Lee Miller

Photography Appreciation

American photographer and photojournalist Lee Miller, born April 23, 1907 in Poughkeepsie, New York, grew up in a household that encouraged artistic exploration. Her father, an amateur photographer, introduced her early to both the technical and creative sides of the medium. 

Lee attended Vassar College, where she studied art and drama before moving to New York City. There, she was discovered by publisher Condé Nast, launching her into the world of fashion modeling in the late 1920s.

Lee quickly became a successful model, appearing in Vogue and working with leading photographers such as Edward Steinchen. Despite her success, she grew dissatisfied with life in front of the camera and relocated to Paris in 1929 to study photography under Man Ray. Immersed in the Surrealist movement, she collaborated with artists like Picasso and Dalí and helped develop experimental techniques such as solarization. 

Her modeling career faded as she transitioned into photography, opening her own studio and establishing herself as an artist with a distinctive, often dreamlike style.

During World War II, Miller reinvented herself again -- this time as a war correspondent for Vogue. Based in Britain, she documented the London Blitz and later traveled across Europe covering the liberation of Paris and the concentration camps at Dachau and Buchenwald. 

Her images, including the famous photograph of herself in Hitler's Munich bathtub, became some of the most enduring visual records of the war. 

Lee Miller in Hitler's bathtub by David E. Scherman

Leonora Carrington

Opera singer Irmgard Seefried singing against the 

bombed-out Vienna Opera House in November 1945

Poet and artist Paul and Nusch Éluard (left); Roland Penrose 

(back right); and the artist Man Ray and model Ady Fidelin (right)

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-story-behind-the-lee-movie-and-lee-miller-the-legendary-surrealist-photographer-and-world-war-ii-journalist-who-inspired-it-180985139/

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/lee-miller-combat

https://www.leemiller.co.uk/

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/when-lee-miller-took-a-bath-in-hitlers-tub

https://www.cnn.com/style/lee-miller-photographer-archives

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RANDOM WEDNESDAY: Roz Chast's "City Beasts" for The New Yorker

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/cover-story-2026-03-30

 

She Transformed… I Just Tried to Keep Up

Over the past year, my wife has been on what I can only describe as a personal reset. It began after her cervical prolapse surgery, when she decided to focus more on her physical appearance—despite my insistence that she didn’t need to change a thing. My opinion didn’t carry much weight, though, especially when it came time for what she called “boob shopping.”

By late summer, she had gone through with breast enhancement surgery, moving from a C to a DD. The recovery stretched close to three months, and even now she still questions the final results. From where I stand, there’s nothing to question—they look great. Still, she’s her own toughest critic.

You might think that would have been the end of it. Not even close. While recovering, she researched top plastic surgeons in the Austin area and eventually scheduled another procedure in mid-February. 

True to form, she approached recovery her way—not at home, but in a resort suite near her doctor, complete with concierge service. While she stayed in, focused on healing and attending follow-up treatments, I made the most of the setting—sampling a drink or two at the hotel bars between her appointments.

After two weeks, we returned home, where recovery continued for another month. I stepped in with cooking and household duties, though she quickly reclaimed the kitchen once she felt up to it. By the end of March, she was easing back into her routine.

One Saturday, she scheduled a hair appointment and suggested we turn it into a date night. Seeing her step out, confident and refreshed, was something else. We went out for dinner and drinks, and back home, she kept the energy going—dancing well into the night. I didn’t last nearly as long and ended up asleep on the couch before she was done.

Monsieur Periné - Bailar Contigo

Music Appreciation

Monsieur Periné, based in Bogotá, is a Colombian ensemble led by singer Catalina García. The band navigates a musical territory where Latin folk, jazz, swing, pop, and tropical rhythms converge. Over time they’ve earned recognition both at home and abroad, blending Afro-Colombian textures with European flavors to create a distinctive “swing à la colombiana” ethos. 

Catalina García, born in Cali, has been central not just as vocalist but also as a creative voice in the band’s evolution. On Bailar Contigo, from their third album Encanto Tropical (released in May 2018), Catalina García and guitarist Santiago Prieto co-wrote the song with Mauricio Rengifo (known for his urban pop work). 

The track was produced by Eduardo Cabra — a collaborator from their earlier Caja de Música era — whose production adds polish and subtle layering. Musically, the song weaves Latin and tropical elements with pop sensibility, using instrumentation such as a Portuguese timple (cavaquinho) to accent a breezy, dance-friendly texture. Lyrically, it speaks of longing and intimacy — the desire to dance with someone, to let go of inhibitions, and to connect through motion and closeness. 

The music video, directed by Jorge Navas, was shot in Cachipay, a municipality of Cundinamarca, using tropical and verdant landscapes to reflect the song’s sensual and natural spirit. Through the visuals, the duo cultivate a romantic, dreamy atmosphere where dance and nature are intertwined — matching the song’s invitation to “bailar contigo.”

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.discogs.com/release/13116688-Monsieur-Perin%C3%A9-Encanto-Tropical

https://www.npr.org/sections/altlatino/2018/04/20/603853729/songs-we-love-monsieur-perin-s-bailar-contigo

https://wowlarevista.com/monsieur-perine-presenta-el-sencillo-de-su-mas-reciente-album-bailar-contigo

https://revistadiners.com.co/tendencias/multimedia/56220_monsieur-perine-estreno-encanto-tropical

https://www.radionacional.co/cultura/walter-silva-monsieur-perine-y-marta-gomez-estan-en-los-estrenos-de-la-semana

https://www.eje21.com.co/2018/04/monsieur-perine-estrena-su-single-bailar-contigo

https://www.wradio.com.co/noticias/sociedad/monsieur-perine-lanza-su-sencillo-bailar-contigo/20180420/nota/3739981.aspx

https://www.caracoltv.com/cultura-caracol/bailar-contigo-el-primer-tesoro-del-nuevo-disco-de-monsieur-perine

https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/monsieur-perine-catalina-garcia-interview-8456733

https://www.klcc.org/npr-music/2018-04-20/songs-we-love-monsieur-perines-bailar-contigo

https://www.amazon.com/Encanto-Tropical-Monsieur-Perin%C3%A9/dp/B07CV9JMN6

https://music.apple.com/us/album/encanto-tropical/1380530428

Jaime Rishar

Modeling Appreciation

American model Jaime Rishar was born in Los Angeles, California, on April 19, 1976, and began working professionally in the early 1990s while still a teenager. 

Raised in Southern California, she entered the industry around age 16, a period when editorial and commercial modeling were closely intertwined. With a slim frame, brown hair, and distinctive grey eyes, Rishar fit the clean, understated aesthetic favored by many brands and publications of the era. 

Standing 5'7", her look aligned well with both print and catalog work, allowing her to move fluidly across different segments of the modeling market.

Active from 1992 onward, Rishar built a steady career marked more by consistency than spectacle, a path shared by many working models of her generation. 

While she maintained a relatively low public profile compared to runway-centered or celebrity models, her career underscores the importance of professional reliability and visual versatility. 

Sources:

https://www.instagram.com/jaimerishar

https://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/models/jaime_rishar/

models.com

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