French Sampler

Friday, February 11, 2011

Sophia Loren

I think Sophia Loren is one of the most beautiful women in the world, she also epitomises the art of growing old gracefully and glamorously. She must have been one of the most photographed women in the world, whilst doing picture research for this post the images that were available were endless, I could have gone on and on, however I have managed to whittle them down and post some of my favourite images of her.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend.
XXX

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Favourite Films, The Scent of Green Papaya

I thought I would share with you one of my favourite films, 'The Scent of Green Papaya', this masterpiece directed by Vietnamese/French director Tran Anh Hung is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen, it's a work of art.

The story is set in Saigon in the 1950's (It's so refreshing to see a film set in Vietnam that does not involve war and violence) it centres around the life of a ten year old girl Mui who is sent from the country to work as a servant for a somewhat dysfunctional, wealthy merchant family, Mui (Lu Man San) is clever and resourceful and she sees beauty in all that surrounds her, we see her going about her daily tasks, finding wonder in everything. The story is spiritual and embraces Buddhism.

Mui blossoms into a beautiful young woman (Tran Nu Yen-Khe), she leaves the family who have fallen on hard times and goes to work for a friend of theirs; a young, handsome musician, who is engaged...

The film won Camera d'Or at the 1993 Cannes film festival and was nominated for an academy award for best foreign film 1993. The film is in Vietnamese with subtitles but there is not much dialogue and as the film is so visually stunning, it's very easy to follow without even reading the subtitles.

Available here

and here

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Fabulous Photographer, Slim Aarons

'Sundowners' two bikini clad holidaymakers, enjoying a glass of wine outside the Carlton Hotel Cannes 1958

Slim Aarons, born George Allen Aarons (October 29, 1916, Manhattan - May 29, 2006, Montrose, New York), was an American photographer noted for photographing socialites, jet-setters and celebrities.

At 18 years old, Aarons enlisted in the U.S. Army, working as a photographer at West Point and later serving as a combat photographer in World War II and earning a Purple Heart. Aarons said that combat had taught him that the only beach worth landing on was "decorated with beautiful, seminude girls tanning in a tranquil sun."

Beach at Saint Tropez

After the war, Aarons moved to California and began photographing celebrities. In California, he shot his most praised photo, 'Kings of Hollywood', a 1957 New Year's Eve photograph depicting Clark Gable, Van Heflin, Gary Cooper and James Stewart relaxing at a bar in full formal wear. Aaron's work appeared in Life, Town & Country and Holiday magazines.

'Kings of Hollywood' 1957

Aarons never used a stylist, or a makeup artist.

Aarons made his career out of what he called "photographing attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places." "I knew everyone," he said in an interview with The (London) Independent in 2002. "They would invite me to one of their parties because they knew I wouldn't hurt them. I was one of them." Alfred Hitchcock's film, Rear Window, whose main character is a photographer played by Jimmy Stewart, is set in an apartment reputed to be based on Aarons's apartment. He died in 2006, and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

'Having a Topping Time', socialite Alice Topping, relaxing by the poolside in Palm Beach, 1959

I can't say I blame him for wanting to "photograph attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places" after some of the dreadful things he must have experienced during the second world war, I think his photographs are wonderful, they just jump out at you and are full of vitality and colour. It must have been wonderful jetting round the world, hobnobbing with the rich and famous, photographing them for a living, what a life! His photos helped to fuel the aspirational needs of the post war world and are a wonderful chronicle of the second half of the twentieth century.