all the summer dillemas

When summer vacay hits in and you have so much time on your hands. What do you do to make the constant dillemas stop flowing your way? So much time to think about stuff is not so good. This year, unfortunately, I spend my summer at home, where the weather is very unpredictable. We get a lot of rain and rare truly summery days. I found the most comfortable place ever to pull through it, my bed. It's been so long since I wrote anything. It must be because I have this weird thing about not being able to reach perfection. Once I realize I cannot reach perfection, my motivation drops. This is very unhealthy to live such a life.

on how I decided to start selling images as stock

Monetizing my own images was somehow always at the back of my head. It wasn't until my friend Allie made an Etsy store with her own photographs that I finally decided to to the same. Etsy wasn't such a great idea though, because later on I found out that people choose this site to go for stock images very rarely. For about a month now, I've had my Creative Market store opened, and this time I truly feel its potential, as my photo was handpicked and is getting some views and likes finally!

I have decided that if I want to buy myself a new camera, my own photographs should work and pay for it. We will see how it goes, I am very motivated and happy to be on this path though.

Have you ever heard of term stock images? Stock photography? It's photography done by another person, that once being purchased, can be used by you! OF course there are different types of licences. Some do and some don't include commercial use. If you're a lifestyle blogger like me, and you struggle to take high quality images to feature your posts and wonderful thoughtful texts, then you might just love stock!

There are so many places to go for stock photos for free, then why to buy it in the first place? Well, I strongly believe that there are people out there, who want something unique. By setting my prices as low as I could, (Creative Market lowest is 2$, and I am prepared to create photo bundles for that price too!) I want to give people a chance for getting cheap, unique photography for their websites. You know that when something's free, immediately a lot of people have it and use it. I wouldn't want my blog to look like somebody else's that's why I started taking my own photographs when I started. Analog stock photography is even more unique!

Anyways, I am leaving you today with a link to my store and some photographs that are already up for sale! :) Happy browsing, I hope you find something for yourself!

Visiting Mocak - Modern art gallery in Krakow

While in Cracow, we visited a bunch of galleries, because most of the usual exhibitions are now available at a reduced price for students, what a cool perk! Modern Art Gallery called MOCAK is the first one that I will be talking about and sharing some photos.

What caught my eye immediately after we left our coats in the cloakroom were the exhibits that we could see in the main corridor of the gallery, before even entering the exhibition part of the building. Guess it is all one big piece of art. There were vending machines standing in the hall, each of them in different color, filled with canned drinks of some kind. As I came closer, it struck me that it was indeed an art piece "Satisfaction Guaranteed" by Joanna Rajkowska, a provocative work involving vending machines with elements of her body for symbolic consumption.Each drink type was something unusual. Representing a human need, things somehow so appealing, yet sadly not achievable by some liquid in a can. That was a very cool project in my opinion. "melon flavored drink with an extract from the retina, strenghtening the vision. edition limited to 500 cans."

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.

it's complicated

It's complicated. This is how I would describe my life at this point. I feel so utterly tangled up in things, I no longer know where I am headed. Although from time to time, I can picture myself in that cosy apartment, with the Nutcracker score playing in the background. Light, big interiors that over the years I would have filled with my things and my loving. Smell of baked apple pie. A fluffy cat sleeping on my knees. But once again, I bet if I ever have a cat, it will be mean and it will end up hating me. And I will call it weird names like Mr Jinggles or something connected with food or worse, dentistry, as I originally wanted. The Nutcracker and other of Tchaikovsy's works will always remind me of my childhood years. The happy and clueless times. 

going on a journey

Beginning of the year brings me much thought about life, choices and love. I would always say that I live for the little moments of happiness and true emotions running through my veins and causing shivers down my spine. It is so good not to be blinded by love. I feel like it is such a bliss to be able to look clearly at the people who are now in my life. Have you ever felt proud of the progress you've done? It's like being in a situation and being able to relate to it, knowing how your old self would react. And here I am today, with my grown up self behind my eyes, and I am no longer scared or weak. I am no longer needy and I don't have to settle for anything I am not sure of. And if I am not sure of something, maybe it's not entirely up to me to decide. What lasts lasts, what doesn't doesn't. Even if it lasts only for a minute, I want to hold onto that feeling for as long as it can be. And now the word entirely is stuck in my head, as I guess I have always liked how this one is pronounced. Weird thing. But that wasn't what I meant to talk about in this post... We were supposed to talk about my journey, so let's do it!

my short goodbye to 2015

Apart from the very big title I feel like I don't have that much to say about 2015. I was nothing close to what I had imagined myself to be this year and for that I am so sorry. I was supposed to write more, love sufficiently, be a great friend. Somehow I fell down from the pedestal and became a person who did none of the above. I'm sorry. I tried. I tried to make myself the best I could be. But once it started to pile up lying to myself and acting not the way I felt like I should, it became too much. I took a huge break from blogging. I had stuff to focus on. I've gone through a breakup that still leaves me hanging, to be quite honest. I have so much on my plate right now, but at times I forget about that and smile at life anyway. Well again, that's life, it happens, right? I want to give you one advice though. Don't ever imagine what you don't want to become, because life might give you just that. Maybe with slightly different appearance, finishing touches. But you might end up being so close to what you've disliked. Just don't give yourself that. Spare it, honestly. Now on the positive side...

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:

About surviving and about fall.

Do you know how I managed to survive the first month of fall?

{succesfully staying very true to myself}

I drank as much coffee as I should have.

Just for the taste of it. Not even because I needed an extra energy boost to stay up during the nights. I sort of gave up on going out to get coffee, although it required alot of self-restraint, because so many times I caught myself thinking of getting that one cup on my way home from groceries grabbing. I would always think that it might be few coins closer to my dream vacation or new phone. It helped!

I began working on new projects.

In late September I got so many new ideas on how I would like to build up some community around this blog. Of course I turned to Etsy sellers first, because I very much enjoyed working with some in the past. Quickly after that the packages started to arrive at my door, which required more photos being taken each day! Soon enough (next week to begin with) I will be showing you the second of the collaborations with those great people! Discount codes are coming too! This is exciting. Check out my first collab- BEST FALL SCENTS TO BE FOUND ON ETSY.

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..

Indonesia by Diana Rahim (Verkur)

I was in Bogor not too long ago. The room I was in faced the mountains and the air was clear. I don’t think any two people are looking at the same mountain. I remember how a lady once complained about the way her best friend exclaimed at the beauty of a sunset, gushing about the beauty of life, the earth and spilling with love for humanity. Annoyed, she told her best friend – “why do you have to make everything so spiritual!” She found it a bit much and I found the incident funny, precisely because I am prone to such excessiveness. The lady found the sunset’s beauty in its colours not in projected abstractions; in the way they struck the eye and everything it hits. A beauty from simple reality divorced from the world of spiritual abstraction.

Cornwall: Visual Diary by Amy Hodkin

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. 

let's talk about food.

It is still a mystery how I remain so terribly ashamed of taking pictures of food in bistros and cafes. I deeply love food, and food is often art - this is why I am still trying though. I succeed in being unseen almost always. This time though, as I was leaving, I was approached by someone from the staff, asking whether the pictures will be featured on some blog or something like that. That was such a great feeling. I wasn't treated like another young adult taking meaningless photographs of their lunch. I felt better than that. I somehow regretted not having a business card with me, because in my dreams I would always have one in a moment like that. Nope, I still don't have those. And maybe that is even better. Maybe I will grow up to printing them one day.

I don't do food reviews, because I am not qualified to do that. I often do write my opinion about it though. Take that super delicious pasta, for example, that somehow felt just so perfect for September, with mushrooms and fresh parsley. And technically all I end up saying is that you should totally visit this place. And I can recommend that one dish with my whole heart. On the other hand, A. was not amazed by the burger she ordered. It looked amazing, but the taste, she says, was only okay. Maybe I should really just act as if I knew what I was doing. Looking professional might make people feel intimidated and leave me alone to shoot some more.

"Guest Blogger October" schedule

Read more to check all the amazing bloggers who will fill October on Dipped in Rococo with pure awesomeness. I promise you will not be disappointed. I have to say it was much fun to be able to look for guest bloggers. I have received so many yes'es, it's incredible! Please click on all the photographs and send our participants some love. And do not forget to stay tuned for October! There will be analog, there will be creativity, there will be beautiful stories.

10 things to do in wroclaw

There is no end to Wroclaw related posts, folks! I know that most of you will probably never visit Wroclaw, which is a fantastic Polish city, but as long as my memory is still fresh after my trip, I decided to tell you some more about what you just must see! I promise that it won't be much about me talking, but instead showing you what is there to be loved and admired in this city and how you can fill your days while being there! There will be some cool food places mentioned as well, as I know that exploring always results in hunger! Since I wouldn't want this post to get tooooo long, I divided attractions into specific pages, click the name of the attraction and it will lead you to photographs.

PREPARE YOURSELF FOR AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE WILD 

ADMIRE BEAUTIFUL VIEWS FROM THE 49TH FLOOR

EXPERIENCE ART

WALK THE BRIDGE OF LOVERS

WITNESS A BATTLE

STROLL AROUND BEAUTIFUL TENEMENT HOUSES 

SPEND A JAPANESE AFTERNOON

GET A YUMMY BREAKFAST

TRY SOMETHING NEW FOR DINNER

SPEND THE EVENING WITH SOME HONEY BEER & GREAT MUSIC

(each is a link, so click away!)

wroclaw called wroclove (the essence)

I came back from the overheated south of Poland a few days ago. The whole country is burning up, making me think that bus drivers that don't activate the air conditioning are murderers. It's tough to live in such heat. Wroclaw was particularly hot with its 39 degrees of Celcius in shade. I put up with it, just like I would so during some exotic vacations in Africa. This is my time, I thought. I don't sunbath like ever, knowing that sunburnt skin is unhealthy skin, ageing faster, and just generally nothing I should be proud of. In Wroclaw I let the sun kiss me slightly. 

Those few days south made me feel alive again. We were eating in restaurants, as my appetite was huge. So weird during such hot days, I have to admit. We walked the streets, a bottle of water in one hand, the city guide in another, my eyes covered with cheap sunglasses, that are probably ruining my eyesight. Each day was fun and unique. It's hard to tell you just one thing that I loved in Wroclaw. It's a beautiful city, and I was really in love with what I saw. One of the main attractions that did not require tickets, but did indeed make us walk further and further each day, was searching for the dwarves (the city special). We spotted about fifty of those (out of about two hundred, oh my), mostly because at times I felt like just walking and looking for them was not worthy of the time in this city. We had so much other stuff to see. Museums, parks, bridges, little islands. I think we made the best of our stay. I want to show you some of my memories in photographs. I hope you will enjoy them. Please, tell me what you would like to know. Do you want to see more dwarves? Should I do top 10 places to visit while in Wroclaw? I'm open to suggestions and I cannot wait to tell you more about my trip! 

my favourite faded fantasy

My vacation has finally begun. But like always in life, I just cannot spend my days in bed and forget about the whole world. In the past, I successfully vanished each time the vacation started. This year, unlike any other, it is just too hard to fully let go of everything and everyone. Maybe I no longer know how to turn invisible. I cannot go unseen. Life in another city has made me stronger, but when I saw a familiar face in the crowd the other day, all the feelings came back to me. During my school years, I was worth nothing. Nobody ever cared about me. I was never popular, neither in the positive nor the negative way. I just existed. Often people laughed at me, because of the stupidest reasons, like the house I lived in or that my mum was so protective of me, that I couldn't go on  a bus by myself until I was 11 or 12. I heard bitter words because I was skinny and my breasts did not exist until late middle school. During the first years in school, I was surrounded by people that spoiled and clueless about real life, that I feel so relieved that I no longer see them day to day. I somehow survived the worst years, living my dream life in my head, living all the scenarios. Maybe I took after my dad in more than just height. I feel like we both demand perfection from ourselves. I wish it was not the case, because I am honestly tired of feeling like I am not enough. I swear, it would have been easier if I just forgot that anyone is actually reading those ramblings that I gather here.

I would have lied if I said that all my life I had been dreaming about you. I had been dreaming about douches and fuck-ups that never took a second glance at me. That perhaps treated my interests as flaws, while you think of me as a smart and well-rounded girl. I do not feel complete, but with you I have learnt to love what I am. And now I feel more sure that I can take a chance at whatever I want, and even if my wishes are not granted, I feel that I deserve the best. Thank you.

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 :)