Week 5: Modern Times

I love modern times. I love pre-modern times, too. So I decided to throw together the present and the past. Thankfully modern times have not taken over completely, there's still a bit of old school touch to life. At least at my house.

The idea for this week was to present modern times and well, I found it the easiest to get my point across by putting modern and a little less modern things side by side.

The Economist in my living room, The Economist on the go.
Olympus E-420, 25mm

I think this book would be extra awesome on an iPad (bigger screen, you know). It sings, it moves, it's interactive. As much as I adore books on paper I think this e-book does The Beatles and Yellow Submarine a lot more justice than the book on paper (that is pretty, too).

Olympus E-420, 25mm

Whisking has gone all electronic.
Olympus E-420, 25mm

However, coffee making is all old school at my house. I don't have any of the modern Nespresso etc machines. 

Olympus E-420, 25mm

All that and tons more all squeezed into this small fella. Almost too weird to be true. Still love the sound of CDs and vinyls. More than all those iPod friendly files. Don't get me wrong, I adore the portability of music we have in those modern times. 

Olympus E-420, 25mm

Let's hit the road!
Olympus E-420, 25mm

More phones, more portability, tons less phone calls... also, had to throw in my new blue shoes. Timeless.

Olympus E-420, 25mm

So, almost anything in my life could be replaces by an iPhone! A bit scary, so I intend to hold on that "old stuff" for a little variety. However, I do wish my iPhone would do the ironing for me... laundry has been piling up for weeks now. Oops. 

xoxo

Week 2: Patterns

This week I was determined to see patterns EVERYWHERE. Well, I used my subject in a wide sense, so it wasn't that hard. In the end everything started to seem as part of a pattern. Without further ado let's take a look at what I got.

I started off with shooting streets. In Madrid sidewalks tend to be made of different tiles, not covered in asphalt. So the city is packed with patterned streets. Oh and they love to add colorful carpets in front of bars and restaurants.

iPhone 4S, iPhoto

iPhone 4S, iPhoto

iPhone 4S, iPhoto

The southerners aren't big on adding isolation (or central heating) to their buildings, so life in the office required some thermo socks and a small radiator. Hey, but fun patterns!

iPhone 4S, iPhoto

Wouldn't you say that modern buildings are all about patterns? Sometimes it sure does feel so.

Olympus E-420, 25mm

Olympus E-420, 25mm

Sky, lines
Olympus E-420, 25mm

Lines, interrupted
Olympus E-420, 25mm

 Sometimes fun patterns hide underground, found this fishy at a metro station. Patterns within patterns.

Olympus E-420, 25mm

Well, finding patterns in my wardrobe is easy.

Oh I just love patterns on my Nanso clothes. Yellow fabric with birds is a pillow from Habitat.
Olympus E-420, 25mm

Olympus E-420, 25mm

Olympus E-420, 25mm

I was home-bound for today and stumbled upon patterns in my kitchen.

Paper towels - the overlook kitchen lace 
Olympus E-420, 25mm

Some patterns are accidental (and delicious).
Olympus E-420, 25mm

My (empty) box of Belgian chocolate truffles on the dining table.
Olympus E-420, 25mm

Natural inspiration for man-made patterns perhaps?! Ps. The soup turned out delicious!
Olympus E-420, 25mm

Patterns really are all around us, sometimes we just need an extra moment (or a photo project) to notice them.

xoxo

One Sketch a Day aka My 365 Project

I am one of those people who sometimes needs to take time out and just draw some lines on the paper. Doodling is a great way to clear my mind and gather some energy to tackle new tasks.

When I was visiting Brussels last December I stumbled upon an awesome notebook called "One Sketch a Day". I decided that this must be a sign and I should really give it a try - one sketch a day for 365 days. I started with it mid-December (because why postpone fun things) and so far, so good. I haven't skipped a day. Some days it's just bubbles or a mess, but that's okay. I have no artistic aspirations in this regard, I just want to have a little fun project that doesn't take much time, but at the same time helps to forget daily routines for a bit. Because, yes, grown-ups, too, can draw party elephants whenever they feel like it. 

iPhone 4S, Snapseed & Pic Collage

Have a fun weekend!

xoxo

My Beloved Cameras

This is a little introduction to my world of cameras. Cameras are like a brush to a painter. They won't create for you, but they enable to create and sure do make creating easier depending on their model and make. 

Back in the days I shot using two film cameras 35mm automatic camera by Konica and Canon EOS 3000v. I still hold on to the Canon thinking that maybe I will return to shooting film (or then not). I also own a fun film camera - the Action Sampler (ah, yes, Lomography-craze did not pass me by). My first digital camera was Olympus SP-320 - I tell you it was one of the finest little things out there at the time.  Reasonably priced and great quality. My mum has it now, so it is still in use. 

Currently my main man is Olympus E-420. And my daily snap shot master is my iPhone 4S.  

Olympus E-420
iPhone 4S, Snapseed

Olympus E-420 a small DSLR from year 2008. I think it's a brilliant entry-level DSLR. It has served me well, it is serving me well. I have three lenses to play around with. My newest (and current favorite) is 25mm. I absolutely love the telephoto 40-150mm. And there's the kit lens 17.5-45mm. All Zuiko lenses made especially for Olympus. I have used the kit lens the most in the past as it's well... universal. I think that I will always hold on to my Olympus 'cos it's so small and easy to carry along. It does not suite well for low light photography (it can be done, but with very low success rate). So getting another DSLR is on my mind, but more about that in the future.   

iPhone 4S and lenses by Photojojo
Olympus E-420, 25mm

I guess iPhone does not need many comments. Everyone's heard of it and many own it. Or then you own another smartphone that is also awesome. iPhone has a jolly good camera and the choice of creative&fun apps is endless and why shouldn't photography be fun, aye. I got Photojojo lenses (fisheye, macro/wide-angle, telephoto) for  my birthday and now my iPhone is packed with even more possibilities (and let me tell you - fisheye is perfect for selfies and sometimes you just need to do that).

At the moment I am convinced that owning more than one camera is the way to go, because there is no ultimate master camera that would fulfill all requirements I can dream of. What do you think? Maybe we should all retreat to using smartphone cameras only or go back to shooting film? One way or another - camera is a tool, it does not take pictures for you. 

xoxo

This Week I Will Shoot...

iPhone 4S, Afterglow

New Year, New Beginnings

Hey-hello and a happy 2013!
iPhone 4S, edited with Afterglow

Welcome to my blog Reindeer Trails! This is my very first post here and I hope it’s a sparkling beginning for a bright (blogging) future. I have already filled many pages of my adorable Moleskine Audio Cassette Notebook with ideas for this blog.

So, there will be a lot of photos (with information on camera and software used to bring you the final result). One of the reasons to start this blog right now is my 2013 weekly project – 52 photo projects. I filled an inspirational old coffee jar with 52 different phrases. 

“Everything Happens for a Reason” (Tobias Rehberger, Illy Art Collection)
iPhone 4S, edited with Afterglow

Every Monday I will draw one slip and try to take photos that relate to the word(s). At the end of the week I will share the results here.

This week I am stuck with stairs. I use my small blackboard to write down the theme for the week. So I wouldn’t forget it. Sometimes it’s in English, sometimes in my mother tongue – Estonian.

iPhone 4S, edited with Afterglow

Have you taken up any weekly/daily/monthly projects this year? Hope to hear all about them.

xoxo