For a third year I've had the pleasure of connecting with Internet friends on terra firma, this time here in New Orleans. You might expect a wild weekend, women set loose in the city, but we laughed at ourselves as we happily practiced calligraphy on a Friday night. Kindred spirits. Not that it was all lettering practice. There was a beauty night, some shopping, lots of walking, a little daytime photography and architectural gawking, homemade ice cream, and a good amount of eating and talking. A perfect girls weekend.
Tristan stayed an extra day so we could focus on photography together. I love shooting in the daytime, but I really come alive at night. So we spent the last evening specifically searching for light sources to shoot, inspired by the moody, mysteriously murky photographs of Rocky Schenck. We had such fun, crawling the streets from the French Quarter through Uptown, darting in and out of the car to shoot vignettes. I came home with that happy, breathless feeling you get when you've reached creative nirvana. And as much fun as I might have had doing it alone, it was so much better with a partner.
By the way, if you're looking to improve your photography, I highly suggest exercises like this. By narrowing your focus to a specific technique, mood, or object to shoot, I find it's easier to achieve creative flow. Observing the world in its entirety can be overwhelming, but looking for specific details forces you to filter out the excess.
I'll be back this week with a recipe for Toasted Fig Leaf Ice Cream, an experiment I tried over the weekend after tasting it at La Petite Grocery. And I'm going to try hard not to be such a stranger here!
Thanks, Shalagh! I love that one, too. Sparkly chandeliers at night make me SWOON!
Posted by: Suzonne | 13 April 2013 at 08:45 AM
I feel joy when I hear you're out there enjoying a playdate with a friend. Yes please. I absolutely love the photo style. Coquette was my favorite.
Thank you.
Shalagh
Posted by: Shalagh Hogan | 13 April 2013 at 07:42 AM