How to be positive..

About the irony of life..

So, this morning I decided to boost my mental capacity and was listening to a quite interesting talk of Ajahn Brahm about "How to be positive". Reflecting on the happenings in my life recently I thought "Hmm, this is exactly what I need. May be I can pick up some pieces of positive mindset before I start this marvelous week."

The speech was really good and full of useful examples and approaches, so I felt quite well-equipped when I was leaving the flat. Even my own dark side could not stop me to feel that there might be some difference, if we look at the things with different eye etc.. So I step out of the flat, -12 C...Okei..After the first wave of cold was hitting me I decided that it is the "perfect winter weather, when the air is so fresh" what I even posted on Facebook (I thought I share my positive energy with others).

The bus was coming and then all the practice started in a sudden. The bus was crashing once.. then started again..stopped once more..crashed again..After the second occasion I used the opportunity to share this second positive experience, that "Yeps, the bus crashed twice, but now everything is fine and we continue the trip". You can guess what happened after this. The bus stopped for the third time, and did not start again. Everyone had to get off, walk to the next stop (was close) and wait for the next bus. 

Hm, was I wrong when I sensed some irony there? To all my soul mates who are longing for inner peace and balance: be careful what you wish for, because at the time you state it, life is already starting to bring those occasions to you where you can prove that you meant it seriously..o yee it does..

DESIGN: My favorite Hungarian fashion designers: TheBétaVersion

(Photo Source: http://thebetaversion.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pixelfolk11.jpg)

My inspiration for this article was that many times when I was travelling I wanted to purchase some real local designer stuff, but I simply did not have the channels to trace where I can find them. The other problem was that since I did not even know the local designers of course I could not find their homepage/ web shop either, which can be an important step in the 21^st century.

In this first article I would like to introduce to you the brand TheBétaVersion. To see their products you can visit the Mono Fashion store in Budapest, Hungary or check out their online-store. The TheBétaVersion web shop offers free shipping on all items in January and February (you can access the web shop by clicking on the blue text). If you want to get your own TheBétaversion item, it is a good opportunity to use this offer and make your order now. 

TheBétaVersion

The advantage of living in a relatively small country is that you have to be open and flexible, if you want to connect with the rest of the world. You learn languages, you travel, meet different cultures and all it shapes your personality and your way of seeing the world. In the works of the young Hungarian fashion designers you can see the trace of this cosmopolitan worldview, yet there is some local flair in all of the collections.

I like TheBétaVersion, because they work with local folk art motives, but their products are still really modern and they connect the traditional with a modern minimalistic look in a very good way (my favorite examples for this are their iPad/iPad2 cases).

TheBétaVersion brand was created in 2010 by Zsófi Rainer Hungarian designer and Cili Varga brand manager. Their portfolio contains high quality handmade leather bags and accessories. Well known patterns of Hungarian folk art such as birds, geometric shapes and stylized human figures are transformed into pixel patterns and pierced to the leather.

Below you can see pieces of the PIXELFOLK collection:

(Photo Source: http://thebetaversion.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pixelfolk6.jpg)

(Photo Source: http://thebetaversion.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pixelfolk7.jpg)

(Photo Source: http://thebetaversion.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pixelfolk5.jpg)

To find out more about Hungarian designers you can visit http://ourstyle.hu/en/ . The website gives you up to date information about the latest collections and fashion lovers find here among all a „Magazine” section witch contains nice photo shoots. Online shop available, prices in EUR.


YOU CAN FIND THIS ARTICLE ALSO UNDER: http://www.businesstravelconnection.com/gear-accessories/thebetaversion-exclusive-handmade-leather-accessories-for-travel/ . The Business Travel Connection is a blog which presents articles related to business travelling and this article is appearing on the blog in the "Gear and Accessories" section.

TRAVEL PLAN 7: St. Petersburg (Russia)

Mónika Csapó- All Rights Reserved 

I was in 2008 in St. Petersburg, when I was on ERASMUS student exchange in Kuopio (Finland). It was not so far by bus and also from Helsinki as far as I know the train ticket is around 100 EUR, which is quite reasonable price I think. There is also some ferries going,but I have no info about them.


You need a visa to enter Russia and it is depending on your country of origin how much it costs (as far as I remember). When I was in Russia, I went with an organized tour, so the tourist agency was applying for the visa for us and we did not have to do the official stuff ourselves.


Even though we went with an organized tour, we could be quite independent from the group and it was good that I collected some info beforehand, so we could see much more things than the group which was moving in the speed of a snail sometimes. I did not went to ballet or theater,but I would go if I would visit St. Petersburg again and would have more time and cash to spend on the trip.


I liked the orthodox churches a lot, they have some sort of mystical flair to me, the Hermitage of course and we were even visiting the flat where Dostojevskij used to live with his family.


I remember two funny things especially: one was that you could get red (!) banana in the shop and the other was when my friend`s shoe fall under the metro and we had to search someone who can take it out from there. We did not speak any Russian and did not know where to find this person.. But  somehow we managed to find a woman  and she was fishing out the shoe for us with some long stick.


We even took a kind of local bus, which was a bit more like a taxi-bus full of local Russian people.

Here is the plan what I made for myself before our trip (I spent only couple of days there, so I was focusing on visiting as many places as I can):


Sights

• Peter and Paul Cathedral
• Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood (Symbol of St. Petersburg, very must to see sight)
• Peter and Paul Fortress
• Hermitage Museum 
• Admirality
• Peterhof (30 km from the center)
• Central Naval Museum
• Kazan Cathedral
• Tsarskoe Celo (summer palace, called also as The Catherine Palace)
• St. Petersburg metro
• Mariinsky Opera and Balett Theather (Kirov)
• Cruiser Aurora Museum
• Field of Mars
• Smolny Cathedral
• Alexander Nevsky Monastery
• Nevsky Prospekt
• Dostoyevsky Museum
• Russian Museum (Mikhailovsky Palace)
• Lazarus and Thikvin Cemetery

I will continue the description soon and add some more detailed info on the sights.

My road in long exposure photography

Mónika Csapó- All Rights Reserved

Mónika Csapó- All Rights Reserved

Mónika Csapó- All Rights Reserved

I decided that I get more familiar with the technical games what photography offers to one. I like long exposure photos a lot and I chose this technique to be the first. I was having the first practice lesson at home, first I took the photos "from hand" then I made a semi-stable stand from books.


I will learn finally how to use a photo-stand and go out to shoot some outdoor photos too. and I plan to read more about the topic. I was making an experiment now between 1 and 30 sec. Even a stand from books helps a lot to stabilize the camera. Typical long exposure photos are city-pictures of cars moving on the road, stars moving in the sky in circles, making "light-waves" in front of or around sg.


In my photo above there is a matchbox "moving". Boring and basic, but people are not born like knowing these technical things. Technique is not substituting soul in photography, but can help to express yourself even better. Also in travel photography sometimes you do not have so much time to catch a moment or a good topic, so it is better to practice these techniques beforehand that if you are on the road you can just use it automatically.

Creative slow down session

I have been sick now for the last week, but it is getting better and hopefully from the next week on I can take some new photos and do not have to drink every night after work a shot of vodka/cognac/pálinka to fertilize my throat.

I have already some plans: one of those is one photo shoot in the "Musiikkitalo" (Music Hall) of Helsinki. It is a modern concert hall building, which was getting ready by the end of 2011. I was there yesterday to buy a ticket for a classical music concert and I was impressed by the building quite much. Nice and lean lines, lots of glass (big like), a metal "sculpture-installation" hanging from above and nice shadow-plays on the wall as the light goes through the sculpture, minimalist bathrooms, etc. I can not wait to get fully healthy again and go there for a nice photo tour.

Otherwise since I was quite exhausted, I was spending more time on reading and relaxing at home. I was reading a book by Kelly Cutrone, quotes and lyrics from Leonard Cohen and listening to the latest Massive Attack album (Heligoland). Leonard Cohen has a really calming voice I have to say. He is almost whispering in his calm voice this really harmonic, but brutal lyrics and he even has a good sense of humor.

For example listen to this song: http://www.leonardcohen.com/us/oldideas

Or these lyrics:

I am an old scholar, better-looking now than when I was young. That's what sitting on your ass does to your face.
Leonard Cohen
Beautiful Losers

Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Leonard Cohen
Bird on the Wire

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows.
Leonard Cohen
Everybody Knows

(http://www.allgreatquotes.com/leonard_cohen_quotes3.shtml)

The Seller of Pasts (The book of Chameleons)

Voilá a new book review in the "Books for travelling" category. However superficial it might sound I bought this book, because of its title which is "The Seller of Pasts" (Múltkereskedő in Hungarian).

A short description about the author, José Eduardo Agualusa, from the front cover of the book "...he can capture a life or expand a drama in 3 sentences, yet he wants and dares to be slow..."

What is it about?: Felix Ventura is an albino who makes his living by "selling pasts" to the new elite of Angola. People visit him and in exchange for their money he creates a glorious past and through this a new identity for them. What does his package contain? Nice stories about the interesting life of their imaginary ancestors and some yellowed photographs with noble old ladies and gentlemen on them what they can show to their new friends. People visit him and in couple of days he sets up a portfolio of a past what even the clients themselves believe as their real family story.

Things get complicated when one day a photojournalist walks in to Ventura`s office who does not only want the past, but a whole new identity...

Reading this books raises many interesting questions. If you create a new past for someone is it not changing his/her present personality too? Is it really so easy to get a new identity? What is our identity at all? etc.