50mm trips

The winter in Norway is beautiful. I was in Norway from November 2006 till February 2007. I was in the southern part of Norway, nearby Drammen. The neighborhood was really nice and when the snow came, the landscapes were impressive. The days were short and dark and it was difficult to make a nice pictures with my compact camera. Some of the photos you can see below.  I would like to see Norway again in the winter and in the summer, but if I visited Norway again I would go to the northern part of the land.  Have you ever been to Norway? Do you want to travel to this beautiful country?

Śnieżka is the highest peak in Karkonosze Mountains. It's  a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. I visited the peak in summer 2006 and here are some photos I took during my trip. 

Honestly said I don't like winter. There is a lot of reasons why I don't like it. First of all it's COLD. I'm usually in bad mood when I'm cold. The days are shorter in the winter and I need more sleep, that means I have less time for other activities e.g. reading books or practicing yoga. There isn't a lot of sun so I don't spend a lot of time outside and I have less energy. Besides it's much more difficult to get out of the bed in the winter, when there is still dark outside.  I don't like to wear a lot of clothes and I don't like thick clothes because I'm than not flexible enough and I can't move freely. I hate wearing beanie but I have to, otherwise I get pain in my ears.  Is there really nothing in the winter I like? Yes there is. There are snow and icy air. In fact when I lived in Poland the winters were not so bad. I had a lot of fun with snow and a liked the white landscapes. But winters in The Nederlands are terrible. The te...

Today close-up photos from 2006 and some questions: Does taking a photos relax you? Does it give you an energy? What do you think about photography as a kind of meditation?

Today I would like to write something about close-up and macro. Macro photography is my favorite photography technique. In 2005 I took my first close-up photos with a compact camera, using macro mode. The results you can see below. I like to shoot close-up and macro and I like to look at the macro photos. I like the flora the most. For me almost every plant is a real beauty. In a plant world you can find so many shapes and colors. Hardly any picture is the same. It's very exciting that we can come close to the object and see details which are not visible to the naked eye. If you want to shoot macro you need to slow down, focus, prepare and think about the setting. Taking macro requires patience, but it can be very relaxing. It can be even a kind of meditation. Unfortunately I don't have a macro lens for my reflex camera. If I wanted to have a new objective, I would definitely buy a macro lens. And one day I will...

From June till October 2005 I did a summer work. For this work a had to travel a lot in the Warmia-Masuria Province. During this time I took a lot of pictures. This time I show you some landscape photos, next time I will show you my first macro photos. Do you like to travel for your work? What kind of work do you like the most?

Here are some photos made at the Baltic Sea in 2005, in the cities Gdańsk and Ustka. The photos were taken in the winter time. I like the sea at this season, when there are not many people. The sound of the sea is ideal for relax, concentration and meditation. The sound of water can help you fall asleep. I put usually the sound of nature on before sleep. I use the Insight Timer, very good application for meditation and relax. Do you like sea in winter? Does the sound of water relax you? What are your ways to relax?

In May 2005 I went to the Polish part of Bieszczady Mountains to do a workshop with Scientific Botany Club. It wasn't my first trip with the Club but it was the first time I took my camera with me. The trip was very interesting and I could admire beautiful landscapes, but the most of the photos I had taken, I had to delete later. My first photo session wasn't successful. I had no idea about the settings. Most photos were too dark and not really sharp. But you know, memories are more important than photos :). What was your first experience with a camera? Did you have to remove some photos? Maybe you had learned the setting before?