Photographing Paris (& Other Places): A Non-Lesson

I'm always shy of using the word 'lesson'. Nobody wants to be lectured. So this is a kind of a non-tutorial in the art of photography.

As with all non-tutorials, you don't have to follow it. You can just look at the pictures. And if you want to chime in with non-tutorial comments of your own, you're very welcome. After all, I'm still learning about photography. My partner jokes I'm a graduate from the "Click-And-Pray School" of photography, and it's not far from the truth. I always hope the photograph of a scene I see will be as good on screen as it is in reality.

Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes the real thing is so beautiful, so ethereal, I can't possibly capture it with a simple lens. But occasionally I can. Here are some simple things I've learned over the years. Oh – and a good camera helps too! Mine has recently died. RIP.

SHOOT WITH YOUR HEART, NOT YOUR HEAD

I don't take photos of scenes that I think I should take photos of. I take photos of scenes that I want to remember when I'm old and wobbly and and unable to hold a gin and tonic, let alone a heavy SLR.

This photo was taken at the end of a long day walking around Paris. I was crossing a bridge to the islands at exactly the right time. I remember stopping and gazing at this beautiful scene; the light, the clichéd boat, the whole, romantic, Parisian perfectness of it. It touches my heart every time I see it. Take photos that touch your heart.

Don't worry if the composition isn't perfect. The memory will be.

CONSIDER THE LIGHT

Lighting is such a big part of photography. It can make or break a photo. I love shooting cities at twilight. It's the best time of day to take a camera out. A gorgeous sky can make an average composition, such as these (above), look almost acceptable.

CONSIDER COLOUR

Colour is so uplifting. Bold colours can make a photograph come alive. Think of the colours of India, or the Bahamas, or a garden in spring. Try to look for colours when you're walking around. They can be anything – a cafe, a storefront, a gallery wall, even a man in a pea-green coat!

LOOK UP

So many travellers spend their days looking down, at the pavement (cobblestones can make it tricky to walk, I know), or at the street scenes around them, but I think the best scenes are above head-height. Think about the incredible detail of Paris' wrought-iron balconies. The sky passing over the rooftops. The sheer spectacle of the architecture and skyline. Catherine Deneuve's apartment is the enormous greenhouse high above the Square Saint-Sulpice. I wouldn't have known this had I not looked up. (And been told it the day before!)

FOCUS ON A THEME

If you find a colour, a subject matter or a theme you like, try to shoot around it. It will give you a series of photos that have more cohesion than just a whole lot of random shots. I'm partial to gilt things so I'll often shoot scenes that have gold in them. We have a wall here at home with these gilt pix, all framed in gilt. They not only remind me of Paris every time I walk past, they also make me smile.

And that, I think, is what the best photos should do.

Paris in September

I've always loved Paris in September. It's truly magic. The weather is still warm, but the evening air is cool, and as the leaves begin to change shade there is a wistfulness to the city as Parisians sigh over the inevitable end of summer, pull on their cardigans and trenchcoats, and head resignedly into autumn. 

Many of the bars, bistros, grassy knolls and café terraces are jammed with people at once embracing and mourning the lingering sun. In fact, it's not uncommon in September for Parisians to take the afternoon off, if the day is lovely, in order to sit somewhere and reflect upon life for that contemplative period between brunch and l’apéro. It is summer’s end, and, as happens every year in Paris, the city doesn’t know whether to be satisfied or sad.

This time of year is known as la rentrée. A particular Parisian syndrome (and a fabulously onomatopoetic description if ever I’ve heard one), it refers to the time of year when Parisians return to town after their summer sojourns and the city stretches, sighs and repositions itself, in an urban version of yoga, to mentally and physically ready itself for the months ahead. People unpack their suitcases and empty the beach sand from their coloured Bensimmons, children return to school, and the rest reacquaint themselves with their boulanger, fishmonger, neighbours and friends to catch up on the summer gossip (otherwise known as being branchée, or plugged in). In essence, la rentrée is when routine resumes with a quiet new solemnity. Even though much of the city is stressée (stressed) and pressée (in a hurry).

As the city slowly returns to normality after the ebbs and flows of summer, thoughts turn to deadlines, to diaries and social functions, and – as Fashion Week approaches – even to new season’s wardrobes.

Life in Paris is moving into another gear. A new year has begun.

{All photos © copyright Janelle McCulloch 2012}

Inspiring Lives: The Tylers, India Hicks & Harbour Island

A few years ago, I had to fly to a tiny out island in the Bahamas for a photo shoot – one of those rare work treats you get to experience once in a lifetime if you're lucky. Unfortunately, the journey took longer than the photo shoot. Caught in a small hurricane, I had to hole up in Nassau hotel for 4 days until the palm trees were vertical again. Then I got on the wrong ferry and ended up in the Bermuda Triangle somewhere. Two ferries and 48 hours later, I finally landed, staggering like Tom Cruise in Castaway, onto Harbour Island.

This is what I saw.

I was as transfixed as Lady Gaga in a sequins store. After a week of hell,  a swim in a serene sea, a hefty cocktail, and a couple of nights of calm, Hurricane-free sleep were all I could think of. Thankfully, my new friend, Toby Tyler,  happily obliged.

Toby, you see, is part-owner, with his wife and mother-in-law, Ms Brenda Barry, of The Landing (above), an incredibly beautiful boutique hideaway with an huge international reputation.

He's a Australian, a former Sydney restaurateur. His wife, Tracy Barry, is Bahamian, a former New York model. They met at a dinner party in Sydney. Or a blind date? I can't remember but they disliked each other at first. Toby introduced himself by telling a sob story about his life and business. Ever the cheeky wit, Tracy casually replied: "Well top this–" and proceeded to trump him with a truly worthy tale about getting divorced and losing all the international property she and her Brazilian husband had collated in the settlement. She only thing she received, she said, was a small hotel on an even smaller place called Harbour Island.

Impressed by her sad narrative, they bonded. A few days later, they fell in love. Aint sob stories grand?

A few months later, they travelled to this small island to inspect this small hotel. (They had the children later. They're highly productive hoteliers, but not that productive!)

Their original plan had been to sell the hotel, but when they travelled to the island to assess the property and found themselves standing in front of two of the most architecturally significant buildings in the Bahamas, on an island that was arguably the prettiest in the greater Caribbean, they decided to put down their bags and stay.

As Toby says: “I fell in love twice; once with my wife, and then with her island.”

With typical Aussie enthusiasm – and a lot of Bahamian beer – they set about restoring the two buildings: an 1820 plantation-style house, built by the first doctor on the island, and a neighbouring 1820 property called The Captain’s House, which is just as gracious. They also got around to getting married. Then, at 8AM on September 14th, 1999, Hurricane Floyd hit. The 155mph winds tore the building apart again. A quarter of the island's extraordinary architecture, including The Landing, was destroyed. The Tylers were heartbroken. Fortunately, the bones of their buildings were still standing, even if the roofs weren't, so they deliberated the way forward.

Enter India Hicks, daughter of famed London designer David Hicks, and granddaughter of Lord Mountbatten. She offered to help rebuild The Landing, if they would accept it. Together, the Tylers, India and her partner David Flint-Wood, set to work bringing The Landing back to life.

The Tylers' new venture, a stylish hotel and restaurant with the feel of a welcoming, colonial-style island home was so different from anything else in the Bahamas, it attracted guests right from the start. Although their children, as most island kids are, were fairly blase about the celebrity factor.

It also helped that Harbour Island is one of the most idyllic destinations you can imagine. Think of the charm and clapboard prettiness of New England's architecture crossed with the pastel colours of the Caribbean, then throw in an extraordinarily beautiful pink beach, a charming bustling harbour, a lot of eccentric but marvellous (and astonishingly good-looking) locals, and a culture that's part colonial British and part Bahamian, and then wrap it up in an island that's only a few miles long. The place is enchanting. No wonder people like India Hicks live there.

Since then, the Tylers have raised four children, seen hundreds of thousands of guests pass happily through their restaurant and rooms, chatted to the likes of Bette Midler and Mick Jagger, (Mick's a regular), and received an invitation from Richard Gere to design one of his restaurants. Which they graciously did.

They've also had a few parties, had a few more, made some rum (Afrohead; a great label), laughed a whole lot, and generally had the kind of life we all dream about.

So where does this story lead? Well, when I first stepped foot on this place, bedraggled, hurricane-weary and five days behind in my work schedule, my first thought was: This would make a beautiful book. It was such an inspirational story. The first date. The hurricane heartbreak. The love. And when journalists hear wonderful stories, their noses twitch with excitement like Jack Russells on the scent of a rabbit. I knew then I would do everything I could to orchestrate a book on this beautiful family, and this idyllic place. It was a story that needed to be told.

Five years later, we're getting close. We're now in the process of creating an extraordinary book. An extraordinary book about an extraordinary couple.

Now the Tylers don't need anything in their lives. They have everything. But what they do need is to be recognised. Celebrated. Applauded and cheered with rum-filled drinks. And I will do everything I can to ensure that happens.

www.harbourislandlanding.com

(If you're lucky, you can grab a $200 return flight from New York to Nassau. From there's it's only a short ferry ride. And the prices are so reasonable, you can easily stay a week!) {Party and family photos by Cookie Kinkead or Tracy Barry, via Tracy Barry. All architecture images by me.}

Gardens, Fashion, Interiors & Glamour: A Botanical Extravaganza

Out of all the posts on this blog, one of the most popular continues to be Turning Over A New (Design) Leaf. (Found here). I'm constantly amazed that there are so many botanical devotees out there, but I'm also quietly thrilled to see it. It's wonderful to see that gardens, flowers and leaves are loved by so many. {Leaf image by Michel Tcherevkoff from his bestselling book, Shoe Fleur}

Lately I've become even more enamoured with the leaf motif, thanks to some beautiful new fabrics and wallpapers released by Sanderson and several other design houses. I've also noticed that the garden is creeping further and further into both fashion and the home, as our passion for horticulture grows. (Sorry for the terrible foliage pun.) Seeing Bunny Williams' extraordinary conservatory-style dining room at her Connecticut home last month made me realise that there is no end to what we can do with beautiful botanicals. Even Karl Lagerfeld seems to have been inspired by his love of gardens, judging by his Resort 2012 collection for Chanel that was staged among the topiaried glamour of Versailles last month.  {Leaf shoot photographed by Philip Newton for Red magazine.}

The Library may now have to take a brief break for a few days, while we move house. As I write this, I'm surrounded by 40 tea chests, most of them full of books, and tomorrow our computers will join the cardboard shuffle! In fact, the madness of life at the moment means I haven't been able to get on top of correspondence, and I sincerely apologise. I plan to get up early tomorrow and reply to everyone who's sent me the loveliest and most thoughtful notes these past 2 months. I've loved reading each and every one! {Image of beautiful topiary letterhead via Charlotte Moss' wonderful blog.}

Oh – and this post was actually designed by the 10 enormous pots sitting outside my study window that are awaiting their turn with the removalists tomorrow. We've already moved 40 huge urns / pots / planters and other assorted stoneware, and only have the lemon trees, lime trees and topiaries to go. But as tonight is the anniversary of the day RR and I first met, I'm going to try to put aside pots, posts, laptops, leaves and libraries in order to Seasol our relationship for a little while... (NB Thank goodness our pot collection doesn't look like the Orangerie at Versailles, above! Or – to paraphrase Roy Scheider in Jaws – "we'd need a bigger truck".)

In the meantime, here are some of the most enchanting leaf scenes I've seen over the past few years. I hope they inspire and delight you as much as they have inspired and delighted me.

Garden Grandeur
Karl Lagerfeld staged his Resort 2013 collection for Chanel at Versailles last month. In typical Chanel style, it was as grand as Versailles itself. Lagerfeld, a garden lover, also used parterres as the theme for his Chanel spring 2011 collection staged at Paris' Grand Palais in late 2010.

Sartorial Peas In A Pod (Or A Park)
Kristy Hume and Shalom Harlow photographed by Steven Meisel for Vogue UK October 1994. {Via Vogue}

 Hedge Fun
Shalom Harlow photographed by Steven Meisel for Vogue UK October 1994. {Via Vogue}

Let It Rain On My (Fashion) Parade
Another gorgeous, leaf-inspired shoot for Vogue. {Date unknown}

Avenue Of Elegance

The incredible genius of photographer Rodney Smith, a man who clearly loves gardens as much as he does photography. {Via Rodney Smith}

Greenhouse Glamour

A John Galliano design for Givenchy, photographed for Vogue December 1996. {Via Vogue}

Orchids And Antique Watering Cans

Photographed by Philip Newton for Red magazine.

A Haute Picnic In A Summer Park

 A Lacroix feast, photographed for Vogue 1998. {Via Vogue}

Frills and Spills

Leaf-inspired ballgowns, photographed for Vogue December 2006. {Via Vogue}

Skirting The Issue

A long, leaf-print skirt, perfect for the tropics. {Via Elle and Slim Paley}

Botanical Beauty

Sarah Jessica Parker in an acorn-topped headpiece designed by British milliner Philip Treacy at the premiere of Sex And The City: The Movie.

Leafy Loveliness

Leaf-print frock by Vera Wang.

Green With Envy 

Another leaf-print frock, this time by Badgley Mischka.

Pretty In A Palm Print

And another, by Kate Spade.

Just Add Water

Palm tree swimsuit, perfect for island hideaways. {Via Slim Paley}

Horticultural Heels And Handbags

Gorgeous for garden parties, although sadly, these aren't real. The illustrations are by Michel Tcherevkoff for his bestselling book, Shoe Fleur. {Via www.shoefleur.com}

Growth Spurt

Leaf design #1 by Manolo Blahnik

Ivy League

Leaf design #2 by Manolo Blahnik

Holly Heels

Leaf design #3 by Manolo Blahnik

Welly Whimsy

Oak leaf and acorn-print wellies by Hunter. 

Pine Delights

Pineapple fabric and wallpaper, by Studio Printworks.

Espalier Elegance

Espalier wallpaper, by Pierre Frey.

Topiary Lines

Linnaeus wallpaper, by Designers Guild.

Wandering In A Woodland Garden

Woodland Fern fabric from A Painter's Garden collection, by Sanderson.

I Couldn't Give A Fig (Well, Maybe A Few...)

Fig Leaf fabric, by Peter Dunham. {Via House Beautiful}

'A' For (A Great) Apron

The gorgeous, leaf-print gardening aprons worn by staff of this year's Trade Secrets Garden Fair in Connecticut. (And no, the public couldn't buy them. I asked. I wanted one too!)

A Sunday Afternoon

Leaf-print cushions and lettuce plates in the sunroom of Linden Hill Farm in Connecticut, open as part of the Trade Secrets Garden Fair Weekend.

A Garden On Fifth

A botanical display to showcase Carolina Herrera's collections in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman. {Via Slim Paley}

Lettuce Have Some Lunch, Shall We? 

Potager-inspired plates designed by Anne Gordon {Via the fabulous Bumble at Home blog, at bumbleathome.blogspot.com.au}

Chic Kitchenalia

Leaf-inspired dinnerware and platters in the home of Sydney designer Cameron Kimber. {Via the fabulous Bumble at Home blog}

Sweet William

The Morris cafe at the V&A, designed by William Morris and inspired by being in a forest glade – complete with dappled light coming through the stained glass.

More William Morris-designed products: a leaf print and leaf wallpaper, at the V&A in London.

The Leaf As Lead

The lead image for the William Morris Exhibition at the V&A in the mid-nineties. The exhibition explored the relationship of Morris’ work with nature, so the symbol morphed one of his acanthus designs into a real leaf. (I went to this exhibition and adored it. I still have this leaf poster.)

Leaf Detail

And lastly, this was a vintage leaf poster from Belgium, bought from Izzi and Popo, which hung in our downstairs gardening hall. 

Goodbye to our beloved garden. We will miss you.