Photo*Friday - A Folk Tale

Finally!!! Here are the results from my first photo shoot in 2011! I was shooting for a school project, one of the stylist students' folk assignment. We used Hungarian folk garments such as the vest and the headpiece and chose a Danish Interior Design store as the location to highlight the contrast between modern and folk. (and if you were wondering we just went in and asked if could come in to take shots for a few hours and they said yes... easy breezy :) My single flash broke down after the first 5 minutes so I did what a photographer should never ever do during a photoshoot... I used my camera's internal flash. I'm not saying this is my best work ever, but considering that we had one hour to shoot, a normal girl with no modeling experience and no flash, these are not so bad after all. What do you think? :)

Oh and thank you so much for crossing your fingers for me last week. I just got an email from the Berlin photo school and I got in! :) Now let's celebrate with some shooting, shall we? I have two beauty shots lined up for today and two other folk shoots over the weekend! I hope you'll also have a weekend doing something that you truly love! :) Kisses Babes!

 

The Most Awkward Outfit Post

 {Scarf & tights - H&M, Boots - Zara, Cardi - Mango, Dress - ASOS, Watch - Michael Kors}

I was feeling really really bad for being such a bad bad blogger girl and not posting any outfit posts for such a long time, so I decided to snap some when I got home from my photo shoot last night. (My  first pregnancy shot, cannot wait to show you the results! :D) Well... to start with, for wanting to be a photographer these are technically the worst pictures ever, but aside that.... they are the most awkward as well. Since we are doing the long distance thing with AC until I move to Berlin, there is noone to take pictures of me and as I don't  even have a tripod yet I'm pretty much stuck at our temp home which possibly has the worst lighting and atmosphere ever. Not that I'm blaming the circumstances though.... smiling by yourself to a camera in the middle of the night is the MOST AWKWARD thing ever (and it gets worse when I don't smile.... )! I don't know how you girls can do it... so many amazing blogger chics out there taking pics by themselves with a natural smile on their face... ahhhhhhh jealousy is a b**ch! I just feel so silly, need to get better in this... any tips? :)

On another note I broke one of my own fashion rules. I never ever thought I'd wear something with a leo print. It's just so not me.... but guess what... since I bought this scarf I cannot take it off! I feel such a badass diva wearing it, it's seriously addictive! Maybe I'll be brave enough for a pair of cute leo ballerinas this spring?

Travel Questions

Last week Tiffany from Wandering Airstream made a lil' Q&A with me (thanks girl! :D) with loads of exciting travel questions! This is certainly a topic I get asked about a lot so I thought I'd share my responses with you all ;) (with some never before seen images and real vintage shots! :D) So here it comes... all your travel related questions answered (feel free to formspring me if you have any more!)

1. When did your love of travel begin?

Hmm… at birth???  Since I can remember the only thing I wanted to do is travel the world. I used to go to travel shows, collect the info packs, cutout pictures and plan my dream vacations.  I spent my first salary on a plane ticket and even these days there is hardly a month when I don’t go somewhere at least for a weekend. It’s also fair to say that most of my friends are abroad and my boyfriend’s family lives in Italy so most of the time I travel to visit someone I know.

2. You have lived in 4 countries.. how has adjusting to cultural differences been?

Different in each country. In the Netherlands I was a student surrounded by other international students, so there was no cultural shock. In Spain it was easy breezy, I love the country, the people, the culture, and I spoke the language when I moved there which helped a lot. Germany was different… much harder.
The people are more reserved and harder to warm up to. I’m just in the process of moving back (from Hungary) and while I was not thrilled at first, I am becoming excited again. Now that I speak the language, have some friends, and a new goal (to become a photographer), things will be easier I hope!

 3. When living abroad, what did you find you missed most about “home”?

Food!!!!! Sure I really missed my family as well, but we talk on the phone and skype a lot, while unfortunately there is no substitute for my favorite dishes.

4. Of the 20+ countries you have visited what are some of your favorites and why?

Spain is one of my absolute favorite countries. It’s really hard to define why… I just love the weather, the people, the smell in the air, the easy going attitude… I hope I’ll have the chance to live there one day!
My favorite vacation has been to Zanzibar, Tansania. Untouched paradise!!! While I was fortunate enough to visit some amazing countries like Egypt, Thailand or Tunisia I find that the usual vacation spots are spoiled by scammers and by the abundance of tourists. In Zanzibar I really felt like I had landed in another world and could get a glimpse into a whole different life. It’s breathtakingly beautiful and I advise everyone to go before the rest of the world discovers its beauties!

 5. Have you found more differences or similarities in people as you travel the world?

Difficult question. I think more similarities! I have danced with masai soldiers to the Macarena, which has highlighted that at the end of the day, we are all the same. We all drink Coke and dance to the same music! Not that I’m crazy for the idea that one day globalization will take over and masai soldiers will dress the same as the Western World. It might sound a bit cliche but the beauty of traveling is seeing different things and meeting different people. I hope that we’ll be able to preserve what’s unique in the different countries and cultures for the next generations. It would be a shame not to.

6. What have you experienced in your foreign travels that you don’t see as being prevalent in the United States?

Well, I don’t live in the States but I guess Western culture can be brought under one umbrella…and my answer is appreciation. People in developing countries can appreciate and be thankful for the smallest of things. Our consumerized world has no appreciation for things anymore, we want more, we want better, and we are never satisfied. One of my new years resolutions is to appreciate the little things!

7. What travel tips can you share that you have learned?

Planning and organization is key. Be prepared, read articles about the place where you’re traveling, and know what you want to see or do, otherwise you can easily get overwhelmed.
Also, book well in advance to save a ton of money!

8. You recently shared on your blog that you took the leap of leaving your job to pursue your love of photography…
Do you plan to travel just as much while pursuing this, or are you taking a break from travel?

The answer is that I’m planning to travel more!  I’m hoping to become a photographer without borders! My absolute dream would be to have my own little business where I’d do travel photography all over the world for magazines and websites and I’d do wedding and portrait photography all over Europe.
Plane tickets within Europe are very cheap so I don’t think it would make my services too expensive, in fact I think I’ll be able to offer more affordable rates than if someone would have hired a local photographer in let’s say France, or the UK.

9. What places are on your must-visit list that you haven’t crossed off yet?

Too many to list! The number one on my list is New York right now. I cannot believe that I’ve never been! I’d also love to travel to South America, especially to Brazil and Argentina and I’m really interested in Indonesia and Japan as well.

10. Do you ever plan to travel the U.S. extensively?

I’ve had a road trip with my family for 5 weeks in the US. We started in Phoenix, Arizona and we made our way through San Diego, LA, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Yellowstone Park, Bryce Canyon and The Grand Canyon. It was truly one of the most exciting trips of my life! However I’m an East Coast virgin which I’m hoping to change soon!

11. A popular question we get asked is how we can afford to take off and travel full-time. Although your travel is not full-time it does require a great deal of airfare, and concentrated spending, do you have tips on how to country hop like you do on a budget?

Traveling within Europe is really cheap these days. With low-cost airlines such as Ryanair, Easyjet or Wizzair I hardly pay more than 100 euro for my return tickets. I normally stay with friends or family which eliminates the accomodation costs. I usually only have one or two bigger trips in a year for which I save up.  What I really want to start doing in the future is home swapping (like in The Holiday) so if anyone is interested in a trip to Berlin, let me know and let’s swap! I have friends who have done it and they had an amazing experience. I really believe home swapping is the future of traveling on a budget, as I’d personally rather stay in nice homes than boring, ugly, hotel rooms.

12. Parting words of wisdom???

Life is not measured by the number of steps we take, but by the places and faces that take our breathe away!

Let the DETOX begin!

Did you have "live healthier" on your new year resolution list? Are you nodding widely right now? Thought so! ;) It's time to get started ladies, it's time to jump on that health bandwagon  again!  If you've been a long time follower you know that detoxing is something I do several times a year and as  I have received a lot of questions and emails on how I usually do it, I decided to share some more details with you this time. 

I always try different methods, but the end results is always the seem.... I feel accomplished, healthy, radiant and lighter. Keeping with my new year resolutions (point 2) today I'm starting my biggest detox ever! :) 

This time I'll be combining several different methods that I tested in the past and have proven to work for me. I'm not saying it would work for anyone, but in all honesty, if you're disciplined (and i know it's damn hard sometimes!) I just don't see how it wouldn't... so here are the specs. 

 {Image credit: 1, 2, 3, 4}

My two week detox will consist of two different phases. In the first week, (starting today) I'm going on a liquid/soup diet. I actually decided to order from a delivery service specialized in healthy diet and detox. The daily menu, which consists of 4 different kind of soups and 2liters of detox lemonade will be delivered to my doorstep for less than what I'd normally spend on food on an average day. However, you do not need a food service to do this kind of a detox. There are thousands of healthy soup recipes out there and with a little planning and research you can make your own healthy soups, just avoid any recipes including pasta (or any carbs) or cream and use a lot of fresh veggies and fruits (oh yes, fruit soups are the best! have you ever tried one? :)

 {Image credit: 1, 2, 3, 4}

In the second phase, in week 2, I'll switch to a raw food diet eating only fruits, veggies and seeds. :) I'll keep you update on how it goes and will post my meals on twitter for anyone who's interested.

January is still not over and I feel like my body needs a fresh start badly! Anyone wants to join me? :)

Portfolio

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

At the moment of posting this I'm sitting in the Neue Schule fur Fotografie in Berlin, applying for their 2-year photography program to continue my studies. I'm presenting my portfolio with the images in this preso. To be honest I'm quite proud of how far I've come in only a few short months. I have to laugh when I look at the portfolio I presented on my application interview in Budapest. What a difference 4 months makes!  I never would have thought that it would come so easily and naturally. You really need to be brave and go for your dreams, don't you!? OK, enough self absorbed glitter fest. Keep your fingers crossed for me and have a wonderful Saturday! :D