When the girls at Free People shared these images of their newly released hand painted skate decks I instantly fell in love. How better to get around Brooklyn than with one of these beautiful hand painted little numbers! These are so pretty and unique I had to know what they were inspired by. From vintage flower prints and Henna tattoos to Italian Vogue these girls searched far and wide and came up with some beautiful finished results! To see more visit Free People !
One of my favorite aspects of being a photographer is the opportunity to speak to and learn from other photographers. There are so many people that have taught and inspired me over the past few years and the list continues to grow. On the top of my inspiration list is the New York based fashion photographer Lane Coder. To my delight I was given the opportunity to speak with Lane about his photos, his plans, and the source of his own inspiration for the Portland based "Too Much Chocolate" blog. To see more of Lane's work and learn a few of his secrets, check out our interview in the Interviews section of Too Much Chocolate. I have to thank Lane for taking the time to chat with me and share so much and to Jake Stangel the mastermind behind the Too Much Chocolate Blog for giving me the opportunity to speak to one of my favorite photographers about what makes him tick. Ohh, and last but certainly not least thank you to my lovely friend Daniel Abratte for introducing me to Lane's work.
Sarah Maingot is one of the photographers that lives at the top of my list. Her understated beauty, her extremely concentrated use of color, the modern twist she brings to her vintage inspired photos, the way that the mundane becomes beautiful through her lens is truly inspiring.
Whenever I am up early enough I turn on NPR to see if I can catch their "All Things Considered" show. I was either a little too early or too late one morning when I heard Partick Watson playing a live version of his song "Beijing" using a piano, a guitar and pots ( you know the ones you boil spaghetti in). A little later the interviewer pulled random items out ( I remember a cereal box, a coffee tin and a vase) and asked Partick and his band to create a song using these household items. It was something about a nurse... and that was it for me. If someone can make me stop what I'm doing, sit down and listen to them on the radio using a cereal box and a coffee tin to make music, then they have to be considered "wildly inspiring." It was not that they were making sounds like they do in "stomp" they were making music. Music that makes your heart beat and makes you think of places you've been or places they have been or parts of a dream. It is music for the sake of music with no computers no synthesizer, no musical equivalent to "photoshop." I downloaded the album the same day and have not stopped listening to it since. I have sent it to my friends as gifts and if you have a birthday coming up, don't be surprised if you get the itunes download from me. Patrick's voice is magic to listen to. Here is some live footage from NPR.
OOh, yeah, and they are from Canada... something about those Canadians I just can't get enough of!
