Scavenger Hunt

This is how my summer partially looks like - with a special map in my bag all times. I walk around a lot, so why not pop into some small galleries and bigger exhibition spaces. However, it does take some discipline, have to follow the map and spot the signs, not just rush through the town. International Festival of Photography and Visual Arts is in town!

What's the point? Well, but life is a scavenger hunt! In a way at least. There's no guide book, there are no rules set in stone. Plus no-one has a clue what's the prize. However, I do believe that all we do and see and hear piles up somewhere inside our heads and it's good. It's interesting and it helps to see the world from different angles. Long story short - I just find it pretty cool. 

So I try to have a map with me (a mental one at most cases) and pop into galleries and museums or just stroll down hidden alleyways. Or then listen to (new) music. Live! Live experiences totally overrule all less live experiences. This also applies to photography. A real life print is so much more than an image on an iPhone screen. Obviously. 

Perhaps the prize is inspiration and curiosity (ever so often I find something that makes me wanna find out more about it)?!!

Do I like everything I see and hear? Do I know everything about art? Do I know all the names? No. Nooo... after all, I am a simple person who enjoys puppies and sunshine. And snapping photos with my smartphone. And using A Beautiful Mess App. 

However, I like to encourage everyone to make that little extra step and go see a less mainstream exhibition, walk down a random alley or give an odd new band a try. There's nothing to lose. Sure thing you might stumble upon things you don't like. That's fine. But it's still another little clue on the scavenger hunt of life.  And I hear the prize might be pretty good when you add some visual arts to your map, fill parts of your head with different images and sounds. 

xoxo

Ps. This update is partially (read: foremost) a pep talk to myself. So I would always keep going, keep discovering. Because at times it is SO easy to crawl up on the sofa and watch an endless amount of TV series and films. Nothing wrong with that either, but you know...  when done in moderation (guess how many times I have seen all the episodes of Gilmore Girls; numbers shall not be named as the count has been lost a long while ago). 

Halfway There

It is week 26, so it means I am halfway there. Wow. Anyhow, theme for this week is 'together in the kitchen'. 

Maybe I should arrange a bunch of people to cook in my kitchen, so it would be a win-win situations?! I could really use a good home cooked meal. ;) 

xoxo

Week 25: White

There, it's been decided. I am not the time master. Time is a flow of moments and those moments just pass by like nothing... whoosh. Especially in summer. Summer moments pass by faster. It's almost midnight, again.  

In my defense (geee, law school, thanks) - I have been taking tons of photos lately. The whole idea of this 52 weeks project was to push me shooting on a regular basis. I hope to share some shots from a music festival I attended last weekend. However, before that I still have some whites to post.

I wonder if those artists who shoot abstracts are actually like me and go: oh, I really don't feel like leaving the house, let's see what we can find here. Yeah, probably not. Didn't think so. Nevertheless I have some white walls and pipes.

I also have a fake marble (I believe it's fake, it must be) sink on my terrace. 

Okay, so while I am not the time master I must be a liar 'cos I say I love colors. Colorful things. But all I seem to have is a ton of white.

Even my clothes are white! Okay, this is starting to weird me out here. Photographic therapy?!

Then again, what else is to be expected from someone who keeps white unicorns as pets. Trapped in a glass bowl.

Lessons learned - impossibly hard to shoot white things and make then look crispy white on photos. Must work on that. Also, what's with the unicorns?! Bottom line - summer is here and I am totally having a bit of this school's out for summer thing going on here. It's a good feeling tho. Summer, finally! Look out for festival photos this week! And something for this week's project (shall find out tomorrow what it is). 

xoxo

This Week

iPhone 4S, VCSO cam, A Beautiful Mess

Musical week this week. Saw Of Monsters and Men last night and will attend a local city music festival over the weekend. Me likes. Hope to snap some photos and discover new artists.

Last week I read this article on Petapixel and gotta say that yeah, so it is:

I have discovered that photography has pushed me to live more, to see more of the world, and to become more understanding of what is important to me.

I always find it difficult to explain why I love photography, I think Frank did a pretty good job tho. Relatable, highly so. So, take a moment and check out what he had to say. Frankly (pun intended) I can't say if I take photos, because of the way I see the world or I see the world in a certain way, because I take a lot of photos. A mixture maybe?! What I do know is that if I take a moment to pay attention to my surroundings then I can see something fun every day on my way to work. Like this cool biker chihuahua. 

iPhone 4S, Instagram

Yeah, am gonna buy your love with a photo of a puppy! I'm cheap like that. Have a kick-ass week and take some photos (but only if you feel like it, not 'cos of the peer pressure ;))!

xoxo

Week 24: (Love is) in the Air

This time last week I was dancing my shoes off. Right time, right place, right people... and I don't care about the music. Anything goes. Almost. True story. That note was for those who think I am particularly picky about music. I am not. Not always anyhow.

So there I was celebrating my friend's wedding and meeting up with mutual friends I hadn't seen in ages. We are so international, love it! So, obviously, I am in the state of mind where week's theme 'in the air' becomes 'love is in the air'. How could it be any other way?! Uh-oh, I am a big softie. 

Hah, but no wedding photos for you guys, sorry. Yes, see, I am also a bit of a tease. I did take some pretty cool ones... so I might share them on some fine day in the bright future. 

However, I must say that Poznan is a town filled with love. It is surely in the air there. Walls, streets, kids, sunshine... all kinds of love. 

Or then you know. Just in the air. Plain (pun intended) and simple.

I feel now like I should end this with a little dance and a theme appropriate song. Not gonna happen. Or you know then perhaps The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". There you go. Have a good Sunday evening y'all!

xoxo

*All photos shot with Canon EOS 6D and EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens. Edited in Lightroom 4.  

App Love: VSCO Cam

Get VSCO Cam - it's lovely and it's for free! I will demonstrate my love for this app with some snap shots from my recent trip to Poznan, Poland. I spent my alone time (as we all arrived at different times and came from different locations) to play around with the freshly downloaded app. And of course, taking photos of my food. What's with that, really?! Why do I do that?! I eat with my eyes?! With my iPhone?! I wish... Anyhow, all of the photos below have been taken with iPhone 4S and edited with VSCO Cam app (yup, you can take photos with it or edit the ones you have taken previously). 

First of all, I LOVE flying! Seriously, it's as close to living in a magical cotton candy land as one can get. What's there not to love?!

And I love plane food. No joke. Maybe it's all programmed in me as I first boarded a plane when I was a newborn. Okay, it only took us 20min to an island, but you know, my body was all like - yeah, kicking ass in the air! Plane food is like a surprise egg - you never know what's inside! Sometimes you can also be left puzzled what was it that you ate. Still, I approve.

Not to mention that anything tastes good with the amazing sky high views.

I think one very legit reason to get excited over a meal is the fact (no, not that it's a surprise on a plane) that it is something simple you love, but haven't had for ages. Like cottage cheese. And potatoes in a non french fry mode. I almost weeped when I shoveled this in at this lovely artsy place in Poznan.

A really lovely place with origami birds and all.

I don't have that many iPhone shots from Poznan as I used my real camera for the bigger part of the time. Also, spent most of Monday at a mall with friends. Drinking coffee. Eating. Chatting. Doing a tiny bit of shopping. It was the post-party day. No-one was up for I dunno... hiking or museums. Luckily museums are closed on Mondays, so no bad conscious there. Moreover, the mall looked real nice. 

And they had a neat cafe with peonies (yay, flower-love) and pretty cups of coffee.

I have a ton of photos of Poznan waiting to be edited. I think it's a town where Southern Germany meets Berlin. It has a bit of all. Yeah, well, maybe it's weird to compare it to German towns, but I have been to a bunch of German towns. So well. There you go. Poznan is lovely. It has a river! A river makes any place more special.

And it has a fun biker monument. 

And quirky ice cream. With cactus flavor for example. Yes, I did eat that neon sweet thing.

It was four days and three nights. Spending time with some of the best people ever. And then it was back on the plane. Luckily Lufthansa still provides free newspapers and coffee at its Munich terminal. I love reading fancy newspapers (e.g. "International Herald Tribune" and "The Financial Times") when I travel. Plus you know, coffee-coffee-coffee.

However, my flight from Munich was delayed and I had finished reading my book. Oh and my gate was next to a cutsie cute design shop. There. I am an easy target to those people trying to sell useless (nooo, cute things are cute, not useless) stuff. 

See, there you go, I LOVE taking photos with my iPhone and then editing them a bit and sharing. Life is good as long as there's a camera, any camera. 

Time to wrap up the midnight story telling. Have a good weekend and see you on Sunday for some 'in the air' photos. 

xoxo

Week 23: Black

At Munich airport. Flight postponed. Bored out of my mind as had finished reading my book and kinda just wanted to nap on the plane. And then - there he is! A man dressed all in black wearing a cool hat. Perfect, mission completed. Photo for week 23.

iPhone 4S, VSCOcam, Instagram

You know, spending a long weekend catching up with friends and celebrating a wedding - couldn't make myself think of anything black. And all the dirty thoughts came in sugar coated packages. 

For this week I have pulled out 'in the air'. And I already have some thoughts up my sleeve. 

Hope you all are enjoying what seems to be summer, finally! 

xoxo

Music Therapy

Two things - photography and music. Two things that can me get way too excited way too easily. I can take photos. I can't make music (the whole let's-start-a-rapping-career-in-the-darkness when the stove at our apartment exploded, it doesn't really count; oh those uni years!). However, without music... if planet Earth had no music I would have to re-locate. Music, you know!

So, I am trying to improve my concert photography skills. I take photos at concerts so rarely tho. I think it's this whole early 2000s thing. Back then I had a film SLR and most clubs said that I cannot enter with professional gear. Trying to debate them on it not being even close to pro gear got me nowhere. However, I guess these days things are more liberal (in some cases) as everyone's got a camera on them. Back then phones were a lot less smart. And people used them for calling (I know, right).

Last night I saw Chet Faker live in Madrid. Amazing. I am not sure what is about those Aussie guys. I don't think I have ever seen an Australian band/artist live that hadn't been amazing. Maybe it's this whole being-born-in-the-land-of-koalas-thing. Must be it. Anyhow, here are some of my favorite shots and you can see some more (in full resolution if you wish) on my Flickr account. 

It's almost weekend! Happy times. Have a good one!

xoxo

*All photos shot with Canon EOS 6D and EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens. Edited in Lightroom 4.  

Dirty Darkness

First of all, I am having hard time believing it's June already. Week 23 already!

The thing with languages you know, there's this thing. For example this week's word in Estonian is must which has two meanings - black or dirty. I will go with black, but maybe it'll turn out dirty. You never know. 

This week's photos will be up sometime next week, I suspect, because I am flying out to Poland to celebrate my friend's wedding. 

If you happen to be in Madrid then I suggest you check out the homepage of Photo España - a lot of cool stuff is happening in the area in June and July. I really hope to visit some of the exhibitions. Who said summer is a slow lazy sunny time?! Summer is gonna be bus-y! In a fun way of course. And there will be some holidays and travels, too. And concerts. 

Have a good week and catch some sunshine!

xoxo

Ps. I just love peonies! 

Week 22: Fruit

Fruity-fruit-fruit week! Who doesn't love fruit, right?! Plus it's so easy to go snap some nice mouth watering shots at a market place with stalls and all. I always do that when I travel and spot great markets. However, this time I decided to play around with fruit I had at home. 

I am happy it's cherry season! Finally! 

Fruit Fakers

I tried a bit this technique I had read about years ago (so can't put any reference here). Basically you set a slowish shutter speed and turn the zoom while taking the photo. And then it looks all a bit psychedelic.

Double exposure! My first tries at double exposure happened this week.

I have a ton of ideas what to do with multiple exposure feature. Hope to share some cool stuff in the future. 

Anyhow, cherries aside there was also this apple. I went out on the terrace with the apple and a flashlight. And then stuff started happening. In the night. Just like that.

Branded. Busted!

Cornered, on the edge, looking for a way out...

Jungled in

Moonlight sonate

In the spotlight

Last, but not least - bananafish! Yup, 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' (J. D. Salinger). Banaanikala! For most shots I used multiple exposure. 

So, this is how my fruity-fruit-fruit week looked like. Things are never quite the ordinary round here as you can tell. Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely Sunday!

xoxo

*All photos shot with Canon EOS 6D and EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens. Edited in Lightroom 4.