Flying would be my favourite sport if I had wings. Such freedom! Day 92

The most iconic Istanbuli transport - ferries.

Alternative Day 91

Trust me to mess up the shot of the day. Well it was bound to happen in 365 days. The story? I've got a new camera and what I didn't know was that its program button is very weak. You see I walk around with fixed start settings of A set to f/7.1 I always adjust ISO according to the light conditions and the rest I adjust without looking at the camera. What I didn't realize was that the button moved while camera experienced some friction in my bag =( With an extremely high ISO I could not save the shot since the setting was severely underexposed M. I started to pay attention and since then I caught that #@^!! button slipping every time! But since I know now, I'll always check (I hope). Yeah I know, I should always read the setting reflected in the viewfinder - hmm but what's the point if you know your setting by heart, right? Wrong.

Why I'm I sharing my story? It might help somebody someday... who knows?!

I'm offering an alternate shot. Just a typical Istanbul click. This is the Galata bridge crossing the Golden Horn and the tall tower on the other side is called the Galata tower. This bridge is always packed with fishermen (yes, they do catch some fish!) and is also, in a way, a promenade for walkers.

I'm joining a photojournalism workshop. I'm so excited. I'm hoping that this shot gets someday replace by something that is really good not just OK-ish.

Documenting: crossing from Asia to Europe, Istanbul, late afternoon Day 90

Second Bosphorus bridge (FSM), direction towards Europe, on the right the skyscrapers of Levent are visible. Even though most tourists never really realize that (different part of town and Istanbul is often hazy) - the area boast the tallest European residential building, the 261m tall Sapphire, and several other giants.

Basel refreshed Day 89

My fun girlfriend showed my a fun part of otherwise stern looking town. Looking forward to seeing you soon, babe!

Commute Day 88

I took a train from one part of Switzerland to the other. I haven't been on one for years. Wish there was one from my part of town to old Stanbul. Instead off being stressed or annoyed in heavy traffic I would just read a book for a while. Then again, commute is rarely that nice. For one at those times trains are packed. This was a relaxing journey.

Train station in the town of Nyon. Passenger with a pen and paper, car park and apartment buildings are reflected in the window through which I was looking at a shed-like structure next to the station.

Wonderful spring weather around Mt Blanc Day 87

I spent far more time chatting than thinking about photography. For me it's rather mutually exclusive. When I photo trek I tend to disappear into my observant self that ignores anything that it does not identify as a good photo subject, much to the chagrin of my family. Anyway, I was not photo observant this time ;-P I got 3 snaps to offer and no idea how to choose.

- happy house: I like the merry windows jumping up/left/right on the facade and the reflections they offer clearly showing this is early sunset time


- I love the colours of the chalet photo with a little cloud hanging over the Mt Blanc


- I loved the lunch up there so clearly I'm still fond of the 3rd scenery


None of the photos is actually it. Oh, well...

How far can I push a raw file?? Far! Day 86

One raw file and a bunch of adjustments. Then opened in PS to photoshop the original window brightness&colour back in - using layers and a mask. Interesting experiment.

Location? Geneva, Switzerland.

Had a great time with my darling friend. I hope you know you're always in my heart!



.... and the original file [ups, forgot to mention I also adjusted for optical mistake]

Environmental responsibility appeal Day 85

I took this photo in a fishing harbour on the Black Sea (in a shadow of a vessel, the sea itself is not black, of course). Part of me says "What did you expect?" the other one rebels and wants to make the world a better place.

Energy saved from a reused glass bottle could power a computer for 25 min.

Glass produced from recycled glass saves 74% energy, reduces related pollution of air by 20%, of water by 50%; compared to production of glass from raw materials.

Glass is 100% recyclable and can be used again and again.

Glass thrown away, laying around or ending up in landfills will never decompose.

I'm absolutely certain that fish did not drink that bottle of whiskey, neither did the dolphins...

And no, this is not a desperate means of communication from a deserted island. There was no message in the bottle.

Abstracting hubby's fav flower Day 84

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He was right Day 83

Recently I read yet another farewell from 365 project on Flickr. He mentioned driving several hours in pursuit of one photo [yap, happened to me several times], sometimes not even getting THAT shot [yap, agree again], and he noticed he actually regressed [oh, yeah]. I think he was right. The pursuit of wonderful, special, technically good pics is doomed from the start. Regression is inevitable. Very often I just need that one click just to keep it going. I also try to keep it interesting [ok, ok, I merely try to keep my photostream from being totally boring]. But seriously, when shooting out of love for photography the resulting images are much much better than when I'm doing it out of obligation, being stressed and worried that I'm ending well bellow my standards. Yet it's not all bad. I did try out several new things and learned tons in the process. I've also decided to include PS exercises into my 365 [for the learning curve, of course]. I'm craving return to real me but for now I"m just trying to keep it going. So please, forgive me, when the shots have no meaning, when they're not really special, when they suck --- ups, I'm doing this the wrong way, I have to forgive myself first! Not get annoyed, try to cohabit with this project. Cos I'm still expecting that after the deed is done, pro and cons get weighted... the positive aspects will win the year! I stubbornly believe so :-D

The footprints, legs and shadow + a vignette give me happy feeling. That's all. No Magnum this ;-P

Late at night I fight the beast that says Oh well it does not matter... Day 82

Sometimes this one a day is a pain! So I'm catching the last minutes. As a result this is very grainy (and not particularly impressive hahaha). What is this?? Feathers of a Superteca, an interesting Brazilian fusion beach ball game - more here: www.superteca.com.br/

I have realized that travel and uploading photos do not combine well, luckily I plan to be at home for a while now ;-/*