O N E R A
A romantic, serene sanctuary resort in the Texas Hill Country
173 Basse Lane • Fredericksburg, TX • 78624
ONERA • Fredericksburg, Texas
Architectural Photography at Podere Rombolino, Italy, with Mike Kelley, APALMANAC, & Doublespace
I had the spoiled privilege of studying architectural photography under the legendary wisdom of Mike Kelley (@mpkelley_), APAlmanac (@apalmanac), and Doublespace (@2spacephoto) at Podere Rombolino in Val D’orcia, Tuscany, Italy, in April of this year. 🇮🇹 A truly unparalleled and unforgettable experience that will undoubtedly shape my life and work moving forward.
Eleven photographers united together from across the globe, and convened at the 25 Hours Hotel in Florence, Italy, where we were summoned to either to a night in Paradiso (Heaven) or Inferno (and I was in Hell, twice). Come morning, after indulging in buttery croissants, fresh meats, cheeses, and juices from the breakfast buffet, we piled into black minivans racing down the Italian highways to our dreamscape villa. Arriving nearly carsick, our stomachs were soothed and comforted upon arrival as we were welcomed with homemade panzanella and fresh, Tuscan pizzas. Together we chased sunrise and sunset, and feasted like royalty, with three sumptuous meals per day by our incredible and gracious private chef and culinary master of the kitchen in the villa. We exchanged knowledge and shared our living and working experiences over fresh espressos by morning and bottles of wine by night, while exploring every inch of the villa, photographing its beauty from top to bottom, as collaboration flourished and we shared perspectives, insights, and points of view.
The villa was our homestead for three solid days, never once leaving the property (and never desiring to do so). We all slept peacefully in our own spacious bedrooms, all uniquely designed and differently appointed. I won best hand and was treated to the honeymoon suite where I had North, South, and West facing views of the surrounding valley landscapes out my windows from where I laid on my bed. My very own balcony overlooked rolling hills with volcanic mountain views out my doorstep. The sunset-chasing infinity pool below that overflowed onto the western hillside served more purpose as a reflection pool (or cold plunge, for some!) during this eye-opening experience.
I’ll return to these images and memories for the rest of my days 🌞
“The incomparable Podere Rombolino in Val D'orcia, Tuscany, was essentially restored from a crumbling ruin to one of the most incredible projects I have ever photographed. A lesson in timeless design mixing the contemporary and classic by @ilaria_miani_studio.”
- MIKE KELLEY
@mpkelley | mpkelley.com
“Endless vineyards and olive groves rolling over the hills. Iconic cypress trees standing tall. That golden Tuscan sunlight glowing over it all. It's like being in a fairytale! The kind of place that forces you to slow down and savor every moment. An absolute feast for the senses.”
- ALON BARHOM
@alonbarhom.photographer | alonbarhom.co.il
📍Podere Rombolino
Tuscany, Italy
🍇
INSIDE OUT
★ ARCHITECTURAL ★ INTERIORS ★ EXTERIORS ★ REAL ESTATE ★ PROPERTIES ★
FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Exploring New Lanes on the Photography Superhighway
This past year allowed all of us to reevaluate our place and purpose in this world — to look inward at the meaning of our life’s work and how to pivot and navigate a new world with every changing day. We were forced to step away from our regularly scheduled programming. Our daily routines were shaken to the core, and continued to change as each passing hour, day, month, and eventually an entire year crawled, yet whizzed by simultaneously.
Where there is darkness, there is light.
I believe we were given the gift of time to sit with ourselves. The universe allowed us take a break — the kind of break I would’ve never allowed myself in the previously high-functioning world of hustle. I barely picked up my camera for an entire calendar year — a full hiatus. I had a few playful moments, but the camera wasn’t chained around my neck for the first time in my career, my life. I slowed down. I opened my mind. I gained new perspective. I let my ego fade. I accepted, welcomed, and embraced change. I allowed myself to learn again. I accepted new possibilities. I sought new opportunities. I, quite literally, got to lift my head up and open my rested eyes to see the world again in a new light.
☆ ☆ ☆
I contain multitudes. I am not a one lane road, but a superhighway of complex interchanges, flowing smoothly, and operating as one.
I have opened up new lanes for my work. Over the past couple months, I have expanded my work into the frontier of architectural & interior design photography, as well as real estate photography. I have always documented the places I’ve traveled and the unique places I have stayed, and I am thankful to exist in the luxury that is life in Nashville, Tennessee - the bustling, unstoppable, ever-growing, ever-developing it-city. I am eager and excited to document the new changes all around me. I have grown up with this city. Born and raised here, Nashville is my motherland. As she grows, so do I.
I am a photographer. I have always been a photographer and I will forever be a photographer. With every high and with every low, my life always, without fail, circles back to photography. This is who I am, this is what I love to do, this is what I will forever do.
If there’s a camera in my hands, all is right in my world.
