James Ricalton...

I hold at high esteem.
He was an inventor, traveler, photographer and school teacher.
So so many of the same things I wish to be.

Having journeyed to the Amazon, Iceland and Russia,
Ricalton was "a war photographer during the Spanish-American War (1898-1899) in the Philippines, during the Boxer Rebellion (1900) in China, and the Russo-Japanese War(1904-1905) in Manchuria." (Wikepedia.org)
Oh, now imagine. Taking pictures during war,
behind enemy lines,
in the depths of pestilence and death..
Capturing inhumane acts that are only known of now because
you took a snapshot.
How unbelievable and astonishing,
and riveting and interesting.

And if you'd rather disagree,
we can both say
his life was at the least, not boring!

He also published several photographic books about his travels, such as:
"The City of the Sacred Bo-Tree" and
"India through the Stereoscope: A Journey through Hindustan".

Tres Admirable...

He also came up with and used a technique called Stereoscopy;
which, by viewing two separate photos,
allowed the viewer to see one image as if it was 3-D.


...A man who had genius!

Ce ne fait rien!

On my quest through the enchanting French language,
I find myself wanting to switch over for some unknown reason,
throughout my daily conversations,
to the foreign language.

As if it might express better what I am trying to say or something.

Here are a few new sayings which I am learning...

"Ce ne fait Rien!"

It doesnt matter.

"Quel temps fait il?"

What is the weather like?

"Avec plaisir."

It is my pleasure!

Because we are on the subject of the French,
let me bring to your awareness Marc Lecureuil; a photographer
I have had the pleasure and privileged of meeting
and spending time with.
He is very gentle and kind, amiable and interesting in person.
Having traveled through Europe, Latin America, Australia and Asia to pursue his art,
Marc has works that are distinct and diverse.

The following have been taken from his trip to India:

Go to http://www.marclucureuil.com/

Now let me dig a bit into the life of another Frenchie,

Born and raised in France, in a small town near to Paris.
She is Niki de Saint Phalle;
working at first as a fashion model, then became an artist later in life.
She went into sculpting, painting and film

and was known for painting the leaves in the courtyard of her University red

Here are a few fantastic photos of her along with her comrades:

She became one of the founders of the Nouveau Realisme (new realism) movement;
a group which

" tended to see the world as an image from which they could take parts to incorporate into their works-
as they sought to bring art and life closer together". (Wikipedia.org)

Here is a photo of the original document the signed to commence the movement:

Now here are some of her works, lovely: