Preservation of Mourning

travel diary:

a tuesday morning strolling among the monuments to the dead in père lachaise. I have since discovered that the cemetery was opened exactly 184 years before my birth on 21 may 1804 (I come along on the same day in 1988). 

the altars to the dead in père lachaise are spectacular. many topped with elaborate sculptures, stained glass windows, & miniature gothic cathedrals. this was not a place meant to be left abandoned. the dead would be expecting their survivors to stop by for a visit.

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“Be silent in that solitude,
Which is not loneliness — for then
The spirits of the dead, who stood
In life before thee, are again
In death around thee, and their will
Shall overshadow thee; be still.”

— Edgar Allan Poe

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père lachaise cemetery is the largest of its kind within paris' city limits. it is the final resting place of a long list of celebrated luminaries including oscar wilde, edith piaf, marcel proust, & jim morrison. receiving more than three million visitors per year, père lachaise is the most visited cemetery in the world. 

Only at High Tide

I first learned of this cool sometimes island as a teenager, but never really imagined I'd find myself one day standing on the marshy shoals on the north western coast of france looking at it live & in person.

the mont is awe-inspiring to look at up close. rising out of the water like some kind of science fiction fantasy city. it's said to be the inspiration for minas tirith in the lord of the rings movies. it also has a long & fascinating weird history, including spending some time as an offshore prison.

Details - French Cats

wherever I go, I find the cats.

slightly terrifying parisian brocante market cat paraphernalia. the french are known to love their dogs, but it isn't dog figurines lining the tables of street markets in the city.

Paris Street

travel diary:

in the summer sun, people are out on the streets of paris. not just tourists, but locals who, for whatever reason, didn't leave the city for the nationwide august holidays. the markets & cafes are busy despite the heat & the otherwise empty city chatters with french, english, italian, german, & spanish.

Colours - Reykjavik

spent a day walking around reykjavik. iceland is never particularly warm or sunny, even during their summer months, but instead of succumbing to the grey the residents of reykjavik paint their houses & shops bright colours. the whole city feels cheerful despite its weather.

La Ville de Rêve de Ma Jeunesse

when I was 15 years old I went to paris. I had been obsessed with france for several years, so when a school trip appeared I begged my mother to max out a credit card so I could go. I had traveled a small amount before, but this trip launched me into becoming a person who loves being somewhere totally new. though I've returned to europe on occasion, I've never gone back to france.

tomorrow I head back to paris for the first time in over a decade, stopping over for a day in reykjavik along the way. this time, I've been dreaming of iceland & walking paris' streets testing out the travel photography tips I've been reading about in books.

& also eating a lot of bread.

-N

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paris, age 15.

Red Sun + Midnight Sky

diary:

sitting on the manicured sand of balboa beach in orange country, watching the fat red sun sink behind palm trees & multi-million dollar homes. a lone lifeguard stand sits empty, dusk crawling in around it.

A post shared by N. (@natalie_raymond) on Aug 9, 2018 at 8:18pm PDT

California Aqueduct

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The long stretch of I-5 south from Oregon to Los Angeles is mostly mundane. Cities & towns of varying sizes. Truck stops. Gas stations. Fast food restaurants. Here the interstate is just a means of getting from point A to point B.

But for a chunk of time you'll criss-cross a branch of the California Aqueduct. In late summer the rolling hills are golden brown from drought. The aqueduct flows over 400 miles from the Sierra Nevada Mountains all the way down to Southern California & it is the primary feature of the California State Water Project, one of the largest public water & power utilities in the world. Construction on the aqueduct began in 1963.

Somewhere along the way I came across this vista point just before sunset. I decided to stop to see if I could capture the fat weight of the sun & its rays sinking over the California hills. This is the result.

-N

Exploring - The Golden Gate

A post shared by N. (@natalie_raymond) on Jul 24, 2018 at 5:28am PDT

travel diary:

dawn + fog + boats + bridge.
after spending the night by the ocean I woke up at 4 am to make my way to the presidio to catch the early morning light on the golden gate. the fog was so thick I had to drive at a snails pace. the sky turned deep blue just before the sun came up & bleached everything white.

-N

Exploring - Haight-Ashbury

travel diary:

just after dawn I get lost in the presidio & eventually find my way out into the haight-ashbury. the streets are largely empty, with only the odd groggy commuter clutching their coffee as they wait for the walk signal. I find a parking spot half a block from the intersection of haight & ashbury, which I'm certain wouldn't be there any later in the day. the morning is cool & the fog hangs in low & heavy. my los angeles blood can't bear to be out too long. I walk a half block in each direction, taking in the multi-coloured buildings & old victorian houses. the streets are quiet. none of the shops are open. I think about the east village in new york. I think about what these places used to mean, before you had to be a millionaire to afford their wood floor apartments & local coffee shops. I think about where all the art has gone, when profit becomes more important.

-N

Documenting Glass Beach

A place that has been on my bucket list since I first heard of it, Glass Beach is a fantastically weird little gem on the California Coast.

The beach is covered in multi-coloured pebbles of sea glass; a result of its past life as a dumping site for a nearby glass factory. Now a major tourist attraction, there are three beach sites accessible to the public. I spent a late afternoon exploring one & created this (very) short documentary about the beach & its history.

Read the full text from the video on Vimeo.

-N

Exploring - Long Beach

A post shared by N. (@natalie_raymond) on Jul 5, 2018 at 9:17am PDT

Wandering the south bay under the july sun.