Q: What do you take pictures of?

What kind of photos do you take?
Where is your favorite place to shoot?
If you could go anywhere, where would it be?
What lights you up?

I don't have an answer ready to go when these questions come up. I took time to think about what I find worth capturing, but more specifically, worth sharing. There is a difference between what enchants me and what hooks me, but I want to show you both. Sometimes I take photos because of how something feels rather than how it looks.
I imagine that like everything, the following answers will evolve:

WHAT
The following is a list of trends I saw when I browsed some of my collection of over 15,500 digital images. Things I have taken multiples or cousins of. Things I will shoot again.

-Stretches of corridors and alleyways, crowned by arches, flanked with columns, or paved in cobblestone, especially when seen through an opening
-Innovation and industry that has been well-used or abandoned
-Catching people in the middle of doing things, especially making music or art, or making a living. I love when its both.
-Spaces where people create/ display amazing things
-When purple occurs in nature
-Plants and trees! Saturated with rain or color, exposed for winter, variegated, swaying in the wind, edible.
-Animals and insects I see on hikes


WHERE
Anywhere will do. I love places where the people are kind and the food is tasty.

Top fives:
To visit: Scotland, Tibet, Lithuania, Russia/Belarus, Brazil
To visit again: Spain, the Andes, South Africa, Israel, Italy

Confession:
I haven't been on the West Coast of North America in 12 years. It is time!

ALL IN ALL
I like to share international examples of exquisite streets and gritty nature. I like to take photos of the passionate folks who wander in those places; what they create and the things they leave behind. My work conveys my sense of humor and my love for the environment and art. All of it is colorful, most of it serene.

Gallery Reception for Solo Show- FEB 23, 2010

In December I hung my first photography show in the Boston area! One dozen photographs taken during my time in France are on view at the Boston University Metropolitan Gallery through March.

The reception will be held on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 from 4-6pm.
755 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 103

T: Green line to BU Central
Parking: limited metered parking on Commonwealth Ave.

Home again :)

Today is the second time I reached home safely from a trip when home is Brighton, Massachusetts. I moved here (my apartment pictured on the left) almost 2 months ago, and have been to Long Island and Ottawa to see both sides of my family since then.
Today, from my seat across from the propeller of the De Havilland, I admired fiery reds cresting a rim of yellow on the early signs of forests in fall. Harvest time from the sky is something I'm sure I've done before, but today I really took joy in it. About 20 minutes before we reached Logan International Airport, I remembered a conversation I had during high school in Rome with a friend who was missing the New England autumn. As I got closer to Boston, I saw rivers, the ocean, farms, and forests that I want to learn, at least by name. Land passing beneath me in the warm glow of early fall.
I watched the wheels lower and soon after felt the welcome home thud of runway. I was lucky with my connections to the airport shuttle to the T with my connection from the blue to the green line... I took the D this time.
I moved to Brighton at the end of August and I'm still learning things. One of the most handy thing I've learned about my place is that the B, C, and D lines are all within a 15 minute walk, the closest being about a 45 seconds away. Along with my new (and only electric) mode of transportation, I've learned many of my immediate neighborhood's commercial stops. Recognizable standards (like my bank, Whole Foods, CVS, Chipotle...) are all easily walkable, as are a number of good finds. In a 10 minute radius, I can walk to Spanish food, 2 Thai restaurants, great pizza (there IS a difference between good pizza and pizza that misses the mark), a couple decent bars, and a dangerous frozen yogurt place. A neighborhood best for enjoying Boston in the fall - The Chestnut Hill Reservoir. The oldest "large scale public park" in Boston, two miles around the water, and two blocks from home. I saw it on a map while I was apartment hunting and decided on this place partially because of the nearby water. Now its my favorite spot. Not as quiet as Lake Braddock, but I can get a good walk in and be around trees, the water, and a little history now too- the waterworks- a beautiful building founded in the late 1800's sits by the water. Its now condos and part if it is actually slated to open as a museum in 2010.
Of course, I've looked outside my 10-minute radius and found solid connections (and re-connections) to people, amazing restaurants of all kinds, a Synagogue I can grow in, a sweet bead shop, and lots more. I've been to Fenway Park (the Sox won), the Museum of Fine Arts and a couple galleries.
I have sold some jewelry, secured a show at the Metropolitan Gallery (November, more to come), and picked up a photojournalism gig on Boston Billboards for Boston24.com.
I'm LOVING learning Boston and looking forward to more. I think the next few weeks will be a bit hectic- I want to explore the city and surrounding areas before winter hits, since I imagine the cold will dampen my tourist spirit slightly. I am really enjoying this season, and I know that someday, should I be somewhere other than the North East in fall, I will miss it too.

Shana Tova, keep in touch, and ENJOY AUTUMN!
Sarah

Winter and smberry.com

I have been super bad about posting regularly, which was my goal. I will give a list of things I've been doing since I got back from the South of France in November...

DECEMBER
1. Did all my graduate school research and began applications.
2. Got 8 photographs up in the hall gallery at the US Embassy Paris!!
4. Xmas shopping in Paris is EXPENSIVE. But so fun...
3. Anne and Michael (aunt and uncle... dad's sister) came to town to celebrate the holidays.
5. Had a fever of 102.2, slept for 2 days, didn't eat for 4. Lost pounds.
6. Spent New Years Eve sick sick sick, had a Shirley Temple at midnight with dad.
7. 4 day trip to La Rochelle and Rochefort with dad, Anne, and Michael. Mom caught my flu and missed the trip :( It was a lot of fun, but unbarably cold!!
8. Spent HOURS working on my website (mostly learning how to deal with FTP and all the tech stuff... not my forte!) to have it done by start of 2009. Its done. Please visit www.smberry.com

JANUARY
1. Happy birthday to me Jan 7th. Went to lunch with lovely ladies in a really nice African restaurant. Dinner at home with parents, anne, and michael. That Friday I went out again and had dinner and drinks with some other friends who couldn't make a Wednesday lunch. The restaurant we ate in has been operating since the 1900s.
2. Sent 1st grad school applications into NYU and Columbia College Chicago!!
3. 12 day road trip in Spain with mom we saw Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla, and Valencia. It was unforgettable. If I ever up and move to Europe again, you'll find me in Granada.
4. 4 day trip to London. Wow. Reunited with so many people. It was really good to see them, and the Elgin Marbles.
5. Decided to go back to NoVa early. I love France but I miss home!!

FEBRUARY... looking ahead....
1. Continue applying to schools. Next is BU.
2. I need to touch up my website, I took so so many good picts in Spain.
3. Planning a trip with my friend Kate....but its still up in the air....
4. Flying home Feb 24th. Then going to Florida to visit my grandparents a few days later. My 1st days in NoVa are totally reserved for Gordon, unpacking, and repacking for Florida. Don't be offended if I don't get in touch til after the family trip.

Love you all!!

Un mois sur la Cote d' Azur

Photos:
Bay at night, Rue Obscura, Bay by day, Villefranche main street,
Villefranche-sur-mer from above,
Jean Cocteau Chapel, my class and teacher Intermediate II, antiques market, my school- the Institute De Francais.












































































































Villefranch-sur-mer. Please go someday. It isn't full of casinos or fancy shops. The parking spots aren't filled with luxury cars driven by the fur-clad and fabulous. The bars are slightly dingy, and there are no world famous art works. But its full of life, the stuff the riviera WAS made of before all of those rich and famous people decided to camp out in mansions on the southern coast of France. Oh sure, there are rich people around. Yachts, Feraris and summer homes have also found refuge in the quiet bay fed by the Mediterranian sea, but the only flashing lights you'll see in town come from the green cross of the pharmacy, traffic signals, and igniting lighters in the hands of smokers sitting outside a restaurant.
I found a peaceful place to walk, to eat, to learn french in Villefranch-sur-mer. My school, L' institute de Francais (http://www.institutdefrancais.com) was incredible. Yes, I was there for 8hrs a day, 40 hrs a week, and it felt like a job sometimes. But a job that paid as well as any I'd ever held- I earned a new language. I can understand quite a lot of French now, and my speaking is much better. So much better, in fact, that on the last day of school I was given a certificate of honerable mention :)
I don't know how else to put this incredible month in words, so, in true SMB form, I will leave you to the pictures to get a sense of why Villefranch won my heart. In time I will add more shots from other places on the Riviera and also around Avignon that I visited while living down south.

Scandinavia (Oct 16-20, 2008)

Paris -> København
Thursday, October 16th, 4:20am
Alarm. Alarm. Alarm. Oy vey. Breakfast, luggage in the dark, bus in the dark, plane, sunrise. Copenhagen International Airport, 9am.

I got my luggage into a locker, and strut out of the station with no map (1st mistake). I found the main street downtown, a pedestrian only street lined with stores and cafes. I found an AMAZING outdoor photography exhibit and took my sweet time admiring the portraits. Then, still enamored of my stroll through gorgeous architecture sans-smog, I found a round building with a line outside... curiosity got the best of me and I found a sign in English (HUZZAH!) informing me I was standing in front of the oldest observatory in Europe. So I joined the line. The tower offered beautiful views of the city below, the water, and Sweden, my destination that evening.















So after I walked down the tower, I found a friendly newsie and asked him how to get to the Little Mermaid statue. He showed me on a huge map in the square. I started the looong walk, a visual memory of the map was all I had, that and the luck that every Dane speaks incredible English. I passed through Nyhavn, the colorful harbour (1st image of this blog). There were lots of restaurants with outdoor heaters and blankets- perfect for eating outside in the cold. But I kept walking towards the Mermaid (2nd mistake!!). By the time I got to The Little Mermaid (Den Lille Havfrue) I was so friggin hungry I was out of it. I took the obligatory photo, the necessary sit on a bench, and headed back to Nyhavn for a Smørrebrød, Open face sandwich. Yum. I got a chicken sandwich. I was so hungry at that point, the adventurous side of me which would have tried the eel or the herring was long gone.


København -> Helsingør -> Helsingborg, Skåne, Sverige


I arrived in Helsingborg (in the Scania provence) Sweden around 5ish and was greeted by the beautiful Jessica and her amazing 5-year-old son Tyler. (Backround... Jessica and I met in Gaeta, Italia in 2000ish. We lived 2 hours from eachother when I was in Rome but visited occasionally and became friends. Totally randomly, Jessica was an Au Pair in Great Falls, VA the same time that I moved back to Annandale to go to GMU. It was a happy surprise to us both!)

So, now, sitting at Jessica's kitchen table, while she made dinner and Tyler drew pictures, we realized we hadn't seen eachother in 5 or 6 years. I was exhausted, up since 4:20 and hauling my hungry ass all over Copenhagen, but I craved their company (and the smells from her stove).

Jessica went to work on Friday and I met her there, at the Dunkers Kulturhus, a great building filled with arts and history exhibits (several of both at the moment!!) Both Friday and Saturday nights Jessica, Tyler and I went to Jessica's friends' houses. I got to meet amazing people!! It was so cool to visit Sweden and get an extremly local experience! No tourists, no traps, just Sweden! I loved it.



Tyler and leaves /
the church had a viiking ship in it, of course :) / old buildings, now an Italian restaurant

























Helsingborg -> Helsingør -> København -> Malmö


October 20: My flight to Paris is at 18h30. That, to me, was a whole free day (if I woke up before the sun) to see more of Sweden, so I chose Malmo (arriving in a round about way, I admit, but it makes sense to me!) This photo is the sun rising over Helsingborg.
Malmo was a really nice city, bigger and more modern Helsingborg, but I missed the traditional charm. This time I got a map in the train station (woohoo!) and hit the road. I saw two museums, both incredible! The first Malmöhus, once a Castle, now the Malmo Museum... modern art and history. My favorite wasKommendanthuset, showing photography of Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin Very good, very... racy. She focuses on sexual minorities and brings Jesus into the picture (A reminder for all: Jesus was helping outcasts!!)

I took a great stop in an organic garden where I sipped on organic tea and munched on an organic cinnamon roll. MMM. I also got a good view of the famous building to the left here... The Turning Torso! My tea bag said "we are spiritual beings having a human experience", it was wonderful to sit with this phrase.

The last stop on my Scandinavian adventure, lunch in the well known and beautiful square built in 1590, Lilla Torg.

Here are some cool buildings in Malmo.... Go to Scandinavia!!!

Bourgogne (BURGUNDY) Oct 11-13, 2008

Five of us (Mom, Dad, friends Bonni and Matthew, and me- shown above in the doorway of the church at the Abbaye De Fontenay) piled into our Toyota on Saturday morning and began our weekend away - off to Bourgogne. We watched the artful architecture of Paris fade into large concrete symbols of industry, to rural homes and agricultural operations, and then "nothing". Of course "nothing" was EVERYTHING we were after. Fields resting for winter, grazing cows, rows and rows of trees in their autum garb, miles of perfectly pruned vineyards, quaint towns you missed if you blinked (or fell asleep, which is my favorite car trip activity).

We stayed in Chablis, yes, as in the wine. We rented a house for the weekend, and the proprietors invited us for a drink of their own family's Chablis. The town itself was small but gorgeous, lots of good food, and we met incredibly nice people... must be the sunshine and good wine.
Our group began talking about scrambling into the hills and exploring the vineyards as soon as we saw our first, so finally, on our last night we did... I got some amazing shots of a nearly full moon lighting the turning leaves on the vines. All of fruit had been plucked to meet its wine-maker, so no samples for us! The image below is the river that flows through Chablis, it was right across the street from the home we rented. Sigh, what a weekend :)



We visited the Abbaye de Vezelay and the towns Auxerre, Avalon, and Joigny. Here are a few more shots I like.

Avalon (side of church with dahlias)
Joigny


Avalon (look for the horse!)















Auxerre