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 2022):
Versailles area (France) for 19 years.
Pennsylvania for 2 years.
Flagstaff, AZ for 3 years
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, from marketing manager in the travel industry to call center Manager of a well-known global hotel chain, from toys sales representative 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 since 2007.
Interests/Hobbies:
Photography, graphic design, travel, off-roading in my Jeep, music, food, tennis, 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 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...
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.
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:
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:
Accomplishments:
Moved from France to the USA by myself, right after high school in 1988 to attend university... And been here ever since!
Favorite TV shows: (In no particular order, but sorted depending on which country I'm in)
Canon EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras with EF & RF Lenses
Westcott light stands and light accessories
Manfrotto Tripods
15" Apple MacBook Pro
27" Apple iMac
iPhone 12 ProMax
Wacom Intuos4 Professional tablet
Drobo FS with 15TB.
Western Digital My Passport 500GB portable HD.
Apple iPhone, iPad, iMacs and MacBook Pro
Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited
Babolat tennis racquets and strings
Lowepro Camera Bags
Manfrotto tripods and heads
Drobo Data Storage Solutions
Compagnie de Provence soaps
Favorite Software Programs:
Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, WordPress, iTunes.
Favorite Web Sites:
Apple Insider, 500px, 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, 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 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.
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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