Hi!
I took a break from writing here while on vacation, but I’m home now and getting back into the swing of things. Our Mexico trip warrants a post of its own, which I’ll get to eventually, but I’ll say a few things to start - Mexico City is an incredible place. The architecture, the food, the shady forested parks and cool mornings… We spent a lot of time walking around the Roma and Condesa neighborhoods, finding cafes and ducking into mercados when it started raining. The latter part of our trip was spent on Isla Holbox, a two hour drive north of Cancun, lounging on beach chairs, reading and drinking smoothies, biking bumpy sand roads to breakfast.
We got really good sleep. We ate such good food. We didn’t drink alcohol, actually, due to the aforementioned infection we were on antibiotics for - but it made for a really wholesome trip, one that we actually felt rested coming home from. I feel ready to spend the next couple of weeks in Atlanta working hard to get ahead of the inevitable fall rush and also enjoying the last months of summer, holding onto the days that the sun takes its sweet time going down and even appreciating the throbbing heat of late July in a city with a 54.9% average annual relative humidity rate (which, I don’t think is actually that high? But we’re going to use “feels like” as a baseline for temperature here).
IN THE DARKROOM
Lots of photos from Mexico, including one that I sort of accidentally took and love the way it turned out. My camera settings were completely wrong and I didn’t notice - but it gave the images this ethereal, nostalgic quality. I think this is a pretty decent albeit somewhat discreditable example of my style of photography - I try to focus less on technicality and more on capturing the moment. Looking at a subject with my eyes, then through the lens, trying to capture what it felt like to be really experiencing it. When I look at this photo I remember how it seemed like these little humans below were moving in slow motion, floating and wading in the gulf, and I imagine that they’re still there, at least some version of them - maybe back home but able to recall the feeling of their feet in the saltwater like they’re still there.
CURRENT READ
I read American Dirt while in Mexico and loved it, and though it’s been criticized for a myriad of reasons, I absolutely think it’s worth a read. Read it first and then determine how to feel about it by doing a little research. I also read The Paris Architect, a WWII book about designing spaces for Jewish people to hide in France during the Occupation. I liked the story but felt that the dialogue was clunky and the characters weren’t fully developed. Something was missing that was taking me out of the story. I also just finished Daisy Jones & The Six, and I really liked it! I expected to like it as much as I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but it didn’t stack up. The interview style of the book didn’t allow for as much “showing” (rather than “telling”) and again, it wasn’t as immersive. But the story was good and I read it very quickly - since it’s written in that interview style, it reads almost like a play - and I love reading plays! Since they’re usually led by dialogue, things happen quickly and you can move through them in about the same time it would take to watch them.
RECENT PROJECTS
Working on a content creation shoot this week for a brand I admire, and I’m both styling and shooting it. Very excited to play - just need it to stop raining [insert upside down smiley here].
INSPIRED BY/CONSUMERISM
Hand-blown, etched glassware that I saw all over some of our favorite restaurants in Mexico. I had already made a few too many ceramic purchases that would leave my suitcase over the weight limit, so I ordered some glassware when we got home. Rose Ann Hall Designs makes these beautiful handmade, recycled glasses in San Miguel de Allende, and I fell in love with both the artistry of them and the mission behind her work.
more etched glassware (maybe you have to zoom?) and pastries at one of our favorite spots - Lardo
etched glassware and vintage Richard Genori china at Rosetta
Rose Ann Hall designs via The Little Market
That’s all I have this week - nothing revelatory, but it felt nice to write.
With gratitude,
Rachel