Is it holidays yet?

Since internet stopped this whole "you gotta know somebody in order to know something" nonsense, here's a cool find that came into my feed burner today:

Christmas drinks from around the globe

Which one's your favorite?

To this short list I must add a famous drink from where I come from - mulled wine - it is very much respected and is somewhat disrespectfully consumed by thousands and thousands all around the world during winter and the holidays. Spices warm up the body, heal cold and soul.
Here's the recipe. I never follow it to the letter, but you can start with these measurements and play as it goes.

.8 bottle of Cabernet/Merlot/Whatever red wine you choose
is heated up in a pan together with
- 3 large spoons of sugar
- 3 slices of lemon
- about 7 of those little smelly things the name of which I can't remember, but let me look it up in the dictionary
- 5 - 7 cardamom seeds
- ginger (I use powdered... 1/2 teaspoon or so)
- cinnamon sticks (I put a lot of!)

Don't overheat. Turn off just before it starts boiling and serve in mugs! Happy Holidays~

PS: another cool infographic showing a history of the Christmas tree as it started in 15th century in Latvia

Challenge - day 6... and QR* codes!

Aaaaannnd... Sunrise again!

I love mornings because you almost never wake up anxious, but almost always go to bed a little bit distraught. Meditation helps, but I would be living someone else's life if I said that I do it EVERY night.

Today, after reading an article on how QR codes can potentially cause a security threat (only potentially yet, or so I understood...) I learned how to make my own QR code, it was much easier than I anticipated, and also - absolutely FREE.

So I went to Kaywa, typed in the URL I want to point to with this code and voila!

Click here to 'like' our business page!

Or you can scan it with your smartphone, like I do (QRReader for iPhone for example), but there's nowhere to scan it from ;), unless you have one of my new business cards that may or may not include that on the back...

So, basically, for "Sigen Photography", so far - it is pretty useless. But how cool, eh?

The link you're pointing to better be mobile optimized, otherwise another pointless situation arises.

All in all, I don't yet see the use of it. So I scan something with my phone - then what? I still go to a computer to do any real reading, or research, or shopping.

Yawn.
Is it time to go sleep yet? Hah... back to work chica!

* QR or Quick Response code is a two-dimensional bar code that is scanned and understood by a cellphone camera. Of course you need an app for that as well. Once the QR code is scanned, the app directs you to the webpage it's attached to, for example.

Challenge - day 5

My Facebook friends have already seen this one. And if you haven't - here you go. The boy was helping me photograph the beautiful sunset and picked some wildflowers. In those two days of driving around I have been finding these in all sorts of places...

Tomorrow is Friday, I think I missed a day this week - where did it go?
That's what happens when the fall comes. Some people tighten up, toughen up - a lot to do before end of the year. And I will go get ready in a second as well. There's things to do, challenges to face and the best of all - being a mommy to a wonderful boy who is trying so hard to grow up faster. Stop stop - not so fast little one! First - I need to make you proud, then there will be your turn.

Have a magical day my friends!

Don't forget to look me up on Facebook.com/irina.smirnova and to like our page under Sigen Photography.

Challenge - day 4

Today was a good day.
Things are coming together and I seem to finally come to what I've been telling all new start ups that ask me for tips. GET A GOOD TEAM. Alone you can only do so much. When there's two of you doing work - it doesn't multiply by just two, it becomes more like a four. And when you assemble the perfect team, well, then things just get cracking.

It doesn't mean, of course, that I'm a big expert on running business, god - no!! But at some point I got tired of expressing that to everyone who looked up to me, and I said to myself - "you got something to tell them - so tell them!". After all, sharing in the experience is what we're all here for.

My team is finally coming together and I am very happy to conclude... that everything is only beginning!

Not much more to share at this point, stay tuned and check back, or better yet - add this blog to your feed burner or subscribe to receive e-mails when I post.

A little simpler photo for today...

Have a wonderful week!

Challenge - day 3

This one will be rather quick, because they are waiting for me at the kid's birthday party :)
And yes, I'm taking my camera for some cool candid shots...

This one should be a lot of fun, they are taking us to some farm with pumpkins and monster trucks... can't wait!

And here the photo - enjoy...

Since today is Sunday, I don't expect that you are at home in this gorgeous weather, so I will leave this post without any usual meaningful remarks, even though it is very hard for me not to say anything smart right now.

In case you didn't get it - that meant to be a joke. A very smart joke. Apparently.

I guess I better go.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!

Challenge - day 2

Today was an unusual day. In a way that... I did everything that I would expect myself to usually do on a Saturday. Only, I never do any of these things.

I guess it's a good start to something new.

Here's today's "challenge" photo. Lucked out with this one...

You know, you drive around all day in Pennsylvania, you think - there's nothing to take a GORGEOUS picture of, except for people around you, but for some reason they refuse to participate in all the fun, they call you "paparazzi" and what not...

And then you pull out of your own driveway, and see this...

And you put the car on the reverse and back it up, grab the tripod and the camera, swap the lenses...

And forget that you were supposed to be going out for dinner, and you wear this gorgeous long skirt with heels and what not. And your earrings get stuck in camera gear...

But you are one with it all...

Challenge... and beautiful landscapes...

I don't know if you know this about me - but I can never be challenged. Even if I agree to that - I can never follow through. Don't ask..

And this time, I'm putting up my own - to entertain you for a week with a new beautiful landscape photo that I took within a month. That's hard! Believe me. Once you turn "professional", there's never time to do what you actually wanted to do as a professional.

That's why my first tip to everyone starting out is - write a business plan. It seems like an overhead, but that's something I should have done 3 years ago. I have it now - and love it. It keeps changing at least once a month... and it's hard to follow, but I know it'll work, because my heart is in it, and, most importantly, my vision.

All the words aside...

Here's the Day 1 photograph. Taken in a cute little PA town, the name of which I refuse to post here for convenience purposes:

I'm back! Missed me yet?

So.. the whole summer has come and gone and I have shamelessly forgotten all about my blog! Though if you'd know what I've been through, you would understand. And now that things are finally cooling down and I can see my path again clearer - welcome back ME!

He said he'll be a pilot too..

Summer fun and little boy growing up to be smarter than me


Well, that's expected. My son is my favorite teacher. I can look through his eyes at everything I do and judge from his perspective - just to get that sheltering feeling of comfort that I'm heading in the right direction. I wanted to post some pictures here, but realized that I'm typing this from a wireless device again and I have none with me. So I pulled some from Facebook via my phone. What have we been doing all our lifes without smart phones??










He has just started new school year (again?! Where did the summer go?). Just like last year - he refused to display any signs of affection in front of the school building. All he did is pose for a picture. Hm.. that didn't work out too well for him, did it..

Work and studio improvements

I'm very happy to share with you that the building is still there and we still have our studio. Even though we were very seriously considering the move, we are still in Neuman Leathers old building on Observer Hwy in Hoboken NJ.
We have also scheduled little improvement projects, including some cosmetic and structural changes. Coming for a visit?

August has been blissfully slow and I was able to catch up on some rest, joy and laughter. Although I don't physically feel rested, because things still remained Non-Stop - I definitely feel rejuvenated and energized. Thanks to You-Know-Who ;)

Re-branding and website re-design are well under way... watch out for changes soon. I hope you like them. I mean - changes in general. I do, I even love when Facebook changes. Even though the whole world seems to drop into exasperation every time they upgrade something.

Drawing is like writing. Writing is like drawing.

Last night I posted something PRETTY AWESOME about myself and my writing process and that got re-tweeted by several people right away. Even though I felt very special... internet is weird.
Also, I noticed that when I write - I wish I could write better. And when I draw - I wish I could draw better. Therefore I have decided to make efforts and improve on those skills. Meanwhile, you'll have to read what I write in the way I write now. But that may never change and you'll simply need to accept that fact. Because some things don't change.

Oh, and I also JUMPED out of the perfectly good airplane


That was my birthday surprise to myself. Just because I'm awesome that way. I have a video of that somewhere, but if I promise to post it, then I'll never get to it. So here's a couple of pics taken by Chad @ "Skydive Sussex"

The most beautiful sunset view I had experienced

Best face massage ever! Ladies - listen.

Last but not least - something useful

Found a cool article on Mashable today about readability. If you are anything like me - you have a feed reader set up and are subscribed to them. And I don't need to tell you what to do. Just wanted to comment again, that the more I learn - the stronger the feeling that I know less and less comparing to the amount of all available knowledge out there. What to do??? I'm simply giving up...

Also, that's why you see what you see in the post today. I'm trying to look smarter than I am. Is this more readable than just a bunch of paragraphs? I think so.

Have a wonderful week! I have just deserved my coffee break.

Cheese, cherries and white bread

"I choose to live a simpler life."
This weekend I went to visit my friend Caro in Quebec. Just the anticipation of being together again, hearing her laughter, be quiet together, swim in the lake, share simple food, exchange thoughts on spirituality, life and men (oh yeah!) - brings me into a place I want to be. Peaceful, detached and complete.
AND I get to meet her family!

First night we spent in a gorgeous two story house in downtown Montreal. I slept like a baby - completely uninterupted - right in the middle of a gorgeous empty room. And when I awoke, the streets were already alive.

I took some photos of the house while my friends caught up on their sleep. Walked around all over the place with my iPhone - I wanted to remember every little detail of this beautiful home. By the way, when someone recently asked me what is my favorite camera, I didn't have to think too long - it's my phone, of course. And why, you will ask... Because it's simply always "there".

And then, when they awoke, we took off to Sherbrooke, it's my friend's hometown - tonight there's a big festival by the lake and we are going to walk around, listen to music, indulge our taste buds, spend money on arts and crafts... I, personally, will stare at people, photograph and melt like butter in the sun from all the beautiful french sounds reaching my ears.

But for now there is smell of the summer. Swimming in a huuuuge lake near the house, quiet conversations, laughter and cute little noises by Caro's little nephew. Playing a little bit of the piano, they have same one as me...

I am complete.....

PS: I can't help but repeat over and over again, that there's nothing more precious in my life than my wonderful friends. I have been blessed with opportunity to meet and befriend some truly unique and amazing people.
And they in turn introduce me to their friends and I feel that there's nothing else in the world to do, but enjoy each others company.

I've got internet, but not the computer, so... No pictures for now :). May be some other time..

Little things...

Some things in life you can just never have. So when someone says 'everything is possible' - should you take it with a grain of salt or not?

Here's what I thought:
I'm old enough to claim that I will probably never celebrate my 40th wedding anniversary with the man I admire. Not in a hot sleek red dress at least hahahah. But who knows... May be the time WILL stop... So. Never say 'never'.

Enjoying what you have sometimes may take an effort, but humor took us through a lot (so far).
Here's something much less thoughtful, but precious nevertheless:

At the sushi place with my son the other day...

Me: can I have a ta... Wait... Did you just spit into your miso soup?
A: *laughs and snorts*
Me: I was just about to ask if I can have a taste of your miso soup and you went and spat in it?
A: *slides down his seat scorched with laughter*
(I'm telling you. Entertaining kids is not my piece of bread. I don't get their sense of humor...)
A: *stops laughing, giggles* but you have same germs as me!
Me: who said so??
A: YOU did!

(ahh)

Have a magical Friday, my friends and I will see you when I see you!

Law of attraction in action! Random thoughts from today...

First I buy a bunch of gear for road trips and camping...
Then I decide to go on a road trip so I can use it all.

Yeah, that's exactly how it works with thoughts too! You tell yourself long enough you are a ermmm... Singer, for instance - and you end up being one, just because you thought of it so much, and now you better be one!

Today, as I laid out all my gadgetry in the car and we took off - my son was watching his movie on a portable dvd player that I used for previews at shoots. And I thought to myself... Well, I already wrote what I thought.

On the other note -

For the first time in my life saw a real submarine (Penn's Landing in Philly). It's a museum, we got to go down and all. Conversation with my son:

Me: I cannot believe this is the 1st time I see a real sub. I'm pretty old, for Pete's sake!
A: yes, I cannot believe that either. Even I already saw some..
Me: I should probably make a wish.
A: make a wish.
Me: all right, I'm making a wish.
...
Me: do you wanna know what I just wished for?
A: yes.
Me: to see more submarines - these things are phenomenal!
A: now your wish won't come true, cause you told me.
Me: ah, boo... I better stay long enough in this last one then.

I think they should have it in a "Please Touch" museum. Although some things on it I would not!

Tomorrow we are seeing Mummies. Stay tuned...

On skydiving and letting go...

So this is what happens when you try to raise standards in unnatural way!
Back in April I decided that I need to focus my blog on more relatable topics and... I ran out of posts, I guess.

Today I'm back with a whole new perspective. Well, it's old, but strongly reinforced. Reevaluated, reviewed and recommitted to.
I say - let it be and let it flow. Nothing is important enough to pay too much attention to. Things should move the way they go and we ought to enjoy life in this free-flowing manner.

And so, with this new beginning, I want to share something very special with you all.

I had this growing desire to 're-write' some things, or may be 'overwrite'. Or may be it was something else - I'm not about to dive into the analysis, so I'm simply going to write about what I feel the desire to express.

I've gone and done it! Huh? What she mean?!

I went skydiving! It was a decision made in heavens. It came to me as easily as it was to do it. The moment I realized I HAD to go for it - there were no questions as to "where these legs are growing from". I was simply ready for another BIG experience.

The weather that day stayed wonderful - sunny, slightly hazy, neither too hot, nor too crazy.
We had the jump scheduled for 3 o'clock, something happened to their main airplane - it was taken for repairs - and we had to hang around the airport for 4+ hours. But during that time my pilot friend showed up to visit and support me, plus I had another good friend there for a company, her son, who also jumped, and one more good friend  - P. - who also jumped. And we had tons of fun.

We watched canopies being fold, people being trained, dressed and landed. We saw a girl lose her shoe in the air! *Rofl*

We had sliders in a local pub and roasted a little bit in the sun...

Then all of a sudden the big (main) airplane showed up to take the rest of us who were still waiting to come up - and then everything and everyone started to rush! Sun was setting pretty quickly and there were two more runs to be made, so everyone got whisked into the hangar for dressage and training purposes.
And it was exhilarating. I still don't know if I'd prefer it to be happening slower - so I have more time to realize what in the world I was doing! Or at least ask for my tandem's name BEFORE trusting my life to him hahah. Or may be it was just perfect. It was what it was and I sure took the best out of it.

In a matter of couple of minutes we were squished into a King Air - a twin engine, which stank with fuel exhaust so much - my eyes started to burn! That was the freakiest part of the whole thing, probably.

But when we were at the altitude and the door was opened - all I could think of was - "when jumping - head up, bend out like a banana, try to kick the instructor in a butt" and... these words which came out of some song: "real freedom can only be experienced during free fall".

Yeah. Just like that.

Also, my brain didn't expect to see what we saw. You could still make out roads and fields, but... Our side of the planet was preparing for a bedtime! Fantastic sunset on one hand and the ground mostly in the shadow on the other. It was dark below us. Like we were letting ourselves go into Nothingness. It was a 'wow' moment.

And then I heard 'Go'.
And I went.
Or may be Scott went - I'm not sure!
Our bodies tumbled down and within a moment we were rushing towards the ground, belly down, and I was gaping for air! There was no air! They told us to keep our heads up and our mouths shut, but I only did the first half, so...
Thank heavens for the video guy in front of my face - he showed me that I was doing the wrong thing and once my lips were sealed everything suddenly became just dandy. Another lesson - keeping your mouth shut can save your life! Talk about simpler situations...

It was a very pleasant jump. I was anxious about all the exhaust in the cabin and the no-air experience, but when all of that was over - I swear - it can all easily compete with the happiest moments of my life! Scott, my tandem buddy, was very caring and gentle through the entire time and I very much appreciated a man taking good care of me. Scott, if you are reading this - I want you to know that I remember every little word you said and every little gesture of kindness and care expressed by you.
You were the best first tandem experience I could have hoped for and I wish everyone to jump with someone like you and your friends.

Thank you man.

The rest of you readers - enjoy the upcoming footage and pictures. The school is supposedly sending over some real footage and pix - as soon as they arrive - I'll post here.

Have a wonderful and fulfilling lifetime experiences and... live it!

Irina

What's up in our neck of the woods...

There has been so much happening lately that I don't even know where to start.

Just in the past few days I found out:

1) that my favorite photo store UniquePhoto started carrying Leica cameras, which I was incredibly happy about. Now I can walk out of the house and rent Leica equipment in my own neighborhood.

2) that Lowepro decided to do Free Bag Fridays on their facebook page. All you need to do is track their Friday postings and like/comment on them to get some cool free stuff.

3) that there's such a cool thing as Eye-Fi. Eye-Fi is an SD memory card which will transfer my photos through wi-fi connection wherever I want it to go, whether it's my iPad, or computer. I got it from Amazon - that was the cheapest place - and of course I went with the 8GB Pro... Can't wait to get it and give a good test run. This will be very useful in my workflow!

More news...

4) We have a new photographer in our studio, a sweet guy who is also a pro, looking to expand his business into studio photography - we hope this will be a long lasting partnership - welcome Manny!

5) Working on creating a whole new website for Sigen Photography. While at it we also decided to work a bit more on branding. So, stick around for exciting changes.

6) Next week we'll be announcing a nice small giveaway on our Facebook fan page. It has little to do with photography, but a lot to do with passion. As many of you know, I am a big Yanni fan and this Saturday he's coming to NYC with his new (instrumental!!!) CD, which I doubt will be disappointing to all of us Yanni fans. So, at the concert I'm going to be picking up not one, but two CDs. One - for me to keep, and another - for one of you to get. All you'll need to do is go to our Facebook page, like the post about the giveaway AND comment on it! I encourage everyone to participate. Our page needs a lot more visibility and in return - you might just get this fabulous new CD! How's that for a win-win?

At this point I need to stop, there's so much work to do, and tonight I am shooting another one of Pamela Pekerman "Accessorize" press events, which are always interesting and educational. They also remind me of this TV show I used to watch as a kid - the one where everybody wins a lot of great stuff to take home... what was it's name?
Yeah.

Spring is here, old stuff falls off the wagon, great new stuff is growing - keep on walking whatever your path is! And with a smile :)

Irina

Is Photoshop a dirty word to you?

I have probably been guilty myself at using the word "Photoshop" in derogatory terms. And yet I strongly believe in its power to help bring the essence about the image. Since the photograph is usually being taken in order to illustrate a certain aspect or concept - any means of achieving the best implementation should be welcomed and encouraged.

Of course, looking at skincare product ads will always make me shiver in disbelief, but watch how NASA uses Photoshop to reflect the vastness of the universal aspects which our eyes (or cameras for that matter) simply cannot perceive:



By the way, if you Google "NASA photoshop" you'll find a few places ranting about cover ups and conspiracies, so if you like to indulge in that sort of thing - I guess that's what internet is there for...

And if not, then check out and don't forget to bookmark this site, as you might find yourself coming back for more - over and over again - Astronomy Picture of the Day ARCHIVE


Have a wonderful Monday~

For all you photogs out there

Some of the things that were brought to my attention and required a little bit of research - I just wanted to post them here in case if there's someone interested out there...

ZEISS versus NIKKOR lenses for your DSLR

A little while ago I met a guy who told me how fabulous Zeiss lenses are and how surprised he is that I haven't tried them yet. He told me my local photo store rents them out and I went out and tried a 100mm T* Planar macro lens. Shot a bunch of cute stuff in the yard, if you remember my fallen leaves series, thought that - yes, he was right, totally cool lens, beautiful features, nice sharpness, amazing bokeh and all that stuff that usually comes along with nicely made and expensive optics.

After that incident I was pretty much running around with the idea of buying that lens to play with my Nikon cameras. The purpose of it would be to produce more of those beautiful shots, which I usually take my time with and don't quite need the autofocus, that's missing on all the Zeiss lenses. Which by the way raises my favorite question - WHY??? Someone online said that accomplishing autofocus on these lenses would make them even more expensive and also - they probably like to see themselves as those "old world" reps - "good photogs don't need no stinkin' autofocus".

Another thing to know is that the lens still "talks" to the camera and there's a focus indicator light that you can pretty much rely on in cases when you cannot trust your own eyes.

So, not everything is "bad".

But what I'm thinking is - how good is the algorithm of telling the camera body that right now in this part of the image the focus is sharp, if the lens cannot quite tell the body which aperture is it at.

I'd really like to know how all of that works in a manual lens which the camera body only partially "understands". So, there's still some more searching to do.

Ken Rockwell presses it that there's no reason to get Zeiss lenses for your digital Nikon camera, which kind of makes sense. It's like putting better performance tires on a small engine car - the cost doesn't really pay off. May be not exactly, but you get the idea.

And this is why at this point I decided to wait a little more (again). And if I really want to play with it again - I can always rent it for a weekend at my favorite shop here in Fairfield NJ. May be I'll finally get that "not so expensive" Nikkor lens I'm missing in my arsenal and remove the IR filter from my old DSLR, so I have more things to toy with without missing the 100mm T* Planar...

By the way, if you are bored and into watching people fight - there's a lot of heated discussions online about Zeiss lenses. Quite silly most of them, of course. Some never tried to shoot with them and accuse others of wanting to belong to "elite" zeiss user group, others want to shut them up... go figure *sigh*...

"People should be people" (all in line with "the work" of K. Baron, if you know what I mean...). Ah here's a bit of mystery that I'm leaving behind!

Wonderful day to you all~

PS: I'm having fun with an idea of renting a Nikon D3X and two similar lenses - one Nikkor and another Zeiss. I think that would be a fair test of comparison. But testing them on a D90, I feel it might just be unfair to Zeiss... What do you think?

Loved this talk! Just sharing...

You will never see again! (clearly...)

Today I had my eye exam. The first one - which would mark the official beginning of the vision improvement experiment that I started.

I'll have to do it again in a month, but will probably choose another doctor, because this one will clearly have trouble giving me another eye exam in just a month.
"WHY?? When she just did it and gave me a perfectly fine prescription for the glasses, which, in her opinion, I should have gotten right away from her shop anyway."

My eyes are still dilated and I'm feeling quite a bit queasy. She didn't give me my prescription, but I asked for some sort of a report that I could keep for my records and was promised to have it shortly - via e-mail.

The only useful thing I recall her saying is that I see as good as "twenty eighty", and ideally it should be "twenty-twenty". I didn't receive an explanation as to what these numbers mean and how I can relate them to my previous experiences with eye doctors. She was perfectly professional, and didn't smile even once. In an attempt to make a connection with her, I probed the grounds by asking if she thinks there are any exercises I could do to improve my vision, instead of simply putting glasses on. She was very straight in putting me back where, in her professional opinion, I should be. I don't know. I can hardly take seriously anybody who would openly try to persuade me that I can't do something I set my mind to. Especially when I already have experienced some hint of improvement.

To my surprise, my left eye sees much better than the right one. It used to be the other way around. Everything else seems to be the same as 4 years ago, 7 years ago, 11 years ago... Nothing's changed.

There's a slight astigmatism somewhere and the small nearsightedness all over. The kind that requires you to wear corrective lenses when you drive or fly though.

So, let's see what happens in a month :). I already have a referral to another doctor who I'll probably end up going to at the end of this month/period.

Exercises are fun. Eyes are getting much easier to focus on those things that I used to see blurry all the time. I'm getting used to practicing "seeing clearly", it still takes an effort, but I'm also getting better at remembering to do that.

During the exercise I feel slight burning in the eyes. I read the same thing from other folks who were trying it. I ran a basic research on existing articles and here are a few interesting links:

What your optometrist won't tell you
Healthy living - see clearly without glasses
Bates method described on Wikipedia

Fun, fun, fun!

And if you're following this project - let me know somehow, I'd love to know if it's interesting to anybody out there in the blogosphere.

What do you want?

This is going to be a bit of a strange post, again. Me talking to myself... pondering things..

I remember when I first decided to try and live off just photography, test the universal laws I became a student of (a very geeky one) - I thought "now I know what I want! I simply want to try and see if Law of Attraction works and if I will resist my own dreams!" Many people would cringe at the thought of jumping off the train at a sighting of interesting potential - you have got to develop some basic support system first, think things through, perform elaborate research on how to jump off trains and what to do the moment you touch the ground... And I can't argue with that - they are right. Yet I jumped when I first saw something soft to land on - without further ado. I haven't even started writing a business plan before I took off in the desired direction.

Registering business, studying others work and activity, completing paperwork, taking first networking steps etc. - it all was being done after the fact. I should have began preparing long before, but I didn't and it would probably take forever anyway with a full time job and a family. Plus, I was already having issues with feeling too old to start a brand spanking new life.

So... Where am I taking all this? Ah... I remember!

Wanting things. It was a year of a lot of "firsts". First paid wedding, first paid business headshot, first paid product shoot, first contract, first encounter with a lawyer, first bookkeeping software grind, first time in my life I don't have to do certain things that I thought everybody does, first of each experience of new fears and challenges, first studio outside my basement... - it's a long and boring list of "firsts".

I'm sooo happy now that I am over that hump - there is literally nothing related to business itself that I can reminisce about without feeling those annoying little butterflies in my stomach.

By next summer I went over the things I had a chance to try repeatedly and decided to narrow it down to something more defined. I saw photographing a lot of things that were not only hardly satisfying, but also badly rewarding. I kept ways to photograph my way through bills and ways to keep my imagination and personal taste developing.

Then later - when things became more or less established - I started saying 'no' to things that only pay the bill, but are extremely uninteresting to shoot.

Then I faced a challenge of "wanting things" again and had to review everything all over.

Now we came to the point I decided to share with you all today.

I believe now that it is totally ok to change your mind after just one bite while trying new things. I had big problem with accepting this simple truth at first, but now I see it merely as a way to refine oneself. A way to evolve - do you know what I mean?

- From wanting to photograph just about anything as long as it's me shooting,
- to being paid for doing the above,
- to focusing on photographing people, and doing nature just as a hobby,
- to finally deciding to focus only on CREATIVE portraits (playing with elaborate setups, lighting, mood, story, energy)

That trip has been fun! If you know what I mean... I was resisting the changes to my desires very strongly at first. But time tells everything, right?

I wanted to come out there and offer this advice to everyone who's looking for their new path - try it all, make a list of what you'd like to do, and do it. Then come back and work some more on that list. And then back to doing it. And when you feel like you don't want anything anymore - take a nice long break from it all (that's totally OK too! The only commitment you have to keep is being true to yourself) and start with a list again when those little wishes and desires come back.

It is ok to feel lost, ok to feel disappointed and not want to go on. It is also ok that sometimes you will feel like you never finish anything. Perfectionists have a really hard time with this. But the key is to stay open and flexible. The dark times have always been followed by sunshine and there are days when you really want to stay low and that's what you need most. It is ok to do whatever you feel like. Our brains need time to adjust to all these major changes and our bodies need that rest.

As long as you don't lose the sight of that light...

Oh boy, have I written another long letter to myself again?

If you went through this - here's a bit of a reward...

 

Vision improvement fun...

Vision is closely related to photography and I agree that a "good eye" is necessary, but so far I got away with just how I am used to be seeing things.

Our brain is a truly miraculous feature in the way it adapts to all kinds of lazy nonsense we humans accept as norm of our existence.

The fact that I don't have a perfect vision doesn't mean I can't see stuff crucial to my survival or passion. So - I'd have to sit closer on lectures, or examine art at closer distance. Things I couldn't see I decided weren't important enough to see. The rest - brain would figure out.

I'm doing the Norbekov program entirely for fun. The added benefit is that I might get rid of the "must wear corrective lenses" on the back of my driver's license. I also think it is crucial to the success of the experiment - to be emotionally detached from the outcome.

Today I scheduled my first appointment to get specific (and current) numbers on my eye sight. It's next week, but it doesn't mean I am going to stop with exercises. Wasn't too consistent anyway.

Also, today I noticed an interesting effect while I was doing my favorite exercise - walking around outside, with a happy heart, looking at things that are usually blurry, and imagining that I'm seeing them clearly, and watching them become sharper. I noticed the 3D effect which a good lens gives you. This depth to the scene - wow, I was fascinated. I didn't think even for one second that our eyes do the same thing as lenses. Just never bothered stretching the muscle and finding out!

How lazy one can be, huh?

So this is what's new.

Staring at the chart while doing the same thing also works and gets better every time. Only it's super boring and I almost never remember to do it. Lucky for me - Norbekov recommends using the chart only for a couple first times in the program. Then he insists on moving on to real life.

Other exercises are much more like traditional eye training, so I try to create and maintain a routine of doing them before I meditate. If I go and meditate that night that is.

Read more in the previous posts:

1. New project... Gone wild!
2. Humble beginnings...

Season's "gifts"...

backyard is the best adventure...

This morning, in order to take out the trash, I had to wear high snow boots, ski suit and prance around the knee high snow that piled up in our yard. Needless to say it was the best workout I had in days. Fun too. Also ended up photographing a lot of stuff and some of it is here... Didn't want to go back inside. Sun and snow made me blind too - so the house seemed so dark... like a cave. Only with a woodburner, heh..

  

Ah... caught that drop after nearly 100 clicks!

The weekend is over but the best is only beginning...

More beauty from the sky...

I hope you don't get tired from looking at these... our planet is beautiful and hovering over in some sort of an aircraft always brings me to seeing things differently. Kind of puts them the way they should be, you know what I mean?

 

Overall sense of humility.....

Lake George...

Most of us here in NYC area heard of Lake George. Very few saw it from the air. I would not say I know which way it's more beautiful. I think from the ground it is definitely breathtaking. From the air... well, it's still very far from all the seriousness of Lake Powell down south... but look how - ahhh!

 

Illustrating the power of the circular polarized filter... A little twist and a photograph looks completely different. What do you say?

 

No wonder so many spend their vacations there... huh? :)

I didn't practice any Norbekov today. The day was emotionally very draining and I barely made myself sit at the computer instead of curling up and falling asleep to recover. Here's to a better tomorrow!

Have a wonderful night~

I lied

Ok, lied about winter being boring!

Check out what my camera did while we were busy on the second day of Inesperado music video making:

Humble beginnings...

To update on the Eye Sight Project (ESP) - in past couple of days I did the following:

- re-read the exercises from the Norbekov's book (I have since I just got into college),
- found an eye sight chart online, printed it and practiced the technique on it (just a little...),
- looked for my old (5 years ago) eye exam paperwork to see what numbers they have on there - to save myself a trip to the vision store (there hasn't been any change to my sight, so, why can't I use the old one...). Nothing useful that I could comprehend, so I put it back in the drawer.
- practiced (inconsistently) some of the exercises from the book (looking left/right/up/down, moving eyes around and stretching those muscles in there while smiling and cultivating the feeling that I'm in love with the entire world)
- practiced "imagining that I see very well" technique and had fun with it

Today, I printed another chart. Those at home were very supportive. They held the chart up and moved the pen around the letters and patiently waited while I found my way to use those untrained muscles and make the letters on the blurry lines come into focus.

The kid is now convinced that I don't know my alphabet and the big one... he said I have eyes of an eagle. A very old eagle, hahah.

I still haven't made it to do the real eye exam, so that's still on a planner. But from what I recall - years back I had either a minus 1.5 or a 0.8 (I don't know which system is used here in US and which back in Europe, so I can't tell convincingly enough)... Also one eye has astigmatism and is seeing a little worse than the other.

Norbekov's book says that with persistence and practice I can have my vision back to where it belongs in a matter of 2 weeks or so. Or at least it should start improve dramatically. So, I think a month is a good time frame to test after.

Have a wonderful rest of the Sunday! Weather is gorgeous and I can't wait to work on some new stuff today... hopefully can figure out the music licensing and then you'll get to see something fun I did with some very cool people a few weeks back.

New project... Gone wild

Since life of a photographer (once they gone professional but haven't quite reached the rising moment of their specific dream jobs) can become pretty mundane during winter and there's nothing much to write about - I decided to be a little more controversial and post here about a certain experiment I'm undertaking. It will serve in two different ways. One - in case there is anybody out there interested in reading this - it might be useful, no matter what the result is. And two - I will tell you this secret just once - I don't have a very good discipline in finishing what I start if the subject lies outside of the goals I've set up on my "must do in three months" list. And this is definitely low in priorities. So I need encouragement, support and demand of the progress. Which I hope you will provide, whether in comments, emails or phone calls (ok, ok - it only seems like I've got too much time on my hands - you'll see that this shouldn't take away much of my daily free minutes.

So - what is the deal?

I am going to try and stick to Norbekov's vision improvement routine for a month and see if anything changes.

I will
1) go to the vision store and have them examine my eyes.
2) do daily exercises and post about them as often as I can.
...
3) go to the vision store and have them examine my eyes in a month and see what's happening.

And if there's any interest in exercises I chose for myself - I will certainly describe them - just let me know.

This is all I've got for now. Have a good night!