one year of analog.

Sadly, as you can say, I am not taking part in this year's August Break, but head over to Katie's or Evelyn's to follow their August journeys. If you're taking part in this challenge and I don't know about you yet, please comment below and tell me! I would love to follow your posts.

Photography has grown on me, and there is no better time for low iso photographing than summer. It's a curious case of how after a year's time I am still more than happy with what I am shooting with. For those of you who never took any interest in that, I am an owner of Praktica MTL 3, which was an exceptionally cheap find on Ebay last summer. At first, I of course opted for Zenit, but had some unpleasant experience with it, so I gave up.  Over the year I looked for different options, considering a Canonet, Olympus Trip, and many other. 

I had a quick fling with Zenit ET, which broke down as well, and due to econominal reasons (repair being far more pricey than the camera itself) it just collects dust at this point. Maybe it's because of lack of Flea Markets that I could attend and find something analog for myself. I also bought a second hand Lomo Fisheye No 2. I only shot two rolls with it so far, but I guess it's fun and this year I am giving it to my sister, when she goes on her honeymoon, so she can show you a little of that trip and I don't need to worry that she will break it or something like that.

I own only two lenses and most of the time I find that one is enough. I am completely in love with my 58mm Helios 44-2. Its bokeh is to die for, it's perfect for my guilty pleasure of shooting food and I believe you cannot go wrong with that lens. With some good light, it produces high quality, sharp images. 

During winter I bought a 28mm Helios lens. I went with Helios because I was very happy with the results 44-2 gave me, and I found that it was a pretty cheap choice. I don't plan to go professional with photography, therefore I don't want to spend hundreds of $ buying equipment. 28mm is alright, nothing which stole my heart though. It makes you feel like you have stepped out a little bit, and for once in awhile it's really refreshing to own such perspective.

Some time after that, around March, I looked for a more macro lens, but once again, not wanting to spend too much money, I gave in and decided to try an alternative - macro rings. I got three. And for now I am only shooting with the smallest close up :)

People still find it hard to photograph me in focus, and I cannot blame them. Focusing is the hardest thing they have to approach when using a manual camera. But over the year I stumbled upon bigger problems than wrong focusing. It was discouraging at first, and I found myself wondering whether analog photography was for me, but I never gave up and now I feel like it was the right thing to do. Analog brings me incredible fun. 

I have tried a variety of films, but my journey has just began. My most loved ones are Fuji Superia 200 (so mainstream, I know), Fuji X-tra 400, Agfa Vista, Kodak Ultramax, but I have many others that I highly doubt I could give up on. Only recently I made more brave choices when buying film. I finally bought a Ferrania Solaris, and as a gift I received Fujicolor Pro 400H, which I saved up for Budapest and I cannot wait to finally use! You can check out the films I have tried already in the sidebar :)

What are your analog choices? What film/camera do you crave at this point? Let me know :)

reality of being twenty+

- t h e  b i r t h d a y  g i r l -

I know I had told you there would be no post for my twenty first birthday, but I had not predicted a new roll would be finished by me around that time. I thought I wouldn't have a cake, no party whatsoever, nothing to show you, my friends. My sister surprised me with a delicious cake with raspberries, wild strawberries (my favourite!) and blueberries, which was bought, not made, but she picked certainly the best she could :)

My life is like a rollercoaster right now. I cry a lot, I feel moody, weird, tangled up, troubled. I often ask myself where the boundary lies, where the turning point is, and whether will I ever be capable of saying 'it's too much, it's over'. For now, I cannot do that. I am physically and mentally not capable and not ready to change anything in my life. Even though I probably know that it would be for the best. I won't deny myself simple pleasures of existence. Sighs, deep breaths, reckless behaviour, falling in love. I just won't, because if I do, then what will be left of me? If you asked me if I was happy now, I would answer "I have never been happier in my whole life."

I wonder, how will I ever be able to differentiate losing myself (as in changing myself to the point where the old me is going, going and gone) from changing due to growing up? Both I fear, but one is inevitable, mostly because my bonds with people are getting tighter. And maybe I am changing for them, so it's a little bit easier to get along with me, so I don't get them disappointed or even furious. Deep down inside, I want someone to get to me, to really get to know me, in the most realistic and romantic way. I want for them to be able to say they know the real me, and I desire not feeling like I'm not enough. I feel shivers down my spine. Will that ever be true? I do not know. I doubt it, because that's my nature. I strongly despise the voice in my head that doubts stuff. But I cannot help it. My life has been like a dream ever since I finished high school. I have been caught up in the most unusual things. It's like there is a magnet between the extraordinary & I. I am no longer your regular girl next door, or maybe I still am, who knows what kind of secrets a regular girl next door keeps in her diary.

And oh my, Tudorcolor, I LOVE YOU.

back to june reception

Hello to part two of my wedding ramblings, see part one by clicking this link, it's going to be the last one. We were probably the first ones to leave the church and drive to the restaurant where the reception was held. Therefore I managed to capture the interiors before the crowd came. There were 119 invitees, over half of which I did not know. I ended up with no date, which can be regretted horribly, but thanks to my sister's friends I had a lot of fun, maybe even a little too much.

I really loved the way my sister arranged the interiors. I was proud of her choices, I must say. It was a long before the wedding, when she started browsing those wedding design sites, in search of people, designers, products, which would live up to her expectations. One of the included was E for Event with the beautiful M & P decoration.

...

I'm back home for the vacations. Huh, it's been a very long year. I am done with my summer practice, I am done with Bialystok for now. I am ready to be lying down all day and only welcoming doses of delicious food.  Maybe it's for good for us to have a little time off. Little thinking, yet not overthinking, is always refreshing. With my birthday just two days away, I don't plan any party. I am just constantly wondering how will I ever know that I am in fact an adult. Tomorrow will be the perfect time to get some drinks with my friends though. There won't be any posts for my 21st birthday (sadly), but I will post new photographs soon, so be prepared for at least one more post before my departure to Budapest.  I hope you will enjoy the pictures. Click on buttons below to follow my posts. I will speak to you soon!

Special thanks to Karolina for having me on her Blog of the month feature. T H A N K  Y O U! ♥

umami tales

Umami /uːˈmɑːmi/, a savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes (together with sweet, sour, bitter and salty).

A loanword from the Japanese (うま味?), umami can be translated as "pleasant savory taste". This particular writing was chosen by Professor Kikunae Ikeda from umai (うまい) "delicious" and mi (味) "taste". The kanji 旨味 are used for a more general sense of a food as delicious.

Not being anything close to a cook, I have always looked at Katie's Randomly Delicious series and considered it a great idea. We often eat in the city, which is pricey and probably not the best idea, yet I just love doing so. My menu often includes sushi, in all forms, lots of pasta, desserts at Bella Vita and good old pizza. Generally, I am a lover of Italian and Japanese cuisine. Quite a mix, but I wouldn't trade them for anything else. On the other hand I love anything that goes with coffee, therefore lunches, brunches and regular breakfasts.

I rarely prepare something at home, but little sandwiches with salmon, arugula and cream cheese quickly became my favourite, after I tried them in one of those local lunch type coffee houses. Everything might be going in the right direction though because yesterday I found a cooking pal in my friend P, with whom we made our first meat patties. And this is how we're going to make it through the next three years. I would love to be cooking with my A, but we are never in the kitchen at the same time, so that might pose an issue :)

learn how to appear on my blog here.

Student life makes you quite familiar with toast bread. Actually, after two years it becomes your best friend. And I more than adore when I get served pancakes with some maple syrup. It's more than delicious and extremely sweet.