Have you ever sat down and made a list of your favourites things to do/see in your free time with your favourite people?
Have you ever looked at that list and then thought about what particularities, moments, facial expressions would come to your mind?
Have you ever thought about what exactly you’d remember, what you’d miss if you were going to look back 10 years from now?
I call these “moments de vie” and these are the moments I seek to freeze in time for myself and for others, with my camera. They are not the major milestones in one’s life, like being pregnant or giving birth or getting married (although you could still make such lists for these events in my humble opinion) but they count. and they count a lot.
I have been thinking about this term “lifestyle” lately. I have been using it, because to me -and from what I had been researching and reading and practising- it means natural, non posed moments. But I don’t like the word ‘style’ in it. I don’t mean to dictate what the world of photography should do or say or even pretend that my opinion is the right one, but for me, always reflecting on what I do, how I do things is important so I can improve, grow and develop. Not just as a photographer but I really believe that it impacts on my personal life too. Probably the other way around is true too.
Life. yes. But ‘style’?… The more I thought about it, the more I felt the need to have my own phrase to try and get closer to my vision. For now, I only found one that would go with it in French: Moments de vie, literally translating “moments of life”. That’s it. My vision with this term is that these moments of life should be enough. What does style go to do with it?
My life right now, that love for my girls and my husband, that couch and not another, that body with its quirky sides, those wrinkles at the side of my eyes when I laugh, the clothes I have on my back and not the ones in the magazines or that necessarily follow the fashion, that mess in my living room and not a “curated” space, that bed not done, that hair that might not comb in the “right” place. It should all be enough. It’s life, lived. Not styled.
So with fondness, I remember moments of life, with their sounds, their textures, their feel, their smells. Not all of these senses can be translated into images, but I hope real images of real life will help me in my old age to remember them. Here are some of the items of my list right now:
- toys everywhere
- my husband on the floor, fixing the lego house, or taking little films of our daughters to send to the grand parents.
- that beautiful late afternoon light in our lounge
- that big framed image that I took of the olive tree leaves from Provence, that I love so much.
- my husband and I trying to finish a cup of tea, still hot. Usually I make tea because I am better at it.
- my 6 year old probably dressing up with everything and anything she can find, singing.
- my 2 year old managed to grab a biscuit from the cupboard and has chocolate allover her hands and face, looking proud and cheeky.
- our daughters giggling, one in nappie and one in pants, tickling each other or running after each other around the table.
- watering the plants with my 2 year old
- walking to the pool together.
- My 6 year old doing a bit of reading eggs on the Ipad, lying in her favourite position.
- My 2 year old watching LBB on the TV, standing way too close to the screen.
- My husband and I, sitting on the couch, managing to finally drink that hot cup of tea.
Moments, made of details, of habits, of ordinary and comfort. It is by no means a finished list, and it will keep changing of course, as my kids grow, when we move country, whenever that may be. And as these moments evolve and develop in their own right, unique to us, I really do not want to miss a thing.
What are yours? Your ‘moments de vie’? The sounds, the sights, the touches, the ones that make your heart melt, the ones you will hold on to for years and years to come, the memories that you will talk to your children about or reminisce to your partner…
Make that list. And then, call me.
Today, let me share with you Caroline, Jean and Leonie’s list in images. I thank them for their warm welcome, the beautiful coffee ad their total openness & trust in me.
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This blog is gorgeous Caro. Perfect, from the heart, passionate, real and raw. It’s these moments that fill our lives yet they’re the ones we celebrate the least.
Capturing those moments to me is a bit like turning back the clock to film. When you would just take a picture in a moment and then forget about it for a few weeks until it was developed and then immediately it becomes a memory.
You remember why you were squinting or see the dogs tail in the shot where she ran in front of the camera. ..those special times that are quite literally only special because they are real.
The shots of course too are flawless. Love it all xxx