what counts (and corner view, too)

last sunday i turned forty and no, i'm not feeling older, or different, or melancholic - to be quite honest i still feel as much like a girl and perhaps even less like a grown-up than before. funny that. i kind of expected something to happen. maybe i was simply expecting it to happen in the wrong places?

i'm usually not much of a party girl, but this occasion seemed to justify something special. so i had lots of friends over, first at my place for drinks and a bit of catching up, and then at 'claerchen's ballhaus', an old-fashioned ballroom in berlin's mitte district for a bit of dancing. the pictures were not taken this last sunday (i was so all-over-the-place i didn't even load my camera with film...), but last year with my little digital point-and-shoot. they perfectly illustrate the evening though. lots of talking, laughing, eating, drinking, dancing. friends were there from school times, from university, from various stages of my working life, from london, from all over germany and from berlin.

i am so, so grateful to have people in my life who care about me, who are there when i need them, who are happy with me when the sun is out as much as when it's pouring down, who celebrate with me, who are my extended family. who take me as who i am. 

that's what counts. 

p.s.: for those of you stopping by to look for my weekly corner view - this week's theme, picked by epe, is 'your city's souvenir' - well, this post is a double-act... berlin has lots of typical souvenirs to offer. think television tower miniatures, cards and mugs with the brandenburg gate, (fake) rubble from the berlin wall, beer steins with city scenes (which is so odd, thinking that beer steins are a very bavarian thing and not berlin at all), berlin teddy bears (the city's crest has a bear in it) and even television tower or brandenburg gate cookie cutters. still, for me the ultimate berlin souvenir is a visit to claerchen's ballhaus. treat yourself to it when you're here! more info about it over on my other blog, mostly berlin.

autumn is here

1. ***, 2. Volrat Tham 1970, 3. Gallery of the Tams Theater am Sozialamt 1969, 4. Eskilstuna 1969, 5. Pori 1960, 6. devonette 60s sweater vest, 7. enamelware, 8. osv, 9. make time for yourself

the air is getting colder, i had to put the heating on.

my flickr favourites for today. check out those photographers.

corner view: white

when i heard what theme natsumi had chosen for this week's corner view (find more corner view links over at jane's spain daily) i wasn't sure if i even had much white, or what to photograph if i didn't find anything. so i went to have a look through my archive, which was quite interesting. there's definitely not much white around - i seem to be drawn to stronger or darker, muted colours lately. i wonder why. it's not a conscious thing.

here's what i found then (including some almost-whites): cherry trees in my neighbourhood, their pale, pale pink petals looking almost white in that overexposed shot - one of my absolute favourites, perhaps because it's from the first ever roll i took with my praktica. then impressions from venice, early this summer - bed, and then breakfast at the hotel. followed by santa maria della salute, angel detail, and an espresso maker at the scandinavian pavilion at the venice biennial. finally, a modern architectural concrete detail, spotted right next to the opulent russian embassy in berlin.

no interesting thoughts or stories this time, i'm afraid - my brain seems to be producing mostly white noise. a lot, an awful lot to do until the weekend. and the text i'm working on is all-consuming. have a good day!

sunday inspiration

1. in the sky, 2. STAY, 3. the rustic pear, 4. sweet!, 5. dance, 6. dance, 7. Earth, 8. Untitled, 9. Socks and shoes APC

i know, i know, i have only just shared some flickr favourites with you... but still. hope you like them! aren't those lbd's and dance moves so cool? go and check out the flickr friends who we owe these beautiful shots to (just click on the captions underneath the mosaic, which will take you there).

after having voted, after browsing the flea market, buying some flowers, enjoying the sunshine and pretend-working for a few hours, i'm now listening to coeur de pirate. don't you love them too?

oh one more thing: i could do with a little bit of inspiration for finger food to serve at my party next weekend. if you have any recipes or links to share, drop them in the comments - i'd be delighted!

hello little lady, and go vote!

it's official: my dear and trusty praktica has a little sister. isn't she pretty? i was quite excited when i found my agfa silette LK sensor on a flea market, but it took me a while to finish the first roll of film and have it processed. taking a first look at the outcome was lovely and yet a little disappointing. with this little compact i realised, i really have to take the minimum distance of 1 m seriously. i took lots of close-ups from a lesser distance and it just won't do. well, i guess you live and you learn. what i can see from this first roll though, is that the colours are slightly more saturated than the ones my praktica delivers, that the overall effect of pictures taken a little too close up show a painterly effect that i rather like, and that depth of field is quite an interesting thing with this camera. also, it has an in-built little light meter, which made me much more daring when taking photos in low light, as in cranking up the aperture way more than i would have by instinct. this in turn helps massively when photographing with my praktica. i love how experiences with different cameras have an overall effect on the way i take pictures and ultimately on the way i see. do you have any new cameras, or put differently, what's your favourite camera at the moment?

on a completely different note, today we are having general elections in germany. after four years of a grand coalition between conservatives and social democrats no-one really knows what to expect. most people wouldn't have expected them to last a full term to begin with, and now wouldn't be surprised if the results lead to another four years of office for the same government. and yet, recent regional state elections have shown some surprises - the smaller parties are definitely not out of the equasion, far from it. my feeling is that we will end up with pretty much of a 'patchwork' result. since germany has proportionate representation anchored in its constitution, the big question will be who can form a feasible coalition in the end. if you are interested in how it all goes, first estimates should be published from 6pm this evening, say on der spiegel's english site. i really don't want to bore you with politics, but i'm feeling quite passionate about this and am quite a bit distressed by the fact that in more and more countries people can't even be bothered to go out and vote. we can make a difference, every one of us and it is a privilege to have the right to vote. go and have your say!

and finally, since i don't want this post to end like a sermon and rather see you smile than frown - ever thought about getting shot by the satorialist? well, here's how to.

inspiration friday

1. Dahlia Garden., 2. Untitled, 3. new york fashion week day 4, 4. Untitled, 5. tying sweater, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. beacons

another week is coming to a close, i'm making mental lists of what to do and will add some real lists later on. there's plenty of work to do. plus i'll be turning forty the first weekend of october and i really have to work out what food to serve at the party and - question of questions - what, oh what to wear. any suggestions? i'm not in the best of moods - not because of my birthday next week, i'm actually looking forward to that - but because this coming weekend is the first i won't see my boyfriend. i knew this was going to be an issue, what with this being a long-distance love. which doesn't make it any less of a bummer. so i'll devote this day to cheering myself up in all imaginable ways. first off: flickr faves.

be inspired!

oh, and before i forget: i'm featuring a new café over on mostly berlin. a lovely, lovely place. don't you want one of their eames chairs too? or a big chunky table to have coffee, lazy breakfast, sunday lunches or dinners with family and friends at? ahhh.

corner view: out the window

you tell me, what's a girl to do when she has no car and this week's corner view theme is "out the car window"? option a: pretend to be lee friedlander and post his photos as mine (don't think so), option b: tweak the theme and make it "out the window" (yup, this one will do).

what a lucky coincidence then that last week a film crew was shooting scenes for a new television drama just outside my living room window. apparently a love story and family drama, set in east berlin in the early 1980s (i.e. in cold war times, way before the wall came down). i had such a good time taking these photos, checking out the props the night before the shoot and the goings-on on the day itself. i know i'm stretching the theme even further when admitting that i couldn't resist and went outside to take pictures, rather than staying behind my window. so there. i'm not sticking to jane's theme at all, you caught me out.

. . . unless you want to count the many car windows in these shots, even though they were taken from outside the vintage east german cars they had on the set (with the exception of a black mustang they featured in one scene, i wonder why)?

travel around the world for more corner views via jane at spain daily.