Somewhere in between sleep and reality last night, I remembered a cow. Nice thoughts followed. I couldn’t convince myself that I would remember them in the morning, although I really tried, and so I wrote them down:
Writing, documenting, publishing. It’s a nice method to process life and an excellent way to remember the important things.
It’s funny how one of the scenes I remember most clearly from Haiti is the skinny cow from this post:
This cow was shared because I encountered her while being absolutely high on happiness. I get closer to that space just from remembering that overwhelming grateful feeling. I love you cow, I felt. And feel.
The essence of this entry?
When you realize that your spiritual cow guide probably is a bull, don’t miss the point. If you can find one reason to smile right now, don’t overthink it – just do it.
Vardø is basically located at the end of the world. Even the clouds today have the layout to confirm this statement, they rest like a kettle lock above this arctic fisher town and it’s 2000 and some inhabitants.
It’s like the car passes over from a land bathing in the evening sun beneath distant pink clouds into a shadowy world of brown hills and grey grass. There are no trees. Reindeer run across the road from time to time.
You don’t see a lot of people. Urban winds have reached this rural place though. Hidden though town you can spot several murals, graffiti and other displays of creativity.
Pøbel (probably the most famous Norwegian street artist ever) invited several leading street artists from around the world to Vardø back in 2012. They arranged the art festival called «Komafest». I guess the goal was to wake Vardø back to life with graffiti. I hope they come back to repeat it someday.
Vardø’s history is rich and full of dark chapters. Vardøhus fortress was built in the 13th century. The place would witness some of Europe’s biggest witch trials 300 years later.
Almost one hundred people were burned for dancing with the devil under a full moon, learning dark arts from black cats and drinking bewitched beer…
Today you can read their stories at Steilneset Witch Monument where a light shines for every victim of the witch hunt.
Steilneset
Another noteworthy thing about Vardø:
It’s a senter for top secret NATO-activity.
See those balls in the skyline?
They are radars, Globus I and II.
A third one is being built as you read this. A Russian Bitcoin Factory will soon open it’s doors as one of the closest neighbors to this new radar. American army families are moving into town, according to local media. A lot seems to be going on under the surface here. One of the houses facing the only road leading from the tunnel which connects this arctic island to Norwegian mainland, may very well be recording all comings and goings to town. I have a rich imagination and can’t help feeling watched, although I’m not sure if it’s the spies or the witches who are behind it.
What I am sure about is that Vardø is an inspiring place. It makes you want to think and write and paint.
For years now I have watched footage filmed using drones, musing about how cool it is to be able to get a bird’s view of the world, to see your neighborhood from a totally new angle – What a time to be alive for a photographer, I thought.
And so, I decided to buy a DJI Air, because it’s tiny and therefore very portable. #instantlove. Deciding turned out to be much easier than buying.
Far up north, where I live, it takes a while to get your hands on a drone. I did consider ordering online, but I happen to be one of those people who need to touch expensive technology before making a purchase.
Weeks went by before I found an electro shop that actually had the Air in store. They couldn’t sell it me though. Their model was only for display… #thenorth
In the end, I found a drone to grope and buy on a journey to the Capitol (read: Oslo, where northerners should never-ever shop, because we need to support our local businesses or risk a ban from the community).
After finally-FINALLY flying my drone for the first time, I realized one thing:
I’m a shitty pilot.
I’ve watched tutorials on YouTube. I’ve learned the joysticks. But my brain refuses to understand how all that connects to flying.
Have a visual on your drone, they say. I get that. But I never get what’s the front and the back of the thing. And how do I keep a visual on the controls at the same time as watching the drone?
I wish I had played more video games as kid, but it was not considered to be a productive activity back then. I’m pretty sure it still isn’t in many circles. My drone problems however, remind me of those frustrating times when I actually got to play video games while visiting friends. I remember feeling like a retard. Let all kids play with technology, I say.
Moving on. What I lack in flying skills, I hide with skillful editing.
!!! DON’T watch this if you are in danger of suffering an epileptic seizure !!!:
Oh, how I hate not being instantly good at stuff. I’ve given up on a lot of things because they didn’t come easy, especially when I was younger. Fortunately, I’ve learned that the pleasure of mastering a challenging skill through hard work brings more satisfaction than being a natural tal is awarding as well.
The clue is figuring out which areas you want to conquer and then work toward that. That’s way better than spending time on useless activities where you happen to excel. I’m very good at building homes for my Sims, for instance, but I’ll prioritize flying my drone instead.
You’ll hopefully see the results. Eventually.
PS. In case you wonder what I did instead of gaming: Handball. I also often play-pretended to be on a disco with my BFFs on top of a roof next to school, smoking stolen cigarettes and arguing about who’s turn it was to play «the boys».
Feel free to share embarrassing stories from your childhood in the comments below 😉
My Sony family has new member, the beautiful camera on the picture below.
My mom keeps asking me how much it cost in a disapproving way. I haven’t dared telling her… *:D
There are a couple cameras at work too.
(mine is in the left corner)
But I cannot bring them home for an extended amount of time, or to Africa. They are not mine.
If you have not read «The Little Prince» by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, you should. I reread it in a burst the other day. It’s not about cameras, but I keep remembering this phrase, along with a little lump in my throat:
He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world.
Anyhows…
The point of having an awesome camera in your bag at all times is that you start looking at world differently, depending on which optics you carry. All sorts of new perspectives open up. Did that make sense in English?
At the very least: A camera is a good reason to look around instead of staring at your feet. Wow. I just realized it’s actually a reason to leave the house.
My heart froze for a second before I realized Nina was asking about the plush doll she had placed above the curtain rails. I thought the kitty was cute and noticed how it looked kind of homemade when I first saw it. Now all I see is horns.
As I left work today, I had this happy feeling in my tummy, called VACATION!
It will only last a week, but this I know: A week of vacation and traveling is worth many weeks of everyday life. My colleagues will barely notice that I’m gone, while I will feel that a lifetime has passed when I see them again.
Yay.
I’m celebrating by packing and looking up my old traveling galleries ❤
You will know what I’m talking about if your town has one street, one shopping centre, one pub, one club, one… well, only one option for pretty much everything. And if you have an ex – then you will get the dangers of leaving your house.
You can have a normal day until you see your ex’s car (which there is only one of around here) drive up to the parking lot in front of the mall, with a female passenger who reaches to his shoulder when he hugs her on the way in.
You might stay inside on a Saturday night, but your friends will not. And they will tell how intimately he danced with her, before sending you a message in the early morning hours, asking if you are awake. I was not awake, fortunately.
So I didn’t blog yesterday. It took me approximately one minute to find The New Girl on Facebook and become utterly depressed. She’s gorgeous. I tried drowning my sorrows in ice cream and watched Netflix.
Is it stalking if it only takes one minute?
Today, I’m trying to focus on how I’m doing quite fine in the moment, and not stress about the mistakes of the past, the future or other people. I’m trying to focus on me… I want to do something nice for myself.
I’m washing my clothes and cleaning my room. Again >_<
Maybe you have some good advice for me, Great Internet. What can I do to feel better?
You know what happens when your backup hard drive crashes? Personally, I lose the motivation to take more pictures. What’s the point of preserving a moment or a memory for ever, if you won’t see it ever again?
And those crashes, they happen to me a lot. Do they happen to you too?
So I haven’t taken pictures for months (except for ❤ work <3). Because what’s the point? Also, it’s dark outside >_> #polarnights
Then, I decided to look through my old backup disk earlier today.
Preparing for New Year (Christmas isn’t really celebrated in Russia), Year: 199x
There will be no photo summary of 2015 on this blog. “R.I.P. stupid hard drive”. Instead – pictures of christmas past:
Utrecht 2010
Sometime during this photo session, I realize that Caroline is my BFF ❤ Oslo 2010
Think of nothing 