Happy Holidays

Discovering Blogs with Google

Once in a while I do a search on Google to see if there is anything written about my work.

It always amazes to me to see how much is out there and it is a pleasure to find something, especially when it is enthusiastic.

Here is one example from Lee Gustin whom I have never had the chance to meet. Thank you Lee.

Hidden treasures in Provence

If your travels take you down to Les Baux de Provence there are two magical places not to be missed.

The first one is La Cathédrale d'Images up in the hills in the old limestone quarries.

Every year since 1977 there has been a spectacular show in almost religious peacefulness in the cool galleries.

This year it is "Picasso".

The other hidden treasure is the outstanding restaurant: L'Oustau de Baumanière just down the hill from "La Cathédrale d'Images".

Lunch under the trees is delightful and Jean André Charial's Foie Gras Ravioli with Truffles are pure bliss.

A nice surprise from Nice

As I was leaving the house this morning, I got a call from my friend Alexandre. He was waiting for a plane in Nice and found this small article on my work in the July 2009 issue of Air France Magazine. I knew nothing about it so it made my day and as I never fly Air France anymore, I could have easily missed it.

MY NEW WEBSITE IS LAUNCHED

A very special thanks to Frank Borsato for his wonderful artistic vision, this is the result of his hard work.

Click and explore!

www.simonchaput.com

Hunting for Waterfalls

The weather forecast was for rain last weekend so it was time for me to pack my bags again to go hunting for more waterfalls. 

It is the best time to photograph them as the surrounding rocks are wet and dark and the light is much softer allowing me to capture the water with less contrast and more detail.

My search lead me through both Pennsylvania and New York State from the Delaware Water Gap to the Finger Lakes.

It was magical walking through isolated forests and then trekking miles up river beds over rocks and dead trees to finally spot the waterfall after a Bend in the River (to quote the title of a wonderful book by V.S Naipaul).

I revisited a couple of my favorites as they look different every time depending on the volume of water cascading over the rocks.  On this trip I visited more than twenty five waterfalls, here are a few snapshots taken along the way.

I also recently had the pleasure of having the first small Waterfall print (60" x 40") framed by Don Gatanis at DDG Frame Shop.  I met him when I had my show "Nudes" at the Howard Greenberg Gallery as he does all the frames for the gallery.  I have been trusting him with my work and recommending him ever since.

I have always wanted these photographs to be large (10 feet high) to convey some of the power and sheer beauty of the waterfalls.  You can get an idea with these test prints in our loft.

New Waterfall.

Having just spent the weekend in the darkroom, I thought I would share with you one of the new Waterfall photographs. It is the waterfall that you see me photographing in my earlier post, Magical Ireland, but taken from the other side. 

"Waterfall 9"

The Seven Wonders of Barbara Bui's World.

I was on my way home from Charles de Gaulle on Monday and as usual I picked up a few magazines to read on the plane.

As I was browsing through L'Officiel, I stumbled upon this page on the Seven Wonders of Barbara Bui's world.

Jennifer and I love her sexy designs and I am both honored and delighted that my work is inspiring to Barbara.

Another surprise was to find out that the cover story was shot in Tulum, one of our favorite destinations, by our dear friend Enrique Badulescu.

My new favorite

Don't miss the newly renovated Minetta Tavern that Keith Mc Nally, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson have transformed into a small gem. It is perfect in size with superb food, great service (as usual) and a fantastic atmosphere, we just can't wait to go back..... 

Among the old treasures on the walls is this wonderful photograph of the infamous encounter between Sophia Loren and Jane Mansfield at a party to welcome the Neapolitan Bomshell at Romanoff's  in 1957.

Printing big.

I am working on another large print with Griffin Editions. It is a fiber base print of Andrea NY1 and the finished size will be 80' X 30".

There is always something magical with black and white printing. Unfortunately I can not print these large images myself as my darkroom is too small but working with Charlie's team is as good as it gets.

Below you can see a print in progress at the lab and a finished print hanging in the home of Sue Hostetler as shown in the clipping from Metropolitan Home.

In the Kyoto Journal

Kyoto Journal, the award winning English-language arts and culture quarterly published in Japan, has devoted its entire current issue to the subject of tea. The Oakland, California-based non profit Tea Arts Institute is the guest editor, and TAI invited writers, artists, photographers and tea professionals to contribute.

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Magical Ireland

We just got back from another wonderful journey to Ireland driving around Donegal and Tyrone Counties searching for new waterfalls. The conditions were not ideal as it had not rained in days but we managed to find four beautiful locations with just enough water for me to shoot.

Here is a photograph by Jennifer in Tyrone Co. at the Sloughan Glen waterfalls. In this digital age I still really enjoy working with my 4x5 inch Master Technika Linhof camera and will do so as long as they make film for it. Now it is time for me to get back in the darkroom and let the magic happen. 

On my way back to Ireland.

As I am getting ready to leave for Ireland to take more photographs of waterfalls, I want to share this article which is published in the current issue of VS Magazine. More on this trip soon.