Vintage cameras

Remember my last post's pictures of Paris? They inspired today's post about photography. Looking through all those pictures made me think about how and why I began taking pictures and how it turned into a passion.

The first time I held a camera in my hand it was just for fun - to take pictures of friends or places I visited, but little by little I started to be fascinated by nature, sceneries, people and I began to pay more attention to what I wanted to portray through my pictures. An old camera of my dad's, a Zenith, also did the trick - it sparked my curiosity. I must have been 13 or 14 years old at that time. Taking pictures was getting too easy for me, you just had to look through the lens, click the button and the picture was taken. With the old camera the world opened up before my eyes and I started to understand how the intricate mechanisms behind the simple click of a button worked to create the magic of a photograph. Having to do everything manually was much more interesting: adjusting the lens to the distance so that the image was clear, zoom in and out, measure the light with a "light catcher" (I have no idea how that small thing is called!) and then adjust the camera accordingly. It gave me a new sense of responsibility!

That camera marked the beginning of my passion for photography. Even though after developing the film I realized that not a single picture could be used because the camera didn't close properly where the film was stored and part of the film had been overexposed, I still wasn't discouraged and I kept on going. Here are some inspiring pictures of vintage cameras:

I guess what I wanted to say with this post was just that you don't have to be discouraged the first time something doesn't work out the way you wanted it to be, keep trying and in the end you will achieve the results you had been hoping for. I'll wrap up with some words of wisdom from world-renowned photographer Patrick Demarchelier that express exactly what I meant.

Photos: tumblr and own

Seine by night

Paris is an amazing city and I think I've probably said that every time I talk about Paris, but I'm sure you agree with me! I haven't done a travel or a photography post in a while and I've been wanting to show you these pictures for a long time. Today I'll guide you step by step through one of my favorite walks through Paris. 

Strolling along the banks of the Seine is always very relaxing, but the part of the Seine between the Louvre or the Musée d'Orsay and St Michel at dusk is simply breathtaking. The colors are incredible! At first you see the sun setting and cast its purple, red and golden reflections on the water and the surrounding buildings. Then the yellow lights of the city slowly get turned on and start shimmering in the distance up to the Eiffel Tower, only to leave way to the bluish shades that come as the night sets in. 

I love this part of the Seine, partly because it's near the Sorbonne, where I spent an amazing year of my life, but also because it's very "alive" and full of culture, architecture and style. You can pick your favorite spot: among the bouquinistes on the Orsay side of the river, selling old books, paintings and illustrations; the amazing Haussmanian style buildings; the museums (the former trainstation that hosts the Musée d'Orsay nowadays and the Louvre) or the fabulous art déco building of the Samaritaine, the chic grand magasin of the early 20th cenury. On the way towards St Michel and Ile de la Cité you also stumble upon some of the best bohemian hangouts on the Seine: Pont des Arts, where lovers attach padlocks with their names on them wishing for eternal love, always full of people and musicians and Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris with the Square du Vert Galant underneath it where people come for a quiet time in the shade or for a picnic on the banks of the river. Everything about this area is very inspiring for me! Sometimes I wish I could sit down and paint or sketch, but as far as my talent goes I guess a picture is the closest way to capture all the beauty out there.

Pont des Arts

Pont des Arts

Pont des Arts

Pont des Arts

Pont Neuf and Square du Vert Galant
(the small "peninsula" in the middle)

View of the Eiffel Tower from the Pont des Arts

Samaritaine

To be completely honest, although I just came back from a mini Paris break last week, I have to tell you that these pictures are not that recent - I took them in February and still haven't shown them to you... I hope you'll enjoy them nevertheless and for my next travel post, I promise you the pictures will be much more recent. Should I give you a hint? Think something in the lines of... what the Netherlands are famous for ;)

SkirtBike Event

Before I dive into the posts I owe you from the previous weeks, let me tell you all about an amazing event that will take place in Bucharest next Sunday, the 29th of May. It's called SkirtBike and it's an event created especially for women who enjoy riding a bike through Bucharest. Sunday will be a day for celebrating bike culture, a day when you have to put on your best skirt or dress, take your bike and join the parade in order to show people that cycling is a way of life, not just a means of transportation.

The tour will start on Sunday at 3.30 PM in Piata Revolutiei and it end up at Gradina Verona for a lemonade party. The police will be escorting the parade until Piata Victoriei. Last year's first edition was very successful despite the rain in the end and a lot of photographers were there to shoot the most interesting outfits, so go on, dress up and feel like a princess on a bike for a day!

I put together a selection of the best outfits from the previous edition. My favorite shots are of the girl in the brown hooded coat, the one in the grey dress and the stylish gentleman riding a bike with an umbrella. You can be next!

photos: SkirtBike


If you want to find out more about this event, check out the VeloBello blog or their Facebook page. I'll also add it to the Events page so that you don't forget about it until next Sunday!

Hair and makeup

I haven't been around much during these past few weeks and I'm really sorry! Things have been quite hectic around here with a huge workload at the university, family visiting twice, Easter break and maybe the most important reason why I've made myself scarce: my Mac broke down! I know it's weird to hear the words Mac and breakdown in the same sentence, but yes, it can happen and when it does, it happens in style: first the charger wouldn't charge unless the computer was turned off (which gave me a battery autonomy of about 2 hours and then about 4 hours waiting time = FRUSTRATION), then one of the hinges broke and I couldn't close the lid anymore, then the microphone stopped working (probably because the cable was cut because the hinge was broken and it pressed the cable) and of course the typical problem of a Mac Book Air got worse - the excessive heating. All in all, I got my baby back and we're ready to roll!

I had a lot of things lined up for you during these last weeks - Coachella, ad campaigns, the Chanel cruise collection at Cap d'Antibes, Karl Lagerfeld's short film for this collection, Cannes, a magazine review and something for the travel and photography section, as I've been in the mood for travelling. I'll focus on this during the next few days, to catch up, don't worry!

For today, enjoy these gorgeous pics about hair and makeup. I thought they were really inspiring! Which one is you favorite?

source: tumblr