More About Laurent
Vital Stats:
Born in Paris (France) and grew up a few miles away in the Versailles area (not in the castle) before moving to the USA in 1988 after high school.
Places I lived (as of 2023):
Versailles area (France) for 19 years.
Pennsylvania for 2 years.
Flagstaff, AZ for 3 years.
Suippes, France for 10 months.
Las Vegas, NV for 1.5 year.
Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona for 25+ years.
Education:
High school: Lycée Marie Curie, Versailles (France)
College: Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, PA (USA)
University: Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ (USA)
Occupation:
Laurent has had very diverse work experiences due to his many interests, from downhill ski instructor to public relation specialist at Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, from marketing manager in the travel industry to call center manager of a well-known global hotel chain, from advertising & media intern in an advertising agency to toys sales representative for Mattel, from chauffeur for the ATP Tour to marketing intern in a French restaurant and then more recently in different roles in the corporate global mobility industry. Laurent has been the owner, principal photographer, retoucher and graphic designer at Studio Laurent Photography & Design in Arizona since 2007.
Interests/Hobbies:
Photography, graphic design, travel, off-roading in my Jeep, music, food, tennis, downhill skiing, hiking.
Favorite Films: (In no particular order)
The Big Blue, The Professional, The 5th Element, Nikita, Subway, Notting Hill, Love Actually, The Natural, The American President, Witness, Working Girl, The Artist, Cinema Paradiso, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The King's Speech, Chocolat, The Intouchables, The Hundred Foot Journey, Ocean's Eleven, Taken, The Bourne Identity, The Tourist, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Midnight In Paris, Pulp Fiction, Wind, Avatar, Seven Years in Tibet, The Longest Day, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Amelie, Manon des Sources, Jean de Florette, La Boum, The Princess Bride, Office Space, Fools Rush In, Indiana Jones, The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump...
Favorite TV shows: (In no particular order, but sorted depending on which country I'm in)
- Million Dollar Listing NY, Million Dollar Listing LA, House Hunters International, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Passport To Europe, Cash Cab, Love It or List It, Friends, Seinfeld, Castle, Mad Men, The Americans. USA:
- France: Des Racines et Des Ailes, Thalassa, Secrets D'Histoire, Rendez-Vous en Terre Inconnue, Faut Pas Rêver, Nus et Culottés, Taratata.
Favorite Bands/Musicians: (In no particular order)
The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Phil Collins, Depeche Mode, New Order, Duran Duran, Fleetwood Mac, The Gipsy Kings, Bob Marley, Orchestral Manoeuvres in The Dark, Bond, Bruce Springsteen, Les Negresses Vertes, Alison Moyet, Basia, Tina Turner, Dire Straits, Supertramp, David Bowie, Jimmy Somerville, R.E.M., INXS, U2, Eurythmics, Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, Pink Floyd, Goo Goo Dolls, Greenday, Matchbox 20, Elton John, Billy Joel, Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello, BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Roxy Music, Pink, Enya, Etienne Daho, Indochine, Julien Clerc, Jean-Michel Jarre, Telephone, Michel Berger, Veronique Sanson, Renaud, Daniel Balavoine, Joe Dassin, Patrick Bruel, Francis Cabrel... I know, not many are current!
Favorite Foods:
French of course! Can't live without those cream and butter sauce-covered dishes!... But I also enjoy French pastries!... And then there's the Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Moroccan, Indian and Mexican foods... I'm hungry just thinking about this!
Favorite Restaurants:
Phoenix & Scottsdale, AZ: Scramble A Breakfast & Lunch Joint, Egg N'Joe, Café Pino, Zinc Bistro, Local Bistro, The Sicilian Butcher, O.H.S.O. Eatery+Distellery, Flo's Asian Kitchen, Thai House, The Mission Old Town, Fired Pie, Indian Paradise, Flower Child, Tea Light Café, Christopher's, Postino's, Blue Hound Kitchen, The Henry, Beckett's Table, Little Cleo's The Market By Jennifer's, French Grocery, Texaz Grill, Essence Bakery, The Crêpe Club, Chino Bandido, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, Pizzeria Bianco, Cibo Pizzeria.
Winslow, AZ: The Turquoise Room
Las Vegas, NV: Mon Ami Gabi, l'Atelier de Joel Robuchon.
Paris: Chartier, Le Petit Saint Benoit, Les Cocottes, L'Eclair, Le Petit Cler, Bistro Saint Dominique, Le Café du marché, Café Constant, La Cave de l'Os à Moelle, Café de Mars.
Last Book Read:
English: L'appart, by David Lebovitz. French: Une époque formidable: Mes années Splendid, by Gérard Jugnot
Favorite Magazines:
Photoshop User, Outdoor Photographer, Mac Life, Macworld, Professional Photographer, Digital Photo Pro, AFAR, Condé Nast Traveler, Arizona Highways, National Geographic Traveler, Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot.
Latest Projects:
- Translating from French to English and publishing my paternal grand-mother's journal which spans from her early childhood in the early 1900s, growing up on a farm in a small seaside village of Normandy to the end of her life in Paris in 1994.
- Scanning and renovating images captured by my maternal grand-father during the early 1900s as he was one of the very first aerial photographers in France.
Accomplishments:
Moved from France to the USA by myself, right after high school in 1988 to attend university... And been here ever since!
Studio Setup:
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Canon EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras with EF & RF Lenses
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Westcott light stands and light accessories
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Manfrotto Tripods
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16" Apple MacBook Pro
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27" Apple iMac
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iPhone 12 ProMax
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Wacom Intuos4 Professional tablet
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Drobo FS with 15TB.
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Western Digital My Passport 500GB portable HD.
Products I can't live without:
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Apple iPhone, iPad, iMacs and MacBook Pro
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Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited
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Babolat tennis racquets and strings
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Lowepro Camera Bags
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Manfrotto tripods and heads
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Drobo Data Storage Solutions
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Compagnie de Provence soaps
Favorite Software Programs:
Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, WordPress, iTunes.
Favorite Web Sites:
Apple Insider, 500px, KelbyOne, Bloglovin, Instagram, Iconosquare, Dropbox, Typeform, Hootsuite, Klout, Twitter, Lumoid, the Muse, Gurushots, Houzz.
Favorite Diversions:
I love to travel. Whether locally or internationally. Love to go on photowalks or on road trips with my Jeep to discover new points of interest, trails and areas.
US States I have visited:
Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii (Maui) Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsyvlania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia,
Countries/Territories I have visited:
Andorra, Austria, Belize, Cayman Islands, Czech Republic, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Reunion Island (France), Slovakia, Spain, St. Kitts, St. Marteen, Switzerland, Turks & Caicos Islands, Turkey, Vatican City.
Countries/Places I would like to visit:
Antartica, Australia, Bhutan, Bolivia, Faroe Islands, French Polynesia, Galapagos, Holland, India, Japan, Kenya, Maldives, Morrocco, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Scotland, South Africa, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam.
Favorite cities:
Paris, Venice, Dubrovnik, Prague, San Francisco, New York... and Phoenix of course!
Favorite place in the world:
This little village in Normandy called Vauville in the Manche department, along the coast and across from the British Isle of Alderney. That's where my Dad's family is from and where I've spent many summers and vacations.
Biggest Thrill:
Having to lay flat on the ground to capture images at Horseshoe Bend in Northern Arizona during extremely strong winds.
Little known fact:
I was a downhill ski instructor for 3 winter seasons... Loved it!
Favorite quote:
"Everything is gonna be alright in the end! So if it's not alright, then it's not yet the end!" - Sonny Kapoor (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)
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