Ground Control

This week I am gonna keep my feet on the ground. Well, to be honest I hope to keep my whole body on the ground (read: in the sand) over the weekend. Yes, a beach weekend has been promised to me. I am willing to go great lengths in the name of seaside. Gonna work on my tan (read: gonna be covered in tons of sunscreen and claim that being tanned is just uncool).

Week 21: On the Ground (in Estonian: maas)

xoxo

Week 20: Long Distance

Home-bound unsocial weekend. Woohoo. Yeah, I don't do cool very well. I find unsocial weekends totally nice now and then. Rainy weather and cold winds. Yes, we are back in winter. So, what else to do than to get nostalgic. Uh-oh, well doesn't that sound a bit nicer than me just saying: I was too lazy to go find something to shoot outside home?! Well, I did try to take some photos at a concert last night - it was an epic fail as I was too far from the stage and stuff plus it has nothing much to do with this week's theme. And nope, going to concerts doesn't really count for being social. I can be an extremely unsocial concert goer. But that's another story.

So as I am packrat and I love colorful things then, yes, I have the best things to represent 'long distance' here at my house - postcards!

 I love postcards and luckily enough I seem to know people who love to send them to me. This is just a fraction of my postcard collection (well, I don't collect  them per se; I just have more than one). The major part is at my mom's house. She constantly asks me if she can throw away my stuff. :) Possibly one day I will be this crazy old lady who lives in the house of cards. Of postcards. Now you can decide if it is scarier than living with 40 cats or not. I don't intend to live with 40 cats. I don't really mix and mingle well with cats. I have considered a ferret, but then again I read they can "cut" your throat in your sleep. So, house of cards it shall be. And some coffee with milk.

Postcards come from faraway countries. They travel long distances.

My fave stamp story is: I had to attach it with a piece of chewing gum 'cos it had no glue on its back and I had no glue stick. It felt very special and a little gross. But creative brownie points to my friend, for sure. 

So yes, postcards can come from people's trips abroad or then for special occasions. 

Or then carry fun messages. Hallmark or handwritten. No special occasion.

Then there are those people who really know what you love (ahem, yes, cameras, cakes, hipsters and pens).

So, yes, I did have so much fun with all my postcards this stormy afternoon. On one of those photos you can see one raindrop. Challenge accepted?! Because of course it started raining the moment I dragged my treasures out to the terrace to be shot in daylight. Luckily I have roof-thingie (I only know the word in Spanish and it's toldo) I can open when needed.  

I have this little postcard corner next to my front door. So long distance would feel a little less long. And those white walls would be less white. 

So, yes, I am a bit sentimental and a bit old fashioned. I do think postcards are brilliant. They travel the world. Long distance. 

Any other postcard lovers out there? 

xoxo

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

Fragments of Fire

And I know that fire works, I have seen the fireworks

- The Crash "Fireworks"

Last night I played around with my new camera and tried to get some fun shots of fireworks they fired in honor of San Isidro (the saint of Madrid). My initial plan was to go to the park to see it closely, but in the end I didn't feel like going out into the cold and dark. I was there last year and it gets crazy. Probably no space for a tripod or anything. So I zoomed and hunted some "artsy"shots from the comfort of my home. The perks of living on the top floor. 

I gave a first try to the whole my iPhone as my camera remote thing (bless the genius who packed 6D with WiFi). It works. Brilliant. So handy. Plus I tried this whole keep-your-shutter-open-as-long-as-you-want-thing. Cool. Obviously it all takes practice, but it's fun. You get to play with fire.

It is all good to be in a celebratory mood as tomorrow is Friday!

xoxo

Long Time No See

The moment I pulled out this slip from the tin (week 20: long distance) this song started playing in my head. I could probably write a novel on long distance friendships. Well, I couldn't write a novel, I have no idea how to write one nor do I have a burning desire to do so. However, almost as long as I can remember I have always had friends and some family abroad. And now it's me who is living thousands of kilometers away. Long distance is my life. A blessing and and a curse. More of a blessing tho. Definitely more of a blessing! But you know, sometimes you just want the "right" friend to have drinks or a laughing fit with and you can't (note to self: save up for a private jet). Long distance. Yup, laughing fits don't really work long distance. 

And a slightly soppy (but who doesn't love some soppy and some unicorns in their life, right) quote by a friend of mine:

Our friendship nullifies distance. 

I (geniunely) love talking about weather, so here's an update - it's sunny in Madrid and with that I wish you a lovely week!

xoxo

Ps. A lovely read on iPhoneography (via Petapixel). So, let's have fun with our mobile cameras. It's cool enough. 

Week 19: Contrasts

I have been taking a whole lot of photos this week. Most of all, to get used to my new camera. So, you know, these really "fascinating" shots of nothingness when you try to see if the shutter really works or how fast it works. And so on. However, I have also been lucky enough to stumble upon some local festivities. And one night I arrived home just to see fireworks from my terrace. I shall share some of the colorful shots with you in near future. Madrid is celebrating, you know - next week is the day of Madrid's saint San Isidro. 

However, I have also captured a thing or two that depict this week's topic - contrasts. This one's spot on. 

Sunday in Alcala de Henares, a small picturesque town near Madrid

Color contrasts. Your classical black vs white and less conventional gray vs orange. 

Park Retiro, Madrid

Sunday thoughts, Alcala de Henares 

Those contrast-creating shadows lurking around my bedroom at night (yup, sometimes I don't sleep, I just listen to music and play around with my camera).

Light vs night. 

Last, but not least - my favorite. The little boy vs the (young) man. Contrasting in age. Yet looking like the same person at different age. I just loved this moment. And anything I love is fit for my blog any time.

Two strangers in park Retiro, Madrid

Still some hours of Sunday left, so better go make something useful (household stuff looooong overdue). 

Enjoy whatever's left of the weekend!

xoxo 

Big Brother

Puppies. Other people get puppies. Based on social media feeds, a lot of puppies have been acquired all across the globe. Totals cute. However, my lease forbids pets (I have debated if it would be okay to get you know a reindeer or some other funky wild animal).

So, I got a new camera.

They say girls shop for Choos. Shoes. Et al. 

Still, I got a new camera. My baby Olympus E-420 got a big brother. Welcome to the family, Canon EOS 6D (and EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens)!

I could have bought couple of pairs of Choos. Boo. 

Anyhow, now I face all those situations where I am not sure what to say. People ask: "What is different? Why did you get a new camera?"

Well, it still takes photos. It takes photos like my Olympus or my iPhone. I sent this colorful brochure (you can download from www.canon.com) to my mom. So you know, she would know why her daughter is just really cool and also why she never saves up for a car. Ha.

Random answers I (intend to) offer (because I do find it really difficult to explain to people why I need a camera that big and all) based on how funny I am trying to be (no-one usually gets those jokes tho, it's a fun-fest for one):

• It's bigger. Bigger is better.
• All the cool kids have one.
• It lets you register your battery (yeah, I read the manual last night; you can register up to six batteries to your camera - sounds all a lot like polygamy).
• This one plays better with other kids, i.e. it gets along better with different types of light.
• It has Wifi, I can upload everything directly to Facebook.
• I had had a rough day and I wanted to go on a shopping spree and I didn't find any shoes I like. So, I got a camera.  

Okay, but on a more serious note. It is something I had planned for like a year, at least. I had done my research, I had driven myself crazy (there is no perfect camera, you know) and I had found my match. Have to grow into it, you know. It's kind of a gigantic leap (literally, see the photo above). It feels right and a bit scary. Yes, I am "a bit" excited.  

Over and out. Out with my new camera.

xoxo  


On a side note: Bigger does not always mean better. And if you ever consider DSLR do no start with anything big. But I will blog more about that in the future.

This Week

This week. Week 19. Contrasting is shall be then.

xoxo