Cozy days

Autumn has hit hard these past few days. It’s been raining a lot, and when it’s not raining it’s cloudy, dark, breeze and cold. I’m looking at the window while I write this and I can’t believe the level of greyness outside.

This kind of weather just makes want to stay home with a good book, movies, hot chocolate and a lot of blankets.

This is a photo of a friend’s house. Is a little cozy corner that conveys that feeling of warmth I’m getting these days. I’ve really come to like autumn. We didn’t have it back in Venezuela and, honestly, I never thought I would enjoy it so much.

Happy autumn, everyone!

Day 4: Inspiration and admiration

Sometimes we put the cameras away. Sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back and open your eyes to the world. It’s about finding things that inspire you. It’s about looking awith different eyes to something you’ve seen a thousand times before.

Photo by Adox. Besòs, Barcelona.

We have to keep our creativity flowing by finding inspiration in everything that surrounds us. Including other people’s life and their own personal challenges. The photo above was taken my brother to hubby while clicling today. This week they decided to auto impose a challenge of doing this route everyday. They inspired me to do my own One Post a Day Challenge. So this is entry is dedicated them. To thank them for inspiring me through their own determination. It’s a great photo and a great challenge.

Thank you!

Inspirational Instagram accounts!

Instagram is my favourite social media platform. I love discovering new accounts and filling my feed with beautiful images. Browsing through it it’s a delight and an inspiration form.

I believe all artists must stay in touch with other artist’s work to learn and keep creativity flowing. That’s why I like to fill my Instagram feed with all kinds of inspiring accounts.

Here are 7 of my favorite Instagram accounts (so far!) with no specific order.

OTOMSURF 

I loved this account since I laid eyes on it. I absolutely love how clear the images are. Their simplicity, the peace they convey, the harmony of composition and colors in every shot. He also has a beautiful Tumblr page you can follow by clicking here!

COLORBUNNY

OK, if you like colorful images, this is the account you must follow right now. This feed is AMAZING! It’s a beautiful, minimalistic gradient of colors. It started with dark purple tones and the current color is orange. The coolest thing is you can submit your own photos to be featured in the colorbunny account.

CAMERONLEEANDERSON

One of the things I like the most about photography it’s the possibility to tell stories without words. And that is exactly the thing that made me love so much this Instagram account. Beyond the fact that the colors and composition of each photo are beautifully accomplished, I feel the entire feed is telling us a story. All together, or looking at each picture individually, the stories behind these shots, must be amazing.

RUNNERKIMHALL

Let’s talk about eye candy. Because that’s exactly what this Instagram feed is! If you like pastels, minimalism and dogs, runnerkimhall‘s account is a must to follow. A glaze to this feed and you’ll feel like dreaming. It’s the perfect account to brighten even the darkest day!

LITTLEUPSIDEDOWNCAKE

The simplicity and strength of each image in this feed is unbelievable. Each photo is clean, soft and beautifully composed. One of the things I like the most about littleupsidedowncake is the light. Every frame is consistent in lighting and that provides the feed a soft, peaceful feeling. I just love browsing through this account. You can also enjoy more of this account by visiting the website http://www.littleupsidedowncake.com/

—————–

I find inspiration in all these Instagram accounts. Sometimes I don’t feel very creative or just need to freshen my mind by looking other’s photographers work, and Instagram is a great place to do that. 

I love to discover new accounts every day! So if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear about them in the comments!

 

One city, many faces

One of the things I like the most about Barcelona is its life. The simple possibility of being at work at 17.00h and thirty minutes later, being at the beach sunbathing, is loveable.

I was talking about it just yesterday to a friend. It’s like living two different lives: one minute you are all dressed up in front of your laptop at work, and the next, you are drinking sangria in your bathing suit breathing sea air.

I love that. It’s a precious way to get away from routine.

I took the photo above with my Polaroid and now I keep it next to my laptop at work! But not in a sad kind of way of “why I’m I trapped here when I could be laying on the beach instead of looking to a photo of the beach” kind of way.

I have it here in an inspirational way. A reminder of the things that I love that bring me peace and calm.

I’m afraid

We are used to hearing that sadness and melancholy are the best muses. That an artist best work comes to life from corners in his mind and deep feelings of heartbreak and nostalgia.

I recently read an article in which the author advised readers to take anxiety, sadness, depression and transform them into something, into art. To express those emotions and share them with the rest of the world, rather than holding onto them and locking them inside.

There is something I know about myself. Whenever I’m going through a bad moment in my life, or when I’m feeling sad about something I shut down and stay away from photography. I’ve never taken photos when I’m in a negativa emotional state.

Never.

It’s because it scares me. I feel, somehow, I’ve put up a wall and haven’t allowed myself to knock it down and explore that side of my photography. I’m afraid of the outcome.

What would I see through my lens if I grab my camera when I’m feeling anxious?

How would I feel when I see the result?

I’m afraid that if I take this step, knock the wall down and go there I wont be able to come back.

But I also think I might discover beautiful things. That maybe I could overcome difficult times through my photography. That maybe someone out there could relate to it. That maybe I could accomplish much more as a photographer by opening the door to a part of my creativity I’ve been holding down.

Just like the most beautiful songs. The most vibrant pieces of art. The most beautiful stories. The ones that inspire, the ones that make you feel. The real ones.

Do you think this is a process every artist should go through?

Have you felt something like this?

The Beauty of the Unexpected

 

This is a quote from HunterXHunter, one of my favorite anime 🙂

Sometimes in life, for wathever reason, we’ll get detoured from the path we think leads to our goals. But, what we may not be aware of, is that in that new path we might find something greater than what we were looking for in the first place.

So, let’s enjoy the detour! Let’s embrace the unexpected and live it to the fullest.

 

Where Inspiration Comes From: Fotvik

It would be a lack of everything to try to be an artist, to try to create, to try to touch people with our work, whatever branch we dedicate ourselves to, without looking and learning from others. From those who have more experience, those who have walked a little bit more than us.

That’s why I think it took me way too long to create this space on mi blog. A space dedicate to people that inspires me with their work, with their style. Work from people that I admire some way or another.

And to inaugurate this new section on my blog I want to share and introduce you to the photographers of Fotvik.

 

Fotvik Wedding Photography

I found Fotvik through Facebook a little while after I moved to Barcelona. One of my closest friends follows them and shared a photo they posted. I automatically started following them too.

They do wedding photography. But to me, they do a very special type of wedding photography. The angles they find, the lighting they caputre, the revealing process they do… All toghether makes their photos so special, different and unique.

Here is a small gallery of their work. But please, visit their webiste and their Facebook page so you can really appreciate what they do.

I just love the softness of the colors and the appreciations of every small detail. It’s a very intimate kind of photography.

I could really spend hours going through their gallery. This kind of photography relaxes me and makes me smile. Makes me even more conviced (if possible) that this is want I wan to do. Here is a little of what Victor, from Fotvik says about being a photographer:

“I know that when I shoot my camera, I can save a bunch of memories of people lives, and that makes me excited, is pure feeling (…) To express with words what I feel about photography is hard, maybe my photos will speak much better”

And you know, before I dind’t even think about it, but since I follow their work I’ve been eager to photograph my first bride!

Making this place my home

As I’ve mentioned in older posts, I recenlty moved to Barcelona, Spain, after living all of my life in my hometown Caracas, Venezuela. Making a change like this is not easy. Deciding to move away from the place that watched you grow, from your family and your friends is very hard. However, as they say “change is good”, and due to this recent event I find myself paying more attention to phrases like “if you don’t take risks you are not doing anything”, “it’s better to try than do nothing and never know what could have been”.

So, here I am, trying! And this week Writing Challenge, comes perfect for me as I’ve been thinking a lot about sharing a song that’s helped me and inspired me through this experience. I’m talking about Phillip Phillips song “Home”.

I rembember I first listen this song after the airplane took of when my husband and I were leaving Venezuela. It made me smile. I felt inspired, excited and got this feeling that we made the right decision. I felt the words of the song spoke directly to me. Somehow I think it was meant to be that I listened this song for the first time when I did.

It’s been seven months since then. I’ve been trough a lot. It may sound very cliché, but it’s been an emotional rollercoaster.  I’ve met wonderful new people, gone to amazing places, cried my heart out, laughed till my cheeks hurt and took more photos than I’ve imagined…

Every day I try to make this place my home by adding new details to our apartament, by getting in touch with Barcelona’s culture, by getting to know more people and more places. We have basil, strawberry and aloe vera in our balcony. A purple orchid in our living room, my favorite stuffed animals from when I was a kid, a Rolling Stones magnet and six wine glasses for guests. 

When my will flinches I listen in my head the words “don’t pay no mind to the demons they fill you with fear, the trouble it might drag you down, if you get lost, you can always be found” and remember how I felt in that airplane the first time I heard this song!