The liberated Bride-in-waiting

When I was doing this photo the words that came through my mind were "sacred sensuality" and "sensual sacredness".

My friend D was inspired to another level so for now I shall keep my thoughts to myself and rather quote her interpretations: "Magnifique cette photo............ on dirait qu'elle va jouir la mariée, seule cachée dans un coin de la ferme paternelle de son futur mari. Elle se masturbe pour la première fois car finalement elle en a droit, et découvre comme une grande son point G..... et G le photographe l'a surpris..."

Jewelry, Food & Sensuality

Strange how these three make for quite an intoxicating mix. Seychellois jeweller Ricardo Carbognin came out with this exquisite rendition of the octopus in silver, one of the great Seychelles cuisine ingredients (see Octopus Curry with Coconut Milk in a later post), and I thought it would look great against a wet black skin of this Seychelles angel. This one's for you, Peter and Marc!!

"Femina Obscura"

Shortly after I started posting on this blog, one reader asked me why I was shooting and posting photos of beautiful Seychelles girls in such beautiful and pristine natural surroundings, with their back to the camera.

I have to leave most of my women subjects "obscure" as they and I live in a society which views such photography in a bad light. The concept of artistic nudes does not exist although the society is largely amoral.

The girls who pose for me - who are mostly in their teens and have never been photographed before - cannot afford to break the taboo and allow people to know who they are and I cannot ever break this trust between us for it is that trust that allows the photography to happen in the first place.

My photography is an ode to these anonymous angels of the Seychelles feminine diaspora, whose beauty can be seen but cannot have a face put to it. And for the reader, here's one from the front!

Is feminine beauty not an homage to God?

A keen follower from the Philippines, who has previously engaged me in a discussion about God and 'godliness', just wrote this to me. She said: "Is this related as to how you show respect to women especially women from Seychelles? By making them subject of your photos/blogs, is it the best way to promote how dignified they are? Your blogs for your two sons are very wholesome and so nice to read but when I checked out the other sections of your blogs it made me unhappy as I did not expect you to do that......all the while as I remember that the other side of Gilbert Pool is kept in a "black album".. I respect your being "god-fearing" for that matter..". 

Although being a woman, she obviously has a distorted view of the female form and beauty. Is it not more beautiful and pious that rebels taking hostages, communities being neglected, young women being sold on the streets and in bars? Or are some people not able to tell the difference between an embrace and a crucifixion?

Warming the cockles of your heart

A little light early morning photography produced this innocent yet delightful result that should warm the cockles of your heart. It's important to catch the early morning light so the girl's skin and the motley pattern of the granite are not washed out by harsh sunlight. Even by 9 o'clock I had to duck the sun in the shade of some coconut trees to get the semi-dark effect I wanted.

September Girl comes bearing Breadfruit

Talking of Breadfruit, here's my September girl poised on a classic wooden Seychelles ladder under a Breadfruit tree, bearing a Breadfruit in her right hand and a "kapatya" in her left hand.

A kapatya is a clever useful bag made by weaving green coconut leaves, the handle of which is made from thick strands of the central part of the palm leaf, and was traditionally used on the islands for carrying fish, vegetables and coconuts.

September comes bearing gifts of land and sea

I generally love September. It’s that time of the year when you realise that the year has flown by, but there’s just enough time to complete the year’s “to do” list before things start falling into disarray before Christmas.

Although in Seychelles we do not live by the four seasons, September means that the south-east monsoon will soon give way to the north-west monsoon, which means calmer seas, less strong winds, more fish in the sea and better fishing conditions.

There’s more breadfruit on the trees to grill and boil, and the flame trees show the first buds and blooms before they put their full fiery red dress before Christmas.