Last Days in London...

Well, this is it.  All of my London archives have been revised, edited anew, and posted here.  These images are taken during my last weeks and days in London before we moved to the States.  They are  quite random and quite precious - although I was eager to start anew I truly liked the city and I still miss it sometimes.  This is where I learned to light-hunt!  

The still life macros shown here are barely retouched - the quality of light in London was almost always perfect as the sun was filtered in the most exquisite way through the clouds.  Also, favorite images from Oxford Circus, Tower Bridge, the Tube, the South Bank and St. Paul's, Market Place, and a snapshot from the only time I rode in a Black Cab.

Enjoy!

Life As It Happens

I think I got hooked on photography because it compliments my obsession with documenting life so well.  I like to witness how events unfold - be them big and important or just everyday - and I like to keep them.  They remind me that I am still here, still a part of things, still alive to experience them and awake enough to appreciate them.

Last weekend we met with our Bulgarian friends up in Burlingame.  We had crepes, walked about downtown, and watched our kids hold hands and play together.  What a lovely way to be!

As you can see, the bright California sunshine is back and it makes it very hard to take any photos past 10 am.  I ventured into it nevertheless, and despite that being out and about with kids made it ridiculously complicated to compose the shots properly.

Enjoy!

P.S.The last couple of images I took at home after we came back.  Shelby really wanted to go out and plop in the back yard in this gorgeous weather.  Also, I really need to take some selfies against the backdrop of the red-leafed tree there.

 

Thanksgiving Part One: Carmel by the Sea

This Thanksgiving, as per our tradition, we went on a small road trip down south to the Monterey Peninsula, and we stopped at Carmel Beach to admire the Pacific for a bit.  It was already high noon by the time we got there and the sun was blinding, but we made the most of it.  The salty wind is always so refreshing, and Johnny just kept leaping towards the ocean, saying "BIG WA-WA! BIG WA-WA!" over and over again.  

Brighton by the Sea

In 2010, our last year in London, John and I decided that we must visit as many places in England and Europe as we could before we moved back to the States.  Our budget didn't allow much, but we made it work and we did travel, and looking back now I even envy my old self a bit.

We spent a long weekend in Brighton and we had a great time.  Brighton is one of those super party-oriented English towns and at night drunk and yelling people practically flooded the scene.  It was crazy in an awesome kind of way, though we didn't join the celebrations but just observed them from the safety of our hotel windows, convinced that they were a huge part of the tourist appeal of Brighton, along with its pebbled beaches, the Pier, and the Royal Pavillion.  

Here are some images from that trip.  I am particularly fond of the memories of the sunset the first night - there was this rainbow cloud in the sky, a magical air and light phenomenon.  Enjoy!

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.

~ C.S. Lewis

I found those images in my backup files - they were taken in Lovech, Bulgaria back when I still used to shoot in jpeg.  Too bad, because even though I have spent maybe 1/3 of my life in this little town, I have never managed to capture clearer reflections of the Baroque Houses and the Covered Bridge in the Osam river.  Everything about this makes me so happy, the smooth as mirror surface of the water, the sunset light, and the pigeon flock frozen mid-flight.  I think I actually shoo-ed them to make them take off that day...!  In fact, I love these so much I made a special tag for them :)

Gosh, I miss Lovech.