Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg, Photography, Video, Cinemagraphs, New York City
As the skies wept, I walked and walked…
whisperings from the streets of Paris talk.
Through the viewfinder framed a city of soul
a place of wonder, a world to behold.
With precision I took what I came to see…
the gifts she has given to a girl like me.
I am the Victory, I am the love…
I am all that Paris can be to someone.
-Thoughts from a birthday in Paris
It was a perfect birthday getaway, a weekend in Telluride, Colorado in a glass house at the end of the road. The interiors are designed by my friends Mat and Brandon who conceived the perfect peaceful sanctuary bathed in light and wrapped in nature. Having a March birthday, I love retreating to the mountains to reflect on the passage of time and celebrate the beauty of life.
We skied her perfect slopes with sweeping views of white capped mountains. We cozied up by the fire, Après-ski sipping on spiced hot chocolate and recapping the day’s events.
This little town that sits inside a teacup of mountains has somehow preserved its down home roots without pretension and for the love of all things natural. I spent a couple of hours at the holistic Medicine Ranch, a boutique shop with an array of locally made elixirs, incredible all natural moisturizers and every kind of rock, crystal and stone to cure whatever ails you. I also adored a little store and local grocer called Over the Moon where you can find everything from artisanal cheeses to the antique French boards to serve them on.
Being a photographer means always finding yourself in interesting new places and having crazy new experiences. For the #TiffanyNYMinute we found ourselves literally on top of Manhattan in a helicopter to capture the opening aerial shots… and I was terrified. Though the view was so stunning and thrilling to see the city I know so well in a new intimate way I pretty much felt as if we would fall from the sky at any second. But then again, I have an over active imagination.
Though Kevin and I were mostly rolling video footage I did manage to snap a few stills with my Leica in-between the mini-panic attacks I was hiding on the inside. The ground never felt so good.
P.S.~ New York Helicopter allows you to charter a ride for photographic purposes where you can fly anywhere you want and direct the pilot to certain areas or buildings, angles, etc. They also have windows you can open to shoot out of so you’re not hanging out like these guys….
* Seeing New York *
I am a woman. I am aware of my body like any normal human being. It’s not a surprise, just look at the images served up to us. Everyone is beautiful, happy, young, thin… they have the perfect (insert your own personal thoughts here) stomach, eye brows, waist, legs, hips- sometimes it feels like an impossible treadmill of perfect we will never really achieve because of genetics, because we have real life and real work and can’t spend the amount of time it takes to achieve “perfection”.
But really, what is perfect?
I’ve always be interested in shooting nudes. I started in college. The body is one of the most beautiful, natural things about life. The way it changes, the way it gives life, the way each is our own and that is what makes us special. I wouldn’t take my grandmother’s wrinkles away, or Dad’s loving soft hugs, or seeing my sister-in-law’s body change carrying the amazing twins my family adores. I would not say that I have had body issues all my life, but as I’ve gotten older I had to learn to look in the mirror and teach myself to stop judging the way I look compared to other people.
As a photographer I look for what is photogenic from people to places to the design of a still life. I’m not going to lie, I love tall beautiful thin fashion models. They are like illustrations of illusions of an idea of who we think we are or could be. Fantasy is part of the fun, photographing that fantasy is one of the things that I love most.
However…
There is a place for curves too. Curves are incredible. When our model Jourdan walked in I was honestly first taken back by her personality. Her confidence. Confidence is the one of the greatest quality anyone can possess. She was cool, smart, comfortable in her own skin. She was one of the least self-deprecating models I’ve ever worked with. When we started making photographs a lot changed for me. Not only as a photographer but as a woman. Maybe even more importantly as a woman. Here was a human, not afraid to let me photograph her with nothing to hide behind, no character to portray, no fantasy story to tell, it was just her. In the moment. In the light. Just the way she is.
After this shoot I had a mix of emotions. Her body, so beautiful, so photographic in its shapes and contours was in one word: inspiring. She made me realize that the female form in any shape and size is incredible. To have curves, softness, confidence was true beauty. She represented to me what being a woman was all about. I understood why Renior and Matisse painted the way they did and I saw that beauty too. I was so proud to be a woman and in my personal life, more confident about the size of my chest and softness around my stomach. If wrinkles show the hand of time and the life that was lived, curves show the fertility of it and the raw attraction of humanity.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that women come in many fascinating forms and, at this sitting, I saw beauty in a way that should be more often seen.
Here’s to the beautiful form we call being a WOMAN.
I always have a camera with me, it’s part of fulfilling that need inside to capture the moment: the moment in time, the moment in my life, the way we were that makes me a photographer. I collect photographs in a way of possessing all that is beautiful in the world. If the picture is made, I then have it for always and the stress of the passing moment dissipates, and it is forever with me.
After our Paris trip I took a load of film to the lab collected over the past few months. I love the rediscovery of these moments I photographed, random snapshots of time I had to have live on forever. Oh yes, I remember the feeling of my hair blowing in the wind on the long car rides to Montauk or the way the sun was glowing through the trees in a burst of golden particles on the way to Sag Harbor or how beautifully the boat’s sail danced on a pivot as the rain headed our way. I look at the photographs, like a diary of my life, a fluttering of heartbeats forever trapped in a moment in time.
The elevator doors opened onto the fifth floor of the historic Rafael Hotel in Paris, most notably the place where Grace Kelly & Jacqueline Kennedy called home, and there sat this beautiful woman in a blush colored dress with an explosion of satin roses cascading over her shoulder like a vision of what women looked like so many decades ago. The woman was designer Julia Voitenko and like what all modern women battle with, she was searching for a wifi signal. Not knowing who she was at that moment of meeting did not stop me from showering her with compliments and inquiring about every detail before me. When she realized I was there to see her collection, was the moment I realized the collection I was about to see was hers and into the suite we went.
She walked me through the idea of the “new wardrobe” for the modern day woman where she needs only own a few pieces that can be mixed and matched to create a variety of classic looks, one in which Julia describes as “beauty made to wear”. Pulling inspiration from the 50s and 60s the silhouettes remain timeless and flattering to all body types while being hand constructed in Italy from the most prestigious Italian silk {something we know a thing or two about}.
In suite fit for a Princess, overlooking that dreamy view of Paris, I fell in love with ESME VIE and her idea of dressing for ladies.
For the past 4 years we’ve have the greatest pleasure of enjoying Paris in the fall. First with Esteé Lauder, then for MAC Cosmetics, following with Ralph Lauren and this past trip with CHANEL. I feel so fortunate to be able to shoot for clients who see the magic in this city of lights as much as we do. After work we always stay as long as possible to eat, drink, shop, get inspired and take epic long walks in the enjoyment of life. I’m happy to have french friends and favorite restaurants. I adore how things never seem to change here- the same woman sells me my favorite chocolates, the same waitress serves us that day’s seasonal dish, though this year her english is much better… which kind of makes me sad. Then there is always the thrill of discovering something new. The rooftop of the Raphael Hotel was enchanting. Dinner on the terrace of Monsieur Bleu with this sparkling view was so elegant. And the home stores where on. point. this time.
Standing under the watchful eye of time I looked out over Paris thought about the years that have passed and how one day I’ll look back on this time in my life and say… “now wasn’t that just magical.”
