If we were on a coffee date I

Thanks to Allie, I got introduced to this fun linkup by Heartnatured, which is a perfect way for me to share my thoughts over a cup of virtual coffee, are you ready? That's a first for me!

If we were on a coffee date, I would tell you how much I am relieved to finally have some time off after this semester is officially over for me. That perhaps the cold, that I currently have, found me just in the right time, when I spend days under my blanket, waiting until the sleep falls on me. I hate colds. My sinuses hate colds. They somehow strip me off of every desire that I have in my mind.

I would tell you that in January I have done some work as a Local Exchange Officer of International Association of Dentals Students, which got me very interested in doing some travelling this next summer myself. I am currently looking into my options of exchange to Spain, if the language doesn't get in the way. I would love to live in Madrid or Barcelona for a few weeks. I feel like that would give my life and thinking some perspective. And certainly, this blog and my camera would love it too. This is crucial, as I always try to please those two as much as I want to please myself. Then I'd take another sip off our delicious caffeine treat and continue my stories.

Christmas illuminations of Warsaw

 

Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Every time I try to sit down and write something I can feel the way I am shutting down. Shrinking. Words just don't want to flow even though my life has been a change after change the last month. I decided to keep you out of it, because I was never sure what another day may bring. You might've followed my Instagram or Twitter but there I did not share much too. Now I am a free human being, making plans that might keep me going for the next months. I was always about plans and feelings. I have always made many stupid mistakes. Or putting it differently, I always made stupid decisions. They are not all mistakes I believe. I made myself a promise once - I want and I'll try to live my life to the fullest and trust my gut. It made me hurt sometimes to do so, was not easy to follow the rules I created for myself. But on the other hand, it brought me experience and memories to never ever let go of. It seems like a fair equation to me.

Let there be light by Sara Martins

Hello, My name is Sara and I am a photographer from Porto, Portugal.

Some years ago I started a blog called randomplacesfamiliarplaces to share my photos and connect to others with same love for analog photography as me. I am inspired above all by light, the beginning of it all. How it changes during the day, how it brings to live the smallest of things.

Because I lead a simple life in a wonderful yet quiet city, my focus goes to immediate surroundings and what makes my heart beat with tenderness and love:

Best fall scents to be found on Etsy. (And discount codes for you!!!)

Fall has been around for over a month now, but when I first felt it approaching, I began to look for ways to warm myself up from the inside. I drank more and more of hot water with raspberry syrup, which reminds me of sore throat times, because it is a drink that always puts me back on my feet. I began the autumn cleaning, getting rid of things that littered my space, making loads of new room for new memories and feelings. Fall was about to happen right in front of me, all around me. I had to do my best to try to survive it, without getting mud and wind into my heart. 

It is the time of the year that my sinuses & I would gladly just shut ourselves inside of my apartment, light some candles, sip warm tea under a blanket and watch movies until I fall asleep. Each and every part of that ritual needs to be present, to create this unique atmospheare that I adore. So I started searching for candles to match my autumn, slightly depressive state of mind, and maybe make it a little better. I love collabing with different Etsy sellers, and so I did it again this time. I spoke to a few of them and asked them about the most suiting fall scent that they could send me. I wanted to find my favourite, once and for all times. I wanted my routine to be unique and heart warming. The outcome of this was magnificent. I did not expect so many people to love that idea and want to contribute. So here I am today, after a few weeks of candle lightening, when I can really recommend you my faves, tell you how the scents affected my fall routine and what I think it's most perfect for fall. I've got a few discount codes for you too, so you can get a candle or two for yourselves, we've got another month of fall in front of us! I hope you will love those soy candles as much as I do! They are non-toxin and have burning time much longer than the classic paraffin candles. All the opinions in this post are 100% mine!

The art of writing letters by Tina Sosna

Hi, I'm Tina Sosna, a 22 year old analog photographer from a little town in the heart of Germany. About six years ago I started my blog worteinbildern.blogspot.com where I show my life and love to nature in self portraits and that's also the place where I hold the beauty I see in people or the world in general in photographs.

But beside photography I always enjoyed to write letters. Since I was about 9 I tried to keep up friendships with people from cities more far away trough handwritten letters. At this point I had no idea that this love would grow so much with time. With starting my photography blog I also got the chance to get in touch with many people around the world. And not only in the digital world. Soon, people I've always looked up to on the internet, started to become my penpals..

first steps in analog photography

@volchitza_ asked "How and when you first approached analog photography? What drew you to it?"

I used to have a Tumblr blog, where I would mostly focus on tv shows and movies. Once in awhile, I would see one of these wonderful photographs being reblogged into my dashboard. Little did I know that those were taken with analog cameras. It took me awhile to be so consumed by them, by their light depiction and colors, and I finally clicked on one of those follow up links to find out more. It lead me to this flickr account. Liis, its owner, was shooting Zenit at that point, I was in love. At first I thought she used digital and achieved everything in post-processing, but I asked her about that and she told me everything was pure and untouched, and created with analog photography. That was the initial moment for me. It took me additional couple of months to get an analog camera and a couple of more months to get shooting, but that was it :) It happened more less three years ago. 

shooting people

Some time ago, I told you I was going to try to become more of a 'portrait-shooter' in future. As much as uncomfortable it makes me at the moment, when I still worry that I will be facing other person's expectations, I am trying to make it all happen. So here I am today, ready to show you a few photographs taken this week with my friend - Agata, of course in the Palace gardens. I don't know who was more stressed, Agata or myself, but somehow we managed to take a couple of nice shots. I especially love the first one. With a fairly clean frame, good light and thought behind it. With film, it is always scary, because you might not take any good shots, you let the model go, and you might just be left with nothing. I am still holding onto film though. Maybe I am scared of being mediocre. Because honestly, film is what makes it so special in my opinion. I wish I knew more about rules of composition, about how to make it even more unique. I might have learnt the ropes, but there is so much of development that can be done in this field. I am scared of bad opinions and critique, therefore photography stays as a hobby and a hobby only. It has made me realize, I have been shooting film for two years already! No interest had ever lasted that long!

first time with kodak portra

Looks like I might have caught a cold from my cold,  f r e e z i n g  heart. No matter how silly it sounds, it might just be the case. Or it's just the mix of hormones in my cardiovascular system that makes me continuosly push you away from me. I want us to pull through. To arrive ashore in one piece. This is what I am hoping for these days. This is the wish that I have.

Having my photographs displayed some place public was an incredible experience. It happened at the night of museums in the Branicki Palace, where our university's photography club had its exbihibtion. Since one of the members is studying dentistry with me, he asked whether I would like to have some of my photos displayed. I said yes! The picking process was pretty long and almost gave me a headache. It was all worth it though! The minute we stepped inside the Palace and I saw actual human beings lurking around the exhibition and looking at my works - a truly beautiful feeling entered my heart and left me pumped up for another week or so! 

Moments like these, when my photography "goes alive", I find myself even more motivated and happy. 

Today I want to show you some snaps using Kodak Portra 400. This is a so-called professional film, which is also more expensive than what I usually use. I was supposed to keep it for portraits, but since I did not manage to find time for a pre-planned shooting session, I just shot the roll during my normal activities. I am very satisfied with the results and the tones, warm and up-lifting. Exactly what I was looking for :)

morning blues

Every minute in the morning is like a godsend. I always feel incredibly lucky if I wake up earlier than I should have and I realize I have a blessing of another twenty or so minutes in my bed. Feeling the warmth, the calm, the kindness of the sheets against my skin. But then the reality happens and we all have to get up sometime. I love sleeping, I love sleeping next to you and the way you fight the monsters under my new bed, which continuously steal my socks when you're not here.

Almost half of March and my soul is already rushing towards vacation planning. I'm a silly little girl, always wanting to jump onto that one plane that will take me far away to places full of inspiration and life. I always come back to the thoughts of Prague and the photos I took there, and how happy they made me afterwards. I want to feel those feelings again.

joy

If somebody told me, life was boring, I certainly would not agree. I might have my certain routines, I might be surrounded by the same people most of the time, but life is like a good restaurant, changes its menu, so the clients want more. Life has been serving me with all kinds of good and bad experiences. I have fallen apart with some people, fret about the future once again, been surprised finally learning the truth. I have a lot on my plate right now. I am also planning new photography projects, which "just" require new lens, new film and probably a slightly new outlook on photography, because I plan on making it all black and white. Oh and it requires models too... One day I might have my own little studio, who knows. I have developed a new roll a few days ago and I definitely have some things to show you, so please keep visiting, even though I am terrible at writing with consequence. 

little zoo trips

Time to do spontaneous things. To sometimes get up in the late morning, notice beautiful sun outside and go for a walk in the park. Now that we live in the city centre, we got to walk the prettiest lanes and even visited the zoo on our Sunday noon walk. There was also a running marathon held in the park at that time. The sky was clear blue, there was some chill in the air, as we walked and photographed. It's going to be a pretty long post and full of deer, you have been warned! :) Also, before I forget, I set up a facebook page for my blog, so you can guys be updated this way, "like" this way! 

Inquiries on film photography.

Winter view outside, shot with Canon AE-1 Program on automatic, with 50mm 1.8 lens and Fuji Superia X-tra 400.

Just a few days ago I received a very kind email from Norkor of Voyageur Africaine, asking about some crucial details of my film photography basics nowadays. I thought it was an excellent idea for a new post, as there might be other people wondering the same things about me. Norkor was sweet enough to let me even quote her questions, so here we go! She recently bought a Canon AE-! Program, which is a camera I am using currently :) Thank you so much, dear, for giving me some inspiration for a new post.

Canon AE-1 Program is a semi-automatic camera, it posseses a commonly loved setting, automatic mode, which sets the exposure and aperture automatically based on the lighting conditions and speed of your film. I have to say it was one of the factors which made me buy it. Of course you have all the manual settings present at the same time, so it doesn't steal any analogue magic.

"Do you adjust the exposure and shutter speed every time to shoot or is it always stuck on Automatic?"

Always, for me, means for the last 3 rolls, because this is how much I have shot with Canon. And yes, I cannot get enough of the automatic mode. It let me explore certain depths that were never present in my photographs. It's amazing to photograph indoors since I started using this camera. And for some more time, I do not intend to change that.

"Also, when you get your film scanned, do you give the people scanning it specific instructions? I got a roll of film scanned and it was basically horrible. It was hella grainy and just not well done."

I have of course noticed some slight differences when developing film at different photo labs, but I never got results that made me switch to any other. Pricing is the factor that makes me go and search for something else. It was your first roll, so it might be a little on you this time. I really don't know if they can make your film look very grainy, from my experience it has always been about certain film types. For example, films with iso of 800 always give me enough grain to cause me headache, and this is why I started to avoid that type of film, because it is just not my esthetics. Give yourself time, or if you want, face the manager of the photo lab about it. But first start with trying new films, those with less grain. I have had some pretty discouraging experiences with 800 iso myself! Click.

"What sorta of film is your favorite? I know you use a lot bunch of them from the labels on your blog, but I want to get your opinion."

My favourites would be Fuji Superia 200, which is perfect for almost anything and it's my regular choice, which I always find myself coming back to. So I think you should just stock yourself with lots of that type of film! There is also a special place in my heart for Agfa Vista both 200 and 400. And of course a bunch of 400 films, like Fuji X-tra 400, Fuji Pro 400H & Kodak BW 400 CN if you want an adventure in black & white. 

And look, Katie is currently selling expired Ferrania Solaris 400! Ferrania Solaris is a film, which production has been stopped, but is something very exciting to use! To be honest, I have one of Katie's Ferranias now in my Canon! :)

"Where do you get your lenses from? Online? I seriously need a 50mm or 35mm lens like yesterday!"

Yes, I always buy online. 50mm prime lens is a must have, seriously! One that I use for my Canon is a 1.8 one, and I sort of miss being able to photograph up close so much, but I still find it pretty cool! Next I think I will be purchasing something wider at about 35mm, or I will go in the opposite direction, since I never owned a proper portrait lens, so perhaps 135mm? We will see. My advice, find a 50mm lens asap! Try Etsy, maybe? Etsy sellers are always so nice!!

Do you have any other questions about my film photography? Go ahead and ask below!

cooking, baking, photographing

With the post-Christmas syndrome crawling up my spine, in late 2014 and thanks to Canon AE-1 Program (mostly the way it captures light and shadow) - I think I became more into the kitchen/food photography. Or more like atmosphere of eating and preparing. So I think it's safe to say that during the following year this is one of a variety of topics that I would like to focus on. Film photography is not something modern photography books talk about. The rules are simple, and looks like no one wants to explore it further. There is bunch of stuff on food photography in digital, photoshop editing skills etc. Finally, there are magazines like Kinfolk, to produce high quality food related articles. Sadly, Kinfolk is something I possibly will always think my budget is not suitable for. Is any of you a subscriber of the magazine? I'm often on the edge of buying it, to be honest. So let's say I'm on a hunt right now, I will surely let you know when I find some useful books or cheaper Kinfolk alternatives. And since my Canon is back from the repair (yes, I already managed to kill something in it, but fortunately someone managed to fix it for me) I am ready to start a new chapter in my analogue journey.

I never owned a cookbook, but now my sis does. Nowadays, when you can easily use the internet, are cookbooks still needed? My sister got one from her amazing husband for Christmas this year and she is very very excited to own it. She immediately bought ingredients she had never heard of before, ready to master techniques she had had no clue about. Is it what cook books are about? Changing your life completely? Throwing your basic favourite dishes away and settling for exotic cuisine? Oh my. Her new cooking book, "written" by some Polish model, was one of the items she wanted to have photographed in her new apartment, so I did. I always want to photograph beautiful things. I won't probably be around to photograph what she makes out of it, but this one I can't help.

the forest & us

It was the second day of Christmas that snow finally appeared in my city. It was a very beautiful day, truly! We took a walk in the forest, the way I always wanted. I felt as if forest & I could for once be in unison. I always missed out on their winter walks, when they were engaged not yet married, and now I realize how much I had missed back there. Our city's beach had been renovated earlier that year, and it looked beautifully, covered with a thin layer of snow. It was just a few degrees below zero, yet my cheeks already experienced the soft kisses of frost. Just a few degrees and I was forced to warm my Canon with my breath, so it could capture the beauty of the moment. At some point I thought it died on me completely! What a terror! I've grown to feel that family time is important. And I cherish time with my sister like never before. She is a great model, although she always insists to photograph her without showing her face. She clearly thinks this is how you take photographs nowadays. Huge congrats to Betsy and Natalie, each of them got engaged during Christmas, how adorable! I am so excited for both of you and your hubbies-to-be. Also, today is the last day to grab the -60% promotion on ALL ads with code "December60". See you soon in 2015! :) 

making it cosy: new cacti

There will be a new series of post on this blog, one that I will include all the things I buy for my new apartment, where I am moving in February.

I caught myself thinking about it the other day, trying to generally make up my mind about this moving thing, because I still not know whether it makes more anxious or more excited. Anxious because it's the first time since I moved to this city that I am changing place, excited since change is sometimes a good thing.

I fell in love with the potential our new apartment has. And immediately after picking a room, I got sunk into the madness of fabric choosing, because an idea started forming in my head about how to make it all look the way I had always dreamed. It is a rented flat, there will be no miracles, yet tries at making myself a cosy place. It is going to happen in the middle of the year, that is an obstacle, because lacking time can get you frustrated before you actually manage to do something. I want to keep it minimalistic, but on the other hand all those fabrics found on etsy just scream at me to buy them and make curtains out of them, or at least some pyjamas for my love. I quickly started browsing the net, looking for inspiration and put together some sort of a board of all the things I could find. Hopefully in future, I will buy them one by one and in the end my room will be everything I want it to be. Basic ideas included: colorful details like curtains and pillows, the rest in white and blue, and lots of succulent love! :)

I started to feel like I wanted to start from scratch, like I could go through my things and get rid of half of them, not feeling a bit of regret. I had too much to carry to another place, and I wanted tabula rasa. Tabula rasa and my own scandi room, with minimalist wooden furniture and a big white desk, a great background for all the photography I could ever desire.

Canon AE-1 Program first try.

Few weeks ago I bought a new camera, which is Canon AE-1 Program. I have been looking everywhere for that camera. I was determined and not meant to back down until I could hold it in my hands. This cam means a new photography era for me. I had been photographing with Praktica MTL 3 for more than a year, and it's been a fantastic experience. Something that made me want to explore analog photography even further. That Canon is surely a step forward for this blog and for myself. It came with a regular Canon 1.8 50mm lens, and it's actually a new thing for me to be shooting such lens since I only relied on my 58mm for a long time. AE-1 Program was a camera that had been recommended to me by lots of people, and I cannot be happier to finally own it! :)

Shadow passes, light remains.

eng♥
I fall little behind with everything as the winter is approaching this city and makes itself cosy. Snow makes me go lazy. Blue skies, white snow, bed and the happy hipster playlist. Waiting for the Christmas break to come, which will happen in 3 weeks. We've almost made it. I'm both motivated to exit my comfort zone and wanting to just lay back and watch life go by. Quite a weird combination. I'm meeting so many new people these days, I truly start to believe it could all be worth something. That perhaps uni years are what they call the time of my life. I'm in the middle of it, so maybe it's about time I found real joy in where I am.

dum spiro, spero

Every week I notice myself breaking to pieces, and by the time Friday comes, I start to put myself back together. With different results each time. University gives me the worst kind of nervousness, love is not always what it's meant to be, and I am genuinely tired. My heart is. Photography, on the other hand, is doing quite alright. I feel like I could use free Fridays every week. One day completely to myself. Cleaning the apartment, taking care of myself, cooking some dinner. All these human things often get lost among things I study for. There is one piece of exciting news - we are going to Cracow on the 14th. I love how this major makes me go places. I have never ever been to Cracow, even though it's one of the most gorgeous Polish cities. My film stock is not ready yet, but I will surely grab some Fuji Superias and take them with me.  I had a feeling that I might never finish that black and white roll of film. Beautiful autumn weather around me, and everything I could capture were shades of grey. Quite acurate reflection of my soul. I am counting the days to buying a new camera. It's one of the things that I really await. Despite everything I really loved Kodak 400 CN, with it's amazing delicate grain!

Każdego tygodnia zauważam, że rozpadam się na kawałki, a do piątku zaczynam składać siebie od nowa. Zawsze z innym rezultatem. Uczelnia daje mi teraz bardzo dużo nerwów, miłość nie jest zawsze tym, czym powinna być, a ja jestem prawdziwie zmęczona. Moje serce jest. Fotografowanie wychodzi jednak całkiem dobrze. Czuję, że przydałyby mi się wolne piątki dokładnie co tydzień. Jeden dzień cały dla siebie. Trochę sprzątania, zajęcia się sobą, zrobienie obiadu. Wszystkie te małe ludzkie czynności, które często gubią się wśród rzeczy do nauki. Jest jedna bardzo ekscytująca informacja - 14.11 wybieramy się do Krakowa. Wprost kocham to, że dzięki temu kierunkowi tyle podróżuję. Nigdy nie byłam w Krakowie, mimo tego, że to jedno z najpiękniejszych polskich miast. Nie kupiłam jeszcze filmów, ale zapewne niedługo zaopatrzę się w kilka Fuji Superii z tej okazji. Miałam wrażenie, że nigdy nie uda mi się skończyć tej czarno-białej rolki. Piękna jesienna pogoda wokół mnie, a ja mogłam fotografować tylko w szarościach. Całkiem odpowiednie odzwierciedlenie mojej duszy. Odliczam dni do kupienia nowego aparatu. To jedna z rzeczy, na które niesamowicie czekam. Pomimo wszystko, pokochałam Kodak 400 CN, z jego cudownie delikatną ziarnistością!

postcards from O

I open my eyes each morning, often awaken after a bad dream, and I crave caffeine and you. I go downstairs to quickly make myself a dose of the first one, the latter need stays unfulfilled. The most probable is that I am going to go with the flow, wherever it may lead me. I miss you, my person, very much. 

I am sort of in love with the top photograph. Old town is the only place in my city where something is happening. We don't get the loud & social evenings B has, but that view of that place makes me reminisce. We are so damn old already. I still need training when it comes to 800 iso film. It's a great challenge for me, I think. Just how you learn to focus properly, you have to learn what conditions to shoot under. It's not so easy peasy. How weird is that when I get a white coffee without any art on it, I am a little disappointed? One of my favourite coffee stores in B seriously spoiled me in that respect. They get you teddy bears, tigers, and much more. Even if you're, like us, crashing their place half an hour before closing, for a late night date of cappucino.

Next week we are going to Varsovie for a couple of days, and it's lovely how hard you try to make me travel through B while I'm on my way over there. Expect some photographs once I'm back. I still have some time in my beloved O, even though all my molecules dream to be somewhere else. Time flies, seriously. Soon enough new numbers will be welcomed into my life, 8 months, year three,  2015. 

If you're interested in advertising your blog on Dipped in Rococo, here is something for you. You can always swap a freebie (ad swap) or book it if it's currently taken.

what we brought from Budapest

Hi there!

Last year I told you that spending money while being on holiday is my weak point. Well it certainly is. Not in a way anyone would think. Hungary was no different. I tried to spend money wisely. We bought essentials (and wine of course) and at last started to look for extra stuff, like keepsakes for our families and little treats for ourselves too :)

Once we were back in my apartment in B, we got everything out on my bed and I photographed those little souvenirs thoroughly. We came back with:

- a letter from hotel's manager Kate, which was a nice addition to the whole stay (a drawing of a dinosaur came along with it, which was a personal request of A)

- maps, transport tiquets, all sight-seeing info.

- a fridge magnet for my sis

- national gallery stuff, postcards of Budapest and art, a notebook that will be my new diary

- A brought a Tokaji Aszu (4) fairly famous Hungarian wine

- some plum Palinkas (which are sweets filled with their 60% vodka, pretty serious stuff, I am telling you...) for our friend P, who lent us her bag for the trip and some marzipan treats as well.

- I brought 6 films with me, which left me with dozens of memories of that beautiful city

And last, but not least, just when I was left with about 1/2 of my budget, we decided to go to a Lush store that we spotted sometime during sight-seeing. Lush is a cool brand with eco-friendly, not animal tested, cosmetics which I always wanted to try but could not, since it's not available in Poland. Not to go into details, we got two bathing bombs (used them both already!) and got familiar with the rest of their products, thanks to a lovely and English speaking sales girl.

Damn, I have no idea what happens, but when I am abroad I am definitely not a spender and in my everyday life it's just so hard to stop buying. Seriously.

What is a thing that you always bring from your journeys/vacations? :)