A few years ago I bought all the equipment for a dark room. I was very enthusiastic about shooting film, still am. The difference is just that now I don’t think anymore digital photography is the evil. I love shooting film and try a lot of different materials. My new favourite film is called ADOX Art, which is processed the same way as films in the 50s. That gives them high contrasts, lots of structure and just overall great images.

I love standing in the dark room and work with all the chemicals and try new methods. I like to experiment.

I haven’t been in the dark room for a long time, specifically not since I left for my big journey more than a year ago. I wanted all the time, but the problem is space. I need to use my kitchen, which is less than perfect. The problem is that I have my food and the chemicals close to each other. Even when I put away all the food before I start, it’s still odd and makes me feel uncomfortable. The constant process of setting the dark room up and clean everything afterwards and put the stuff away steals a lot of fun out of it.

That’s why I hope to find a new flat soon (well also, because I’d love to have a bathing tub and a balcony). I want to have three rooms, or two rooms and a small one, to have a permanent dark room. I want to be able to develop whenever I want without all the hassle.

Last weekend and this weekend I’ve set up the dark room and spend hours in my kitchen. I truly enjoyed it. I had good music, danced while I waited for the paper to be exposed, developed, fixed,watered, dried… What can I say? I just loved it.

Here are two pics of my kitchen after turning on the light again.

Last week my sister, her friend and I took pictures of each other for a creative present for some of our friends. I personally think the pictures are very pretty, all of them. I am alone with my opinion, though. But to give you an impression, here is the one that I chose for the present of myself.

I’ve already admitted that I LOVE the Pioneer Woman (or Ree Drummond to be precise). Her blog os truly amazing, her photography is very cool and her recipe are to die for. Now she  published her first cookbook and I – of course – bought it immediately.

I opened it and I was smitten. It contains all of the features that make her blog so special. Amazing pictures of cowboys, cows, horses, dogs… Great recipes with step by step photography.. Lots of stories about ranch life and her transformation from city girl to ranch wife.

The only thing I find a little bit sad is that there are not so many new recipes. She published mostly recipes she used for her blog before. As I looked at all and every recipes on her website, of course I know  them all. But maybe that is just me and I am a stalker. Could be true…

There is a second cookbook I love. Jaden Hair, the creator of Steamy Kitchen, published a cookbook with 101 simple asian recipes.

I haven’t cooked anything yet, but I definitely will this weekend. Especially the Shrimp Pad Thai and Mum’s Chinese Steamed Fish are on my list. I also want to try to make all these “packed” specialities, like dumplings, egg rolls, wontons. Oh, I am getting hungry!! I only had some store bought dish today, I was too lazy to cook. So it’s only understandable that I CRAVE some good food. Tomorrow, or the day after… Yum!

There are literally staples of books next to my bed with all the books I read in the last few weeks, I am reading currently or plan to read in the very newr future.

Donna Cross – Pope Joan

This is the last book I received from my good ole friend Amazon. I literally couldn’t survive without Amazon. I think I order something every week. I want to watch the movie and it is my rule (ok, I am not always following it…) to read the book first. That’s why I ordered it and I do want to start it right after finishing my current book.

Sometimes – I have to admit it – there is nothing better than curling up on your bed and read a romantic novel. Last Saturday it was Susan Elizabeth Philips – What I Did for Love. Shame on me and my cow… But it was such a great read and after reading from morning to evening I finished the book and it entertained me quiet good.

I love traveling and I love reading about the journeys of others. Expecially Africa has a special allurement to me. I can’t wait to go on a journey to explore the “dark continent”. I am sure I will love it. One of the books I “ate” recently (finished the 500 pages in one day) was Frank Coates – Roar of the Lion. There is no English cover, so here the German cover.

Then there was – of course – Julie Powell’s Julie & Julia. Loving it! I read it before watching the movie and I was stoked. I just loved reading it and I loved the movie as well.

Currently I am reading a book of a German author, called Hardy Krüger. He’s one of the most famous actors of my country and in recent years he wrote about all his amazing journeys. The book I am reading is called “Die andere Seite der Sonne” (The other site of the sun). It contains lots of short stories of different countries.The first one was about a woman and a raven in Ireland. The second one is about a flight from London to Nairobi. Very interesting.

I truly love reading. It’s the best “activity” of the world. It empowers your creativity and your inner eye. It helps your fantasy and just about everything. I can’t really imagine life without books. People who don’t understand the magical power of books are truly poor. It’s sad that some people don’t read, they truly miss a great opportunity.

I am reading a lot. Books, newspapers, blogs… It doesn’t matter to me. Themes are of a wide variety, of course I am reading a lot about photography. As a matter of fact I bought quite a few books about this subject in the last half year. One I was particularly drawn to was “Within the frame” by David DuChemin. I read it from cover to cover in just a few days. Since then it really is a reference guide for me. You can check the Amazon site here.

The book focuses on the “why” more than on the “how”. It’s all about vision and David can definitely describe it way better than I can. I can highly recommend the book to everyone who thinks that a creative eye is more important than buying gear for thousands of dollars. Even though gear is important, it’s not that easy. Ansel Adams with a cheap pocket camera could still take amazing pictures. In fact the equipment he used was so much less technical than ours today, but he still rocks the photographic world with his art. Others with the biggest camera, the most expensive glass, hundreds of filters etc. won’t be able to create something of substance. If they are only shooting in Programm Automatic for example.

But let David talk, he is so much more eloquent than I am (at least in English. I swear I am better in German).

I can’t wait to get a copy of his soon to be published book “VisionMongers”. Check it out here.

It’s almost half a year since his last book was published and he delighted his many fans with publishing three incredible e-books. In late August he made “TEN” available. He explains ten ways to improve your craft without buying gear. Check it out here. One month later he published “TEN more” to give further advices to improve your art. More about it here. The newest one is “Drawing the eye”, which you can check out here. He made it available for download just a few days ago.

All of these e-books cost $5 and are available on his website. They are a fantastic read and they contain so much eye candy, it’s incredible. This is something that I loved in “Within the frame” and David is continuing to show his amazing skills. I truly love it. For the pictures alone the e-books worth the money ten fold. But the text is the true treat.

Above all this (his amazing writing skills, his passion for teaching, his incredible skills etc.) he’s a true good-doer and is working for World Vision among others. He’s a true humanitarian. As if it wasn’t already enough… I just can recommend that everyone checks this guy out. You won’t regret it.

P.S. He’s writing a blog too where he shares thoughts, gifts and lots of other things. www.pixelatedimage.com

Ok, now it is definitely time to admit that I didn’t live up to my “wish list” from the beginning of June. Especially one point bugs me. That I wasn’t able to shoot every day. I did some shootings, yes, but I didn’t took my camera out for shooting every day. But this is the only way to make sure that you have enough practice. So this is definitely one point that I need to work on. It’s not that I am not passionate about it, I am, but life is getting in the way too often. I need to get my priorities right. But the last three weeks with my new job I was running around like a headless chicken.

As everyone who reads this should know, I want to improve my shooting, especially regarding people photography. I need to organize my free time properly. It will be tough in winter, because when I am out of work it is already dark, but there are other possibilities as well. I just can try shooting different things at home or whatever. I am sure there are many possibilities.

Far from that I still try to write, but I wasn’t lucky so far. Again something I need to focus on. Instead of watching “Gilmore Girls” in the evenings, I could write articles or continue writing on my book. I think or at least I hope that I will be able to organize my time properly in a few weeks when the newness of the job has worn off. But at the moment it is crazy. Truly. So many meetings, so many things to learn and to read. All is really interesting and I am enjoying my time, but it is a lot.

So wish me luck that in a short time I will be able to fulfill my wish list. Enjoy life!

… having flu I am sick since Monday.

… having a boss who is a complete moron (the one from my old job, my new job is still heaven).

… reading everyday in the newspaper, how the conservative and the liberal party ruin the social base of this country.

… shoes that hurt my feet.

… running noses.

… unfaithful friends.

… to realize that I’ve grown out of my circle of friends.

… to be told “We meet in a small circle nowadays, not alone” just to realize, that these people just don’t want to meet me alone, everybody else is fine. Good friends…

… friends who try to make you feel like a bad friend just to find out that they are the bad friends in the end.

… people who didn’t speek with me for ages and then shoot me a mail or call me just to be the same arrogant people they’ve been five years ago. Not to confused with friends I haven’t seen in ages, but are still considered friends.

… slimy people of the social democratic party who want appear to be nice, but all they are is slimy. And if you then ask me for a coffee this is just pathetic!

Well, I think I am hating enough for the week. I wish you a great weekend. I’ll drink some hot lemon now and hope to be healthy soon again. xoxo

… the movie about Coco Chanel. What a woman!

… colleagues who give flowers as a welcome and ask me which color I prefer for my paper.

… colleagues who tell me in the morning: I cooked coffee for you.

… my sister and her best friend who were so excited to go to their first press premier. Buddy Holly, that’s something.

… people who enjoy discussing politics and are very passionate about it.

… people who tell me, my job choice was right, because my new colleagues are amazing.

… people who say: You are OUR new…

… opening my door and see flowers and sweets on the table.

… the flowers I got for my birthday. Every morning I see new blossoms or new buds that’ll soon be blossoms.

… thick milk foam on my coffee.

That’s what I loved this week. I’ll tell you more next week. Enjoy your day and celebrate!

Yesterday I started my new job and was welcomed with some pretty flowers and some nice chocolate. They definitely know what I like…

The first day was calm. I read newspapers to be up to date with what’s on in the city (which is part of my job, incredible…) and then I read some documents for work so I know about all the current negotiations and the major politics of the party. In the evening we went to a meeting where I got to know all the people I’ll work with in the future. It was pretty cool.

Today was almost the same, but without the meeting. I need to read a lot in different themes. My overall theme is “social life”, so I read about schools, health care, sports, culture… So far I find it pretty interesting. It’s a major improvement to my last job, in my opinion. So far I have a lot of fun

These are the flowers of my colleagues:

Last weekend I attended a salsa/samba-workshop, which was really fun. It was cool to learn new dances and to be able to swing my hips, which are quiet stiff as I have to admit. I don’t like that fact too much, but I think it is a common problem in western countries. Dancing salsa and samba require that you are flexible in your hips, your shoulders, everywhere to be precise. Learning these techniques – we trained a long time to roll and swing the hips – might be very helpful for an overall new feeling of your body. At least I think, I am walking with way more grace after the ten hours of dancing.

And that’s where it gets ugly. I can’t remember if I ever in all my life did sports for ten hours straight on two days and don’t be misleaded, dancing really IS sport. After the first day I was a wrack, but I paid for the second day as well, so I managed somehow to get out of bed and go back to track. And it was really hard to complete the day. Today my body is sore everywhere. Even in parts where I didn’t know that I had muscles. But on the other hand it is an amazing feeling to accomplish such a task. I had a lot of fun, even though it was kind of a masochistic fun, I have to admit. I am proud of myself now. I managed it somehow. I don’t know how to be honest. But there seems to be much more strength in this body of mine than I guessed.

Yesterday were elections in Germany and unfortunately the wrong parties – from my point of view – won. I see bad things coming towards us and I am not sure if I really want to live in this country in the coming four years. I still hope it won’t be too bad, but in the end I know that’s false hope. Neoliberalisms reared it’s ugly head last year and I really can’t understand how people can fall for it again. Stupidity? Maybe, but still the voter decides… With just 70 % it’s not very legitimate though. We will see what the next four years are bringing, but I can’t imagine – even with the big fantasy of mine – that it can be positive.

On Thursday will be my first day in the new job and I really can’t wait for the new challenges.  That will be good, I am sure.

That’s it for today. Hope you all have a great start to this new week.