It Happened One Night

She'd have to be the sort of a girl who'd jump in the surf with me and love it as much as I did. You know, nights when you and the moon and the water all become one. When you feel you're a part of something big and marvelous. That's the only place to live... where the stars are so close over your head you feel like you could reach up and stir them around. Hey, I've been thinking about it. If I could only find a girl who was hungry for those things...

Valencia in black and white

I know it's been forever since I've posted. I took the month of August, as the French do, to relax. I needed time away from my little corner of the internet, and I think it was well worth it.

I've been organizing and archiving my negatives and prints lately, which is suuuuuuch a good feeling. These are some shots from Valencia back in April. I've been getting lots of medium format photos printed (see my flickr on the right) and I hope to be shooting a lot more like them. I'll put some new ones up here soon. 

p.s. have you all seen Rachel Getting Married? if you haven't, you really must. brilliant.

Lately on my mind

 

 

• Charles Burchfield sunflower wallpaper
• Mrs. Warren's Profession on Broadway
• the new Iron & Wine (!!!!)
• Kate Winslet in Little Children 
• knitting with beautiful yarn
• Brian Ferry, photographer, and his amazing site the blue hour
• the fact that my life revolves around picking which French book/ book about France to read next
• "Racing Like a Pro", the fact that The National is a great band to listen to while in transit, and the apparent youtube trend to make videos on this theme.
• a dream I had a few nights ago. I was hiding from a sudden rain storm under a massive elephant ear/ banana leaf. I felt so safe and childish, like when you hide under the dinner table or in the rack of clothing while shopping with your mom. When I woke up, I tried to pull the sheets over my head to recreate the feeling of being under that leaf, but it didn't work. THEN I googled images of the plant, because this is what google is for, and found the most adorable picture of a dog possibly ever.
• estimating the amount of snearing glances I would get wearing this shirt in Paris.
• and updating my flickr. how I held out on having one for this long, I do not know.

Hanna Schygulla

I recently had to watch and write a paper on the film Effi Briest, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. We read the book too (written by Theodor Fontane), and I have to say that the film does a fantastic job of translating the words to the screen. In my eyes, Hanna Schygulla plays a pitch perfect Effi. She is utterly germanic and utterly gorgeous. The photos don't really do her justice – you have to see her in action on film. I think watching her performance makes the 2.5 hours of reading subtitles worth it.

Since I saw The White Ribbon and now this one, I'm a roll to watch more German films. Any suggestions? Fassbinder made a whole bunch of films with Hanna, maybe I'll start there . . .

I AM LOVE - IO SONO L'AMORE

I feel there is nothing quite like going to the movies by myself. I went to see I Am Love the week it came out. It was a long drive up to Cinema Arts in Huntington, and one of the hottest days of the summer. There was traffic. I won't bother trying to find words to brand this film and push it into a category, which would be neither fruitful nor accurate. But I do know that I felt true appreciation and utter jealousy that a person could make a film so well. Luca Guadagnino, I tip my hat to you.

A note, though: don't leave as soon as the end credits roll. Stick around until it's really over.

Appropriately from "Wisdom", the short film I posted the other day...

Love something. 

I think we've got to learn to love something deeply. I think it's love. 

It sounds sentimental as hell, but I really think it is.

Andrew Wyeth