The summer of 2014 changed my life, inspired my first film and deepened my relationship to the land and to myself.
In August 2014, I took an unexpected trip to Iceland in hopes of shadowing the creative process of an environmental photographer I’d met back in the United States. A quick flight from Berlin, I was caught off guard by a sudden change of plans, and rather than panic, seized the opportunity to directly connect to the land and explore Icelandic culture in an up-close and intimate way, hitchhiking and camping my way around the Ring Road in the “Land of Fire and Ice”.
Here are some inspired shots from the journey.
Flower (noun.) the seed-bearing part of the plant, consisting of reproductive organs.
La Fleur (verb.) to bloom, to reach an optimal stage of development.
La Fleur is a collection of photos taken on my long walks to decompress after busy days, release anxious energy, and simply be reminded of the beautiful lessons nature reflects to us in each moment.
Flowers speak to me. They flirt with me. They want to be seen, cherished and adored. The energy is sensual, endearing, connected and a sweet breath of inspiration.
When I take a photo of a flower, I am remembering the courage it takes to fully bloom, the vulnerability, the beauty and the transitory nature of this brief moment in time. It is an expressive, but very brief part of the process of life.
In these moments, reflected here, I am reminded to savor, and understand the natural miracle of being alive and to recognize that every challenge has the potential to bloom into a delicate crown - whose small seeds mark the beginnings of a future yet unknown.
HEIM (2020) Feature Film, 111 mins. Rose is a 30 year old Black woman who faces herself, her father and nature while stranded in Iceland, retrieving her father’s belongings after his unexpected death on her birthday. Dreams, mishaps and magical views reshape her childhood narrative. Who will she become when its all said and done?
