The Year of Snowflakes

The year 2013 was my year of Snowflakes when i first tried to look into this AMAZING macro infinite ART gallery(ies). There were several days with ideal flakes and weather to sink into that Paradise. In that year i even learned about difference of falling snowflakes depending on weather conditions and also seeing for myself those different flake types in those several snow(flake) days. My challenge of course was to find the photo gear to get close enough to this snow jewelry. As i could not afford macro lens I needed to be creative with what i have ... This is some of the result from those days

I was monitoring flaky days also on previous years but there was not a chance to capture them as weather was not cold enough to keep them together as they melted away quickly.So yesterday finally (after three years) i could at least have a try, but still it was not worth to put together my "amazing" macro invention which I am adding for you to wonder upon. 
This yesterday's image was done with Sigma18-70mm lense which counts also as macro.

And here is my macro photo gear if anybody is curious:Pentax K-5 camera, Pentax adapter to screw on lens, old Soviet macro rings, Helios-44M-4 lens (of my Zenit 11 slr) and the last add on :) - 2 magnifying glasses (filter like) i squeeze in front of lens (because it can't be screwed) 
PS. Yes, i probably should try to get "today's" macro rings to replace the Soviet ones to make all this easier for future.

The hardest part is taking photos with one hand as i use other to hold a torch to light snowflake which is spotted to capture.
So, yeah - during winter of 2013 i learned some skills of capturing snowflakes, i just need to improve my gear.

Out of Casual

I am really hoping to get (back) on track with writing. Probably missing putting my thoughts somewhere. That is why I am trying to return to this Blog, - my photography journey or journal.

Somehow my words have been turned to just a photos, without much story behind, but I think "the Story behind" makes (or helps) to look at particular photo differently.

Like these images for example which I would like to share (if there even is anybody out there to read this). But even if nobody reads, I like to keep it as my journal, seeing for myself the progress I am (hopefully) making.

So, - these images are very recent - from very Casual circumstances - without planning to create some portrait Art ...

Signe - my companion (in "4TĀ DIENA" project) as I call her, asked me to help her with taking photos of fashion design label as she was involved with the designer to promote her clothing on various social media. It was also new experience for me as I never done such photos before...   Here you go ...   new things, new opportunities and hopefully some progress along the way ...

Signe that day looked very casual, even without any makeup. There was still daylight outside (background), but already getting darker, so there was light inside too, which made white balancing very difficult. I do it very rarely, but set my camera for Black & White images, saving also raw file just in case. As later doing some few contrast adjustments I was really surprised how beautiful these photos turned out - out of simplicity of the moment - out of casual...

I probably should mention that I really like simplicity and natural in portraits without hiding person (personality) behind style and all sorts of "creativity" as they call it...  
I want to see the real person, with makeup maybe emphasizing person's beauty instead of covering the real one presenting it with fake beauty. But maybe it is just my style of photography I want to keep - to keep it simple and pure.

See - this writing got something out of me - something not planed beforehand to tell, but something I have been thinking for awhile. I really do love writing. It is the way to put together thoughts which "flies around"

The very Start of "4TĀ DIENA"

4TĀ DIENA is once a week (kind of) photo project, to create Art involving people. It could be photo walks (i don't like the word "photo sessions"), could be other photo activities. I like people photography, portraits. For long time dreamed about proper portrait photography and it seems that brake through has happened. I am putting aside one day a week (kind of Thursday) for this project. I wanted to "play" with number 4, which gives word play ("For Art" and so on), but apparently in my native Latvian language it works stronger. What would be "th" for fourth, in Latvian language it makes also word THAT. So in this way future Thursdays with ART to come could become THAT DAY, that very Special Day. I am very excited about what future will bring with this project...

The Birthday of the Project was on September 25th (2014)

Yeah, intro (above) of "4TĀ DIENA" actually is taken from my FB page which is dedicated to this project, so the words "I am very excited about what future will bring" has been turned into Realities, - into numerous Photo Events which created THOSE DAYS. My heart has been filled with joys of capturing Lots of Beautiful Arty portraits, experiencing exciting Days every time i had an opportunity.

This all started with meeting Amazing Person - Signe, who inspired and encouraged me for this Project to Start and keep it going ...

and this Post kind of is dedication to this Very Start of "4TĀ DIENA" - THAT DAY when i met Signe for the first time.
Most of the photos in the slide i am adding is from that First day we met. Few at the end of the slide represent also unofficial / official Start of this Project.

"4TĀ DIENA" ART on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/4ta.diena.art

4 TĀ DIENA Playlist

4 TĀ DIENA

.....

Sooooo  many THINGS has happened this year concerning ART that i don't even know where to start...  Well actually i made myself TIME LINE of all the events, so i could write it down chronologically.

But this entry is dedicated to my Newest Photo Project - 4 TĀ DIENA (fourth Day), which basically means to devote one day a week to photo shooting and make this Day Special.

I made improvised photo studio at home as the weather outside cooled down and it is not as nice to shoot out in streets or in nature.
So for my new "studio" i made also music playlist to add to the atmosphere of the photo shooting process / experience.


 

Riga Mimes

This entry will be quite short i think, or maybe not ...
This is credit to Riga Mimes (Rīgas Pantomīma) whose Art i am following regularly.
Thanks to THEM i fell in LOVE with stage/ performance photography. Their show was my first ever try out to capture performance. Most of their shows has been for free, which also means no regulations on photography/filming. That is how i started, getting closer to Arts people. I am still nobody in photography world, so i just try to use my chances wherever i can.
This group is Good, really Good, but not many people know that. They are enthusiasts of this art, doing it mostly in their spare time. They were very popular in Soviet times and traveled quite a lot - within USSR and abroad. Nowadays probably there is too many groups, options and events for people to go and see that they (Riga mimes) just dilute in all that variety of choices. That is my theory. Plus to it - these guys don't "blow their trumpet" very loud, - don't promote themselves enough.

Yeah. Anyway. Here is some pictures from their last performance and i am excited about their new show which is on its way. 

"Polar express" or "my First SLR"

Here is my first ("one and (not)only") SLR, - bought with my own money which i earned working at my mom's working place during summer's between school holidays (and probably some other pocket and birthday money savings).

I think i was about 15 years old when i purchased it, - so it could be 1984.
Back in those days (in USSR) even cameras like these were not around in shops for long before they were bought out - as many other similar valuable things (like bicycles for example).
With this camera it was a Start of my more serious journey in photography. I loved every bit of it. Waited with expectation every film roll which i finished shooting, lets say, during a period of 2 weeks, depending on events and Season outside.

This camera have been my companion for many years, - seventeen to be precise. It is still in working condition and never failed me mechanically, although ... there was some fault with sides of frame exposure later (fault with small strip of frame).

But anyway - this camera traveled with me for some Great trips.
One of them is most memorable for me as a teenager - first ever trip behind the "Iron curtain" - dance tour to Sweden in 1986. We gave concerts for 5 weeks all around Sweden. I probably could write quite a lot about that adventure.... so i better stop. Here is one very dear picture of me from that time.

Back to my Zenit camera. 
It also proved itself in freezing weather (minus 40 C ) of Siberian winter. This probably could be my most extreme and exotic pictures i ever shot with the guy from Siberian tribe. He used to live like this itself - in tepee, but this particular image shows a family he knew and brought us to see them. 
This area of Russia was closed in Soviet times, meaning only classified people (with permissions) could visit that town (Salekhard). No tourists could go there. In that area outside the town, - particularly were we went to meet that family was also a place where former Soviet Gulag was located. Those political prisoners were building railway to practically nowhere - to North Pole (Stalin's idea). As i was writing i thought of "Polar express", but yes....
Basically it was way to kill those people and that railway was literally built on human bones.
When railway later was dismantled somebody had an idea to leave one section (i think the last one) of railway line as a monument to commemorate those who died there.  

My "Tall Ships" experience

I wanted to post one picture (with the tall ship) on G+ and ended up with writing whole story about my experience around that Event.

It is definitely one of the Events of year 2013 worth mentioning, including it also as one of my photographic highlights of the year, although there is still lots of photos to sort. The gallery probably was not finished because there were no dancers with me this time to make it more interesting :)

 

... so here comes the Story

The Tall Ships Races 2013 in Riga last summer was Event of a decade. It happened exactly 10 years ago for the first time. This time there were crowds and crowds of people. It was spectacular and most definitely Event worth seeing. I remember 10 years ago - i had my film camera, but did not take that many pictures, - just a few.

This time of course everyone was out with all kinds of their digital "anything" to capture the beautiful and Majestic voyagers of the Seas.

Last evening before ships leaving… (sounds poetic  :)  )  i was one of that crowd also. I was with my family (not alone), so i felt bad to take more pictures than i wanted (it was also very easy to loose each other in that crowd), so i decided to wake up early next morning to come to the harbour. I was quite excited about the thought and woke up 4.30 am without alarm, which was set for 5.00. Cycled to the harbour in half an hour and enjoyed freshness of a beautiful morning of summer day. It was as i expected, - the Majestic Sailors of the Seas having some rest from millions of eyes which drew their attention during the days while they were harbouring Riga.

There was just technical personnel - re-establishing harbour fence which was taken away for the Event and some supply cars for the ships.

Sun was not even woken above horizon as i was starting to “shoot” the giants. My heart was leaping, i felt like a boy which enjoys something new, exciting. I was happy also that i overtook my laziness to wake up and leave my bed.

The day was Sunday.

After my glorious morning, i arrived home just in time for our breakfast.

I decided also to not lose opportunity to say goodbyes to the ships as they will sail out of Riga harbour. Well…. that decision was quite costly...

I decided to cycle to the Seaside as well hoping to see the ships as they will sail out into the Sea. I did not expect that kind of CROWD which i saw - cars streaming there, jamming the traffic. On a way to the Sea roads were so packed that even with bicycle was hard to cycle in places. Nearer the Sea i made a shortcut through forest road which was quite sandy. Many people walked there too. At one point i decided to head for the Sea turning of that forest road and heading towards Sea through the woods hoping that i will be close enough to see the ships from a distance to enjoy them. It was quite surreal to be absolutely on my own for about half an hour till i finally found the way out to the dunes. I discovered that i am still quite far from the pier but i already was so tired by then that i gave up my perseverings. So i just stayed at the same dune which i came out to the Sea and watched from a distance….

This picture from the view of ships leaving is probably one of my best tryings to not go home empty with the effort which i made to get there.

If you look more intently you can notice that there is two ships merged together, which looks very good and interesting, enriching the view.

It is because of this particular picture, that this Story came into being. I worked on it just couple days ago. It was put aside for some while as potential art work, seeing it in my mind Vintagized and this is the outcome result.
It was good for me (in my mind) to go back to those summer days and call back the feelings.