Florence & Rome photo post

The David, tripa, and the Pope's digs in 27 snaps. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

THE FOLKS FROM OUR HOTELS from ten months ago have been emailing me incessantly about new room deals. Yes, I miss them too. And I can't believe it's been nearly a year since our whirlwind Euro trip. Some of it is a blur, but many things remain particularly clear. Actually, unforgettable.

After Paris and Geneva we took those crazy-fast Trenitalia trains to Italy. The moment we arrived in Florence I knew I had made the mistake of not booking more days. This small, magical city, bursting with art, where every local we met loved to say, "No problem!" And then glorious Rome with its contagious energy. I still smell the cigar smoke wafting in the cold air, I remember the sounds from the abbey outside our hotel, and the feeling of being staggered by the Vatican.

Some photos...

Two days in Geneva

Just enough time to linger in the old town and visit Bains des Paquis. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

SOMEONE ONCE TOLD ME, that if I were to visit several cities in Europe all at once, then Paris should be the last stop. Otherwise, everything after it would prove to be a disappointment. I consciously ignored that advice. Yes, Paris is unrivaled. But other European cities have their own unique character, their own something to love. Geneva has that something.

Taking pictures of Clouds

Tips, tricks and a lot of swooning. Cloud photography for beginners. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

THIS IS AN EASY TUTORIAL, if you're new to photography and have, like me, always been fascinated by clouds. To capture clouds in all their golden, moody, billowy greatness, you don't need special equipment, like a polarizing filter, which darkens skies and controls glare. And if you don't have a DSLR, you can use something like your iPhone to start. Although I strongly suggest you get your first real camera if you intend to get serious about photography. All the photos above were taken using a Canon Rebel T3i, the kit lens and a 50 mm F1.8. The Rebel T3i is a great first camera in my experience. I'll also quickly run through how to improve your photos in Photoshop once you've taken them.

How to read the world

I'M NOT THE ONE TO TELL YOU not to travel. And because she said, "We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls," I'm guessing Anais Nin isn't one to tell you either. But what if we can't travel, for whatever reason. Or what if we can't travel as far or as avidly as we'd like? British writer Ann Morgan presents the alternative: 'bookpacking'.

In her own words she told the BBC about a challenge she set for herself in 2012. It was to read a book from every country in the world in a single year. And this wasn't merely about heading to the bookstore to pick out books to read from "all 195 UN-recognised states plus former UN member Taiwan." Morgan first had to assemble a list of original works from every country, which was a massive challenge. As a remedy, she started a blog, to which the world responded, in the form of ideas and suggestions, offers to do research on Morgan's behalf, and through rare unpublished manuscripts translated in English. In one case, a writer from the young country of South Sudan, wrote a short story especially for Morgan to read. And how she read. One book 'every 1.87 days.'

I'm not sure 'bookpacking' will keep me, or you, from actual travel. But Morgan's effort is a revelation. She writes,

"In the hands of gifted writers, I discovered, bookpacking offered something a physical traveller could hope to experience only rarely: it took me inside the thoughts of individuals living far away and showed me the world through their eyes...I realised I was not an isolated person, but part of a network that stretched all over the planet...Lands that had once seemed exotic and remote became close and familiar to me --- places I could identify with. At its best, I learned, fiction makes the world real."

Here is The List by Ann Morgan, and her upcoming book. 

And thanks for reading.

Inked for the moment

I FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN LIVING under a rock, having just found these. I was looking at Rifle Paper, a favorite stationery store, which features the whimsical art of Anna Bond. I love that Rifle is always thinking up new things to do with Anna's gorgeous art, but in a way that always makes sense. The iPhone cases came last year I believe. And now, they've made temporary tattoos. Genius.

I've been getting my tattoo fix from my daughter's stash of temporaries. And it's been largely limited to pink ponies, butterflies, smileys, and sparkly things. The tattoo above is just infinitely (a gazillion billion) times better. And it's made from vegetable-based ink. You can purchase the Rifle Paper tattoos on Tattly too, where the tattoos are from designers and illustrators from all over the world, who get a cut from each sale.

Gold Floral by Rifle Paper Co.

You're Late by Julia Rothman.

Scribble by James Victore.

Just Focus by Lila Symons.

Goodbye ponies, smileys, and sparkly things. 

*Plus these flowers, bread porn, and something I need to do so badly. Hope you have a happy and peaceful weekend. And thanks for reading.   

Pablo is in the house

WE  ORDERED AN ART PRINT online and we waited. After a month, Pablo Picasso's Rest finally arrived and we promptly took it to a local art gallery where they did an awesome job block mounting the print. Everything about it is sexy. The rawness of the strokes, the colors, the subject. It is Marie-Therese Walter, Picasso's French mistress and the mother of his daughter, Maya. She figured in a wrestling match with his other mistress, the photographer Dora Maar. Knowing all that, Rest doesn't make me feel particularly tranquil.

Photographer: Jonathan Ong

I FOUND THE WORK of Melbourne-based photographer Jonathan Ong on a favorite blog, Eat Drink Chic by Amy Moss. Ong's photos stand out in a sea of pretty but predictable wedding photography, because they are at once childlike and wise. Anyone who's been married will remember those precious, secret moments at their wedding, and the feelings that came with them. And they will remember wishing they could take pictures right then with their eyes. I think Ong has those magic eyes.

Formally trained as a Communications Designer, Ong is admittedly shy, but calls himself "a great admirer of life," and of love. He cites its "unique ability to transform the webs and pillars of everyday life into silk and gold."

I love how his photos are so natural and spontaneous, but never ordinary.

It was difficult to choose just a handful of photos to show in this post, I love so many of them. Get to know more about Jonathan Ong and view the rest of his amazing portfolio on his website.

And thanks for reading.

Masters of the Selfie

Beautiful self-portraits from rising photographers. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

IN  HER PIECE FOR THE NEW YORKER, Seeing Themselves: Photographers' Self-Portraits, Jessie Wender says that the difference between a selfie and a self-portrait is that the latter requires "more consideration, more composition, more psychological insight and aesthetic care." And so much more imagination, if I might add. I fell hard for these self-portraits by these rising photographers (Zev is fifteen), although the gifted Noell Osvald insists she is not one. I thought that it was apt that they all belong to this selfie-obsessed generation, and yet they transcend it with these photographs. These stunning, thoughtful, powerful photographs that show a depth beyond their years.

First photo and photo above: Into the Wild and Snow Queen by Melania Brescia. 

Thoughts by Noell Osvald.

The amazing Kyle Thompson. 

From the series Self-portraits with Luminaries by Amelia Coffaro.

Bloopert by Zev.

Fly by Zev. 

Sweet Zev, one day you shall rule the world. Keep that wonder alive, and never stop taking pictures. 

Favorite film: The Holiday

The Nancy Meyers chick flick I don't mind being called a chick for. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

I love holiday movies and I love chic flicks. Released in 2006, The Holiday by writer-director Nancy Meyers, still stirs up those very warm feelings of Christmas and unrequited love. What is it about the holidays that makes everything wrong in your life seem much, much worse?

Kate Winslet is Iris Simpkins, a wedding column writer and Acute Romantic Doormatitis sufferer, who carries a torch for her colleague Jasper Bloom (Rufus Sewell). Jasper is that man---so mysterious, leaves you hanging for years, and then breaks your heart into a million pieces so you can pick them all up again and get on with your life. And...repeat. 

This vicious cycle however, is ending, as Jasper is engaged to someone else. And Iris's heart can either die its thousandth death or maybe, take a vacation! Somewhere far so she can forget. Enter Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz). Amanda is in Los Angeles and makes movie trailers for a living. Her job is dreamy and her house is amazing, except her boyfriend (Edward Burns) is cheating on her.

Desperate for a change in scenery, Iris and Amanda both land on the same house-swapping website and impulsively decide to exchange houses for the holidays. Will Iris finally forget Jasper and learn to love somebody who actually appreciates her? She meets Amanda's friend Miles (Jack Black), a film composer who does just that. Similarly, will Amanda finally get a fresh start and resolve her own issues in the quaint nowhere-ness of Iris's cottage? She can't cry, it's not normal. Or will Iris's insanely good looking brother Graham (Jude Law) make things even weirder?

"Given that I'm in a bit of a personal crisis...and you're like, insanely good-looking and really drunk and probably won't remember me anyway, I'm thinking...we should have sex."

My take: I said I love chick flicks, let me clarify that. I love chick flicks of the Nancy Meyers kind. This is the woman who gave us What Women Want, Something's Gotta Give, and It's Complicated. Funny, romantic, and with a stellar cast, Holiday is a chick flick of the finest order. Watch it because it's hilarious but also bittersweet. Because its got this magical score by Hans Zimmer (listen to track #7). Because Kate and Cameron are amazing here (aren't they always?). Because you'll get some decorating tips (mansion and cottage). And because Jude Law is so sexy in this movie, it will be perfectly OK to watch it for this reason alone, and I will happily relate.

Favorite Scene: Graham walks into a crowded bar looking for something. Imogen Heap sings in the background. The look on his face when he finds what he's looking for. Classic.

Don't answer that Iris!

For the film geeks: Watch it because Eli Wallach, one of Hollywood's most enduring actors, plays Arthur Abbot, Amanda's neighbor who just happens to be a big deal screenwriter from Hollywood's golden age. Or for Jack Black's genius film score a capellas. Or to catch that hilarious cameo in the video store scene.

Watch it because it's a movie that stirs up all those warm feelings of Christmas and unrequited love. If you've been there, you know that the experience of heartache is always kinder in hindsight. Some parts of that brutal time even make you laugh now. But, if like Iris, you haven't let go of the Jasper in your life, Christmas is the worst time indeed. Or maybe, the perfect time. Thanks to this film, you won't have to fly across the Atlantic to swap houses with a perfect stranger to realize it.

Give yourself the best gift ever.

In New York: War/Photography Exhibit

Iconic images on one of photography's most poignant subjects. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

War is one of photography's most poignant subjects. Photographers from all over the world have risked their lives, and still do, to capture images of horror and death. Images that tell the truth about war, in ways, so compelling, they change the world forever. I remember one such photograph. Growing up in my grandmother's house meant having access to a large LIFE special edition hardcover that contained, among many others, that haunting Eddie Adams photo of a South Vietnamese general summarily executing a Viet Cong prisoner in a Saigon street in February 1, 1968. I still can't look at that photo for too long.

Photograph by Louie Palu of U.S. Marine Carlos Orjuela in Afghanistan. Photograph by Alvaro Zavala of US marine Marcello A. Gasdia, listening to music in Fallujah, Iraq.

But there were also images that captured the hope and joy that was in war's aftermath. Like Sal Veder's Pulitzer prize winning photo of United States Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Stirm reuniting with his family after being held captive in North Vietnam for five years. There's even romance. Who doesn't know Alfred Eisenstaedt's V-J Day in Times Square kiss? Do you know the true story behind it? And that another photographer, Victor Jorgensen, actually took the same photo from a different angle?

These iconic images, along with others never seen, taken by some 255 photographers, will be on exhibit along with other items such as postcards and camera equipment. The WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY exhibit is currently at the Brooklyn Museum up to February 2, 2014.

Erin Tyner's Small World

Little people and dioramas prompt all the big feels. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

In her photo series Half Awake, American photographer Erin Tyner gives us an inspiring example of the unexpected synergy of photography, dioramas, and storytelling. Looking at any one of the twenty images in the series, I forget that they are photos and I forget that they are miniatures, as I am drawn to the "unfolding narrative" of each.

Alive in their little world, Tyner's figurines prompt big feelings: of wonder, mystery, adventure, and longing. Each vignette has the curious, playful quality of a scene, from those oddly beautiful stop-motion animated films. Any of these photos would fit right in and look genius, framed, hanging on the wall of the bedroom of a cool kid. Or at an exhibit that gathers discerning art patrons. Speaking of which, Tyner's work has been featured in a number of exhibits, and has been lauded by lovers of fine photography from all over the web. Count me in.

You can purchase the prints of the Half Awake series at Erin Tyner's etsy shop. To know more about Erin and to check out her other works visit erintyner.com.