April

April has come and gone and yet, I have had barely a moment to relax and breathe. Blame it on a hectic calendar and a badly sprained ankle. You may already be wondering how is she busy when she's got a sprain and is, most probably, not able to walk and is most certainly confined to bed or a couch. Well, it is true. I can barely walk and crutches are now my daily companions. But then, I've discovered injuries cannot keep me away from doing what I love and that is shooting. Honestly, while I thought staying in bed, watching TV, listening to music and having people bring me anything I need, would be great, it proved to be an effing nightmare. Especially since I've now signed up for Instagram and became an addict already (follow me @khatleenminerve).

Enough of the chit-chat. Since I've been shooting, I should be telling you about some of those shoots and be posting a few pictures.

It seems I never got to tell you about the shoot I did with Cedric Lanappe for his make up show. Working with him is always fun and add to the experience, a fantastic model, you're guaranteed some pretty pictures. Here are the shots of the model Cindy Shaw that were shown at the expo at the make up show at Hennessy Park hotel:

 

A few days before I sprained my angle, I got a great opportunity to shoot some INCREDIBLE men swimwear for a fantastic brand: ÒKUN. Òkun is the Yoruba word (language in Nigeria) for "the ocean". Make sure to check out the website of Òkun to learn more about the values and philosophy of the brand. And also check out the swimwear they design, I am sure you'll be wanting to get some trunks for your man or your little boy. Or both! Honestly, what's cooler than a dad and his son in some amazing designer swimwear with African prints? I met Labi and his son Xavier and here are a few quick snapshots from our session (I will post more later):

 

After Okun, I can barely recall what I was supposed to be writing. I've been on this post since two weeks or more, and every time I try to edit the draft, I have something else to do. You'll have to excuse my fluttering mind. So, yes... ENDJOY ! Now I remember. A few weeks back, I also shot the new campaign pictures of Endjoy Wear with my friend Bu Rt. As always, he has been of an incredible help. The models of the day were Antoine & Tatiana. Tatiana was the face of a previous campaign of Endjoy last year and it's great to shoot her again. As always, working with Kan & Jenna Chan Kin, Endjoy's designers is a challenging and enjoyable experience and with Tatiana and Antoine around, you are sure to have a good time.

Here's are a few shots we've published for the moment:

 

Just so you know Endjoy just opened their new shop in Cascavelle shopping centre.

You can see the whole shoot on my Behance account

Another shoot I'd very much love to talk about is the one I just did for Diva (Bagatelle). The shoot was done with the lovely Jasmina as stylist, Melissa as model and Sasha Coiffure did the hairstyling. Next week, I'll be shooting a second shoot for the shop again but for now, here are two quick shots I wish to show you:

I've been shooting a few weddings of late and I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed my sessions. Here are a few shots:

Kathrin, Niculin and their daughter Ladina

Wedding of Alina and Vladimir

So I think I'll stop here for today! Got tons of editing work awaiting me and I really should get started. I've changed my blog playlist a bit. I hope you'll like this new music and get high on these roadsie folk tunes. It seems to me Robert Francis + Ry Cooder + Ryan Bingham + KOL make a wonderful mixtape I'd be playing in the car as soon as I get my hands on my driving license !

G'night!

2013

A blog post was since long due. I promised myself I would write more because I like it and because it's sometimes good to share with others whatever interesting things that have been going on in my life.

2013. It's already gone and saying Happy New Year seems so dull and inappropriate already. But I thought it would be good to review last year. All in all, 2013 was just a great year. Now when I say 'great', don't get me wrong. It was full of challenges and success. But then, one of my favourite rappers - La Fouine - says this: "Quand t'as pas connu l'vinaigre comment apprécier le miel?" So, as good as 2013 was, there were a few bad moments too, some difficult dealings, some particular encounters and sometimes, I would have gladly pulled all the hair on the top of my head to get rid of the stress and the problems (well, I almost did, I just chopped my hair very short!). 



As an advice to myself, I promised myself to get everything on paper because I cannot stress more the importance that an agreement can have in a dealing with a potential client. People may be of good faith and most of the time, they are the ones you encounter. But some clients may prove difficult and whatever the name, the status or the promises they made to you - people or companies - always make it a must to have everything on paper. It's essential these days. Photography for me is an art and most people will tell you business and art do not work well together. But believe me, it can if you put your mind to it and stop acting in a naive and reckless fashion. You got to be tough at times if you want to make a life out of your art. I hate compromising but sometimes I have to, and at other times I try my very best not to compromise on my work. It may pay off, it may not pay off, but you don't get anything if you don't take risks. I always get asked by people why the heck I studied Law and Management; that it does not suit me at all. But you know what, I've always loved both law and photography. They say law won't help you at all in art, that if you do it, you'd die as an artist. I used to think so too. But after doing both during the last 4 years, I've never been more convinced that whatever I learned at university is a useful thing to an artist, and that if I wanted someday to get a job somewhere in my studies field, I could still progress as an artist. Being versatile has broaden my perspective.

Prior to May 2013, I was a busy student doing photography whenever I had the time, and I can tell you it was sometimes hard to manage whenever I would get cravings for more shoots but that my dissertation was still pending, incomplete. But I managed with a lot of patience, dedication, sleepless nights and with a little help from my friends. Talking about friends, ever since I finished my courses last May and have been working full time on photography, friends are what I have made most. They are also the ones that have helped me achieve quite a few things I'm very proud of.

Alexandra Webber Isaacs

The first person to whom I owe big thanks is Alexandra Webber Isaacs. This wonderful girl has got some great patience, devotion for her writing and for fashion, and thanks to her, our small local fashion industry has witnessed the publication of a magazine on the people in this industry. Indeed, she has invested a lot of herself in bringing together so many contributors in this collaboration between her blog Style Mauritius and People magazine. The result was People: In Fashion magazine. It came out last September. It was truly incredible to work with Alexandra and all those people who I have had the incredible chance to photograph - Saskia Pougnet, Elisa Hugnin, Anne-Lise Ramooloo, Jasmina Ruben, Cedric Lanappe, Anais Lionnet, Fabien Fauzou, Deborah Jubeau, Anu Sumputh, Aurelie Bouic, Sophie de Marigny, Delphine Dholah and Annabelle Fleury - and to be part of the magazine too. It was a great honour she bestowed on me when she asked me to photograph for this issue and to be part of it. 

Here are some portraits of the persons who were featured in People: In Fashion magazine:

Photos: Khatleen Minerve

With her blog, Alexandra has always strived to put the talents who deserved to be known by all, under the spotlight. And one thing I love about her is that she is very proud of the Mauritian legacy, in terms of fashion and arts mainly, for, this woman will never miss an opportunity to put forward the "Made In Moris" talents and products. For this reason, I can only be admirable of the person she is. 



Second person I'd love to thank is another talented friend of mine, Cedric Lanappe (you know I have got only talented friends, people are just great). And here he is, posing for People in Fashion magazine for his contribution to the local fashion industry as make up artist:

So Cedric is a person I absolutely adore but weird thing is I cannot describe him well enough. He is one of those persons who are always happy whatever the hour at which you are working. One call to him and his "Salut Gertrude" will send you roaring with laughter (squealing like an asthmatic pig in my case, not very lady-like I know). He has so much energy; he is always eager to try new things and create. And the artist he is will always listen to your needs whenever you want something different than what was planned. I am happy I have got the chance to collaborate with him on numerous occasions last year and notably for the editorial for Divali in Essentielle. That guy is seriously fantastic because I did not think it would be possible to do 7 make up in one day for a big shoot. He works fast and good. See a few of his work photographed by me for Essentielle:

At his young age, he has already done his own make up show (the first in Mauritius if I am not wrong) and I was very lucky to have him ask me to portray his work for Pigmentation. And so we did with the mesmerising Sophie de Marigny (another incredible person whose versatility, personality and loveliness never cease to amaze me). 

Sophie de Marigny for Pigmentation by make up artist Cedric Lanappe

Another person whom I want to thank from the bottom of my heart is a girl who has a big heart and a buoyant and captivating personality. She has been an incredible encounter and man, does she make me want to be better at portraiture! It has always been my utmost belief that if you want to take the portrait of someone, you should fall in love with that person. It might seem a ridiculous thing to say but I believe firmly that to get a beautiful portrait of a person, you have to love him or her. And this big-hearted girl I want to thank has been someone I have loved ever since I met her because I have found in her as a model, the challenge, the motivation and a quality subject any photographer would be truly blessed to have. We waited two years to finally work together and when we did, I was glad we waited so long. Because I was photographing her, I did my very best to capture her essence, the different facets of her personality and I was never once disappointed. I have actually felt at some moments like she was way beyond the grasp of my lens, of my talent, that some times, I needed to step up to be able to capture whatever she was giving me. I can without any doubt say that this feeling - that of striving to be better to manage to photograph the essence of people - has been my heroine. It is the one reason I have started a project called ETUDES and I kicked it off by photographing this very girl. Therefore, I owe it to Jasmina Ruben to say thank you for all those opportunities she has given me. We did fantastic work over the course of 2013 and while some experiences were undermined with unexpected complications, we still pulled through and got the work published. We did probably my favourite photo series ever at the start of the year (An Unconventional Woman, Dolce Vita, A Graffiti Fashion Story, In the Afternoon Haze), we did the cover of Essentielle for Divali in September with the awesome Deborah Jubeau as model and Cedric Lanappe as make up artist, and we worked again together for People magazine. It is always such an incredible thing to work with a person who has as much experience in modelling as Jasmina has, but who at the same time will never let you feel like she is doing too much to show how good she is. And that is why I love working with her, whatever she is doing, she never appears superficial. Also I want to thank Jasmina for trusting me with her portraits. Again, it is my belief that there aren't many experiences that are as intimate as letting someone photograph you. Whether you are bare face, or wearing tons of make up, disguises, designers' clothes or taking on a different personality for a shoot, you are always revealing a piece of your soul and entrusting it to the eye of the photographer. Even when you transform for a photo shoot to embody someone else, you still look inside yourself to bring out the necessary emotions and attitudes. Thus, it is, I believe, my responsibility to get better at portraiture each time I lens somebody so as not to let their efforts go to waste.

 

There are many people to thank for the challenging year I had but I have but very little time on my hands to do that. However, there are a group of people I feel I need to say thank you to: my clients. You have all been wonderful and it has never been boring to bring out the best of you or to take up the assignments you have given me. I hope I've been able to portray you in the best way. 

For now, I'll bid you all good night! But stay tune for a post on my project ETUDES which I'll explain to you very soon. 

It is October again

It is October 9th again, one year exactly since my last post on this blog. It is just pure coincidence, I can assure you.

It would be a tiring and boring thing to do, should I choose to tell you about my year in detail (more so for me since I am to entertain a certain friend over GTalk while he is working over tax reports and what-not in Nairobi). Many things have happened since last year and I will tell you just a few highlights:

Since May 2013, I am done with my Law and Management studies. I have chosen to take a sabbatical break before looking for work in an office (do you honestly see me working in an office? ha!). The one year break I chose seems to be coming to an end now, because I decided to look for work. But nothing yet though.

On the hand, I have not been idle. I have been "working" as a photographer on a full time basis, if I can put it like that. It has been a most enriching experience to do so, because now that I have no lectures to attend, no dissertation to write, shooting is much more pleasant though more tiring. As always, the best thing about being a photographer, is that you get to meet so many different people and see so much more of the country. I have discovered so many amazing things and seen many of my friends blossom in the same art as me (see my buddy Isfaaq Caunhye's page). The environment could not be anymore appropriate for people like me, to evolve in.

Since last December, I have been doing a few shoots for a new magazine called Défi Life. It was really my first time working with a magazine and I have to say it is a great thing to work with the team over there, especially Patrick Hilbert who has my thanks for getting me into this. When you have people who provide you with a project and give you space for creation, you are certain to enjoy the work. I shot the covers of the first two issues, and a third is on the way (November if I'm not mistaken).

The first issue of Défi Life magazine with the Descroizilles sisters

The second issue of Défi Life magazine with my favourite girl, Delphine Dholah

Another big highlight of the year was working with People magazine for a special issue: People In Fashion. Alexandra Webber Isaacs whom you know for her blog Style Mauritius was hired to collaborate for this special issue of the magazine. In turn, she hired Karen Pang and me as photographers. I cannot say how grateful I am to her for this opportunity. That issue focused on some of the people who have contributed to the fashion industry in Mauritius in the past years. As such, it was a golden opportunity to have the chance to work with some of the best in the field in Mauritius and to be published. We shot for about 3 months at the lovely Eureka mansion in Moka, thanks to the hospitality of the colourful character that is Jacques de Maroussem (I could not begin to describe the man; he is interesting, warm and his sense of humour is the best I've encountered). The magazine came out end of September and you can buy it in most supermarkets, libraries, etc. You'll get to read the fantastic interviews of people like designers Lionnet & Fauzou, Anastasia Ramlall (Obann), Shenaz Currimjee de Robillard (In'am) and models like Anne-Lise Ramooloo and Katia Moochooram as well as a few photographers. Here are a few pictures with first and foremost the beautiful cover done by my lovely friend Karen Pang featuring model Genevieve Bruno in a stunning dress by designer Sanjeet Boolell:

Cover of People in Fashion magazine by Karen Pang

And here are a few pictures from my shoots for People in Fashion magazine:

Model Anne-Lise Ramooloo for People in Fashion wearing a cape by In'am by Ilup

Model Vanessa Hardy for People in Fashion wearing a kaftan by AS by Anu Singh

Model Deborah Jubeau posing as muse for make up artist Cedric Lanappe for People in Fashion magazine

Model Delphine Dholah for People in Fashion wearing Oriya by Annabelle Fleury

Model Jasmina Ruben for People in Fashion magazine wearing a dress from Coco Millen

Model Jasmina Ruben for People in Fashion magazine wearing a top from Coco Millen

Model Sophie de Marigny posing in an ensemble by designers Lionnet & Fauzou for People in Fashion magazine

From left to right, model Sophie de Marigny, designers Fabien Fauzou & Anais Lionnet for People in Fashion magazine

Designer Saskia Pougnet wearing one of her own creations for People in Fashion magazine

Designer Saskia Pougnet wearing one of her own creations for People in Fashion magazine

Model Elisa Hugnin wearing a dress and necklace by designer Saskia Pougnet for People in Fashion magazine

Model Elisa Hugnin wearing a dress and necklace by designer Saskia Pougnet for People in Fashion magazine

Another highlight of this year was doing a shoot for Essentielle magazine. There is nothing much I want to say about it, except that it was an amazing shooting day that I had with the wonderful team made up of Jasmina Ruben as fashion editor and stylist, Deborah Jubeau as model, Hans from Sasha Coiffure as hairstylist, and lastly, my dear friend Cedric Lanappe who did an incredible job that day, and listened to all my needs and wants to create the desired make up. And a big thank you to Kiran Gidwani Tolaram (Tolaram & Tulsidas) and her husband for the beautiful sarees, lehengas, and jewelries. 

For those who want to know more about the editorial "Incredible India", Jasmina decided to showcase the different types of Indian women from whom many Mauritians hail from: The South Indian woman in her colourful saris; the Bengali woman dressed in churidar whose colours reminisce the sweet candies we eat at Divali;  the Bihari woman whose saree spells of luxury and nobility; the Mumbai woman who sparkles in her sari like the lights of Divali; the New Delhi woman who is always modern and sensual; the Penjab woman who exudes strength and femininity;  and last but not least the Gujarati woman whose richness and sensuality never fail to show in the lehenga she wears.

Here is the cover picture for the magazine, albeit it's not my original framing (the picture was cropped - the hand mostly):

The Bihari woman channeled by Deborah Jubeau with make up by Cedric Lanappe for Essentielle N. 82 (October 2013)

Now talking about Cedric Lanappe, I was elated when he asked me to do a few pictures to be featured for his make up show at Backstage @ Hennessy a few months ago. I shot the ever so lovely Sophie de Marigny and for the first time, Katia Moochooram and Deborah Jubeau (that girl is  awesome!). Here again, a few pictures for you to catch up on what you've missed (if you did, that is). Just so you know, the pictures from Cedric Lanappe's make up show "Pigmentation" are currently exposed at the Dias Pier in Caudan Waterfront. Drop by to have a look at the works I did, but also the other fantastic portraits by Karen Pang and other photographers as well.

Katia Moochooram by make up artist Cedric Lanappe

Sophie de Marigny by make up artist Cedric Lanappe

Sophie de Marigny by make up artist Cedric Lanappe

Sophie de Marigny by make up artist Cedric Lanappe

Sophie de Marigny by make up artist Cedric Lanappe

Sophie de Marigny by make up artist Cedric Lanappe

Deborah Jubeau by make up artist Cedric Lanappe

With those magazines and collaborations, it has been a most engaging experience for me to meet so many different faces and get to know them and become their friends as well. As always, photography is a wonderful job and I'm blessed to be able to practice it. It has become such a huge part of my life and every thing I look at, I look at differently since I've got into photography. But above all, photography is simply a marvelous hobby to indulge in!

Now I need to go back to entertaining this dear friend who's halfway done with his tax analyst stuffs and I need to get done with the editing of some shoots (yeah you know, photographers do not just click, we have to sit in front of our computer as well! Booooring! but necessary). I hope you liked this post. More coming soon, I promise.

Until then, have a lovely evening.

Khatleen