Bokeh, vol. 1

(zapis v slovenščini je spodaj)

Interestingly enough, I couldn't find the definition of the word bokeh in almost any dictionary. I was looking, not because I wouldn't know what it means but just out of curiosty. And so that I could paste it here. Finally, I did find it in the Oxford dictionary online:

• bokeh (noun, origin: Japanese): The visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens.

The term comes from the Japanese word "boke" which means "blur". (Thank you, Wikipedia)

And so I decided to try it out. An endless number of tutorials can be found online but the basic idea is simple. The thing I wanted to try out is to make a custom-shaped bokeh. And well, one of the easiest shapes to cut out, but also one of the cutest, is a little heart. And that's what Kristina did! 

All you need is a piece of paperboard and some good scissors. Again, there are probably millions of tutorials on the web so I'm just gonna show you how my little paperboard "cap" looked like. You want to make sure it goes tightly around your lens...

The best lenses for bokeh experiments are prime lenses but as I don't have one (yet), my 18-55mm had to suffice. The important thing is that your aperture is as wide open as possible. And of course the focus has to be manual so you can shoot with the blurry effect. 

I was in my room, I turned off the main light and used some flower-shaped colorful lights I bought when I was studying in France (OK, I know this is not really important for the story...). Any kind of Christmas lights will do. Curious about the result? Here it is:

I know it's far from being perfect but hey, it was my first attempt. I also didn't have very good scissors to cut out the heart so you can see the rough edges on the picture. I then tried it without the paperboard "cap" and I must say I find the results even better!

Next time I'll try out something more complicated! Stay tuned.

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Zanimivo, ko sem iskala razlago za besedo "bokeh" v angleških slovarjih, je skoraj nikjer nisem našla. Pa ne zato, ker ne bi vedela, kaj pomeni, ampak zgolj iz radovednosti. In da bi jo potem lahko prilepila sem. V slovenskih slovarjih se je niti nisem trudila iskati. Potem pa sem jo le zasledila v Oxfordovem slovarju na spletu. Bokeh je termin, ki izvira iz japonske besede "boke" (zamegljen, moten), pomeni pa predel fotografije (tudi način fotografiranja), ki ni izostren, s čimer fotografiji damo nek poseben čar. Lahko je cela neizostrena, lahko pa samo del nje. 

Na spletu je neskončno število navodil in "tutorialov", ki opisujejo, kako se tega lotimo, in že sam vpis besede bokeh v Google nam postreže s številnimi primeri. Pa sem se odločila, da poskusim še jaz. Želela sem narediti bokeh posebnih oblik, ki ga dosežemo, če na objektiv fotoaparata namestimo kartonasto "čepico", v katero smo izrezali poljubno obliko. Jaz sem se za začetek odločila za srček, ker ga je najlaže izrezati, pa še ...srčkan je. Poskrbela sem, da se je tesno prilegal objektivu.

Najboljši objektivi za bokeh eksperimentiranje so fiksni, recimo 50 mm objektivi, ki omogočajo široko odprto zaslonko, ampak ker sama takega (še) nimam, je moral zadostovati moj 18-55 mm objektiv. Pomembno je le, da sem kar se da odprla zaslonko, in seveda nastavila na ročno ostrenje, da sem potem lahko "škljocala" pri neizostreni sliki.

Bil je večer, v sobi sem ugasnila vse luči, razen majhnih lučk v obliki rožic, ki sem si jih kupila med študijem v Franciji (vem, za zgodbo povsem nepomemben podatek). V poštev pač pridejo kakršne koli božične lučke, ki jih dajemo decembra na smrečice. Vas zanima rezultat? Tadam!

Vem, da rezultat še zdaleč ni popoln, ampak to je bil šele moj prvi poskus! Poleg tega nisem imela prav dobrih majhnih škarij, zato lahko na srčkih zgoraj vidite neravne in nazobčane robove. Poskusila sem fotografirati še brez kartonaste "čepice" in nazadnje mi je bilo to skoraj bolj všeč kot srčki.

Naslednjič bom poskusila izvesti še kaj bolj zakompliciranega!

Pour faire le portrait d'un oiseau

Fotografija in poezija, z roko v roki. Pred nekaj dnevi sem prebirala knjige na knjižni polici v svoji sobi in našla eno, ki mi jo je nekoč podarila mami. V njej je zbirka pesmi Jacquesa Préverta v dveh jezikih. Vsaka pesem je objavljena v francoskem originalu, ob njej pa prevod v italijanščini. Poesie d'amore e libertà je njen naslov. Spomnim se, da mi jo je mami kupila, ker sem vedno govorila, da moram obnoviti svoje zarjavelo znanje italijanščine. In ni boljšega kot to storiti skozi poezijo!

In potem sem pregledovala slike, ki sem jih posnela na mini izletu v Grožnjanu. Ko sem zagledala tole, sem se nemudoma spomnila na eno od Prévertovih pesmi. Tu je, v originalu in italijanščini. V angleščini jo lahko preberete tukaj, v slovenščini je pa na spletu ne najdem ... Na srečo pa fotografije ne potrebujejo prevodov.

(To je zdaj prav taka objava, ki se pritiče ljubitelju jezikov in (wannabe) poliglotu, kot sem jaz.)

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Photography and poetry go so beautifully together, don't they... A few days ago, I was going through the books in my room and I found one my mum gave me as present a while ago. It's a collection of Jacques Prévert's poetry in two languages. Each poem is published in the French original with an Italian translation beside it. Poesie d'amore e libertà is the title. I remember my mum bought it for me because I was always saying I needed to renew my rusty knowledge of Italian. And what better way to do that! 

And then... I was going through the pictures I took during my little trip to Grožnjan, Croatia. When I saw this one, I immediately remembered one of Prévert's poems. Here it is, in the original and in Italian. In English, you can find it here. Luckily, photos need no translation.

(Now this is an exemplary post done by a language lover and a (wannabe) polyglot that I am.)

Pour faire le portrait d'un oiseau À Elsa Henriquez Peindre d'abord une cage avec une porte ouverte peindre ensuite quelque chose de joli quelque chose de simple quelque chose de beau quelque chose d'utile pour l'oiseau placer ensuite la toile contre un arbre dans un jardin dans un bois ou dans une forêt se cacher derrière l'arbre sans rien dire sans bouger... Parfois l'oiseau arrive vite mais il peut aussi bien mettre de longues années avant de se décider Ne pas se décourager attendre attendre s'il le faut pendant des années la vitesse ou la lenteur de l'arrivée de l'oiseau n'ayant aucun rapport avec la réussite du tableau Quand l'oiseau arrive s'il arrive observer le plus profond silence attendre que l'oiseau entre dans la cage et quand il est entré fermer doucement la porte avec le pinceau puis effacer un à un tous les barreaux en ayant soin de ne toucher aucune des plumes de l'oiseau Faire ensuite le portrait de l'arbre en choisissant la plus belle de ses branches pour l'oiseau peindre aussi le vert feuillage et la fraîcheur du vent la poussière du soleil et le bruit des bêtes de l'herbe dans la chaleur de l'été et puis attendre que l'oiseau se décide à  chanter Si l'oiseau ne chante pas c'est mauvais signe signe que le tableau est mauvais mais s'il chante c'est bon signe signe que vous pouvez signer Alors vous arrachez tout doucement une des plumes de l'oiseau et vous écrivez votre nom dans un coin du tableau.

Per fare il ritratto di un uccello A Elsa Henriquez Per prima cosa dipingere una gabbia che abbia la porta aperta quindi dipingere qualcosa di grazioso qualcosa che sia semplice qualcosa che sia bello qualcosa di utile per l'uccello mettere poi la tela contro un albero in un giardino in un bosco o in una foresta nascondersi dietro quell'albero senza dire niente e senza muoversi... Talvolta l'uccello arriva svelto ma può anche metterci anni e anni prima che si decida Non scoraggiarsi aspettare aspettare se occorre anche per anni la rapidità o la lentezza dell'arrivo dell'uccello non ha nulla a che fare con la riuscita del quadro Quando l'uccello arriva se arriva osservare il silenzio più assoluto aspettare che l'uccello entri nella gabbia e quando l'avrà fatto  richiudere dolcemente la porta col pennello e poi cancellare una per una tutte le sbarre avendo cura di non toccare le piume dell'uccello Fare a questo punto il ritratto dell'albero scegliendo il suo ramo più bello per l'uccello dipingere allora il fogliame verde e la freschezza del vento il pulviscolo del sole il rumore degli insetti nascosti nell'erba nella calura estiva poi aspettare che l'uccello abbia voglia di mettersi a cantare Ma se non canta è un gran brutto segno è segno che il quadro è venuto male ma se canta è invece un buon segno segno che il lavoro va firmato E quindi voi strapperete con grande dolcezza  a quell'uccello una sua piuma  e scriverete il vostro nome in un angolo del quadro. (trad. M. Cucchi & G. Raboni)

It's all about sweets! / Raj za sladkosnede

Včeraj sem svoj fotoaparat peljala na izlet v Koper, kjer je cel konec tedna potekal festival Sladka Istra in kjer so se mize in stojnice šibile pod zvrhanimi košarami, pladnji, krožnički in skledami čokolade, muffinov, potice, piškotov, pralinejev, tortic, pit, sladoleda ... brez konca in kraja. Seveda nisem mogla ostati doma in sem svojo sladkosnedost nagradila za tri mesece nazaj in še za tri naprej! Malo sem sicer pogrešala izbor domačih, ne-umetelnih, tradicionalno slovenskih sladic. Ponudba je bila namreč precej na visokem nivoju. Pa kljub temu nisem ostala lačna, neskromno priznam. Zmagovalca mojega popoldneva sta bila refoškov sladoled (resnično je imel okus po refošku!) in čokoladni pralineji z bučnimi semeni in bučnim oljem (bravo Prekmurci!). Kaj bi še izgubljala besede, ko pa se vam lahko sline bolj pocedijo ob pogledu na katero od sličic.

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Yesterday, I took my camera on a trip to Koper to the “Sweet Istria” festival where tables and stands were covered in baskets, plates and bowls full of chocolate, muffins, pralines, cakes, pies, ice cream... A never ending story. Of course I couldn’t stay at home and I took my sweet tooth and rewarded it for three months back and forth. I kind of missed homemade, not-so-fancy traditional Slovenian sweets though. The offer was quite posh. But I did not stay hungry, I admit. The winners of my afternoon were refosco ice cream (it actually tasted like refosco wine!) and chocolate pralines with pumpkin seeds and pumpkin oil (very well done, dear visitors from Prekmurje!). I feel like there is no use in writing anymore, I think I can make your tummies scream by posting some of the photos, am I right?

 

Refoškov sladoled. Refosco ice cream.

Moji zmagovalci. My winners.

#StandUpAgainstDepression

It was a perfectly normal Monday evening. I scrolled through my Instagram account and there I see it. One of the people I follow there published a photo of him saying RIP Robin. I... What?!?
I open a news website and I find out it's not a stupid distasteful prank. I wish it was. Robin Williams, the one actor I can really say I grew up with, watching his films, anything from Hook and Mrs Doubtfire to Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting. It shocked me. He was one of the few actors that you cannot usually find in gossip magazines and yellow pages. No. He was greater than that.

And it made me think. So many of Williams' movies were comedies. Comedies that were supposed to make people laugh. He could certainly do that. And yet, he was suffering from depression. Seems like a paradox. Did anybody know that? I didn't. Not before it was too late and I found out he committed suicide. I mean, it's not like I could have helped him. It's just... Why doesn't anybody talk about it? Are people really more interested in the fact that Kim Kardashian published 1,200 selfies on her recent visit to Thailand? Really? How much do you know about depression?

And I thought of the movie Mrs Doubtfire. Maybe this movie is supposed to be a comedy (or at least a part of it) but can anyone remember Robin Williams' eyes in it?? When he realizes he cannot spend more time with his children. There was such a profound sadness in those blue eyes. I don't know, maybe I am imagining stuff but I believe that as good as he was in making people laugh, he was just as good in making people cry. Be it because of too much laughing or because of a simple look in his eyes. At least if I am speaking about myself.

And then I spoke to a friend of mine who was also shocked by Robin Williams' death and consequently decided to do something in order to stand up against depression, at least an attempt so we could discuss it more and not keep it a taboo. So I, too, decided to make a post about it. Anybody can follow and anybody can join the cause, post something on so many social media channels, anything.

Let this be in the honour of this great actor that Robin Williams was but also a message of hope for those who are struggling with depression. #StandUpAgainstDepression

Through the rice fields of Sa Pa accompanied by amazing local women

Tourism and Community Development

Who is a traveller? Is it someone who passionately collects memories and photos from distant places? Or is it someone who passionately collects travel miles...

But what are the consequences of travelling? Not for your soul, your wallet or your hard drive exploding with photographs. For the people, the ones who live there, yes, in the country, region or village you visited. I am wondering what impact tourism has on local people.

There must be examples of a good impact. I can think of one. When I visited Vietnam, I was amazed by the beauty of the people and the landscape in Sa Pa in the very north of the country. The region is home to numerous ethnic minorities who still live in a very traditional way. Do not be bothered if they have mobile phones or Facebook profiles. They are still dressed in traditional clothes, they speak their own languages and have their own beliefs.

The faces of Sa Pa women.

I went for an organised trekking around the rice fields and our guide was one of these women. With colourful clothes and long black hair, I found her really beautiful. The scenery we walked through was breathtaking. Green rice fields, hildren running around barefoot, riding water buffalos... And the whole time while walking we were accompanied by a dozen of women who spoke English surprisingly well and were telling us stories from their lives.

The nature in Sa Pa.

And I started thinking. This is such a wonderful way of including locals into the tourism business. They can be such an inspiration. We can learn from them and hopefully, they can learn something good from us.

Women have an important role there. Many tribes are matriarchal and often, it is women who ask the man in marriage and children take on the surname of the mother. They seem so strong and full of energy and they all have these amazing smiles on their faces. All. The. Time. With the rising flow of tourists visiting Sa Pa, they very quickly learn English and start making scarves, pillowcases, bags, clothes and jewellery with traditional patterns that they try to sell. They work from dawn to dusk and they never complain. THEY are the very example of powerful women.

Those women!

At the end of the day these women offered us the products they made and I couldn’t find a better way to thank them and encourage them to keep going than buying some things. Which, by the way, I really liked and still use today. Buying original products directly from the ones who produce them makes you avoid potential scammers whose only goal is to exploit these people and make money for themselves. I will never forget these women and I am happy I was able to contribute a tiny little bit so they can go on with their lives. But the impact they had on me was even bigger. If nothing else, I now think twice before I complain about anything.

Laughter is their everyday companion.

*This is a blog post for the WTD Blogger Competition on this year’s WTD theme “Tourism and Community Development”. Feel free to comment and share!