POST-BIRTHDAY DRAWING

I turned 26 two days ago. I also turned 25 in San Francisco; I turned 24 in Madrid, and 23 in New Zealand. I guess I was in Paris for my 22nd birthday. So now I wonder where I'll be living in a year... hopefully in a place that I can call home. This year the french restaurant and the polaroids did make me feel at home in a special way, though.

UNTITLED

I have been reading Less then zero again. It's very unusual for me to read a book more than once, because there is so much left to read... but I can do it with Bret Easton Ellis. That one especially feels like a painting or a song, a painting and a song, the kind of work that you can discover again each time, because your eyes and your mind have changed of course, but also because the season is changing, or because you had too much coffee, or because you feel like living in another city, or just got a new jacket, or smelled an interesting perfume, etc etc.

FRENCH ACCENT

When I was in Brooklyn last summer I shot these for Venus Magazine. So my name is in there but I realize now that I have a tremendous problem: here in the usa the letter "e" cannot have an accent, so my family name is always misspelled... oh well. The little dog was a very good model, he stayed like that staring at my camera for a long time.

BUENA VISTA PARK / NICOLETTE

Jimi Hendrix played the guitar in that park. It must have been the good life to listen to him there... october is summertime in San Francisco. I wish it could last longer than just a few weeks. Because I am sort of a city person, it is not very easy for me to photograph nature, but I have a special thing for trees, and the way light plays between the branches.

WE ARE THE ANIMALS

There is a song by The Rakes (oh I can't even say how much I love that band) that I really like. It goes, "we are the animals / who have lost our hair / retained some of our teeth / and gained a choice". I like to remember that we are animals when I photograph people; or to be honest, I think that the people I photograph force me to think about it. Also there are a lot of things that have to do with instinct in the relationship between the model and the photographer.

GABE

I like the evening light in SF... I will miss it when I leave. I ride my bike across SOMA everyday; it's a very special neighborhood, full of... squares and windows. I like to think it is also very mysterious and full of hidden secrets but I think it's just my imagination, and/or my ipod playing at night when I go back home.

MY GRAND MOTHER'S SCRABBLE GAME

My grand mother is an extremely good scrabble player. Unfortunately for her, my brother and I were never fond of the game. I believe that if she could play online (like, if she had a computer) and make money that way, she'd be a millionaire.

HOME SOFT HOME

la rue des archives les mots a la bouche le banana café beaubourg l'hotel de ville les vélibs le mixer la rue vieille du temple les space invaders le métro la tour qui scintille la seine l'ile saint louis les ponts la cour carrée les toits le louvre la nuit etienne marcel les peniches pigalle la musique le rythme les gens la lumiere

NICHOLE

GABE

The whole time, Gabe made me think of the french writer Hervé Guibert (even though I actually realized this only when we were done with the photos). Of course he physically looks a lot like he did -I think- but maybe it had also something to do with Gabe's wounded arm. I don't know if I am lucky but lately my models have been amazingly nice and easy to work with, and ...sensitive to subtle things.

MY GRAND FATHER'S HANDS

Today I have been scanning the images I took at my grand parents place during the summer. I have been a little upset lately with film and how time consuming it can be to scan all these. But in the end I also have to say that in some cases it makes sense to do it that way.

NICHOLE

I had a good time today photographing Nichole, from Ford, at the Marriott. I like the place -because I like how hotels feel, how they can transform people in a way, turning them into travelers- even though I was scared all the time by the cheesiness of the golden light and windows there. It was great working with Nichole, she seemed to forgive me when the directions I was giving were probably too vague... and I felt that I could connect easily with her. Thanks.

FORD

kate moss by ryan mcginley. Also, good news of the moment: I will start doing test shoots for Ford Models next week. I am very excited and can't wait to start working with them. People there were nice and interesting to talk to -and I think it is always good to actually see the persons before exchanging emails/phone calls for work. Makes the relationship so much easier...