Lela, a free spirited beautiful lady, who has lived and traveled all around the world. The life she has lived could make most men and women jealous! Her soul and spirit is in just the right pace, and she will make you smile so easily. Her photography is powerful, and full of emotion and thought. Read her beautiful word… Read more

Lela, a free spirited beautiful lady, who has lived and traveled all around the world. The life she has lived could make most men and women jealous! Her soul and spirit is in just the right pace, and she will make you smile so easily. Her photography is powerful, and full of emotion and thought. Read her beautiful words too, they mean a lot.

Lela’s work is truly exceptional, very beautiful and sometimes like a dream! I visit her photostream often and always return for another look! SmallRaffaela’s pictures are hugely emotional & expressive. Each one is precisely created in a unique and masterful way, always beautifully presented and full of passion!… Read more

Lela’s work is truly exceptional, very beautiful and sometimes like a dream! I visit her photostream often and always return for another look! SmallRaffaela’s pictures are hugely emotional & expressive. Each one is precisely created in a unique and masterful way, always beautifully presented and full of passion! A very talented and impressive artist! Best wishes Lela, Malcolm

Lela is one of the best contacts i have ever had.. her creativity and imagination are flawless, every single work of her always amazes me.. all are different, all have a different point of view and through these Lela also forces you to think.. she has her unique interpretation for life, and through her images you also … Read more

Lela is one of the best contacts i have ever had.. her creativity and imagination are flawless, every single work of her always amazes me.. all are different, all have a different point of view and through these Lela also forces you to think.. she has her unique interpretation for life, and through her images you also gain a different view.. she is a great artist and photographer.. i'm glad that she is one of my contacts.. thank you dear for being with me, always!!

I thoroughly enjoy Lela's work. She is wonderfully creative and loves to experiment with her imagery. Surrealism, romanticism, gothic or whimsical, we never know what to expect from her, and therein lies the joy of visiting her stream. Each new piece is fresh and unexpected. But beyond all that Lela is a really… Read more

I thoroughly enjoy Lela's work. She is wonderfully creative and loves to experiment with her imagery. Surrealism, romanticism, gothic or whimsical, we never know what to expect from her, and therein lies the joy of visiting her stream. Each new piece is fresh and unexpected. But beyond all that Lela is a really great person. She always has something positive to say, and is immensely generous with her time and talent. I was very fortunate to spend time with her in person -- it was just great! She took the trouble to drive all the way down from Switzerland to our hotel in Varenna and we had a blast! I am very fortunate to count her as a friend.

I love each and every photo from SmallRaffaela and that is no secret. I look forward to new updates as each photo is like a window into another world. There is beauty and so much imagination and creativity that there is no wonder why I have fallen in love with the work of this artist. You deserve to go so far... bea… Read more

I love each and every photo from SmallRaffaela and that is no secret. I look forward to new updates as each photo is like a window into another world. There is beauty and so much imagination and creativity that there is no wonder why I have fallen in love with the work of this artist. You deserve to go so far... beautiful and inspiring work. x

SmallRaffaela I have a hard time seperating Lela the person from her work as an artist. As I know her to be a person with a big heart, a generous spirit, a beautiful mind. There are many types of beauty she shares and creates. The world she has seen and photographed through her life. She shares this world in her a… Read more

SmallRaffaela I have a hard time seperating Lela the person from her work as an artist. As I know her to be a person with a big heart, a generous spirit, a beautiful mind. There are many types of beauty she shares and creates. The world she has seen and photographed through her life. She shares this world in her art. And her mind is full of passion and creative visions which she creates in her portraiture. I feel lucky to be able to see her work here on Flickr. She is a rare person, and I am honoured to know her.

I can't compliment Lela highly enough. As a Flickr friend, she is everything I could ever want -- and as a personal friend, she is even more. I was struck by Lela's artistic style the very first time I saw her work. It is passionate, dramatic and so refined. Her use of layers, textures and treatments is exquisite, a… Read more

I can't compliment Lela highly enough. As a Flickr friend, she is everything I could ever want -- and as a personal friend, she is even more. I was struck by Lela's artistic style the very first time I saw her work. It is passionate, dramatic and so refined. Her use of layers, textures and treatments is exquisite, and even better, her images go beyond artistic -- they touch the viewer's soul. I love her photostream not only because it is beautiful, but because it is an education in how to go beyond photography into art. Her images make me feel and they make me learn. That's a heckuva marriage. SmallRaffaela is an amazing artist, and she's a beautiful, amazing person, and I'm glad to call her a friend and an inspiration.

No hay distancia entre mis sueños y su realidad. Su audacia, su toque personal, su personalidad plamada en retrato. Ver las obras de Lela es sumergirse en un mundo donde todo es sensualidad, pasión y estética. Estoy orgulloso de ser su amigo. ¡Gracias por brindarnos tu arte!. There is no distance between my drea… Read more

No hay distancia entre mis sueños y su realidad. Su audacia, su toque personal, su personalidad plamada en retrato. Ver las obras de Lela es sumergirse en un mundo donde todo es sensualidad, pasión y estética. Estoy orgulloso de ser su amigo. ¡Gracias por brindarnos tu arte!. There is no distance between my dreams and her reality. Her audacity, her personal touch, her personality showed in portraits. Seeing lela's work is being immersed in a world where all is sensuality, passion and aesthetics. I am proud to be your friend!. Thank U for givin us your artwork!

No hay sueños sin realidades ni realidades no soñadas. Entre esa sutil línea está su arte. Una buscadora de estrellas una estrella buscada por todos nosotros. Viendo sus fotos me doy cuenta que a veces no hay fronteras ni abismos entre lo fantástico y lo real. Lo cotidiano se hace místico en sus imágenes Ella ya … Read more

No hay sueños sin realidades ni realidades no soñadas. Entre esa sutil línea está su arte. Una buscadora de estrellas una estrella buscada por todos nosotros. Viendo sus fotos me doy cuenta que a veces no hay fronteras ni abismos entre lo fantástico y lo real. Lo cotidiano se hace místico en sus imágenes Ella ya encontró; nosotros gracias a sus imágenes sabemos que queremos seguir buscando, buscándola. Y que encontrarla en una foto es saber que aún hay esperanza, que todavía brillan astros que la noche no es tan oscura. Instigadora de inspiraciones. Por eso: gracias bigraffaela.

"Ms. Lela, (SmallRaffaela) Is that rarest of finds; a woman who is artistic, creative, imaginative, bold, fearless, strong, determined. Many women are some of these things, but few allow themselves to “put it all out there”, in full view, as she does. Only the strong, dare open themselves up to such vulnerability an… Read more

"Ms. Lela, (SmallRaffaela) Is that rarest of finds; a woman who is artistic, creative, imaginative, bold, fearless, strong, determined. Many women are some of these things, but few allow themselves to “put it all out there”, in full view, as she does. Only the strong, dare open themselves up to such vulnerability and potential rejection. I don’t think many things in this life say “No” to Lela, and she listens. Her images exalt the spirit, intimidate, make us question, thrill us, scare us, awe us. They are mutli-layered as to how they may be interpreted or seen; as to how we might feel or think about them. Technically, they kick-ass. They are sexual, sensual, erotic, mysterious, beguiling and ultimately sublime. I doubt she takes much “sh*t off of anyone. Her images, her words, seem to radiate some inner power that I wish I saw in women I have known; something deep and beautiful, dark and brooding, direct and mischevious too. And, ultimately loving and hopeful. Her images make me smile. Such art does not come, however, without a price. What price does she pay? Not too much to hurt her art, maybe, just enough to keep her excited. Sorry, but I often wonder about the artist, as well as their art. Women with such qualities as Ms. Lela, are born to rule the world, and would, had they been born male. Savor her images while you may."

Today I visited SmallRaffela. It is like a visit with another part of myself sometimes. I found some new pictures there, with dreamlike images and a piece of poetry or prose, or a song lyric that resonates with sound and meaning, echoing the notes in the photo, and in me. Her pictures are all like this for me. I can sp… Read more

Today I visited SmallRaffela. It is like a visit with another part of myself sometimes. I found some new pictures there, with dreamlike images and a piece of poetry or prose, or a song lyric that resonates with sound and meaning, echoing the notes in the photo, and in me. Her pictures are all like this for me. I can spend a very long time in each one of them, just sharing the experience of her powerful vision, and drinking in the connection with the musical echoes and visual refrains she presents in her pictures, and then relating to, usually remembering somehow, the accompanying quotes or thoughts she usually blends into her offering. It is only when you try to compare her pictures with everything else in the world out there that you begin to see how exceptional she truly is. Most of the photographs in the wasteland of ordinary photography that you can find on the web are merely "captures" — what a friend of mine calls "f8 and b-there." Very few of us can sit down and create as she does. I could spend days on flickr, and I'm always looking for someone who has an original vision, someone who can show me something really different. I have been trying to express myself with a camera for years (almost 50 years now!) and for a long time, I believed that if you could simply make a really good picture, you were expressing yourself. It turns out that being technically competent means almost nothing, especially now, when you can let the machine take over for you. If you want to study self-expression, I would recommend that you spend time studying the work of SmallRaffaella. Her work is truly original. It follows the threads of her thoughts, her memory and her experience of art in so many mediums that she holds so closely to her soul, and then it voices those threads anew and displays them in a rich tapestry that is completely her own. I can hear the songs she sings, and I can recognize them, but the flavor is fresh and new, and I have shared her experience. For me, art is about validation--who am I? Is there someone else who understands this? Is it okay to feel this way? She can make me feel like everything is going to be all right, or even that everything already is all right. She is an artist of exceptional courage and honesty. Her voice is a comfort to the soul, and a call to join in the song. Sing out, SmallRaffaela!

Raffaela...una donna fantastica. Virtuosa e passionale. Un talento naturale, un'artista delle immagini. La sua visione dell'arte e' personalissima e coinvolge emozioni che vanno oltre ogni limite e concezione abituale. Un'apertura mentale a 360°. Ha uno stream stupendo, immagini forti che si alternano ad immagini deli… Read more

Raffaela...una donna fantastica. Virtuosa e passionale. Un talento naturale, un'artista delle immagini. La sua visione dell'arte e' personalissima e coinvolge emozioni che vanno oltre ogni limite e concezione abituale. Un'apertura mentale a 360°. Ha uno stream stupendo, immagini forti che si alternano ad immagini delicate e colme di poesia. Una maestra esigente che merita rispetto. Grazie di cuore Syd*Barrett :)

Now I'm not usually a fan of texture work, but Raffaela has won me over! This highly inventive beauty creates one knock-out image after another, and I'm always eager to see what she will come up with next. Self portraits, images from her many travels; she always creates something spectacular - dark, poetic and beautifu… Read more

Now I'm not usually a fan of texture work, but Raffaela has won me over! This highly inventive beauty creates one knock-out image after another, and I'm always eager to see what she will come up with next. Self portraits, images from her many travels; she always creates something spectacular - dark, poetic and beautiful being the key words. Brilliant, funny and kind as she is, it's a real pleasure having her as a contact. Check out her work, you're in for a treat!