New year, new projects

While Simon is getting our breakfast ready ( you must know that our favourite morning hang-out Tea Tree Tea cafe went bust couple of weeks ago leaving us without a place to comfortably roll out in our pyjamas to have some morning coffee and a bacon roll just accross the road! We are simply devastated, it was hearbreaking to chat with the guys on their last day and then see a permanent darkness behind their big windows!) I will fill you in what is going on with us these days.

Yesterday we were meeting with three good friends to talk about a project we will be working together this summer - some more hints will be coming soon, meanwhile some photographic record of that wintery morning:

If anyone tells me again that food in Scotland is not good, will have to eat their own words and swallow them with some freshly squeezed carrot juice!

All images taken near a brilliant breakfast spot Roseleaf Bar Cafe in Leith and in the cafe itself! Thank you for taking us there, Sejin!

Gavin Evans officially opens the Institute

...and we were invited.

Gavin Evans, one of the top Scottish photographers decided to give up (at least for a moment) the photography rat race and venture into the calmer waters of artisan tea and cafe culture and he opened his cafe the Institute couple of months ago with an idea of creating a hub for all photographers and people interested in photography.

We have discovered the place just a moment after it was opened and soon we hailed it as one of our favourite places in Edinburgh to meet, chat and maybe even work a little (Simon loves working in the cafes while I prefer my home set up but I am not impartial to an odd cake and a coffee).

A lot depends on the space - there are just places which are full of light (always in demand in Scotland) and the Institute is a place like that with its huge windows and airy, calm and minimalistic interior .

However even more depends on the person behind the counter and Gavin is definitely a person who you would like to meet while having a free moment to sit in a cafe. He has loads of photographic experience and wisdom but also something that makes people to try be the better versions of themselves - in his company one relaxes, one cracks better jokes than usual (at least I do), one exchanges oppinions without dividing world into only black and white, one sees...a bigger picture (and supports The Big Issue vendor Kat).

It is a real honour to have this talented, welcoming and firendly man to put some optimism into you (and the photographers need a lot of that especially from their more successful, more experienced colleagues) and let him recommend some tea. I do not know what is the name of the tea that I am always having there but it really makes my brain ping a little brighter. I have to ask Gavin and promptly make a note in my iP.

Thank you Gavin for creating this space and long live the Institute. It has officially opened last Staurday with the exhibition of Gavin portraits of musicians ( called 'Silenced' with portraits of David Bowie, Dusty Springfield, Bjork, Tricky and...Wu-Tang Clan guys among lots of others) which will last until 18th January and then a programme of other photo exhibitions will follow.

And see you for coffee (or tea) and a good chat very soon!

Pictures courtesy of Sejin who came to see us (with John) at the opening in the most spectacular dress I have seen for a while. Go girl!  Others featured are Stripy Simon, Claudine (you know her from my 'renaissance style' portrait, she is another ubertalented photographer and my stepdaughter Liska, who we hope will venture into something more sensible than photography...).

One knows that Winter is comming when seals start swimming upside down

Why the Scottish seal pup is shown upside down I have no idea.
All images from the natural history exposition at the National Museums of Scotland.

Visual communication fail

Don't don't don't grill the babies... we sang with Simon when we spotted this sign in one of the Edinburgh eateries in the Royal Mile. Someone got it all horribly wrong!

Afternoon in the countryside

Yesterday we had a REAL summer day in  Scotland (yes, like a summer for reeelz!) so we decided to do some work on the sunny early afternoon and visit one of the venues where we will be soon working taking pictures. We had all the lovely bits within one day - sunshine, baby ducklings and lots of history. A very pleasant afternoon indeed and now we are back to the usual Scottish summer which means rain all day and temperature hovering not much above +15 degrees...Luckily I have to sit all day at home and process images for clients!

Stuck

I never complain that I am stuck in front of my computer all day (and especially not now when Simon got for me a brand new Apple keyboard so that my loud typing would not disturb him, I am a very happy bunny with a much less cluttered desk) and I must say that these days I am jolly glad that I am - it is raining every 30 minutes! When a heavy shower finishes the sun comes out and then the whole thing starts all over again after a short interval. In general the weather in Edinburgh now might be described by using a Polish expression 'do bani', which translates as hopeless.

We have had 2 days of a proper summer (now it is almost two weeks ago) when temperatures soared to a dazzling +24 degrees in the sunshine (laughable summer heat by Polish standards, when they have + 35 there at the moment. In the evening!) for two days. Both days we worked - one day at home to complete a deadline, on the other day on an outdoors (how lucky for our client!) location photoshoot.

The image comes from the first day when we decided to escape from in front of our image processing machines and warm up in the sunshine, unacommpannied by an usual in Scotland freezeing breeze coming straight from Norway.

I thought that this image might cheer me up and also to remind all my continental friends how lucky they are without a fussy Jet Stream not being able to decide how far down South it should blow it's cold wet air. At the moment is is blowing it right over North of UK...

Partner in Crime

You know me, I love a wee shopping and I was extremely happy that my friend Sejin asked me to go with her to a mega-discounts-on-all-merchandise event that exclusive shopping sanctuary (aka Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh) prepared for some desperate women before the summer sales start.

I decided to go with an open mind (do I really NEED 15th Mac eyeshadow?) but Sejin's list was long as an arm so I just offered to give my honest oppinion and advice if she would need any or just hold her handbag if she would need both hands to test stuff. To our disappointment the whole event turned out to be a perfectly orchestrated marketing miracle and anything that Sejin and I had on our lists (mine was a mental one only) was not on sale. In the end we were so dissapointed that we had to have a laughing fit in the handbag department (£1000 Miu Miu bag, anyone?) which you can see in the images. Well, there were women grabbing three Marc Jacobs bags in one go hoping that they will get a  -15% discount on them but frankly I think I prefer to add that £50 that HN offer would have saved me and shop without all that fuss, crowd and spilled cheap champagne everywhere.

In the end we went for a coffee at Valvona and Crolla nearby and passing by Mulberry shop we have managed to obtain two balloon Bayswater bags. As Sejin put it in her FB comment to that afternoon events, now all we need is a fairy to turn the balloon into a real thing. Well, the fairy should better hurry up, my balloon is already deflating!

All images courtesy of Sejin. Have a great time on your Italian holidays! See you back in couple of weeks, hopefully with that dreamed Prada bag on your shoulder!

Russian adventures

In today's The Times I came accross a link to an unique collection of images of Moscow that were taken in 1909. As Simon (and his inseparable iPad) was sitting accross the table we had a look immediately at the Flickr account mentioned in the article.

What an interesting collection it is - Simon said that the city did not change that much throughout the century and I was amazed at the vastness of the landscape in comparison with such a small number of inhabitants just like I was amazed at this fact during my one day trip to Russian capital several years ago - prospects were 4 cars wide (one way) but there was only 4 cars in the whole of the prospect!

However back on the home turf, The Times also had an article about an imminent failure of the new tram system in Edinburgh. It looks like £600 milion were spent but trams are still not with us and the whole project is in jeopardy as the company that was building the trams wants even MORE money for completing ony HALF of the line! They are also going to dig up Princes Street again because the whole part of the tramline laid there is faulty. And one would have thought that such things happen only in Russia... or Poland.

I have managed to find this photo on Flickr posted by allybeag that would make you weep - it shows Edinburgh trams in 1956 climbing the Mound. Why did they have to rip the tramline out? Can you imagine Krakow without them?

Smell this

I was looking for a perfume that would suit my mood in this gloomy, bittery cold, grey January. All the mass produced spritzes smelled flat and uninnovative. I needed something original, feminine, warm and very me. Nothing suited noses of mine nor Simon's (well, he has to live as well with me as with my perfume). Until one afternoon while passing by running some errands in the area, I decided to visit Penhaglion's shop in George Street.

I was not venturing there before delibetarely. It is a small boutique and I like to shop alone, not being confronted with a bored shop assistant who will be watching my every move while attempting a hard sell. But this afternoon I decided to go in and see for myself as I knew that my wallet was left safely at home (after all I nipped out only to send a 2nd class letter from the Post Office a block away.).

As I have expected a shop assistant immediately latched on to me but this time I was prepared (see the bit about the wallet not being there). And she started to chat in such a friendly way that I lowered my guard and continued our conversation instead of making a u-turn. I thought that oh well, it is an early afternoon, I may as well help this poor girl in killing some of her time at work and we soon were sitting down at the round Penhagilion's table and going from one family of scents to the other actually having a nice conversation.

I am not very good in describing what I smell so we adopted a method that I was to choose between two options - one that I liked was leading us further and further into the selection of smells. I was asked various questions like what is my favourite drink (well, I do not drink but one evening I got hooked on a mix of rum and ginger beer so I thought I would mention that) and what perfumes I like in real life (Earl Grey tea, sandalwood, wet dog and wet forrest). My fragrance profiling went on smoothly and I was guided with a firm hand until we reached two fragrances between which I was not able to decide. Well, in the end I did and in the height of cheekines I have also asked for two olfactory samples. I think this was what tilted the scales for this purchase - being actually able to live with the smell for several days before the purchase - so well done here Penhaglion's.

Their perfumes cost a bob or two and I was not prepared to depart with my monthly beauty allowance money to leave my wallet too soon. I have also wanted to make sure that Simon is not going to dismiss this fragrance as another 'toilet cleaner like' one like he did before (with all of Dior's ones btw). So ta-daaaa! Here I am smelling like a warm ginger beer mixed with Earl Grey tea and a drop of lemon juice! And I absolutely love it and I have not loved a smell on me for a long time.

In case you would be ready for some in depth fragrance profiling I do recommend this friendly girl with tons of knowledge who  directed my nose towards the Malabah - Zillah. Thank you so much for such a productive afternoon. I will be back for this second fragrance when I collect some more of my pennies.

Happy MMXI !

Happy New Year Dear All!
I hope that the Year of the Rabbit will bring you loads of only good experience, happiness and satisfaction.

We had a wonderfull start to it yesterday/today as friends took as up the Carlton Hill to have a look at the fireworks. We are usually completely unmoved by the change of date but this year we could not refuse the invitations of James and Michelle so we charged our cameras, grabbed a bottle of bubbly and went over to their place where our other friends gathered as well.

James and Michelle are also (usually) doing the infamous Loony Dook in South Queensferry which always happens on the 1st of January but I think that this year they have given up on the idea of plunging into freezing waters of the Fith of Forth to celebrate. So instead photographing that event I am going to tune in to BBC Radio 3 which starts today their broadcast of all Mozart's works. What a perfect way to start the New Year! (Don Giovanni starts at 6 pm)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/mozart

After Christmas

I cannot believe that it is already the end of the year!?

Wow, we have just been wrapping Christmas gifts, oggling our friend's Mark special Christmas tie while in Haddington and now we are back in the work grind and this delicious cake is nothing but a distant memory!

Just like that much snow in Scotland (which I have managed to photograph before it all disappeared). Edinburgh was back to its normal cloudy, grey, windy self today. Just as if  *real* winter has never happened, everything was as it is suppose to be in Scotland at his time of the year - lads just in t-shirts were back in the streets with a vengeance (I think I saw at least 5 of them this afternoon).

Winter - continuation!

Winter - part 2

Wow! Edinburgh looked today as if we all moved to Poland w/o travelling. I went out just after noon to catch up with my friend Simon (one of not many of my friends who were not snowed in or down with a cold) and ended up in a blizzard of a decade:

The time was approximately 1.30 pm but it was dark as if the night was about to fall! Cold wet wind was smacking one's face with falling snow and I had to wear my heavy winter boots (I call them 'walonki Puma's style') and my famously burned puffa winter coat (that I subsequently had to chop off at the bottom). And all that just for a 10 minutes walk to Peter's Yard. Of course it all stopped when I settled down over my ham soup at PY and sun came out again so Simon arrived all rosy from the cold not even knowing what he had missed while working at the library over his essay.

Winter!

So we are in the middle of the snowiest winter in Scottish history. Not that it differs too much from what is happening in Poland at the moment... However I have still managed today to spot a lady in 11 inch heels on bare perfectly pedicured feet, fighting her way Bambi style through the snow drifts. But I have not seen any people in t-shirts, at least that.

Several days ago:

Today:

I want to live in Peter's Yard!

Well, not in the cafe itself but rather in the area attached directly to it which is being refurbished by Sir Norman Foster (& his design office): Edinburgh's Quarter Mile. This nice cafe with a scandinavian style bakery and delicious cardamone hot chocolate would be just a part of the deal. I went there for the first time with a German lady living in Edinburgh whose portrait I was commissioned to take and we met there to discuss the details - if it had not been for that meeting I would have been still on autopilot straight to a nearby Starbucks. What a waste of a perfectly nice afternoon in a corporate surroundings would that be.

Now I am dreaming about a nice airy flat in one of the cubicles of the Quarter Mile, full of light, near a hospital turned into an exclusive building developement. Actually Simon was born in that building many winters ago. Maybe one day he will wake up with a view over the Meadows again?