This one shows Petrovaradin fortress in the fog. Took it during one of those days when you just grab your camera and wander off. I was drawn to the river (Danube)..that’s where the fog came from.

I needed even wider angle than the lens provided, so I took 2 shots and later stitched them together. It makes this sort of panoramic shot :)

I almost forgot about this one..as if it was taken ages ago. I was lugging bags to the Belgrade bus station looking forward to the rest of the summer holiday and the seaside when I found myself stunned with this scene. The sun just set behind horizon and the clouds were still lit with wonderful red light. It affected the colors of the sky at this one (compaired to the previous one where PS did it:) The building was well illuminated so it retained its original colors. Ppl from Bgd will recognize the building..it’s some governmental..and I’m very sceptical when it comes to shooting gov, mil and other forbidden-for-common-people sites, but this is one one of those shots that makes you extremely satisfied when you take it and makes up for all those crowded bus rides and long walks when you had a 2-pound camera strapped around your neck :) If you have one, you’ll get my point :) If you don’t have one..get it..join the club! :)

If you should notice that I’m posting sky twice in a row, I must say it’s a coincidence :) Photo Friday challenged us with Massive, and this one came to my mind. What could be more massive than a gov building :) Alloy of concrete and bureaucracy.. :)
And apropos its name..as you can see from my latest screenshot, I was listening to an old Dutch blues-rock band called Livin’ Blues and their song Blue Breeze was on in the moment I was saving this for web..perfect match :)
I’ve also discovered Tony Joe White who, just like Livin’ Blues does, leaps out of conventional understanding of blues. Thumbs up for both of them.

G, I missed you all :) I guess you think I was fed up with everything, took a 3 month break and sailed to some exotic Polinesian island? Well..you’re right! :) Naah..you’re not :)
From today on, I can show off with my new MT 3.2. I was messing with MT 3.1 and 3.17 three months ago and screwed it, that’s why I took that “3 month trip to an exotic island” :)
Other, more important, things in life occupied me, forcing me to neglect the site, but it all settled down fine, so I’m back in the saddle :)

So, it wasn’t an exotic island, but nevertheless I had a great time in Boka Kotorska. Some other time I’ll write more about it.

My efforts to go to a 2-month traineeship (mandatory for continuing my studies) to Izmir, Turkey failed so I looked for one round here. I got a chance to be a trainee in a local company dealing with financial expertise and auditing (my proffesional call). By the middle of the week I was offered a freelancing contract, and by the end of the week they offered me a full-time job :) Whoa..a chance no to be missed :) Right out of the blue :) Well..what can I say..there is that thing about me..I’m irresistible ;)

The photo? You get my point :)

Ana’s bday is tomorrow :)

Let’s rock’n'roll baby! :)

ANNABEL LEE

by Edgar Allan Poe
(1849)

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;–
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

She was a child and I was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love–
I and my Annabel Lee–
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud by night
Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me:–
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of a cloud, chilling
And killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we–
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in Heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:–

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea–
In her tomb by the side of the sea.

– THE END –

Techical data:
Camera/Lens: Nikon D70 / Nikkor 18-70mm 1:3.5-4.5G
Date: 06.05.2005 9:19:24 PM
Exposure: 1/500
Exposure program: Manual settings
Aperture: f4.5
White balance: Manual /cloudy/
Focal length: 70 mm
Flash: SB-600 sync. with built in flash unit
ISO: 200
Original name: DSC_3855

There is a song by Deep Purple called April..one of my favorite. It does depict that month in it’s full spectrum. A lot of sudden changes and turmoils, storms and sunsets, clouds and rainbows.. This is gonna be a long entry I see..so if you’re impatient, leave at once..go download April, listen to it..then come back :) The point was that this April was the one I’ll never forget.
One of the reasons was my birthday (and I am not to keen about it) at the end of the month. The bracelet you see at the photo is my bday present from Ana. If I tell you that’s hand made (by her, of course) you’ll understand why I love it so much! :) The silver bands are strips of tin, and the rest is leather. I can only imagine how much work it took, but when you love someone..there is no mission impossible :)
On photo techique used to shoot this one..I used external flash unit (though this one might not be the best illustration of what I achieved with it :) ) placing it left of this pro looking setup :p In order to achieve more diffused light I covered the flash with newspapers :) The distance of cover varied..so is the quantity of burned paper smoke :) At the moments I had feeling I was shooting near some incense sticks :) In the background you can see two couch cushions :)
One of the things you might find interesting is that I finally bought charger for my laptop, so I’m back in the blog-game. Damned thing was neither easy to find nor cheap. I was tempted to make it on my own!
One more thing I feel good about is that I finally found some time to finish “Neverwinter nights”. An RPG game I played two years ago for the first time, but never finished it. This year I started it from the beginning and devoted all free time in last couple of days to get to it’s end. My hero (ranger/cleric) saved the city of Neverwinter and all I can do now is to recommend it to you :)

Techical data:
Camera/Lens: Nikon D70 / Nikkor 18-70mm 1:3.5-4.5G
Date: 06.05.2005 9:01:46 PM
Exposure: 1/500
Exposure bias: 0.0 EV
Exposure program: Manual settings
Aperture: f4.5
White balance: Manual /cloudy/
Focal length: 70 mm
Flash: SB-600 sync. with built in flash unit
ISO: 200
Original name: DSC_3826

The other day I was in doubt which photo to upload first. The one you already might’ve seen or this one. Now I’m in doubt whether to post this one or the one rotated 90° CW. I’ll stick to this one.
For this time I chose to share with you my love story. I’m proud of it, and you might find it interesting.
All my girlfriends? I’ll start alphabetically..heading to the letter Z. There was Yvonne..then Zelda..then.. :) It’s Benny Hill’s gag :)

I’ve “met” Ana in a chat room in summer 2001. That day I’ve met several other people (read: girls) as well, and while conversation with them followed an expected pattern (a/s/l, blah..music..blah..movies..) the one with Ana went an unexpected way. For instance, we talked about wedding rings :lol We kept meeting at chat, then stared e-mail converstaion and finally mobile text messaging. We phoned each other not very often, but we definitely made it up by sending hundreds of text messages each day. That was one of the key points of our relationship. We learned to talk..to talk things out..to overcome every problem with conversation.
Even writting this excites me :) Our first meeting (live) took place almost six months after we met on the chat. I’ll never forget that afternoon. She was waiting for me at previously arranged spot, feeling the same emotions..the same bitter sweet insecurity I felt rushing there with a rose in my hand. Yes, it’s a cliche, but this time I was starring :)
We started visiting each other more often and often..but even present rhythm of one day a week (mind the holidays and vacations) is not far enough. Yup..we’ve become slaves to the distant relationship. And we’re enjoying every single second of it! The good thing of that kind of relationship is that whatever bad happens during the week is going to be healed over the weekend :) One bad side, on the other hand, is that time takes by much much faster, as our minds are warping through the week eagerly waiting for the weekend to come.
Do I sound confusing? Like I’m in love? Well.. :)

Both pictures (this one and the last one) are taken spontaniously and both are symbols of mutual state of mind when together. Weekends bring us mental rest (apart from phisical exhaustion..even when we behave) and calmness, peace of mind..and her gaze at the previous one depicts our absence from this world when we’re together. We’re there, but we don’t interact with it..observers from above..like those two angels from Wenders’ Der Himmel über Berlin. There’s a whole new world around us..just for us.

Techical data:
Camera/Lens: Nikon D70 / Nikkor 18-70mm 1:3.5-4.5G
Date: 16.04.2005 11:22:28 AM
Exposure: 1/60
Exposure bias: 0.0 EV
Exposure program: Shutter priority
Aperture: f4.5
White balance: Manual /Cloudy/
Focal length: 70 mm
ISO: 800
Flash: Built in + Nikon SB600 /bounced/
Original name: DSC_3278

How often you find yourself lost in the mess you made? How often do you see no way out?

This one was taken at the same site as the last one. Something just attracted me to that pile of nylon bags..it was a bit mysterious..there could be a cut-off human head beneath it..one can never tell :)

Oh, nylon was not named after New York and LONdon. Read more.

UPDATE: 09. April 2005. I’m signing this one in for PhotoFriday’s Plastic Challenge.

Techical data:
Camera/Lens: Nikon D70 / Nikkor 18-70mm 1:3.5-4.5G
Date: 18.01.2005 3:37:10 PM
Exposure: 1/125
Exposure bias: 0.0 EV
Exposure program: Aperture priority
Aperture: f4.5
White balance: Manual /cloudy/
Focal length: 70 mm
ISO: 200
Original name: DSC_2279

This is the “Cathedral”, the one and only in Novi Sad, built between 1893 and 1895 in neogothic style. If you ask me, that’s the most beautiful building in Novi Sad. And “2 minutes to midnight” is a song from Iron Maiden. When you add a vail of night to a religion, what you get is more than ghostly..it’s horror :)
The building itself is not this bluish, but the white balance was set to tunsten and some big street tv screen was playing some blue video, so I turned out completely diferent..ghostly :)

However, these days I’ve been poisoning myself with something else..C.C.R. and The Chemical brothers.

Techical data:
Camera/Lens: Nikon D70 / Nikkor 18-70mm 1:3.5-4.5G
Date: 24.02.2005 8:07:41 PM
Exposure: 10sec
Exposure program: Aperture priority
Aperture: f22
White balance: Manual /Tungsten/
Focal length: 18 mm
ISO: 200
Original name: DSC_2822

Photo you see is greatly inspired by one I shot few years back. The “window” you see is the same one. What differs is a camera and time of shooting. This one was shot at sunset time, so the shadows I wanted to (re)capture are not the same as at the “original”. I still haven’t scanned the analogue photo, but I’m planning to (Update: 3 years have passed, and I’m still planning to :) ).

Last night I realized it’s February the 15th and that the deadline for submitting photos to JPGMag ends at midnight! Thanks god for timezones :) They asked for our vision of LOST.

Techical data:
Camera: Nikon D70
Lens: Nikkor 18-70mm 1:3.5-4.5G
Date: 08.01.2005 4:01:15 PM
Exposure: 1/20s /handheld/
Exposure program: Aperture priority
Aperture: f4
White balance: Manual /cloudy/
Focal length: 29 mm
Flash: Off
ISO: 200
Cropped: No
Original name: DSC_2204

There were several things I wanted to write about, now I can’t think of any..I’m just too darned tired..yawning all the afternoon :) I’ve been off-line for several days cos I’ve been messing with Windows system files which I had to reinstall afterwards, which screwed up my MBR so I couldn’t boot Linux either and had no time to fix the mess :) All that fuss because I decided I want my Windows to look more like Mac’s OS X Panter :) Geeks will understand my urge :) You do? One word..g33k! ;)

Ah..the photo..well I still haven’t finished our little January the 8th tour :D But we’re getting to the end. This one’s a typical winter sunset..that is if you forget the snow for a second :) Speaking of which..it snowed last week and it was freezing -20°C..and as apeaking of freezing, right now I’m listening to Siberian Winter by Running Wild..a fast-lane instrumental.

And tomorrow, after Saturday morn at work, I’m off to Belgrade, to meet my lovely spirit of the summer! :)

Techical data:
Camera: Nikon D70
Lens: Nikkor 18-70mm 1:3.5-4.5G
Date: 08.01.2005 3:56:29 PM
Exposure: 1/640s
Exposure program: Aperture priority
Aperture: f4.5
White balance: Manual /cloudy/
Focal length: 38 mm
Flash: Off
ISO: 200
Cropped: Yes
Original name: DSC_2197