All posts filed under: Photography

Memories from Paris

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The best way of capturing the essence of Paris is through analogue photography. After a few visits in 2014 and 2016, I had a chance to settle in Paris for half a year. When I wasn’t snacking on croissants and visiting museums, I used to stroll through the central part of the city with my dear friends and film camera in hand. Seine, antique markets, libraries and many cups of coffee – that’s how I remember my stays in the City of Lights. Please don’t copy, modify, and distribute images for any purpose without site owner’s permission.

Crowdfunding saves the UK’s first black bookshop

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New Beacon Books is the first ever black bookshop not only in Islington, but in the whole UK, selling books written by black authors. New Beacon Books opened its doors in 1966 and it created a platform for African-Caribbean independent literature. The family-run shop was becoming a victim of the gentrification and it was about to close due to pressures from e-retailers such as Amazon. However, the bookshop managed to receive more 11,000 pounds in less than one month with crowdfunding and its owners are keen to keep the business running. Janice, founder’s daughter, has been sitting at this till since 1970s. She runs a shop with the help of her sun Ronaldo, son’s wife Vanessa, Vanessa’s mother and grandchildren. She says: “It is a family business in every sense.” But even if they needed extra help, Janice admits that a shop could not afford new staff members. She keeps very close relationship with customers and authors. “Engagement is crucial in an independent shop,” – she says. Mumar Toure (above, on the right) is one of the most loyal customers in …

Greeting Spring in Kew Gardens

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“Landscapes of great wonder and beauty lie under our feet and all around us. They are discovered in tunnels in the ground, the heart of flowers, the hollows of trees, fresh-water ponds, seaweed jungles between tides, and even drops of water. Life in these hidden worlds is more startling in reality than anything we can imagine. How could this earth of ours, which is only a speck in the heavens, have so much variety of life, so many curious and exciting creatures? — Walt Disney All photos were taken with Minolta XD

Curiosity’s Guide to Minimalism

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While minimalism sounds like a distant term, it is actually a fusion of ideas, from ancient times to modern days.  Here’s the list of minimalist wisdom throughout the different concepts: Epicureanism is an early example of minimalist thinking in Ancient Greece. Epicurus tells us that wisdom is the knowledge of which pleasures are good for us. Ask of each thing is it necessary. According to Epicurus, the essentials for happiness should be maintained at minimal cost, while all things beyond should be taken in moderation or avoided. Buddhism tells us how to incorporate minimalism into our life. It teaches that we shouldn’t be attached to things as everything is temporary in nature. Buddhism is also related to mindfulness which means being fully aware and not judging. Or as Rick Hanson in his book Buddha’s Brain puts it, mindfulness is the doorway to taking in good experiences and making them a part of yourself. The idea of simplicity is deeply rooted in Japanese Wabi-Sabi philosophy. It inspired the minimalist architecture in the 20th Century, such as …

Mikael Jansson. Spanning Across All Genres

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Everyone who has a deep interest in fashion knows that most of Japanese magazines represents a bad sense of fashion photography. The only magazine that most of the Japanese photographers I know rely on is Vogue Nippon. Fashion magazine that keeps very high quality of its fashion stories. At the time I went to Japan, I was so curious to compare European versions of Vogue and Japanese one. That’s where I discovered Mikael Jansson and his photo-shoot “As City Grows Dark”.