Have you ever found yourself totally out of ideas what to shoot in winter? I had. It’s cold and grey outside wherever I see and go. I do miss colors of spring. Bear in mind, it’s already on the way! The weather in London is actually quite nice, I haven’t met any snow since mid December which was also not that much. There are many other countries though that completely snowed in! I can’t wait for the flowers to grow out and bloom again, and to see the trees in full green! How wonderful it is!

In the morning I played around in the living room with my crayon set and the natural light that filled the entire room. I also decided to provide you with some tips about how to pump up your creative mind.

First let me introduce you the army of creativity that has been hiding under my bed for months!

Here goes the story. Pic nr. 1 above: Creativity in prison.

Pic nr. 2 A brave heart has just arrived to rescue his friends. The defense is crawling on the ground and keeping an eye on the enemy.

Pic nr. 3 The first soldier of creativity is just leaving the prison where they had to live for months!

Pic nr. 4 The rest is ready to RUUUN…

Pic nr. 5 …while defense is lining up.

Is your brain wired for creativity? I’m pretty sure all of us are creative in one field or the other. But only a very small fraction of these people realize that they are indeed capable of creating ideas. And, even more, only a few of these actually take steps to use their inbuilt creativity. Is this the end of the world now? Nope. There are many ways to pump out those hidden ideas. Even though creativity is inbuilt, it is also a skill that grows upon practice.

So how can you enhance the creativity that you already have as default?

1.       Brainstorming

Take a paper and a pen, give a theme or a keyword and ask your brain to generate as many ideas as possible. Just simply let your mind go crazy. Do not restrict or put constraints to it. Just leave your brain free to think whatever it can, how crazy it can be. At the end your creativity will get a boost and you start to generate a bunch of great ideas.

2.       Read books/magazines/articles

Reading gives you an opportunity not just to think with your mind but to think on different topics on different styles with different perspectives. It will also equip you with enough knowledge to come up with more and more useful ideas.

3.       Use tech

Record every idea that comes to your mind. Be on the bus, at the post office etc. – once you record an idea, it will trigger your thinking and will generate an even bigger pack of ideas. (In this case I use my iPhone for instance. But a piece of paper would do the same trick, too.)

4.       Reflection

At the end of each day, take at least 5 minutes to reflect on your creative process. What thoughts and ideas are emerging from your daily activities? Are there any further steps that are necessary to take that great idea to the next level?

5.       An extra tip

If you find the same ideas keep popping up again and again, don’t ignore them, as it is a sign that it’s time to take actions.

I’m really curious how you usually keep your brain in a good condition, so feel free to share them!

Have fun and let your creativity out of prison to color your life!

“When the world says ‘Give up’, hope whispers ‘Try it one more time’.”

~ Unknown Author

Hi my Dears,

I’d just like to share a few words with you during the holidays. The new year is almost here and we tend to come up with more and more resolutions for this new year coming. Whether you decide to start a new business, or let’s consider something smaller goals, like learning to play the piano or knitting a new scarf, it’s always hard not to give up what we started. Dare to dream. Think big or go home. The question is how. Here is a short list of steps I came up with a couple of minutes ago when I thought about my resolutions for the new year.

1. Define your “mission impossible” with clear direction. Think of it as a new opportunity.

2. Specify your project’s outcome by what you want to learn, not by numbers or financial results. It will help you keep your mind focused.

3. Make true progress each day. Every little step will make you further.

4. Track what you learn and never look back. You’ll never achieve your goal within a second or in one big step. Sometimes you may find yourself taking 2 steps forward and one step back. Whenever you embrace any setbacks, consider them as new opportunities.

Chasing your dream is like being on a huge playground. Never stop exploring all the ways you can reach them! Never underestimate yourself! Believe in yourself! There’s no other recipe like this.

May all your wishes come true in the new year!

‘It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.’

~ W. T. Ellis

Well almost. One more week to sleep.

Today we had a kinda little snow storm in the last couple of hours, and I found a beautiful white cover layer out in the balcony. Now – two hours later – all clouds are gone, the sky is blue and the sun is brightly shining. Will we have any snow tomorrow? Who knows? Welcome in London.

I had a little time in the afternoon playing around with the few Christmas props I have in my new home – not that much though, I’ll go home for the holidays. Yayy I can’t wait!! Time is going so fast, really, I clearly remember when I arrived at London in August, I can’t believe this…

I wanted to fill my heart with some warm tones while it was snowing outside. I don’t drink coffee but I pretty much like how I can play around with such color tones in PS. Sometimes much better than a simple black and white or a color photo. I’m planning a few photo sessions for the last days of the year, will definitely try this kind of processing on my portrait shots too.

Have a nice weekend to all of you! And enjoy the last week before Christmas!

A new day has come…or well..will come next Saturday! After so much time spent with hunting for a new, lovely, warm and cozy home, finally today we have found the one that will be the best for homecoming. As some of you may know we moved to London not so long ago leaving our – well it would sound funny but really – luxurious life behind in Hungary, just to set up a new life and make a dream come true. A dream that I have been dreaming about for more than a year now. After packing all my stuff into a luggage, driving miles across beautiful countries in Europe, living here and there – at friends or with strangers – I think I can tell you now that we finally arrived. We just landed in a new world with full of opportunities, with a big basket of love, joy and happiness. You might be wondering what I’m talking about. Some people say that home is where the heart is. And I definitely agree with this! However when you’re forced to move in and out from one house to another, you don’t or rather can’t really feel that it’s really a warm cozy home that you live in. On one hand I tend to be a bit sensitive. My home should really be the place where I’m happy to go home after work, where I’m happy to invite my beloved family & friends, or where I’m just by myself sitting at the fireplace and reading my favourite book. And finally we have found THE HOME! Now I can go back studying photography again – with full of new energy!

We’ll move in next weekend, this photo was taken in the garden of the house where we currently live. To all my lovely friends: wherever you are, whatever the weather is, don’t forget to share some love with the people you love!

Have a wonderful weekend to all of you!

xoxo
Lolo

Here we go! I’m happy to share with you the results of my hard work in the Creativity Boot Camp I participated in during the last 2 weeks. Tons of thanks to Maegan for this wonderful opportunity. I had such a great time!! Even if I had been fighting with the time pressure or lack of inspiration sometimes, I think I could raise my creativity to the next level. I started to admire things that people usually tend to ignore in their everyday life. These are tiny little treasures, moments that make our life happier. I’m lovin’ this creative work so much!

13 things I have learnt in the camp: (One point, one day)

1. I have learnt how to state purposes, plans in an effort to drive actions towards goals.
2. I started getting comfortable calling myself an artist since I create beauty.
3. I am able to disarm my creative buzz kills.
4. Inspiration is always there around me. It can’t be turned on or off, I’m not un-inspired but rather inspiration is just slow going.
5. I see the world on a deeper emotional level.
6. I discovered how much freedom I have while shooting. It can take me anywhere. I just need to believe in myself.
7. I have been affected by thousands of things going around me. It can be overwhelming sometimes. So I decided to take 15 minutes of my day to clear my mind and consider my direction or path on this challenging journey.
8. I also need to take time for revisiting old emotions and looking at parts of myself that I maybe hadn’t looked at in some time.
9. I have learnt that photography is a way of art that cannot be done without passion.
10. Art is all around us. The whole world is full of infinite collections of wonderful and original masterpieces. I’m happy to be a part of this world. I cannot resist urging to create myself. The wanting becomes desire, the impossibilities become attainable, and the obstacles begin to melt away. Meanwhile my world is changing, the meaning of my life now includes the need to create. And once I have reached this place, the little things that I have thought were standing in the way of my being more creative just melt away one by one.
11. I believe that I’m a creative being and that all of life’s twists and turns take part in forming my own personal creativity. With that in mind, I can look back at my life in timeline fashion and see how each turn, point, stumble, hurdle, back step, and milestone has led me to this exact point in my life.
12. Even if there is no direct path to take, I dare to dream. As a child I thought everything would come true one day. Now it takes a lot more courage to dream, to even think of leaving my place of comfort to travel down a thorny and overgrown path to a place of uncertainty. I now know that every path I make will lead me to another. Right now I begin clearing the path towards these dreams. Small baby steps, not more…
13. I will always remember that the possibilities of this world are wide open and that if there is a dream in my heart I can make it happen. I just need to believe that the hard work of getting there is all in my capable hands.

7 promises I have made today:

I promise to spend 15 minutes each day creating.

I promise to talk about my creativity with others.

I promise to continue to challenge myself creatively because that is how I get better.

I promise to be kind to my creative spirit.

I promise to applaud my achievements.

I promise to cultivate relationships with people who share my creative interests.

I promise to call myself an artist.

By successfully finishing this camp I can tick the next point on my life list.

Hey Y’all,

keep smiling! Today is the last day in the camp that made me really crazzzy during the last two weeks. I have been struggling a lot with timing and sometimes lack of inspiration. Probably this was not the best time for this project, however I’m so glad that I could finish it. Today’s word prompt is ‘smile‘. My heart is smiling when I look at this funny pic I took today. At first I was totally out of inspiration but when I looked at my phone, there was a big smiley on the screen, so I thought I should come up with something funny with my iPhone.

I have collected 10 things why it is important for YOU to keep smiling:

1. A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.
2. Always remember to be happy because you never know who’s falling in love with your smile.
3. The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.
4. A friendly look, a kindly smile, one good act, and life’s worthwhile.
5. A smile can brighten the darkest day.
6. Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.
7. All the statistics in the world can’t measure the warmth of a smile.
8. A smile is a powerful weapon; you can even break ice with it.
9. A smile is something you can’t give away; it always comes back to you.
10. It takes a lot of work from the face to let out a smile, but just think what good smiling can bring to the most important muscle of the body… the HEART.

What do you think? Can you add something to my list? 

With much love,

Your friend,

Lolo

Hello Campers,

look how soft this is! 

My quote for today:

A good friend is a connection to life – a TIE to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.

~ Lois Wyse

Have a wonderful Sunday, my Friends!

L.

I’m still trying to catch up. {Sigh…} I thought I missed one day but luckily not.

This is my submission for the ‘ornament‘ day in the camp. This is one of my favourite jewelleries.

And my quote for today:

If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.

~ Barack Obama

This photo is dedicated to my very good friend, Atish! Remember these words whenever you are feeling run down!

Hey Y’all,

this is my new submission for the ‘fluid‘ day in the camp. We had a great fun with the kids in the new pool in the garden. 

Hello Campers and My Friends,

today is the 4th day in our super-intensive e-camp held by Maegan. The creative part of my brain (brain??  do I have that??) is just blooming. LOL Our word prompt is ‘heavy metal‘. I don’t wanna tell you long blah blah, just a few words on this shot. Originally I wanted to post something more colorful, since my previous pics were rather black and white-ish. However I got home a bit late, and I didn’t have the stuff at home either  I wanted to do this shot with, so I finished this project in the evening. I’m so much missing my mother’s kitchen stuff now. I could have interpreted this word more properly. Cos this is not only metal… {Sigh} Well, they are quite heavy though, all my kitchen and photo stuff. Anyway sooner or later I’ll do it and share it with you. I’m full of ideas!

Some background info for this shot: Since I took up this way of creating art (got it? I’m trying to use the word ‘ART’ just as Maegan said!), I’ve started to ignore my other passion: cooking and baking. I expect this camp will teach me – among others – how to achieve a kinda good balance between photography and cooking. Photography is becoming more and more important in my life, just as cooking – to stay fit both creatively and physically. If I mix these properly, I’ll get a taste of life that I was dreaming of…blah blah… Am I getting too creative or rather crazy? Ok, no more hard core philosophy. 

Today we talked about inspiration. As for me I feel I can be inspired by almost everything. Usually tiny little details, everyday things that are all around us and people tend to ignore. I also like everything that is soft and dreamy, all pastell colors. Inspirational thoughts in a good book or a movie, flowers, and above all NATURAL LIGHT and KIDS. Their smile, their laugh, their touching eyes. I also get excited about architectural masterpieces, too. My style is continuously changing, so it’s not a miracle if I’m interested in everything. 

I can’t wait tomorrow’s challenge! See you on Friday!

xoxo,

Lolo