Lantern Festival, Oloriz-Spain

October

Julen: 2 years, 4 months and 1 day

Cadaqués, Spain

So, the blog's been lagging big time lately (read: I spend all my time chasing after a crazy 2 year old), but I couldn't resist posting this one of a girl proudly posing for her mama's camera.

Bayonne, France (and the one(s) that got away)

This past weekend we took a trip to visit the French Basque country. It's only a little more than an hour from where we live, but I love that crossing over the border from Spain into France suddenly throws you into a completely different mindset- not only is it the language, but the architecture, the food, the expressions in people's eyes, the light. So many things. I was excited to bring my camera along, but realized soon into the weekend that taking pictures must, for the moment, take a big back seat to other priorities in my life. Our son Julen has just turned 2 and is still in that precious and totally crazy stage in which a wee second of not looking in his direction can mean he's spilled the juice he was drinking everywhere, or worse- taken off down the street. Which means, of course, that the kind of seeing that it takes to make photographs that not only look visually appealing, but that also tell a story, get left behind. I know this time will pass more quickly than I can imagine, but there are times when I daydream of having days or weeks on end to dive into a story. I love shutters, and pretty buildings, and amazing light, but I love photographs whose content takes me deeper even more.

Windows, doors and details- Zugarramurdi, Spain

We recently visited the tiny village of Zugarramurdi in Northern Navarra on a drippy Saturday afternoon. The village is famous for its caves where pagans secretly practiced rituals in the Middle Ages, and the horrific witch trials that occurred there during the Spanish Inquisition. An air of magic still remains in the winding streets with traditional Basque whitewashed houses and green and red shuttered windows. I'm not often drawn to making scenic photographs, but something about the wetness of the day and the colors and textures captured me.