You know when you have those weeks where the days blur into one consolidated chaos, yet within this storm, every day presents a new small treasure. This was one of those weeks.
Within my life as a photographer and magazine editor my to do list is pretty long and chaotic, and some weeks everything seem to happen at once. I am sure you recognise those moments where you try to elegantly juggle too many things at once, and your head is just about to become a giant piñata, bursting at the impact of a wooden stick. My only way to survive is to leave yesterday’s experiences in a memory box till I want to unwrap it again, and let tomorrow simply wait it’s turn. This way of thinking has enabled me to actually enjoy this joyful chaos and take in each experience more - to really allow myself to enjoy everything to the fullest. This is the secret to it all; to search for the treasures in the stories you live every day.Â
To remind my tired body that this week was pretty damn amazing (cause it certainly doesn’t feel that way as I lie in bed cursing at my back and why my feet will no longer let me walk for hours through the parks of London), me and my brain spent some time together to remember all the treasures of the last five days.Â
He put down his books for the day to exist in front of my camera. Two different worlds colliding in an elegant attempt to show the latest fashion in the most beautiful and stylish way. The day hosted by the tranquil surroundings of a nature reserve in the middle of north London. One of those hidden gems you walk past numerous times, before a gentle soul announces it exists. Those hidden gems that still enable you to love London, even on the days she is at her most cruel.
Together we inhaled the semi-fresh air and rested in the shadows of the trees till the world called us back again.Â
You know those people who has that rare energy that immediately makes the world shine just a little bit brighter around you. Those people you'd drop anything to spend just another moment with, or invite for tea and biscuits on a rare day off.
Julian, a ballet dancer, was just as sparkling as his agent promised - radiating a positivity that I tried to steal little glimmers of to fuel me up for the coming week. Paralysed, as I watched the perfect movements and lines created, a moment of transfixion meant nothing else mattered for a while. When art is created before you by an 18 year old Canadian boy, it imprints on you. Years of training by Russian ballet dancers, from generations going into the depths of Russian ballet history, little by little transformed into my world - mixing old traditions of the art with a young mind’s interpretation - wanting to create something new and lasting just for us and the Boys by Girls Magazine readers.
Water splashing around us in all directions from his perfectly pointed feet. Garments dancing alongside the wind, as we feel the raindrops landing on our cheeks. Stories from his mother raining at me, as if from a perfect movie. I wanted to be in this story for a while, and Julian brought me further into his world, as we sat down on the perfectly white studio cave after Sophie put her camera down.Â
There is this girl called Fenn. She is the tiniest thing. One should not underestimate tiny things. Underneath the seemingly fragile surface, there is a determined storm that will reach it’s destination no matter where its winds need to blow first.  Â
Determination. Passion. Skill. Hard work. I can relate. I’ve got your back girl. One day, you shall grace the television screens and all shall know your beautiful face and name. I’m sure of it.Â
Ingmar grew up on a tiny island outside the Netherlands. Beautiful beaches, woods, kindhearted people - the world moves just a little slower where he is from. Not too dissimilar from my own childhood experience. We immediately had an unspoken understanding.Â
That kind of beauty that makes everyone simply stop and take it in for a while. Simply mesmerising. He’s the kind of boy they should have actually cast as Dorian in Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece. Still embodying that youthful beauty and innocence. My turn to paint a modern portrait of that boy. I am the creator of beautiful things. There is hope.Â
Treasure #5: Levi & Matthew
The boys who create stunning garments inspired by the simplicity of the white shirt. My favourite boys. Time and time again trusting me to point my camera at their creations, so that others can see their elegance - imagine the styles on themselves and how it would move as they walk down the street. My favourite designers.
(Image taken on Mike O’Gorman’s iPhone)Â