Photo Walk: Pattern

Photo Walk Pattern

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Looking back on the post, it feels like forever ago that I did my first pattern photo walk. But while I was walking around with my eyes peeled for patterns, the process felt very familiar, like I’d done it only last week – in fact, I often notice beautiful patterns on my walks, whether or not I photograph them. There’s something very soothing about having a small, easy task to mindlessly complete. It gives my hands something to do while I listen to a podcast and try and get out of my head for a few minutes. And after the news I got on Monday, my walk today was especially helpful.

Whenever I do photo walks or photo projects (like Steph Loves Today or Project 365, for example) I tend to be hard on myself and get discouraged about each individual photo. It’s only when I see the photos all grouped together that I can fully appreciate them and am reminded that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is a good reminder for life too, I think: individual days might feel underwhelming or stagnant, but when you look at them strung together, it’s easier to see the beauty of all the ordinary moments. Or the days might feel overwhelming and the problems they hold insurmountable, but a few months later they’ll blur together and make more sense. I’m trying to remember that this week.

These photos were taken on an hour-long walk from my apartment to Haeundae beach and back, at around 11AM on a cloudy day. I used my 35mm f1.8 lens and shot in manual mode.

Korcula, Croatia

Korcula started off bitter and ended up sweet. I know it sounds petty of me to say that, considering how lucky I truly am to be spending this time in beautiful Croatia, but that first half day in Korcula didn't go so well, all things considered. Our host cancelled our accommodations just a day before we arrived, telling us the payment hadn't gone through (it had), but saying we could still have the room if we rebooked. When we arrived, though, her story changed and suddenly we had to pay cash (we had booked through, and had credit for Airbnb) or find somewhere else. All this after a 5AM wake up time for the ferry ride, on which I let myself get a bit too hot and dehydrated. So we were disoriented and suspicious when we arrived, a fairly bad combo.

After some lunch and some beer, we were fortified and happier. Deciding we didn't want to waste time looking for another place, we paid cash (and asked for a refund from Airbnb), and our host surprised us by giving us *back* money, insisting that the place was cheaper than the original booking price. All's well that ends well!

We ended up having a lovely two days in Korcula, which is a very small but beautiful town, very old, very picturesque. We spent our afternoons on the beach (perhaps TMI, but we found a secluded spot and did some topless tanning – that's a first!) and our evenings walking around the old walled city, along the promenade. We climbed up the steepest, narrowest steps to the tiniest tower to look out over the city. We perused some beautiful handmade jewelry. And we ate some really delicious food, including my first palachinke (a thin crepe with Nutella)!

The sunset on our last night was completely perfect, and I loved exploring the city in the evening, watching the pink sky and listening to all the hubbub. Like I said, it ended up being totally sweet.

Favourites:

  • Walking the promenade at night – the sunsets in Korcula were amazing.
  • U Maje I Tonke restaurant: delicious tapas-style food. Everything we tried was creative, homemade, and beautifully presented.
  • Marinero restaurant: set just off the main promenade, this restaurant is apparently owned by two fishermen, and the food was incredibly fresh. When we were there, an older (fabulous) woman who is American but has been spending her summers in Korcula for some time now was raving about the food to everyone who walked by. We weren't disappointed, it was delicious and well priced.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik was totally magical. Everywhere you turn, you're greeted by a view more beautiful than the last. It's picture-perfect. I think I wore myself out going on and on about how gorgeous everything was.

We stayed at a quiet apartment about 15 minutes by bus away from the Old Town, and we had the most gracious and friendly hosts (we booked through AirBnb) and the perfect view from our terrace.

We spent our (relatively short) time in Dubrovnik wandering, exploring, sightseeing, swimming, and soaking in all the beauty. It was at times overly crowded in the city but we made the most of our hosts' recommendations and had the most fabulous time. Our last night, we wandered over to the more distant Sveti Jakov beach, which is 80 steps down from the main road, and swam and sunbathed with all of Dubrovnik Old Town stretched out in front of us, and then watched the sun set. It was perfect.

Also notable from our time in Dubrovnik was my experience cliff jumping, my discovering lemon beer (more like lemonade), drinking cold water from the city's fountain, walking the city walls at sunset, seeing all the stray cats around the Old Town (remarkably clean-looking, though not too friendly), and swimming in the clear, cold waters of the Adriatic Sea.

I totally loved Dubrovnik, it was the perfect place to start our trip.

Favourites:

  • Restaurant Kamenice: the Old Town of Dubrovnik is pretty busy and can be overwhelming at times. This restaurant is central, serves great food (seafood and local Dalmatian fare) and is reasonably priced. We had this on recommendation from our hosts!
  • Sveti Jakov Beach: about a 15-20 minute walk from the nearest beach to Dubrovnik (owned by EastWest club, which is a two minute walk from the East Gate). We got lost the first time we tried to walk here, but undeterred we tried again the following day and were rewarded wonderfully! This beach is completely perfect.
  • Walking the city walls at dusk: it's far too hot and crowded during the day, but perfect as the sun is setting.
  • Restaurant Nishta: vegetarian restaurant, in Croatia! Crazy. Funny story, “nishta” means “nothing” in Croatian..but the food here was completely delicious, and I loved the organic blackberry wine.

Project 365: Weeks 41 to 45

Whoa girl, it’s been a while since I posted my Project 365 photos. Don’t worry, I haven’t fallen off this wagon quite yet! That being said, I am really excited to be finished this project. I think it’s been real, and great to take a photo of something every single day – it forces me to look hard at my environment and try to find some beauty in the everyday. Atthe same time, I think it’s natural to have some “off days” where things just are a little boring or a little busy, just because they are. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I am planning on having another, vaguer photo goal for 2013: take as many photos of beauty as you possibly can, do a weekly roundup. I like goals that can come together over a slightly longer period of time (like the cake goal!) and that don’t have to be done every single day. I’ve at times found this goal a little suffocating. But my photography has improved! So that’s the best.

Happy Thursday!

Ps. A few links:

  • I was immediately into this computer wallpaper from LinkWithLove as soon as I saw it. December promises to be completely crazy, so having a (cute, graphic) calendar close at hand seemed like a very good idea.
  • One perk of my hair having grown (way) out is going to be trying these holiday hair tutorials from A Cup of Jo.
  • I’ve been using this pattern to make some cozy handwarmers. I’ve made one so far!