Blog Tour: Photos, Inspiration + Friends

This post is a bit off the norm for this space, but I found it worthwhile and hope you don't mind me sharing. My talented photographer friend, Kim (of Little By Little Blog), invited me to take part in a virtual blog tour where I answer four questions about my creative work and process. Everyone participating in the virtual blog tour answers the same questions and at the end, I'll introduce you to a few (hopefully new to you) blogger friends...

1. What am I working on?
Moving to and getting fully settled into Paris took longer than expected... this meant also having to temporarily close my Etsy shop for three months (it's now open again though!). So my first priority is to get back into a rhythm of shooting regularly, improving on The French Kiosk and continuing to build a more focused body of work.

Collectively I'd like my photos to better reflect a more specific feel - to celebrate the quiet, the often overlooked simple details that surround our everyday. It can be really challenging because everything has the potential for beauty (especially here in France). At the end of the day, I'd like my work to be my signature, clear and defined.

I'm also excited about new products I'm working on for my Etsy shop that I will be sharing soon. And lastly, I'd love to find time to take some more photography workshops and courses,... I've still got so much to learn.


2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? 
I love that photography is such a democratized field, almost everyone can shoot and share their photos and with so many outstanding photographers out there, it is difficult to stand out.

I've always been drawn to the poetry in details and their magnificent way of telling a story without further context. I also love the interplay of light and shadows and the way sunlight can act as a paintbrush in almost any setting. That pull is inherent in why and how I photograph, what moves and inspires me. I am hoping that is reflected in my work and ultimately defines what makes it different.


3. Why do I write/create what I do?
Photography is something I've loved since my teens, ever since I took that first snapshot and watched the image come alive in the darkroom. I remember the Doisneau Kiss by the Hotel de Ville I hung in my college dorm that I loved so much for capturing such a wonderful moment (not realizing later it was staged - eek!). Early on I photographed purely for the pleasure of documenting what I loved around me and places I traveled. Until it became a passion, a need and compulsion... I read somewhere that pursuing our passion is like breathing - it is essential and life-sustaining. I believe that.


4. How does your writing/creating process work? 
Almost every big and little excursion involves a camera... my favorite thing to do is wander and observe, and I shoot what inspires and compels me. I photograph exclusively in digital format (ever since becoming a mom) and because I'm almost always with my boys when I'm out, I have to capture as quickly as possible in a few number of shots. This can be challenging but is more or less ingrained in my process now. A lot of my time is then spent sifting through and processing photos in Lightroom - a virtual darkroom that is as appealing and magical to me as the physical darkroom once was...

And now I have the great pleasure of introducing some very talented blogger friends. They will be sharing their creative journeys on their blogs Monday, May 26th.

The Daydreamer of The Daydreamer's Diary
In love with words, foreign languages and cultures, I have been blogging as The Daydreamer since 2009. I enjoy taking in every detail I can lay my eyes on: a face, a sentence, a picture, a cloud... and share them in my personal blog, The Daydreamer's Diary. I use clouds as my means of transportation above our world; they help me put things into perspective, contemplate reality from different and unexpected angles (dont' you just love surprises?), and with an added touch of poetry. In my wildest dreams, writing and curating a blog would be my next job. The quest is on in the real world. Wish me positive alignment of the spheres.

Melinda Larson of C'est Ma Vie
Multi-talented... iPhotographer | Writer | Francophile | Traveler | Sailor | Teacher | Coach | Marquette alumna | Auntie | At home in Wisconsin | In love with Paris

Maria-Angelique of The Good Life
An island girl living in the Midwest who has found a place where she indulges in a way of living she secretly longed for but never fully realized. Her blog summarizes her love for running, faith, fitness and nutrition... all the things that constitute a good life to her.

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