photos | stuffed mice

that was October / directions

By: marta

15-12-2011

i can’t believe it’s been over two months since i took these. at The Barn, Annouchka, asked me for some photos for her website. she is a theatre director and needed something casual, headshots and maybe something less obvious. The Barn is a respite and, despite having been there as a photography teacher, i really wasn’t up for working-working. so i grabbed my reflector, asked for some help and decided to make it quick. it was a good exercise as after 20 minutes of shooting i realized one very important thing: when pre-visualizing, my first choice is classic portraiture, usually black and white. and when i was retouching these (among others) photos of Annouchka i decided: time to move away from this tendency of mine. let’s see what happens next.

happy halloween!

By: marta

31-10-2011

All, photos

boo! the above photos were taken in Paris last year. naturally, i have been too busy to even bother with uploading them. so strange. so many photos are just sitting on my computer, as if they stopped existing the moment they were taken. after all, it’s all about the process. especially with photographing for fun, not for work.

anyway. hope your halloween is scary and fun. today i saw kids trick-or-treating around. for the first time ever – no, serious. i was mesmerized and just stood there, gaping. a second or two more and one of those dressed up as witches mothers would have thought me a pervert and treated to a proper beating with a broom.

other than that, life’s been fast and furious. i’m still getting used to having so little time or no time at all. to relax, i met Marta in Bristol where we talked for hours and managed to eat the infamous royal falafels. there’s nothing like a great person and a great city combination.

and yes, i’m getting kind of crazy about christmas this year. but that’s another blog post.

coming and going. visiting roles and places. getting to know somebody better.

By: marta

13-10-2011

All

these three sentences would be enough for me. but for you?

i went to The Barn again. this time, not only as a retreatant but also as a photography teacher. i learnt a lot from my students. from the impatient ones, how to give clear instructions and explain that every second of frustration is good, as it makes one grow that tiny little bit more. from the hard-working ones, how to push them even further, not spoil with admiration but motivate with sometimes apparently harsh criticism. from the funny ones, about the importance of travelling light, conceptually that is. from the wise ones, about the holy grail: one’s own message, a story to be told.

and then i visited Vienna. a place that reminds me of Poznan, i don’t know why, it just does. after cultivating careless looks the week before, this was a time for formal clothes and uncomfortable shoes. a business trip of sorts. high on baked carbs, ice cream and that great coffee they make (and what a beautiful name they have for it – melange!), i couldn’t be bothered with sightseeing. the usual hotel antisocial behaviour kicked in, too: watching tv in the evenings. like i really cared about politics in Poland or the Jackson trial. oh, well. today i realized that i’d like to visit Vienna again. who knows, maybe even soon.

in Vienna, i saw my brother and it was important. for both of us. i also saw Martina, a friend i met at The Barn last year. she’s one of those people who make me feel calm, just like that. you know that feeling when you could trust somebody with your life even when you don’t know each other well? that feeling was present throughout my meeting with Martina. we talked a lot, spent a day together and i realized what a huge joy it is, to simply share a day with a friend, reach all those moments – awkwardness, tiredness, fun, fascinating conversation, planning, creating ideas – that get you closer. it seems such a luxury in my grown up life.

what was, was.
now is now.
so much to do. but for some reason i’m feeling uninspired. although i know that it all comes from within, i’m looking around, in search of some light i could travel to. yes, how sentimental of me.