Change

I came across the following quote on Pinterest yesterday, and felt like it was speaking to me:

“Accept what is, let go of what was, have faith in what will be.”
I want to talk a bit about change today - which is what this quote is all about for me.

As much as I would like to think of myself as someone who embraces change, I’m surely not accepting change easily. I get used to things being a certain way and I get comfortable. In my head I always know that change means opportunity, growth, and new beginnings, and that I should be open towards it - approaching it with positivity. Still, I’m not quite there yet, and change can be hard for me.
At the moment I’m going through some personal changes in my life, and I feel like there are a few more changes to come over the next few months. It’s scary and it can be hard to accept. And I think that is the case no matter what kind of change you’re going through.
I do think the quote above speaks a lot of truth, yet I find it hard to really accept and live accordingly. I think mindfulness relates to this topic in many ways - trying to be present, and enjoying the moment. It’s such a great concept, but so hard to live by.
I believe a lot of it is also about whether we make a conscious choice to make a change, or whether we are being ‘forced’ into it. But either way, the challenge is to deal with it and accept it.
Apart from personal changes, I also want to change a few things around here. I feel that I need some time to think things through and will take a week or so off blogging. Maybe even a bit longer if I feel like it. Sometimes you need a break to deal with change ;)
You see, I’m definitely not there yet - I have a hard time accepting what is, and moving forward. Have you gone through change recently, or have made any deliberate changes (not matter whether personal or work related or anything else)? I honestly would love to hear your thoughts on it, and please do share any tips you have for dealing with change in a healthy way.

P.S. While I’m gone, I have a few suggestions for you to work on: are you using your camera in manual mode yet? If not, why not give it try? Play around with aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. I promise taking your camera off automatic will make a huge change to your photos.

P.P.S. My friend Emma is sharing a little bit about me and my work in one of her regular blog features. If you’re interested in being part of this feature as well, do drop her an email.

P.P.P.S. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway. :)

Discussion: capturing the beauty of a moment?

Image via Instagram

The other day I read an article in a magazine about enjoying a moment just by yourself, for yourself. The article was encouraging us to see something beautiful with our own eyes more often, not through the viewfinder of a camera. It can be so easy to get sucked into the urge to document everything - an amazing moment you don’t want to forget or really want to share with your Instagram community. But how much do we really enjoy that moment when we always feel the need to capture everything?

I certainly feel this inner conflict of just wanting to be fully there without any distractions, and feeling the need and desire to document the beauty - all the time to be honest.
So when I went for a walk the other day I told myself not to take any photos - but I still ended up taking some. And while I was starting to feel ‘guilty’, I realised that actually it felt freeing to allow myself to capture the moment. I’m a photographer - it’s something I just can’t always resist. Sometimes it helps me to see the beauty of something even more and to really observe and engage with it.

So my take on this is to try to enjoy moments without a camera, without the need to share every single situation, but to allow myself to document a moment when I just can’t hold back that urge. Not to think about it too much, but go with what feels right in that specific moment and relax.

What are your thoughts on this? I’d love to hear, and open up a discussion - I’m sure it’s something that we all can relate to.

Want to swap skills, collaborate, or guest post?

I’ve been thinking a lot about collaborations lately and working with others, and the power that comes with it. I believe that collaborations can open up so many new opportunities, they create relationships, and bring fresh ideas with them.
So, I've decided I want to do it. If you’re interested in collaborating, including guest posting, shoot me an email.
I’d love to hear your ideas, and will consider all kinds of suggestions. It doesn’t necessarily have to be photography related, it could be anything going through your mind right now. Your thoughts and talents are all welcome. Just let me know why you want to work with me or guest post, what idea you’ve got in mind, and how you can contribute value to the collaboration.

Also, I always love learning new things. If you’re the same and you’ve got a different skillset to mine (pretty sure you do), let’s ‘swap skills’. I’m thinking of sharing each other’s knowledge, maybe coming together once a week or once a month, and basically teaching each other.
There are a few things I’m good at, the most obvious one is photography (but I'd happily talk you through some other skills I could swap). So let me know if you’re up for it, and what you’ve got to offer :) This idea probably works best if you’re in London as well, but I’m still open to your ideas even if you’re based somewhere else.

If you’re not so much into any of the above ideas, but still have thoughts on what you’d like to see around here, do let me know as well. Excited to hear from you!

The art of good photography

(All images in this post by Mike Abrahams)

A few weeks ago we looked at the work of Mike Abrahams in class, who came in and talked to us about business type stuff as well as his photography. You should go check out his work, it’s amazing! (And even better to look at when the picture is projected onto the wall).

I don’t get that very often that I see people’s work and feel amazed straight away. We looked at a few of his projects (e.g. this one taken just after the Cold War in Eastern Europe), when he was still using black and white film. Back then people used black&white film rather than colour for mostly technical reasons, but also because it was ‘fashionable’. So, it made me wonder what the photos would look like in colour.
Of course the stories look great in black&white, and are really strong sets of pictures. Still, colour is very different, and so hard to do well, that it made me think about it. Today there’s no real reason for photographing in black&white, which is why I really admire photographers that take awesome colour pictures. It’s hard - hard because you have to make sure to get the colour balance right, hard because distracting colours (e.g. neon green) are annoying, hard because you want all the colours to go well together, hard because you want strong colours, such as red, to be the actual focus of the picture, and so on... Colour photography sure is a skill that has to be learned and developed.

Another thing that came to my mind after looking at this specific project in Eastern Europe - it’s a grim and dark story, and the pictures are grim and dark, but they are beautiful nevertheless. That’s a skill in itself! It’s easy to make something nice look beautiful. It’s not easy to make something dull look beautiful.

Just some of my thoughts for today - I’ll leave you to it. Let me know what came to your mind reading this, would love to hear and get a conversation started!

Comparing, Copying & Imitating

A few days ago I talked about developing a cohesive style in photography and the learning process of being a photographer. 

Today I want to talk a bit about copying and imitating others. This relates to feeling dissatisfied with our work, and trying to find our own voice in photography. I want to talk about this again because I feel like it’s constantly present, something we always think about and work on as creatives, and something we can all relate to. 

As we find ourselves comparing our work to other people’s work in our field, it’s easy to become dissatisfied and discouraged. Now, we either end up being frustrated and in the black hole of feeling ‘stuck’. We stop creating because we think it won’t be good enough, and we feel paralysed. 

Or we start copying our ‘heroes’. While this might be easier (and more dangerous) to do in some areas, like design for example, it’s a bit harder to copy in photography. Of course, if it’s a set-up shoot (e.g. fashion photography), this won’t be so hard. If you’re thinking of documentary work though, it won’t be quite as easy to directly copy someone else’s work. You could of course go and find the exact same spot where the photos were taken, try to find the same people to photograph, get the light right, etc. … but, well, it just seems a bit unrealistic. 

The other thing we can do is to imitate other people’s work. And this doesn’t mean simply copying what someone else does. Instead it’s about figuring out what they do to make their photos look a certain way. What’s an element that repeats in their photos? What is the light like? How do they edit their photos? What angle do they shoot from? What makes them look similar? What makes you recognise their photos? Why do they look familiar to you? What do they think about while they work? Why do they focus on certain issues? What makes them tick? Ask all these questions to find out on a subconscious level what it is that they do. This can also be really helpful if you want to figure out what you really like (e.g. what kind of style) and why; what it is that attracts your eye. 

In this case and at the stage you’re probably at (including me), I think it’s ok to imitate. It helps to improve our work. And over time we will develop our own voice. Again, I don’t mean copying - I mean looking at others’ work, and learning from them. And then applying some of the lessons to our own work.

How do you feel about copying vs imitating? What are your thoughts on comparison? 

P.S. If you’re looking for a fun way to improve your photography, come along to the next Photo Brunch!

International Day of the Girl

Hi guys, today’s post is a little different - a while ago Giulia emailed me about the International Day of the Girl (which is today) and asked if I would help spread the word.
I decided that rather than simply talking about this myself, it would be fun and more interesting to get my friend Hildegard (who’s on my course as well) involved - the first person that came to my mind when I first read Giulia’s email.
Hildegard is definitely the only person I can think of who could probably discuss gender inequality (and all issues surrounding it) for at least 2 hours non-stop.
So, I asked her if she would write a few sentences for this post, which turned into a bit more than that ;) Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Hildegard! I really appreciate it!
If you want to hear what she’s got to say keep reading…

“A couple of weeks ago I was having a conversation with some colleagues at work and the topic of feminism came up. Instantly everyone's defences came up and a lot of girls said they don't like these ‘new aged feminists’ or that feminism is outdated or in some cases even stupid. And being a feminist and knowing what it truly means I wasn't all that surprised by their thoughts and their reaction. Feminism like any other ism or group, or religion has some members who give it a bad press and because of the society we live in today a group of women who are angry about misogyny are usually just brushed off and called lunatics and insane.
But I read a quote a couple of weeks ago that sums up feminism for me entirely. “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." It is just as simple as that. It's not about burning bras or hating men or wanting to have women take over the world. No, it is simply that women deserve the same rights and opportunities in life as do men. It is the simple notion that women have the right to be proud of who they are and have ownership of their bodies and what comes out of them. That they have the right to education and school as their male counterparts. That they have the right to pursue love and happiness and not have their lives revolved around accommodating men and producing children for them on demand. It is the most simple notion that women should have rights too and that they are valuable and don't deserve to be killed as infants or aborted because they are not boys. Or circumcised in the name of tradition just so that they do not enjoy the pleasure of sex at a later age and run off with other men. It's the simple notion that they deserve to go to school like little boys without being sold to much older husbands and taken out of school because their family can't afford them anymore. It's the simple notion that they have the right to go to school and be educated without being shot and threatened for wanting to educate themselves. It is the simple idea that a woman and a girl should be able to wear what she chooses without being brandished a slut and become subject to both verbal and physical abuse. It is the simple notion that women have a right to express their sexuality and be sexual beings without just being put in a box of either being a mother or something to keep a man warm at night. It is the simple notion that every woman has the right to walk home in the middle of the night by herself without being worried of some stranger jumping out and taking her body without her consent. It is about the fact that women shouldn't be ostracised for wanting to go to work to support their families, or deciding to stay home with the kids and not being called lazy or lacking ambition. It is the most simple purest notion that a woman is a person too and has the right to happiness just like every other man on this planet does. This is why feminism exists and this is why we need to continue to have days like these to bring awareness that in this world of ours absolutely no woman is 100 percent safe. And we will keep on fighting that struggle with our sisters and our male counterparts who believe that women have rights too until we can say that our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, our girlfriends and our wives are happy and safe.”

If you feel like you can identify with this, and want to learn more about Hildegard, have a look at her portfolio and blog. She also was really kind and created the image above.



I also remembered that I recently entered a competition with Oxfam, for which I had to write a few words regarding women living in poverty, and figured this would go well with today’s post. Here’s what I said:

“Women represent 70% of the world's poor. They face gender discrimination, injustice, and violence that prevent them from covering their basic needs of food, healthcare, safe childbirth, education and employment. It’s humiliating and degrading. Overcoming these inequalities and ensuring that women worldwide can live a life of dignity requires that their situation is made public and shared with the world. (...)”

There was more that I wrote, but it doesn’t really fit in here. So, I’ll leave you to that, Hildegard’s thoughts, and your own thoughts for now - if you want to spread the word, or learn more about the International Day of the Girl check out the facebook page, tweet about it, or whatever you feel like is right. :)

What I learnt from creating my portfolio

Recently I’ve been working on my new portfolio a lot - deciding which images to include, figuring out how many categories I need, choosing the right logo, playing around with different layouts, …
There have been a lot of ups and downs. Sometimes I thought I was there, then again a couple of days later I felt like I had already seen the design for too long and needed something new. I’d also come across photographers whose work I hadn’t seen before and felt inspired. Felt the need to change my style of photography completely, and to push myself further, to challenge myself.
This also influenced the process of building my portfolio - I got frustrated with my own work, and lost track of what I was initially trying to achieve: creating my portfolio.

I’ve now completed the process of designing my new website, and am choosing which photos to include at the moment, so that my lovely boyfriend can actually build the site ;)
Finally arriving at ‘the end’ of designing my website feels like such a relief. It’s amazing how much of a difference ‘just finishing’ can make.
Although it was a bit of a long process, and I hadn’t imagined it to be that way, I learnt a lot. I learnt that sometimes you just have to pick something and stick with it. You’ll never completely get there, it will never be perfect. There will always be a point where you’ll change your mind. But that’s ok - it doesn’t have to last forever. If you feel the need to change something at a later point you can always do that.
Also, there just are about a million photographers out there and everyone’s style and photos are different. That’s ok as well. Use it as an inspiration, but don’t get caught up trying to achieve something that’s just not you. Developing your own style will take time - indeed I believe it’s a never ending process.
The main point I took away from the process of creating my portfolio is to not take yourself and your work too seriously. Relax. It’s just a website.
It was the most amazing feeling to just finish what had been on my to-do list for ages, and that was only possible when I realised that things will change naturally over time.
Take it easy - that’s probably the best tip I can give you. For any kind of project. :)

Behind the Scenes / 03

Productivity

I want to share something a bit more personal today - I find it really hard to find my own voice when writing blog posts, and always ask myself whether this is how I really talk. If you know me in person you might be able to tell - please let me know what you think. ;) So my goal is to write in a more personal way.

Maybe it’s the fact that the internet seems like such a huge and wide open space, where anyone can access anything. And while the great thing about it is that you can connect with so many people that you would otherwise probably not get to know, it can also be intimidating opening up to ‘strangers’. But then again, isn’t that part of blogging?
I personally enjoy getting to know other bloggers better, which usually happens when someone shares something personal and opens up (and by that I don’t mean sharing their life’s story and secrets).

So, let’s try today - I’ll tell you a bit about my day-to-day life.
Most of my days are pretty relaxed, at least while I’m not going to uni (which is the case at the moment).
I used to just get up whenever I felt like it, unless something was on (usually around 8 when my boyfriend gets up to go to work), then went for a run, showered, had some breakfast, spent some time on Pinterest and checking mails etc. while drinking my tea and enjoying my rather long breakfast. So then by the time I had finished breakfast it was probably around noon. Sounds pretty relaxing, but a bit crazy, too. You have to know though, that breakfast/brunch is my favourite meal of the day, and we always enjoyed (and still do) a long brunch on the weekends back home.

Over time I realised that I didn’t really make the most of my time, and should put it to better use. It can feel pretty frustrating not being productive. I was never bored, but somehow the days just went by, and I didn’t feel like I got much ‘actual’ work done.
So I knew that I should be more active, and tried out different things to structure my day and get things done - like setting time slots, or putting the most important tasks at the top of the to-do list, or using Wunderlist. But none of my efforts really succeeded.

A while ago I came across Zenhabits - a blog focused on simplicity, living in the moment and being present, getting things done, health and fitness, and focusing on the important. It’s a great blog, and uncopyrighted by the way (a concept I’m really impressed by!) - you should stop by and take some time to read some of the articles, there are some great ones in the archives!

Anyway, one of the posts I recently read suggested saying ‘no’ to one thing each day (could be anything), and creating a new to-do list every day listing the three ‘most important things’ to get done for that day. Then at the bottom of the list go the ‘small things’ that don’t actually take up that much time, and shouldn’t get in the way of achieving your three main goals. Then set aside a specific amount of time to get things done - e.g. tell yourself you’ll work on ‘task x’ for 1,5 hours. Get it done during that time. You probably will if you focus.

So far this concept seems to work. I’ve found that giving myself a set amount of time really helps, as well as only focusing on three main things each day to not get overwhelmed, and not get frustrated if I won’t manage to get ALL of the stuff done that’s on my general to-do list.
It’s also been helpful to remember that small things shouldn’t take up as much space and time on my to-do list (and in my head) as some of the big tasks.

I hope this post came across as open and personal - and I hope you can relate and take something away for yourself.

How do you manage to get things done? Any ‘secret’ tips you have?

P.S. The work space above isn't mine by the way.

Behind the Scenes / 02

Today I want to talk about business. I feel like every since I met my boyfriend I started getting interested in business and in the whole start-up world.
I learnt from him over time, started reading blogs like Problogger, and got interested in anything business related - whether this might have been a blog post I read, an article in a magazine, a book, or an e-course I did.

I recently finished reading Rework, which talks a lot about the way we work. I love how the book is structured - it has a fast, straightforward pace (most chapters are 1-3 pages long). The authors are really direct with the points they’re making, and make you think twice about what you’re doing, and whether you should be doing it in a different way. Like Seth Godin is saying ‘they've demonstrated that the regular way isn't necessarily the right way’.

A few points I took away:
- ‘Inspiration is a time machine.’ It won’t wait for you. If you’re feeling inspired NOW you’ve got to do the work NOW. No matter whether it’s 2pm or 2 am. It’s perishable.

- ‘Learning from mistakes is overrated.’ What you learn from mistakes is what you should NOT do again. You still don’t know what you should do. Instead building on successes means you’re building on something that you know did work.

- If you stopped doing what you do, would people notice? Are you building ‘just another me-too product’ or are you ‘making a dent in the universe’?

- ‘No time is no excuse. If you want something bad enough you will make the time, regardless of your other obligations.’ If you can’t find the time to do it, maybe you’re not passionate enough about it.

- When you’re starting something new there will always be different options, like ‘what you want to do, could do, have to do’. Start with what you ‘have to do’ to build a foundation. The foundation is what you can’t remove in order to keep going, everything else depends on it.

There are a hundred more points that I could talk about, but if you’re feeling a bit entrepreneur-ish at all you should read for yourself.

May on Instagram

Wow, May is over already. Every single month I'm amazed at how fast time is going by.
I just googled that and came across this article - it talks about why time seems to go by faster and faster as you get older. The reason being that we have less first-time experiences. Which is true if you think about it - how many times have you had pancakes before in your life? Been to the zoo? Went out for coffee? Met friends for brunch? Walked the same way to work? Did the same routine before going to bed every day?

This concept actually isn't completely new to me, I've heard about it before. Sometimes I try to remember to do something new on purpose - like eating something I've never had before, changing the route of my morning runs, taking a workshop in a subject completely new to me and challenging myself, etc...
What are some ways you can think of to switch things up a bit?

In general I think I have to live more in the present, and enjoy the moment. Sounds so easy, ha.
Any ideas on how to actually do that, and make it a bit easier than it sounds?

See instagram feed for photos

Instagram vs DSLR

Pretty much every time I get out my phone to take a picture I realise how handy it is to just carry around my phone and being able to share a beautiful moment instantly.

I’m a person that goes for the option of leaving my camera at home most of the time because it’s too heavy and relying on my phone’s camera instead. Not something I recommend, though ;) I should definitely have my camera with me all the time, no matter where I go - you never know what might happen.
So, that’s point number one. A DSLR can be pretty heavy. Also, you probably want to use a camera bag to carry and protect it, rather than just your handbag. Another point - I don’t like carrying around too much stuff with me.
On the other hand though, a DSLR camera with a good lens can capture things in a way that no phone can. Just thinking of depth-of-field for example. I definitely feel more like a ‘photographer’ when I use my DSLR camera. It feels like you ‘snap’ a picture with your phone’s camera, but you ‘make’ a picture with your DSLR camera.
This also relates to the way we share images - photos taken with your phone go up on Instagram straight away (most of the time at least). I love being able to share a moment of my life, without having to write much about it. Just keeping it simple, and sharing small impressions/snippets of life (that sometimes are a lot more personal than what you blog about) is what makes Instagram such a cool app.

Well, there are pros and cons to both options. I wouldn’t want to give up either of them - it’s great being able to use them both, each for their own purpose and at the right time.

What are your thoughts on Instagram/taking pictures with your phone vs DSLR?

Photo taken with my phone.

The world we live in

Photos taken in New Zealand

Studying photojournalism reading the news is second nature to me (at least it should be. I admit I don’t do it thoroughly or often enough).

This morning I read an article in the Guardian about North Korea seemingly preparing their fourth nuclear test, and I also watched this video. I watched a North Korean soldier, blind with rage, aggressively shouting at the camera that he’s ready for war.

Yesterday I read a 19 pages long article in GEO about the food industry. It talks about children in Ivory Coast labouring for the chocolate we eat, the wretched lives of animals and their painful deaths (which we will never know about, but that is represented on the price tag), huge areas of rainforests and mangrove forests in South America and South East Asia being cut down (to make space for soy and palm oil plants to be cultivated).

Two days ago I came across a petition on facebook calling for H&M to pay their workers a decent loan. It made me think about people labouring for my clothes, living in poverty, dying or getting sick from toxic chemicals that they get in contact with during their work (e.g. on cotton plantations).

And a day before that my boyfriend told me that our neighbours got robbed. (I always thought our place was reasonably safe).

Well, all this might sound pretty pessimistic and depressing. That’s what it made me feel like: WTF? (sorry, but that’s the best and shortest way I can think of to express my feelings). It makes me feel sad, scared, angry.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to spread bad emotions - it’s just something I feel strongly about.

A lot of the time we live in this beautiful world of blogs and Pinterest, where everything seems to be inspiring, creative, entertaining. And that’s great. But there’s still a world out there, a real world that we live in. And what happens in that outside world affects all of us.

I don’t want this world to be blown up by nuclear bombs, or our great diverse nature to be destroyed.
God gave us this beautiful earth to live on that provides everything we need and that cares for us by giving us a place to live, and food to eat.
We have so much power, we basically reign over earth now. But instead of caring for it, we destroy it.

There are times where I feel so overwhelmed by all that CRAZY bad stuff happening in this world, and I wonder how can people even become like this?
Why are there people in this world that want war instead of peace? More cheap clothes at the expense of other people’s lives?

The examples I mentioned are just a fraction of what I feel like is going wrong. I bet you could list at least 10 more. I definitely could.

I haven’t found a perfect way to deal with all the craziness in the world yet.
I can only guess that if we start with ourselves we can make a change little by little. Be a bit more aware, be a bit more organic, be a bit more caring every day.

Now, I realise this post totally breaks the blogging rule of ‘only blogging about positive stuff’.
But really, that’s just a rule of the blogging world - as I said before, we all live in a real world, and that world doesn’t care about blogs’ rules.
If this is the platform I’ve created for myself on the internet, then I want to use this little space to talk about the things that really matter and that I care about.
I hope you care, too. :)


P.S. This reminds me of a tale:
One evening an old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, ‘My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.’

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ‘Which wolf wins?’
The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘The one you feed.’

Why inspiration is essential for your success

(note: this isn't Leah Gordon's photo. I didn't use any of her photos in this post due to copyright reasons. Image above: photo courtesy of IOM Haiti on flickr, found through creative commons)

About a week ago I attended a talk by Leah Gordon at uni where she mainly spoke about her images of Haiti. I want to tell you about the things that stuck with me the most.
First of all, it was a very inspirational talk.
Leah talked a bit about Haiti's history which I found really interesting (especially since I'm reading Isabel Allende's book 'Island beneath the sea' which plays around the time when the slaves rose up and finally put an end to slavery in what used to be 'Saint-Domingue').

A lot of her photographs show portraits of people celebrating the Haitian carnival (Kanaval), which made her talk about being critical with the way we document and show other nationalities. If you look critically at images you will find that quite often photographers show what people expect to see, what they think sells, and what the common perception of a specific nation is.
So for example relating to Haiti (where Voodoo is very common) you will often find photos showing people rolling their eyes (as that is what first comes to your mind when thinking of Voodoo ceremonies).
It really makes you think about your ethics, and look critically at how people are portrayed. And it also makes you think about how we imagine certain cultures and people to be like, and whether our idea of someone else's nationality/character is really true.
But then what is truth? (I won't got any further into that now, but maybe some other time?!)

Leah also mentioned August Sander as an inspiration for the way she took her photos and for the direction the whole project took (she worked on it for 16 years!).
August Sander was one of the first photographers whose work and life I really looked into. I first came across him in my arts class when I was still in school, and did some research on his work.
His style kept inspiring me, so I ended up writing an essay about his work last year.
I would say that for me he is one of those photographers you can always relate to, and who is always in the back of your mind as an inspiration.

Finally let's talk a bit about one of the main lessons I learned from that night.
When I walked home after the talk I realised that no matter what you want to do you have to be inspired. You have to go to talks, events, see exhibitions, etc. It's the only way to find out where you want to be heading. You'll either be inspired in a good way, and you will find that it is exactly what you want to do.
Or you will realise that it isn't what you want to do.
Both is good - it's all about getting to see different perspectives, and deciding what is right for you.
For me Leah's talk was inspirational in at least one way. It made me feel passionate about pursuing my own projects, and it got me excited about researching into other cultures.

On being a photographer

Happy happy new year everyone! I hope this will be a blessed year for you, bringing you lots of special moments and new challenges.
I’m not really the kind of person to get into the exaggerated mood of New Year’s Eve and the whole ‘it’s a new year’ thing. For some reason NYE has never been that special to me, and I feel like you could make your personal change anytime of the year. Just because everyone does it on the night of December 31 doesn’t mean you’d have to rethink your life then. But I guess it’s just a date to remind you of reflecting on the past year - and maybe it holds a certain power which motivates you to start something new.

So, I’ve decided today I’d make myself a personal list of goals for 2013. Just a few small things, like being patient for example.
I want to learn to be patient when it comes to what I want to achieve in my life. I know I want to do something creative with my life, earn money through creating. I just don’t know what. This is where the problem lies: I have a whole lot of motivation within me to work hard and to create something I’m really passionate about. I just don’t know what to create. There are about 1 million ideas in my head of what I could do, but I just can’t figure out what will make me happy in the end. Or even if I did I would change my mind after a couple of months. (‘Focus’ - will have to go on my list).

Thinking of photography - when I was back home over Christmas I went for a run one day. Everything looked really beautiful, and I had my phone with me, so I could easily take a picture. But I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to get my phone out, stop for a few seconds just to take a photo. I just wanted to enjoy what was there, without feeling the urge to document it.
I managed to not take a photo the first time I felt like it. But after running for a while and seeing more pretty things I could photograph I couldn’t help myself but stop and finally take that picture.
I’m sure some of you might know that feeling of missing out on a picture when you don’t take it, the urge of getting out your camera every time your eye sees something interesting or beautiful.
But on the other hand you just want to enjoy the moment, and see it with your own eyes, not through your camera’s lens. Sometimes I don’t want to be a photographer.

Well, makes me think if maybe I should go back to old-school and get a phone without camera.
And it also makes me think about what it is that I want to do. I know I should probably just focus and go with one idea. I do feel scared at that thought, though. Because I know I keep changing my mind, that’s what’s been happening for the last few years. There are too many things I love doing and I can never stick to one thing.
So how do you even focus?
Any tips on that, guys? Have you been in a similar situation before? I would appreciate any of your thoughts!

P.S. Maybe being patient is the key. Must be on that list for a reason. Waiting for everything to work out its own way.

Everything and Nothing

Last night I procrastinated. I didn’t spend my time on facebook as you may assume, and not even on Pinterest - something that would have been a lot more likely for me to do.
(Although, admittedly, I did spend a few minutes on there before turning off my computer).
I actually spend my time reading the editor’s blog of Arts London News (ALN), the newspaper I’ve been working on over the last few weeks (it’s an actual paper, too, by the way).
And in my defense, reading the editor’s blog didn’t even feel like reading a blog. It felt more like reading educated articles about interesting facts to think about, written by fabulous journalists.

Reading the editor’s stories actually got me thinking. I felt amazed at how good the articles were, I enjoyed reading every single one of it. And then I started to wonder what it is that makes them so brilliant. I started to think that I would love to be able to write like this as well.
When actually I’m more of a photographer than a writer. Yes, my course did involve some writing at the beginning of last year, but it’s been so basic that I wouldn’t even dare to compare the skills I gained back then to the skills the ALN journalists have.

So, you got me, I would like to be a writer. But of course I would like to stay a photographer as well. So I would like to do both.
And then I would also like to be a designer, too, please.
Can we have it all? Can we do it all? Can we gain all the skills?

Last week I got the chance to listen to a guest lecturer (a great photographer working mostly in London) who came in to our class to talk to us about photography. He mentioned something along the lines of ‘you don’t have to do everything yourself - don’t get out your guitar and compose your own music for your photography slideshow just because you can’.
And it’s so true.
I don’t want to end up as a ridiculous do-it-all person, and actually do nothing because it all sucks. I want to be good at one thing. Or maybe two. And then be really good at this.

I just wonder what to do when you wish to do so many things, follow up so many paths.
This issue keeps coming up in my life recently. Well, recently means more like the last year or two.
I’ve been all occupied by the thought of figuring out what it is that I really want to do, and by finding my own style (this actually is a different topic).

Thinking so much about these topics gets me into pondering about psychology, and finding out why it is that we are so concerned with these issues, what makes us tick, and whether I could maybe get into doing some psychological research on this at a later stage in my life.

Well, we’ll see if I’ll ever become a psychologist. Because maybe I’ll end up as a writer. Or a designer. Or I might just stick with being a photographer.

[I guess the point for you to take away from this is to remember not to do it all - please don’t get out your guitar and start composing your own music if all you really want is to learn about photography. - I promise there will be more to help you follow up the path of photography next week. Tips, again, finally.]

Autumn Thoughts

Autumn is here now, that’s for sure. I can tell it’s autumn when I start to feel like lots of cinnamon, start wearing cosy knitted jumpers, drink tea all day long, want to bake more than I can eat, light candles & incense sticks every night, and when I start to feel like getting out my film camera more often.
I actually feel like taking film photos constantly right now. There’s just such a warm and cosy feel to it. Or maybe that’s just me - but film photography certainly feels like something connected to autumn.

I took these photos about a year ago when I was back home visiting my family. Looking at them makes me want to go back home so much - I can see myself going for a long walk, taking lots of photos (film of course), coming back home, and having a cup of chai tea & biscuits.
Yes, I would love to do that. But I’m back to uni next week. So I guess London autumn has to do for now.

I just wanted to share a few thoughts on film photography & autumn that came to my mind when thinking about this post.
I just made some muffins for a tea party. Every time I bake I go on Pinterest first and check some of the recipes on there. I realised when looking at all the food photos that I feel drawn in by the detail shots.
Actually not only when it comes to food but with lots of other things as well. I think details can capture an atmosphere so well sometimes - of course you’d have to capture the right details.

Another thought related to film photography: I use a Zenit-B camera which doesn’t even have an integrated light reader (which tells you if your manual settings will work out to give you a correct exposure). So that really makes it hard, even if you understand how exposure works.
(Don’t worry if you don’t quite get that). I basically just realised how important it is in the first place to know how exposure works, and to understand how to use your camera manually.
So I will definitely write a few more posts on that topic to help you get your head around exposure. I know it can be daunting, but it’s actually easier than you think. :)

For now enjoy autumn and all the good things that come with it. What are the things you love about autumn?

I’m sure you’ve all got your very own little things that make you feel like ‘autumn’s here’. I would love to hear, so please share. :)