard I ducked into at some point, nothing particulary special about it from the outside. But wow...

speedies/shoreditch

Just an image today from my travels - this one in London.
They had some good stuff in that shop...

note from brooklyn/yelena yemchuk

Just back in the US and am shooting Yelena Yemchuk's loft today! Perfect way to spend a rainy day...a quick shot from my iPhone.

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...

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/Loebmeyr

Today was amazing my friends! I went to Loebmeyr's workshops in Vienna and was given an in depth and inspiring tour! I am going to include them in the craftsman project. This first shot is the iron working room for chandelier making. I love the huge anvil in the foreground. The second is just from their packing room. Beautiful quality of light in there. And the last is from the archives. From 1899! Loebmeyr designed and made the apothecary jars for the Vatican. How amazing is that?!? Their archives are so engrossing I don't know how I will edit down to what we will shoot.