2011. április 12., kedd

The perfect shot

I really enjoy it when I can create some kind of a bond even if a temporary one with an unknown animal. My boyfriend and I went to Hyde Park to feed pigeons and squirrels one beautiful sunny afternoon. We wanted them on our arms and legs so we could take silly pictures of each other. I was more interested in the pigeons because squirrels tend to bite people’s fingers, they probably mistake them for the peanuts they hold. We sat down on a deserted bench, threw some breadcrumbs on the ground and immediately became surrounded by a whole bunch of pigeons. There were healthy looking fat ones, and ones which were more nervous and smaller. One of them was absolutely not intimidated by my close presence, flew on my arm, and stood there while I was feeding him, patiently waiting for me to grab his next bite. I believe it was a male because the others respected him, he was bigger than all of them and he had shiny, healthy looking feathers.
I of course was flattered by my achievements as a bird tamer and asked my boyfriend to take a picture of us, when suddenly it flew on my back for some reason, so I had to lean forward a bit to keep him balanced. I calmed down and started to enjoy the situation in a few seconds, and so the perfect shot of me looking backwards at the pigeon on my back could be taken.

Something unique

My breathing was settling after a long canter uphill. We stopped nearby a drying greengage tree. I closed my eyes because of the strong rays of the setting sun on one of the last of May’s colder afternoons. Thus I found myself in the middle of a wondrous mixture of experiences. I could feel the slightly cool breeze on my blushing cheeks. I leaned back a little, supported myself with my left hand, and let myself go. He still had a little left of his winter coat, I could feel it when moving my fingers. It was warm. We were just standing there on the top of that hill, concentrating on nothing and everything at once. I could feel his breathing slowing down, his muscles easing, him letting his head further down where it was more comfortable for him.
The smell of the beginning of summer was carried by the wind. The scent of horses, flowers, the nearby fishing lake, the grassy, moist soil, the freshness of the greengage woods surrounding us was all in a breath of air. I could hear the scattering of rabbits in the bush on our right. Twigs cracked under their feet. After that it was only a few chirps carried by the slow wind. Everything was at peace, and silent. At that time I felt I was really in sync with nature and my horse. I can’t even tell how much time we spent alone – but still together – on that same spot. I totally lost track of time. It felt both like a second and eternity.
Eventually I opened my eyes, leaving my dreamland behind. I had to twinkle for a while to get used to the bright light again. I was just staring at my horse’s mane when I noticed his ears moving from the side to the front. From that I knew these were our last moments of solitude; he could hear something moving.  A few moments later it became clear to me as well that the sound he heard was hoof humping on the ground. I was again amazed by his keen senses, sat up straight, stretched my limbs, patted him on the neck after hugging it, and prepared for the greeting of the riders approaching.

2011. február 28., hétfő

Expression, fashion, passion


Yes. These are a pair of shoes. A couple of ordinary everyday objects you may think, but there's more to them than what meets the eye.

A lot of things are represented by shoes. For example, think of the difference between sneakers and high heels. Trainers worn on an everyday basis means that you're an easy-going person, probably young and you represent -to some extent- the style and living of hi-hop. It's a bit odd if you don't know what the shoes that you wear represent. It's like wearing a tattoo saying 'I hate rednecks' in a bar full of rednecks. I'm just saying not knowing might be a friction point.

It's often said that one's defined by one's shoes. What you wear and the way they are kept clean says a lot about your personality. This pair in the picture belongs to a very sophisticated person, who has a very strong personality, strong opinion of things, and likes good quality products. Even the material which the shoes are made of matter. Leather in my opinion represents delicacy. It's harder to look after, and a material more problematic to work with.

Fashion sometimes becomes one's passion. So wearing the latest pieces may become one's primary goal every season. This might be because shoes can express your daily mood, your style, your way of thinking about the world, and even your opinion on some issues of politics. The list is endless, we all have infinite opportunities concerning what we wear on our feet.

2011. február 24., csütörtök

My little pony

This picture was taken after a hard day of work in Autumn lasy year. He's my ex-horse, Maza. I had to let him go unfortunately because of a bunch of silly excuses, that's what the 'ex' stands for. Anyway, I adore this picture because it perfectly and fully describes him. We spent a lot of time together, so we really got to know each other, almost as we could read each other's minds. (Sometimes it did feel like that, and I tell you it creeped me out..)

He's a silly little horse, although as calm as a rock. He couldn't care less wether it was raining on him or not, or if the temperature was below zero. He has rather simple needs, just like water. I intentionally don't mention food here, because he manages perfectly only with grazing. To prove that he's a tough little fellow, I must say that he managed to grow up by my side, and became a happy, content, healthy and gentle horse. It didn't last me as long as I had him, so five years to figure out that he has a bottomless stomach. He takes a bite of basically everything besides meat products. At times, even potentially dangerous or unedible objects are on his menu. Because horses can't throw up, the intake of any unappropriate objects, substances, plants, whatever, can be and in some cases are lethal, so I kept on worrying about him every day, just like a normal person would do with his or her child. Feeding him is like a never ending story although as I said before, he doesn't need any further feeding other than a meadow. So this means, every time I fed him, I gave him an extra burst of energy. Well, energy would be the case with normal horses, but being the lazyest horse alive, in his case, only an extra layer of fat.

Lazyness only lasts until he sees a plastic bag in somebody's hands, because the sight of a bag like that triggers an automatic response; stickyness. He sticks onto anyone who's brave enough to wander around with a bag of clothes, riding accessories or anything basically, because he just cannot be convinced that under those clothes, under all your stuff there's no food at all. No carrots, no chocolate, no dried bread, not even a single scrap left of that peach flavoured biscuite from yesterday. Once we even had him running after us, when we started trying to escape from him. Although being a herbivore, he enjoyed the chase, the hunt for a small bite. Fortunately not a bite of our flesh... These were the times when I began to feel graceful for him being a grass eater.

Not even a lock can stand in his way when he gets a smell of something probably edible from inside a small building. Throughout the years he became an expert of opening doors and windows, stealing, and begging. Of course he never stole or begged for survival, only for fun I guess. This is the reason why I chose this picture, it makes me think of all those things he would go through for the smallest amount of food, without caring a bit even about his neck.