An opera diva, roasting temperatures and vibrant colour… this cover portrait assignment in Aix-en-Provence was a fiery one. My photographer assistant and I travelled from Nice, and the magazine journalist from Finland, to spend a sweltering afternoon with internationally renowned opera soprano Karita Massala on her South of France tour. Continue reading…
Quest for Bouillabaisse
Provençal fish stew bouillabaisse is no longer the poor Marseille fisherman’s food it once was. Some say if you don’t pay at least €75 per serving, its not the real deal. Other experts on France’s food scene argue that with cheap imitations, changing availability of ingredients and preparation shortcuts, it is no longer possible to find the genuine article at all. As photographer, I was sent to Marseille recently on assignment from Nice, with a Paris-based writer and a an eminent French food critic, to investigate. Continue reading…
Mission to the Moon
Last Saturday, I was as close as I’ll probably ever get to space travel. American space artist Richard Clar had come to the South of France on a mission. Commissioned as photographer, I was to take his portrait and make press reportage of a rather exceptional event. In the middle of the night, high in the mountains above Grasse, my photographs would witness an extraordinary happening, unique not only on the French Riviera, but worldwide. Continue reading…
