summer

to me,
summer is

sitting by the open window
wearing jeans and a men's shirt
endless days
random chats with neighbours and passers-by
watching life go by on my pavement-terrace
discovering new music
melon and rosé
feeling alive

(this is a corner view, for more of those, head on over to jane's)

p.s.: would you tell me what you're listening to these days? i think i really need a summer mix-tape.

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garden days

when we went to the baltic sea earlier this month, we stayed at a friend's house. i'm so in love with that old garden.

last weekend was full of sunshine, friends, shared food and drinks and time for catching up. what was yours like?

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still thinking

i am thinking about coherence, about continuity. how does it come about? in photography, is it in the choice of subjects? something as material as the choice of camera and film? or does it lie in the way of capturing forms, light and shadow just so? does it lie in the framing, in the details we focus on? has it to do with the palette we prefer, the colours, the more subtle tones? with focus and blur? or does it start much earlier, in the way we see, the way we feel? it seems to me that all of the above is most probably the fabric that our individual style is made of. which might vary with time. it's a fragile chemistry.

but what about coherence then, and continuity? does it mean staying true to one's style unfailingly? is it still there when our preferences change, when we feel drawn to different subjects, when our palette changes, when we work with another camera? is it there, even when we experiment and go through transitions?

i'm asking myself these things when i take my camera to hand these days. sometimes it makes me uneasy. it has to do with looking at the photographs i have taken over the last one and a half years, i think. i feel that everything is in motion, that i'm constantly feeling drawn to new subjects, perspectives, tones. and i wonder if it isn't all too random. if it would help to work on one subject, just to see what happens. if my attention span isn't too short and my eclecticism isn't getting me anywhere. if i'm frittering my time and energy.

i don't know.

these two images are from my latest slide film, taken with the nikkormat EL. they are a couple of frames apart, i didn't take them immediately after one another. i still see coherence here. and i wonder why. at the same time, i don't see any coherence between these and the beach pictures below. and i don't think that's entirely to do with the different cameras and films. i'm puzzled.

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a thought

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.

- James Oppenheim

(this doubles as corner view: noticing - find more corner viewers via jane's spain daily)

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sometimes, i wish i was a cat

that's usually when the days just don't seem to have enough hours. and no matter how much i try to stretch them, it still won't do. my cat doesn't seem to be afflicted with things like that. she is the queen of lounging.

three wishes

i thought i'd share three wishes with you - who knows, this might even turn into a series.

1. go to the lake for a walk sometime soon
2. wake up in the morning totally carefree
3. a 6 x 6 medium format film camera (i know, this one is a bit immodest)

what are yours?

more from the sea

an old lifeguard tower in heringsdorf. the days were mostly overcast. but the sound of the sea still is one of the most calming noises i can think of.

have a good weekend!

p.s.: two days ago i found an old table on the street. a neighbour had put it out on the pavement with a sign 'please take' attached to it. it has a lovely wooden top and will be my new kitchen table.

the sea

so much to do. i'm really tired. for now, i'll just leave you - if i may - with these photos from my weekend at the baltic sea.

oh, one more thing: i had a lovely visitor this afternoon: outi came by. hooray for blogging friends!

strawberry time

june is such a tender month. still lush and green, but that time of year in the northern hemisphere, when the stalls at the farmers' market start to burst with freshness. just looking at them makes me happy.

and it's strawberry month.

the other day, i had a wonderful slice of strawberry cake with just a hint of balsamic vinegar in the glaze. a taste that made me stop, hold my breath and be amazed. it so brought out the flavour of the fruit without overpowering it. my guess is, it was just a few drops, no more. i will definitely try to make this cake myself.

any recipes you consider a stunner recently? tell me!

p.s.: i'm so smitten with my nikkormat and slide film, i can't even begin to tell you. this is from my latest roll of film.

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friday inspiration

1. Untitled, 2. That one, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. ., 7. wagon, 8. ... and they look like new., 9. Untitled

seems to me, it's time for another flickr inspiration. these are all photos i discovered on flickr and liked so much i wanted to share them with you. see all the lines? there is a lot going on in these photos, even in the stills. just goes to show that it's all about seeing.

click on the respective caption underneath the mosaic to take you to the flickr page of the photographer who took the shot. so much greatness there!

later today i'm off to join a friend for a weekend at the baltic sea. the weather forecast is so-so, but i'm so looking forward to it anyway. breakfast in the garden! walks at the beach! i'll have to take some work with me, as there are deadlines that can't wait, but still.

now i've only got to work out which cameras to take and which films. i'm thinking one colour, one b&w. not sure about the cameras yet.

what are you up to this weekend?

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pale

have you ever been to a photographer's lab, developed film and made prints? the moment when you carefully slide your print-to-be into the developer and the image starts to appear like a ghost, by and by, until you finally can make it out clearly - that's pure magic. a moment that holds everybody transfixed when they experience it. it's a mix of anticipation, impatience, excitement and wonder. films like blow-up capture this so well, that may be one of the reasons i like it so much.

and you see, sometimes life feels a bit like that too. you feel things are about to change, there's something up in the air, but you can't quite make out what it is. you're standing and you're looking, and the image is taking shape, but it's so pale you can't read it. you'll have to wait a bit longer.

when i took these tulip shots, i was worried the light might be too dim, so i chose the biggest possible aperture. now they seem like a pale vision, almost unreal. one of those happy accidents.

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temporarily grey

after an amazingly sunny weekend with k, complete with visits to the beer garden, lunch with papers in a street café, a daytrip to schlosspark babelsberg, where we watched the boats go by, and 'holly berries' with e on sunday, the sun has now gone into hiding again. if i had a fireplace at home, that's where i'd be sitting right now. since i don't, i'm revisiting some more photos from the famous weekend in the cotswolds. we had a fireplace there. so lovely. 

meanwhile, i'm snuggling up with a blanket on my sofa. and tomorrow it's going to be warm again!

something else entirely: i'm having a bit of crush on bloglovin'. looking good and working rather well, i you ask me. you can use it as a reader to manage your blog subscriptions (and it's looking much sleeker than other readers too). but you could also just stop by to discover new blogs or interesting posts. you can select country preferences, topics and language. very clever.

p.s.: not wanting to be a total nuisance, but: if you like the look of bloglovin' i'd really recommend you set up an account (very easy, much less info required from you than by other readers!) and subscribe to just one or two blogs as a test run. i did that for a week or so and that got me hooked. honestly, blog reading has just become more fun than it was anyway. (and no, i'm not being payed for this...)

breakfast

this was my breakfast a while ago. a perfect simple start to the day.

at the moment, i like listening to the xx.

p.s.: thank you for your kind comments on my last post. i'm trying to rethink many things.

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rush

this week has been a whirlwind so far, and it doesn't look as if it's letting up. so i just needed to pick some calming images to put up here. i've taken them two weeks ago (at the end of my street actually, so this is kind of making up for yet another skipped corner view) - the lilacs are all gone now, and i can't believe i have missed that season without buying some.

what do you do when you need some calm but have a to do list longer than from here to the moon? i can't just take a day off, as much as i would like to.

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