photography

About joy

/ cultivatingjoy / 1 Comment

IMG_5599

JOYFUL GRATITUDE #88

Last week I came across this TED talk which I really enjoyed. It put into words what I have intuitively felt and developped with this blog: how paying attention to beautiful, colourful things around us brings joy and can make such a difference to how we feel.

Photographing beautiful plants and colours is something that I am spontaneously drawn to and where I find myself in flow, so it was interesting also to realise that certain things are universally joyful and understand the reasons why.  It also shed some light on why the bright colours of the buildings in Lisbon bring me so much joy:)

Check out the TED playlists, such as How to notice and build joy into your life, for wise words and inspiration…

Photowalk: Amsterdam Oud-West

/ cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

IMG_5550

This weekend with a friend we planned a photo-walk in the neighbourhood of Oud-West. It was like a scavenger hunt with loose rules, we chose some topics to search for and decided to see what we would come across. It was really fun and a great way to get out of my comfort zone, photographing different things than usual, whilst we were chatting and exploring the neighbourhood. Here are some of the highlights:

  • While strolling along throughout the afternoon, several locals started talking to us. Like the lady who told us about the beautiful mosaic hopscotch below and how she had made it with her daughter. She told us that kids often play on it, as well as adults and that it brings a lovely vibe to the sidewalk in front of her house. (In passing, I learnt the Dutch word for hopscotch: hinkelen!)

IMG_5546

  • It made me regain some faith in humankind. This is linked to the point above, people are friendly, eager to connect and busy with nice itiatives. For example, this little table with cherries and cool water was set up in the context of an ‘open gardens day’ by a lady who told us all about how she planted many flowers to beautify this little square which she takes care of herself.

IMG_5528

  • I was amazed by how many things I noticed.  Even though I had cycled down many of the streets before, walking allowed me to see the neighbourhood in a whole new light.  Also being on the lookout for interesting things to photograph made us more alert. We spotted new cafes and restaurants, shops and even this hairy caterpillar with its amazing yellow crests that was methodically chomping away at this leaf. 

IMG_5486

  • My curiosity was sparked by things we came across and I even learnt some new things. On seeing this mural, we pondered whether this gentleman was a mathematician…  as one of the topics we were hunting for was ‘mathematical object’. When I got home, I googled it and found out it is Huygens, who was indeed a mathematician, physicist and astronomer.
    I also looked up what type of butterfly would emerge from such a peculiar caterpillar and actually it is a moth – the Tussock moth. It turns out there are lots of different Tussock moth caterpillars, all rather hairy and in different colour palettes.

IMG_5542

Sunrise walk

/ cultivatingjoy / 2 Comments

IMG_5074

For ages I’ve been meaning to get up early to enjoy watching the sun rise. Though sometimes I witness gorgeous sunrises as I cycle to work in the winter, it’s not like I really take the time to enjoy them to their full extent.  When we’re on holidays, Paolo and I do our best to see the sunrise, somehow it’s easier to get up at an ungodly hour when you know you can indulge in a leisurely nap in the afternoon.  However lately I’ve been feeling I want to experiment with weaving more of the fun things we give ourselves space to do in the holidays into daily life.

IMG_5032

So I decided to simply set the alarm at 5:30am on my free Friday, and after some inevitable snoozing, I got up and headed outside to enjoy the morning light as it appeared.  When I told a friend about it afterwards, she immediately asked ‘Where did you go?’.  Actually this time I kept the bar low and just went out the front door and into the neighbourhood, nothing fancy but it was perfect!

IMG_5107

I love being up and about before other people wake up, and it felt like I had the streets to myself. It was very quiet, with barely any cars or people, just lots of birds singing loudly to each other.  As I explored, I decided to be mindful and focus specifically on the light as its slanted rays started to shine on the peaceful world around me. I took my time and noticed what my eyes were drawn to.

IMG_5119

The most magical detail was the dew, one perfectly round drop hanging onto the tip of every single strand of grass, glistening in the sun. I’d never noticed that was what dew looked like up close, it was mezmerising! It is such a pleasurable way to start the day, I definitely want to do this again soon.

IMG_5121

Repair in the time of planned obsolescence

/ cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

IMG_5328
JOYFUL GRATITUDE #70

While I was in Brighton my camera stopped working.  I’ve grown attached to this camera as I’ve learnt to use it better over the last 6 years and it has travelled with me on adventures near and far.  In this age of planned obsolescence, I was worried I’d have to invest in a new one, when ideally I want to keep it for as long as possible, until it really can’t be fixed.

Thanks to Paolo, I discovered there is a shop 5 minutes from our place that repairs cameras.  They were professional and instead of encouraging me to spend money on a new camera body, they took my request for repair seriously and fixed it for me at a really good price. I am really grateful to have my dear camera back and hopefully it will accompany me on my neighbourhood walks and my travels afar for many more years:)

Enjoying an evening stroll

/ cultivatingjoy / 2 Comments

IMG_1600

JOYFUL GRATITUDE #32

In these days close to the solstice, after-dinner walks in the lovely soft light are a real pleasure. As Paolo and I stroll around the neighbourhood, we mostly have the streets to ourselves apart for a few joggers or people walking their dog, and it’s perfect to chat and process our day with each other.

A few weeks ago on our way home from of one of those walks, we came across this heron, quietly poised on a trunk by the canal. It seems to me as if he was also enjoying a moment of calm in the dusk. Unfortunately our arrival disturbed him, and just a few seconds later he took flight…

Photography afternoon in Blijburg

/ cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

IMG_2554

Lovely colourful flags blowing in the wind in Blijburg, where I went with my photography class on Saturday for a photo shoot on the beach.  We were really lucky with the weather, as the overcast sky with just a bit of sunshine peeking through from time to time was perfect for taking pictures.

We had great fun creating scenes inspired from our moodboards, with two models and a random collection of props, as passers-by looked at us with curiosity. It’s quite amazing how many creative ideas a bunch of people can come up with using a pineapple, a guitar, a shovel and a red-velvet cake on the beach… I laughed a lot:)

I particularly enjoyed exploring the story-telling aspect of photography and plan to use that more as a source of inspiration. Also I definitely want to do more portrait photography.  It’s a good way for me to get out of my comfort zone, as it is much more challenging than my usual subjects like plants or landscapes.