Wow, I doubt anyone visits this place anymore since I haven’t written in such a looooong time but wanted to tell any interested parties that I am still alive :-) Just busy and a bit burnt out with my web work… and my computer time in general.

Here is a little photo of a funny Italian pigeon. Whatever people may say about them, I love pigeons… They remind me of my childhood and how I used to chase them around and watch them fly away. Don’t ask me why but little children in Bulgaria love to do that :-)

This one was intently exploring the nearby tables at a charming Florence cafe our group was sitting at. Was funny!

Mornings like this make me want to write here… I have always adored this rainy, gray and quiet kind of mood, my thoughts flowing freely, only sometimes interrupted by the sounds of raindrops and then the sleepy cars rushing to catch the green light on the corner, ripping through the puddles of water on the sides of the street…

Most of all I like to sit near my window and breathe in the dampness of the soil in the mini-garden in front of the house. It is invigorating, especially when mixed with the scent of french vanilla coffee, freshly brewed and ready for me to pour into a glass of milk - for some sort of latte a la Ilina.

I have not shot anything recently - with the exception of a commissioned shoot I will soon post about on Flickr. Things will change next month; I am planning a long trip including Bulgaria-home, Bulgaria-seaside, Belgium and Italy. Photography will be my main focus and I am sure will produce plenty of material. I am not much of a travel photographer, but my mom always pushes and inspires me creatively (except when she insists that I photograph the sunsets… but I oblige anyway, and then I am superglad because I end up using them in images like this one).

So, good things are coming - and hopefully with them the end to my artistically dry period… With so many dreams to look forward to sometimes it is easy to forget where we stand. But I guess all that matters is that we keep going.

Here I leave you with a funny little picture, makes me laugh every time I see it. Featuring my eye-shut-highness :) and of course charming Nick Counts from Flickr. He came for a day-long visit to NYC a month (or two) ago - and I had the greatest pleasure of meeting him in person:

Hey all… it is an early morning here and it is so gloomy and rainy outside… I am glad I don’t have to go anywhere today, just stay home and enjoy the sound of the raindrops.

…And take a little photo break from work! Yes, I have been working very intensely lately and not much time for anything else… but I have been productive, and that makes me very happy!

Those of you coming from Flickr to see the source photo I mentioned, it is the first one below. While browsing the photos from the Chicago Botanical Garden afternoon, I was struck once again by the incredible landscaping that was done there. I am convinced the main landscaper must have been a photographer… Every little corner looked like a retouched postcard, I swear, with all the shadows and highlights and shapes and colors carefully planned… Absolutely incredible! If you ever have the chance to go there you must! I found a few new pictures I liked that I had not paid much attention to before… I will definitely process them sometime soon for all of you to enjoy!

But here are some others. Quite a few of these are taken by my mom with her point-and-shoot cam. I didn’t have time to edit them too much… but I did what I could :-)

So, this is the source photo from my recent picture on Flickr:

Always loved these… sorry, not sure what you call them in English?

This is Her Gorgeousness, my beloved sister Monika… strikig a Botticelli pose:

Damn I love her…

This is us two taking pictures of this duck who kept looking over its shoulder as if Cindy Crawford gave him lessons! Was so cute :-)

Notice Monika using her high tech phone camera! Also notice how tanned she looks compared to me. That’s her natural skin color… She got the better genes :-))

Enchanting little flowery corner with a beautiful view.

Haha, here below my mom documented me taking this photo!

While Monika was counting the geese :-P Twelve!

Me showing my sis the pictures in the viewfinder inside a breathtakingly picturesque garden.

Mom taking a picture of me while I am taking a picture of my sister…

I think this is the reciprocation to the above:

Not sure why Monika is making this face but it is so “her” makes me laugh… Ahh… we love our mom!! :-)))

Ohhh the swan family! They were such funny characters. It felt like they were extras in a movie, were so perfect and just stood there - did not move at all! It was a mom swan, a dad swan, and three baby swans… I see now how baby swans are indeed way uglier than ducklings… Like that children’s story goes. I used to identify with that one a lot when I was little.

They were not good at posing though. Kept looking the other way. Cindy must have taken a lunch break when it was their turn.

Nice statue.

Below is something like this picture but a bit different… I loved these benches, they were everywhere and really added character to the place.

A part of the Japanese Garden. I have a better picture than this one, I will be editing it for Flickr though! Was so beautiful.

Some river near the entrance/exit and an abundance of flowers. The white circle on the left is a lamp.

A gorgeous waterfall and some funny ducks splashing around. And my sister’s adorable smile.

That’s all folks! Have a lovely day and try to enjoy the rain if you have it too wherever you are :-) Or the sun, for that matter!

no photoshop :-) uploading just for fun

I have wondered about the purpose of art for years now. Why does art exist? Is it all that important anyway?

A while back I met someone very intelligent, someone I respected a lot…. who viewed art as meaningless and useless. Life was about science, technology and progress.

I love science and I love innovation, and technology… but I am a designer by profession and an artist at heart… When you admire someone, you tend to soak up their beliefs. And those views on art made me subconsciously question myself and deny the artistic part of myself… for a long time. I guess slowly by slowly I started accepting it again, yet I kept asking myself… Is art just mere entertainment, a pleasant distraction? Is it really useless? Why should I respect it?

Then I see videos like This One…

And I can feel my mind expand a little more, every time. And I have at least one answer today. Perhaps the purpose of art is to push the limits and expand the minds of the audience… Make us think i new ways, and see things differently, and become someone new… same like who we were but slightly better.

There’s some comment I saw on that website about the video I mentioned:

This is unbelievable ! by Rick0n9, “Power of human are unlimited ? ! Now i started to think so…”

And… wow… I will never question the importance of art again!

Another incredibly inspiring person!

I remember the first time I saw Kenichi Ebina dance…

In college, at the University of Bridgeport, he had formed a dance group called Soul Beat, who performed by his choreography regularly at the various events in school. All of the guys were very good, but you couldn’t really take your eyes off of him. His body moved in ways that defied reality, it was unlike anything you’d ever seen. The sheer beauty of his dance seemed like it did not belong to earth!

I remember the chills going up my spine, and by the end of the performance I had tears in my eyes. I know it sounds a bit dramatic, but seeing such sophistication of talent can not leave you the same. I remember thinking, wow, God must exist and Kenichi’s talent must be the closest thing to God that I have ever seen. My friends were just as speechless as I was. I remember going up to him to tell him how much his performance moved me, but I couldn’t really express it with words… And he was the most modest person you’d ever meet.

Today, when I came across this video from TED I was not exactly surprised… I was ecstatic to see that his incredible talent is being recognized and seen by more people. Hope many more successes come his way!

Finally!! I had almost given up this year…

I was so happy when I woke up this morning and saw the snow! Real snow! :-)
I grabbed my camera & the wide angle lens, and run out for a stroll in midtown near Central Park, as the city was waking up. Here are some random shots…

Something is always smoking on the streets of Manhattan… Makes it look like the Apocalypse or something.

*

I discovered completely by accident (while trying the settings on my camera) that if I use the Flash I can capture the snowflakes. I was so ecstatic about it!

No snowflakes here :-(

Snowflakes here :-D Big sis was protecting her younger brother while crossing the street. So cute!

Some corner on Park Avenue. I liked the architectural symmetry.

A beautiful flower shop. It was too early and the store was still closed. I wished I could have a SP shoot there! It was so beautifully decorated!

I also peeked into a wine shop. It was so tidy :-)
I hate wine by the way. A recent attempt to start liking it failed miserably.

The NY Academy of Science. I like the sound of it!

Some house.

Snowwwwflakes!! :-D

I never saw this bird until I opened the pictures on my computer. It was a funny surprise :-) The picture otherwise was useless!

… is my latest addiction!!

And here is one little secret to make this or any other tea even more exquisite… If you like to add honey, try also adding freshly squeezed orange juice (you just need half an orange). Do that after you finish brewing the tea just before drinking… I tell ya… you get a cup full of antioxidants, vitamins and yummyness.

And by the way, check out the following text from the website describing this tea (doesn’t it just make you want to paint the trees in purple swirls and sparkles?):

“Clasp your cup in both hands and inhale deeply. Sweet and indulgent, Lipton® Bavarian Wild Berry Tea tantalizes the senses with its vibrant flavour and robust aroma. Lipton® long-leaf black tea is made from just the two top leaves and the bud. These are carefully blended with real pieces of blueberry, blackberry and blackcurrant. Our unique pyramid-shaped transparent bags then allow fruity flavour and fragrance to flow freely for a warm, luxurious infusion.”

Aaah, the seductive power of words… now on to my teacup!

Wow… I wish I could have tea with whoever wrote these lyrics. The song itself is addictive, hear it here.

———-

what you thinking of
man what you do and what you think you can do
what you are
what you do
looking out, it ripples on the dance floor
what you mean is what you get
did you forget to know what the end is?
to begin clearing
looking out, it ripples on the dance floor

dream machine
did you get everything you asked for?
dream machine
rattlesnake charmed on the dance floor

love’s rage
broken page
electric lights and glass bone nights
electric lines run through your minds
distractions with radio contraptions
pipe ashes
night glasses
tick-tock
hear the wind lick the window
ignited
you’re invited
grow wings sprouting from the backbone

dream machine
mister jones you don’t know what you came for
dream machine
rattlesnake charmed on the dance floor

we are like those two mirrors steaming in the rain
oh, we are those two lovers holding each other’s hands
dream with me
dream with me
rattlesnake charmed on the dance floor