Author: Igor

A Book from Lind Guides

A few months ago we talked about A Book from Lind and its first guide Small Wonders of Rome. The Danish publishing house founded by Jakob Vestergaard and Tine Lind has just expanded its collection with new titles covering Berlin, Istanbul and Paris.

Printed on high-quality FSC certified paper, the guides are presented folded on pocket-size and when unfolded they reveal a useful map and a selection of 40 different places to see, eat, drink and pause curated by experts on each city.

To celebrate the launch of the new guides, we’re giving away a set consisting of Small Wonders of Berlin, Istanbul and Paris. To enter, just fill in the form after the photos – each entry provides a higher chance of winning.

www.lindbooks.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

June 19, 2016
Top Tips For Those Looking To Expand Their Skillset In Photography

We see hundreds of photos on the internet that have been filtered through instagram these days, and while they look good, did you know that they don’t look as good as a professionally taken picture? If you’re thinking about taking up photography as a hobby or as a career path, there are a few things you should know.

Image via Unsplash

What kind of camera?

The first thing you’ll need to consider is the type of camera you want to consider buying. Despite the fact that the cameras on our smartphones are getting better by the day, they are still no substitute for a professional camera. You’ll need to spend at least a couple of hundred dollars on a good camera that will last you a long time. The more money you put into your photos, the better the quality will be. Find a camera and camera straps that suit you by testing different camera styles, how comfortable the straps are, and whether you’d be better off with a novice camera to begin with.

Learning to take photos

The next step is to ensure that you know how to operate a camera properly. Even if you’re just interested in photography as a hobby, taking a photography course will vastly improve your final images. These courses will teach you everything you need to know about photography, from how to take the perfect shot to which accessories you’ll need to get the shot you want.

Location, location, location

You’ll need to consider different locations for your photography shoots once you’ve mastered how to use a camera and take the perfect shot. If you live in a scenic area, taking artistic photos of your surroundings could attract a lot of attention, and even if you’re just doing it for fun, you might be able to sell a few of your photos online or at local art shows. You could even just take photos of your garden to keep it simple. Plants and petals photographed up close are always a hit.

Build your portfolio

If you want to pursue photography as a career, make sure you create a portfolio that you can display on a business website for potential customers to see. It’s also important to create business cards that show people what kind of service you provide with your photography skills. You can have them displayed in stores around town to help you get your name out there. Another good idea for a new photographer is to offer your services at a low cost to a family member or friend, so that you can build your portfolio. If a friend is getting married, for example, offer to be their photographer so that they can save money and you can earn money by displaying their photos on your website.

Creative Business Ideas

Once you’ve expanded your skillset in photography, it’s time to start looking at how to make income with your new talent. And the world really is your oyster here, so get creative. Maybe you use your skills to sell feet pictures uk, become a wedding photographer, or create a photography art book based on an exciting subject.

Regardless of why you want to learn photography, it’s always a useful skill to have when you’re traveling or vacationing. It will allow you to take beautiful photos that you will cherish over time, and it may also allow you to create artwork that you can sell! Remember that photography is an artistic skill, so let your creative side shine and capture some breathtaking images to share with the world!

June 18, 2016
8 Ways to Travel Differently

We live in an age when it has never been easier to set sail and explore the world. However, it’s true that this ease of travel comes at a cost — we typically end up having the same kind of travel experience. It looks like this: we board a flight, check into our hotel, use a chauffeur service like Driven worldwide roadshows and spend a couple of days checking out the local attractions. While there’s nothing wrong with this, there are plenty of other ways to see the world. Below, we take a look at a few different options that will spice up your travelling adventures.

Source: Pexels.com

Go Independent

There are plenty of companies who can help you have a fluid journey. They’ll take care of the flights, the hotels, and even the attractions, if you want them too. These are fantastic options if you’ve never been on your own trip out of the country, but once you have a little bit of experience, you’ll find that it’s much more enjoyable to do your own thing. For starters, it’s usually cheaper, and it’s more exciting. Plus, you’ll find that there’s more satisfaction to be had from organising your own travel adventure, rather than just turning up after someone else has done all the work for you.

Pick by Theme

It’s normal to simply pick a destination of which you’ve heard good things, and turn up and see what it has to offer. However, it’s not necessarily the best way. Instead, take a look at picking a theme, and using that as a base for your trip. For example, if you love, say, coffee or craft beer, then you could visit a European city with the sole intention of sampling what they have to offer. This offers a stable anchor from which the rest of your trip will grow. You generally can’t go wrong if you’re visiting a place that’s famous for food and drink products, or music.

Avoiding Tourist Traps

Now, we know that it’s somewhat popular to talk bad about tourist hotspots, but we don’t want to do that. However, we will suggest that you may want to look at other places on your travels. While these places are usually popular for a reason, in certain areas they’ve simply become too jam-packed, and they don’t offer a true representation of the area. Big chain companies have moved in all around the world’s most popular attractions, and driven local businesses away. For wherever you’re going, try to research the best neighbourhoods to explore rather than specific attractions. You’ll leave feeling that you’ve seen a real part of the city/area.

Getting Around

The usual path to pick a destination, and then get there via plane. But this isn’t the only option, and it’s certainly not always the best. Sure, if you’re flying long-distance, then it’ll be the most convenient, and can be enjoyable, but if you’re not going too far, then it’s worth exploring other options that you have. Flying isn’t always fun; it’s just a way of getting to the place you want to explore. But if you’re travelling via other means, you’ll find that the journey can add to your adventure. The getting there will be nearly as enjoyable as being there. Arguably the most fun way to move is to hitchhike, but that’s not always an option. Train is another exciting option, as is travelling by ferry. If you have your own set of wheels, look at driving. Driving is a great way to give you the freedom and flexibility to do your own thinga s and when you want. You can get off the beaten track in a 4×4 and explore sites that public transport may not take you. Or get yourself a nippy Ford Focus used car to zip around news towns and cities exploring quant and undiscovered parts of town at your own leisure. Whether you ship your own vehicle, rent a vehicle or car pool, even visiting places far away from your home is doable if everyone in the vehicle chips in for the costs.

Longer-Term Travel

We’re used to boarding a plane, briefly exploring a destination, and then returning home. We only ever get a glimpse into the place we’ve visited. Wouldn’t it be much better to have the option of really getting to know a place, over a longer period? When you rent or own a flat overseas, that’s just what you’ll be able to do. If you’re going to explore this option, then take a look at finding a place that’s located nearby like apartments from Stay Líbere to other destinations of interest.. Southeast Asia, for example, is terrific for this type of thing. If you have a Singapore hdb flat, you won’t just be able to effortlessly take a trip to Singapore; you’ll also be able to make the most of all the affordable flights to the surrounding countries, too. With more time there, you could even try your hand at a cooking course or music lessons at the LVL Music Academy, whatever takes your fancy! You’ll find that you see new, enjoyable sides to famous attractions when you spend so much time there. You’ll see it like a local, eventually.

Giving Back

Most people want to go on a travel adventure in order to have fun. But there’s more to life than simply living the good life. We should also give back. You can do your bit to make the world a better place and also get your fill of travel by looking at overseas volunteer opportunities. There are a couple of ways you can go with this. You can dedicate yourself to a program with a charity, which you usually have to pay for, or you can connect with locals, and help out with whatever they need. You’ll have all the enjoyment of doing something new and different, while also getting the satisfaction of helping others. It’s a win-win situation, essentially.

Challenging Yourself

You may also want to look at using travel as a way to challenge and improve yourself. It’s a big old world out there, and it’s not always a walk in the park. There’s much you can learn about yourself by trying to say, complete the Santiago de Camino in Spain, when it’s just you, out there on your own, trekking through the outdoors. Indeed, you’ll learn more about yourself in that environment than you ever could in a city, but if travel fails to deliver, consider a challenge closer to home such as violins for beginners. Here you will find 16 violins to suit any budget, a great way to learn more about your possibilities and limitations, and to find your creative spark.

Without a Plan

Finally, put an extra dose of excitement into proceedings by travelling without a plan. You don’t need to organise everything, or even anything, in order to have a good time. You’ll find that it’s a lot more exciting to simply figure things out as you go!

June 12, 2016
Thisispaper Store

Thisipaper is a multidisciplinary design studio founded in 2011 and based in Warsaw. Working on different projects, ranging from graphic design and art direction to retail design and print publishing, Thisipaper have established themselves as one of the most exciting studios emerging from Poland.

You might know Thisispaper because of their magazine and nicely curated blog, but they also design their own bags, all made by hand in their workshop and using local materials. Until recently, all their products were only available through their online shop but now you can also visit their new space on Odolańska 6/8 in Warsaw.

The new store features a quiet and clean interior as a result of the transformation of a dental clinic from the soviet era and it is located just next to the studio. Apart from the Dieter Ram’s Braun Audio 1 Stereo which fills the interior with sound, the main element of the space is the wall-to-wall shelving system designed in collaboration with Polish design firm TYLKO and showcasing all of Thisipaper’s products.

www.thisispaper.com

Store images by Maja Wirkus
Product images by Max Zielinski

June 11, 2016
Become An Expert In Accessorizing

If you want to look your absolute best, you need to make sure that you are aware of how to accessorize. The ability to accessorize whatever you might be wearing is one of those things that can really make all the difference in the world in terms of how your overall appearance looks. If you are keen to make sure that you are engaging in the kind of style which is likely to work for you, then an awareness of how to accessorize properly will certainly come in handy. As it happens, there are some rules and general advice which anyone can follow if they hope to be able to accessorize better, and we are going to take a look at just some of those in this article today. Consider the following if you want to be considered accessorization royalty.

Photo Credit

The Value Of It

First of all, it is incredibly helpful if you understand and appreciate why it is that accessorizing is quite so important. The better that you understand this, the more tempted you will be to get better at it, and the more likely you will be to know how to approach it. The goal of accessorizing in general is to give any outfit or look a sense of completeness. You should approach it with a sense of vibrant creativity, as it is essentially a form of art which you need to be creative with. By having fun with it and keeping it simple, you can create styles upon styles, and ultimately have a much more complete sense of what your own style is too.

Less Is More

There are many times in life when less is more, and accessorizing is absolutely the perfect example of this. In general, you want to go for a few, understated items at once. This will ensure that you are not overdoing it in a way which might make your outfit look absurd, and it will mean that you keep the practicalities of it simple enough for you to practice too. With this approach, you are aiming to find two or three simple items for each outfit, and no more. Stick to that kind of approach, and you should find that you are doing it in the right way – and if something doesn’t work perfectly, it won’t matter quite as much as if you had gone over the top with your accessories on the whole.

Photo Credit

Jewellery Always Works

A most common form of accessory is jewellery, and with good reason. There are very few occasions when jewellery does not work, and the more that you are aware of what jewellery can do in certain situations, the more that you can make use of it to complete any look. Jewellery always works if you approach it in the right way, but you do need to be aware of what is likely to work for you and what might not be such a good idea. That means knowing when and where to wear cartilage earrings or a hippy bracelet, and knowing when to leave such things at home. By becoming an expert in jewellery, you will become an expert in accessorizing at the same time, so this is important to consider.

Experiment With Colour

Colour is arguably the most important element of any accessory. As long as the colour is something that works for the outfit and the occasion, you can generally assume that you are doing it right. Of course, colour is fun too, and it is one area where you should absolutely feel able to experiment to your heart’s content. If accessorizing is an art, then the colours are literally your palette, and you need to ensure that you are mixing them in a way which is both aesthetically pleasing and likely to be enjoyable for you to engage in and wear too. The better you understand how colours work together, the better your accessorizing will be.

Photo Credit

Bold & Simple

A good general rule to keep your accessories in order is to try and find ones which are simple and bold, and which you can then match with understated clothing. That is a pretty sure-fire way to make your accessories work out well, and you will find that it is the best way to ensure that you are learning how to approach the essentials of accessorizing itself. Think bold and simple, and you will almost certainly be making the most of it. Then you can start to experiment outwards from that essential starting point.

June 10, 2016