IN THE MOMENT

Hi there! My name is Ivana Kresic and I’m a photographer based in Basel/CH with monthly excursions to Ljubljana/SI. People with passion are my favourite subjects. On a more personal note, I’m learning German and I just love my 5 minutes with a perfect cappuccino. www.ivanakresic.com

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I have always had a thing for curves. :)

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Ville Lumière.

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Coffee and I

A short visit to Paris made me write a list of things to see and do – the usual suspects that lead me to those in-between-experiences, which actually make a memorable trip. And for the very first time I made a list of coffee places I wanted to check out. I just have had enough of “let’s have a cup of coffee at this lovely place” experiments, which usually ended with my big disappointment over a hot mess of a wannabe cappuccino. I’d say the older I am, the less forgiving I am, when it comes to my cup of coffee.

There are probably not many things in my life that I can backtrack all the way to childhood, but somehow, even to my own surprise, coffee is one of them. Since I can remember, a small exaggeration, I loved the smell of grounded coffee. Nevertheless my first coffee tasting – when I was a curious teenager learning about the ways of adults and my mum poured me a cup of home made coffee with some sugar and milk – didn’t deliver. It was only in my student years that I gave, actually I had to give, coffee a second chance.

I still remember the breath-taking beauty of Milos Island, Greece, and how my boyfriend and I had the greatest time cruising around it on a rented scooter. On this particular hot summer day we wanted to check out a cave that was marked on a small map of the island, which we got from a tourist office. We searched the marked area and couldn’t find any signs, anything that would point us towards the cave entrance. Not giving up easily, we were happy to come across an older man, a local, who was puzzled by the cave mark as we were. After we reached an agreement – since we didn’t speak the common language, we resorted to our pantomime skills – that no cave was to be found in these parts of the island, he gestured to follow him. We weren’t far from the coast and together we walked to this fascinating little bay, its coast dotted with blue, double-wing-wooden-doors, designed to protect boat storages that were carved into soft bedrock surrounding the bay. Those were the only “caves” our new-found-guide knew about. As if the bay was not already a great discovery in itself, he then opened a door to his hide, inviting us inside for a cup of coffee – so very nice of him and way out of my comfort zone. Not only I didn’t have language skills to politely decline his invitation, I also felt it would be totally wrong to do so. For sure, it was just coffee, but I was worried sick that when I tasted it, combined with my next to zero acting skills, I wouldn’t be able to conceal my dislike – therefore unintentionally hurt the host. My mind ran frantic circles – now I’m smiling about it, but back then it was a real struggle – until coffee was poured into small, espresso size, cups. I envisioned I’d only need to take a few sips to finish it off. As coffee was cooling down I got myself ready for the first sip. And? And it was absolutely fine. The biggest smile of relief you can imagine crossed my face. So right away, in total disbelief, I took another sip, followed by one more and sadly – I was truly disappointed – the coffee was gone. I’ve just started to get a taste of it. Although it still took me many years to start drinking coffee on a daily basis, it was there and then the old fisherman taught me, how a small act of making and drinking coffee together, no words necessary, brings people together.

Back to Paris. Even though a cold, drizzling, winter’s day in Paris might not be exactly what I bargained for, it also didn’t prevent me to enjoy exploring the city. And so much had to be absorbed that only in the early afternoon I realised I need my daily cup of coffee. A quick look at my coffee list revealed, a pure coincidence or something else, Télescope Café (pictured above) was to be found less than ten minutes away. And I shall only write, hopefully, I will be going back for more.

[ivanak]

The bigger picture

So, here it is. I wrote a 24 hours guide to my hometown Ljubljana/Slovenia, which got featured on one of my favourite design blogs, Design*Sponge, and I’m just overjoyed with all the warm response it generated. And to think that just last year Ljubljana and I were not on good photography terms. How so?

Last June I got an exciting job to make fresh, interesting and untypical photos of Ljubljana, which I didn’t deliver. Sure I did many rounds through city centre at various hours and on different days, but I just felt so out of place. I was dragging my camera around like a heavy load, and even though it was clear to me I was supposed to look for another angle I would repeatedly find myself photographing the familiar scene in – what I would best describe as – a postcard mode. The whole experience of photographing sucked, of course my photos were rejected and I even started to seriously question my photography skills. Trying to analyse my failure I remember talking to my friend, who actually gave me a good advice, which was to approach photographing my city as I was a tourist, and while this resonated with me, I broke the creative wall and not my head with a little help from Instagram. Somehow taking photos only with my phone camera made me much more at ease around my hometown and I started to rediscover Ljubljana all over again, spotting interesting details and moments all over the city.

Soon enough I itched to have some of the motives in better quality, so I took another walk around the centre with my heavy-duty camera. It was already autumn and I loved the way morning fog softened Ljubljana’s features. The result? After that early morning date Ljubljana and I were back on flirting terms and photography was fun again.

To wrap it up, obviously I kept going around Ljubljana with my camera and my collection of photos grew. So when this year a decision to move to Basel/Switzerland was finalised, I remembered how my grandfather approached a big change in his life. When he retired, he thought that best way to ease the change – from full time job to no work at all – was by taking up a project, therefore he decided to write a history of his company. So, in tune with my grandfather’s legacy, I came with an idea to do something while in between cities and countries. I wrote a guide to my hometown. It got published. And the circle is complete.

Follow this link for 24 hours guide to Ljubljana/Slovenia.

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Ain't no mountain high enough.

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My fav kind of lost. Lost in music.

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As good as it gets. This smart non-alcoholic cocktail, which Mario Marković mixed up for Simply Clever Magazine, is a perfect companion on a hot summer day.

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Behind the photo

I'd love to share one of my latest behind the photo moments. It took place in former Warteck Brewery in Basel, that was remodelled to house various cultural events. This time of the year, middle of the June 2015, Liste Art Fair Basel, with young aspiring artists and their work, occupied scattered rooms and spaces. And there is one mega modern steel stairway - I'd love to say to heaven – a fine, sharp and bright object, which is in total contrast to an old-washed-out-brick-building. So it's not a coincidence that it attracted my attention and I did some photos of the stairs from the top, then walked down a bit and when I looked up again, there it was. Three of friends, who were enjoying the site from a terrace above me, were framed by a perfect triangle of steel. I instantly stopped, got my iPhone and just before I started taking photos I made sure my handbag, a bluish clutch, was safely secured in-between my knees. A few seconds later I moved a bit to my left to change the angle, however my handbag didn’t follow, it fell right on the ground. Just to make sure it wasn’t in anybody’s way and without loosing much time, which was crucial, I just shoved the handbag with my left foot closer to the fence and continued to take some more pictures. Now - I’m a little lost for details and you will learn why in a bit - but when I finished taking photos, my first thought was to look for my handbag, which wasn’t where I left it, next to my feet. I think it was a polite ‘Excuse me.’ behind my back that got me to turn around and face a tall handsome stranger with nicely slicked back hair, dark-frame-glasses and a beard. And to my big surprise he was holding my handbag. Now that I think of it, the colour of my handbag matched his jacket. So there he was, with my handbag, patiently waiting for me to take as many photos as I needed, not interrupting, while taking care of my personal belongings, that I just left to lie on the ground. You can’t imagine how positively shocked I was, so when I took my handbag back, I only murmured a polite ‘Thank you.’ followed with ‘Merci.’ Thank you so much again, kind random guy.

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Towards the light.

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Ich wollte ja nichts als das zu leben versuchen, was von selber aus mir heraus wollte. Warum war das so sehr schwer?

Hermann Hesse, Demian

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So proud to be an official photographer of Mavretic Wine. Their wonderful Sauvignon Ice wine has just won Gold medal at Decanter World Wine Awards 2015. Congrats!

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Love myself a little cheese with history. This embossed little hard cheese, called trnič, used to be made by Slovenian herdsmen, who brought cattle to the mountain pastures of Velika planina during the summer. Usually two of a kind – with the same pattern – were made (it takes approx. 2 litres of milk to make one trnič) and resemblance to women’s breasts is not accidental. In autumn, on their return to the valley, herdsman would offer one trnič to his beloved as a token of faithfulness or, even better, to propose marriage. Today its bling-bling ambitions are long gone and trnič is celebrated as a Slovenian delicacy.

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Looking up to find beauty in unexpected places.

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#24hourproject Basel/Switzerland

It all started with an Instagram post, which instantly caught my attention. @aliveinny announced the 2015 edition of the #24hourproject. Here is what the official page states about the project: “A streetphotography project to document world’s humanity in one single day. Worldwide participants shared their city stories through one photo per hour during 24 hours.”

Coming from Ljubljana/Slovenia to live in Basel/Switzerland I recognised the project as a perfect opportunity to learn more about Basel and its people while being creative. Besides I was just fresh out of reading “The book of my Lives” by Aleksandar Hemon, in which author also reflects on his extraordinary experience of building a bond with his new city to be, Chicago/USA. Let’s just say that his endless roamings around the neighbourhoods of Chicago were a foundation of getting familiar with the city altogether. I read his book in February and soon afterwards I came upon the #24hourproject. Bingo. And even though I had some unresolved issues concerning the safety of roaming around Basel in the wee hours of Saturday, not to mention logistic issues of when and where to recharge my iPhone battery, I applied.

Since a single picture speaks a thousand words, I’ll only make a short recap. It turned out this was such a rewarding project. Firstly, Basel is a really safe city, even at night. Secondly, as it was demanding to find subjects or the lack of them every hour, 24 hours straight, it was amazing how easily photo opportunities presented themselves if I kept myself alert (obviously countless coffee breaks were the key). Thirdly, people of Basel are such a great crowd and they responded positively to my picture taking. Lastly, and not insignificant, I learnt, where to charge my iPhone while enjoying a great cappuccino. :)

instagram.com/ivana.kresic

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Winter wonderland.

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Throwback Thursday

Behind the scenes… 5Ys ago… location Socerb/Slovenia… Playboy Slovenia centerfold shoot.

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With recurring muscle pain around my right shoulder blade I knew I needed to change something in my daily routine, but I didn’t know where to start. Usually I resorted to massages, which always helped, but I didn’t do anything else to prevent the pain to begin with. Definitively the constant lifting and carrying of heavy camera gear, together with long hours sitting at a computer, haven’t helped with the condition. So it was such a relief, when this last summer a perfect workout came my way (Thank you Iva for introducing me to Tanja.). Not only we had a wonderful photo shooting with Tanja and team of instructors for her Pilates studio Tanergija, moreover I finally found an excellent exercise regime for me. And after almost 3 months of practising Pilates, I can happily report that I notice a great difference in my posture and above all, I feel that not just my back, but entire core, is much much stronger. I believe I’m hooked for life.