taking that daring chance...

From 3rd to 17th April 2009,
the artMbassy Gallery in Berlin will be showing the "Best Of"
from the Fashion Photography Contest on Hair,
"New to the Eye", by Sebastian Professional.

Around 130 creative people from across the globe
sent in more than 1.100 photographs.
A selection of the best (about 50 exhibits)
will be on display at the exhibition.
After its premiere in Berlin, the collection will be on tour.
Exhibitions are planned for Frankfurt, Vienna and Zürich.


(excerpts from Sebastian Professional Press Release)

back in december,

isabelle had asked me if i could do a few photographs

for her at the salon.

simply for a project that she has in mind,

showing women and men of different faces, generations,

different colours, different cuts.

the idea was to show personalities

and the beauty that each has in themselves,

while still keeping the story on hair. and style.

it was a good day. it was a wonderful day.

we laughed together. we talked together.

and to be honest,

i believe that for a few of the women, even the men,

it was almost like an unveiling.

as though seeing themselves in a different light

or from a different perspective.

photography is about telling stories,

but in a language that requires no words.

photography is about capturing an essence,

and a moment in time.

it's about documenting. and it's about reflecting.

and maybe it's a cliché,

but it's not just about seeing with the eye,

but also seeing with the heart.

anyhow,

isabelle then came up with the idea,

that we should send in the one or other photograph

for the "new to the eye" competition from sebastian.

i was a bit hesitant.

sebastian has some of the best hair and style photography out there.

avantgarde at its finest.

provocative. evocative.

and although i was pleased with the photographs,

i just didn't think that i could be parred with that.

and i didn't think that i could stand a chance.

but isabelle didn't let easy.

and close to the very last minute,

i sent in two of the photographs taken that day.

so now it's my turn to say...

thank you for being so god damn stubborn with me my dear bella.

and thank you for being a "best of" in my own life...

because we made it!

we're a part of the exhibit. a part of the collection.

we're a part of "new to the eye".

and i like to think that the magic we stirred in those girls,

was the magic they stirred in us.

you see.

it's all about reflecting. reflections.

and taking a chance.

about taking that daring chance...

waiting for spring...

waiting for spring...

as she blossoms.

quietly. slowly.

passionately.

this glorious promise she keeps.

and as she awakes.

and restlessly playfully stirs...

you feel and you see

her open arms. and her open heart.

hello again.

it's a been a while.

a long long while...

but like with a good friend,

you simply start off where you left off.

and it's as though not a day,

not a week nor a month has passed.

or maybe it's like spring.

one day you simply wake up,

and you know she's there.

you might not see her just quite yet,

but you feel her.

and you catch yourself with a smile.

knowing that in her own way,

she was there all along.

------------

sunday. sweet sunday.

that's what today was.

it was about spending the morning in pyjamas and with cups of coffee,

sitting around the kitchen table with a friend.

it was about getting dressed in my favourite flowered skirt,

a jean jacket and a scarf with a pair of rubber boots

and saying hello to the garden.

it was about pruning roses for the first time in my life.

and it was about the smile on my face,

simply to see that they survived the winter. and me.

(do i dare admit, i think i broke every gardening rule

there ever was to break...)

it was about planting white peonies

and digging in the dirt with bare hands

and about pulling out the weeds. one by one.

it was about grabbing another cup of coffee and sitting on the steps,

simply content and thinking just how good things can be.

and beside me on these steps, was my pot of heather.

my pot of irish heather.

and i took it in my hands, just to take a closer look,

and i so had to think of jacinta.

she brought me that heather last september.

as a little gift from her cooley mountains.

she placed it in my hands and told me,

i need to plant this, to always remember how strong i am,

to remember how real my dreams are,

and what it is that lives inside me

and what it is that i have to do.

jacinta. she simply has something magical about herself.

something wise, but something so beautifully magical.

and i was just sitting there, holding that pot of heather in my hands

and remembering what she said.

i suddenly received a text message

simply saying

"ange, i just so had to think of you right now.

i've been thinking of you a lot these past few days,

wondering how you are...

but suddenly, that thought was stronger than ever

and i wanted to let you know.

it feels like spring here in ireland today,

it's lovely and i'm going into the garden.

so strange, because it's almost as though you're here.

love, jacinta"

i was at a loss words. and i couldn't help but smile.

never ever tell me, that thoughts can't travel,

and that thoughts can't be felt.

over time. over space.

it's the power we have.

and it's moments like this, that simply remind us.

there's more to tell about the sunday. and about life.

but for now,

it's time to find my way to blankets and bed.

and simply say good night.

waiting for spring...