Julija Svetlova

Photography, Travel, Food and Wine adventures

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Since the COVID-19 lockdown, I have taken up drawing. This was my first drawing. 

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Since the COVID-19 lockdown, I have taken up drawing. 

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Since the COVID-19 lockdown, I have taken up drawing. 

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Since the COVID-19 lockdown, I have taken up drawing.

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Since the COVID-19 lockdown, I have taken up drawing. 

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I draw what I eat.

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Niko Pirosmani, a Georgian painter

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A chilly day in London.

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Cast Courts and Ironwork rooms at the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

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London Fog is an immersive fog sculpture which is set up on the open air terrace outside the Tate Modern gallery’s Switch House extension. It is created by the 83-year-old Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya, the daughter of the man credited with inventing the artificial snowflake.

Nakaya has been making fog sculptures for more than 50 years and has talked about the joy people get from walking through fog. “People love the feel of fog on their skin, immersed, wet and cold, but gentle and soothing. It’s a primary experience.”

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Spring menu by chef Albin de Lariviere at Victualler, the organic, biodynamic and natural Wine bar, restaurant and Wine shop.

Tue- Sun, 2 - 10.45 pm

Food from 6 pm

69 Garnet St, Wapping, London E1W 3QS

www.victualler.co.uk 

Photo credit Julija Svetlova/ @nejafeja

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Mercado Central, Valencia

In 1839, the spot had been used to inaugurate an open-air marketplace called Mercat Nou. The present modernist building was designed in 1914, but was only inaugurated as the Central Market in 1928. It was designed by Alejandro Soler March and Francisco Guàrdia Vial in the Art Nouveau style, yet it also mirrors some of the architectural influences of nearby buildings such as the Gothic Llotja de la Seda and the eclectic Gothic-baroque church of Saint Juane.

 Nowadays, it hosts about 959 stalls under its roof. Two of my favourite stops would be:

Central Bar  by Ricardo Camarena- always the freshest seafood and seasonal produce

Retrogusto Coffeemates- the best coffee in town, you can get anything here, from flat white to Chemex and Aeropress, made from scratch, with love.

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KRONSTADT NAVAL CATHEDRAL

The unique monument to the history of the Russian fleet – it is a Russian Orthodox Church dedicated to all fallen seamen. The cathedral was built by order of Emperor Nicholas II in 1903 in honour of the 200th anniversary of the Russian fleet. The Grand Naval Cathedral is one of the best examples of the neo-Byzantine style. The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul was the inspiration for the architect Kosyakov. The temple can accommodate up to 6,000 worshipers at a time. It is the second largest cathedral in Russia, after the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior Church.

All photos taken by me with Fuji GA645 camera and Fuji Provia 100 ISO film in summer of 2016

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The Photographer's Cookbook

We can argue for or against Food Photography but it is here to stay, always was always will. 

In the late 1970s, the George Eastman Museum approached a group of photographers to ask for their favorite recipes and food-related photographs to go with them, in pursuit of publishing a cookbook. Playing off George Eastman’s own famous recipe for lemon meringue pie, as well as former director Beaumont Newhall’s love of food, the cookbook grew from the idea that photographers’ talent in the darkroom must also translate into special skills in the kitchen. The recipes do not disappoint, with Robert Adams’s Big Sugar Cookies, Ansel Adams’s Poached Eggs in Beer, Richard Avedon’s Royal Pot Roast, Imogen Cunningham’s Borscht, William Eggleston’s Cheese Grits Casserole, Stephen Shore’s Key Lime Pie Supreme, and Ed Ruscha’s Cactus Omelet, to name a few. 

The book was never published, and the materials have remained in George Eastman Museum's collection ever since. Now, forty years later, this extensive and distinctive archive of untouched recipes and photographs are published in The Photographer’s Cookbook for the first time. The book provides a time capsule of contemporary photographers of the 1970s—many before they made a name for themselves—as well as a fascinating look at how they depicted food, family, and home, taking readers behind the camera and into the hearts, and stomachs of some of photography’s most important practitioners. 

See more at: http://aperture.org/shop/photographers-cookbook/

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Venice natural Wine Bars /Just a Few/

All Adriatico Mar

Modern interpretation of the Adriatic food and wine culture, from Greece to Puglia to Venice. Freshness, quality, tradition- everyone is welcome!

This small yet cosy bar is situated right on the bank Rio de S.Pantalon, just a short walk from the infamous Campo Di Santa Margherita.

Serving a wide range of natural wines from across the region, they also do a variety of deliciously tasty cicchetti, such as charcuterie and meat selection, octopus or gorgonzola with pear just to name a few. But beer lovers shouldn’t be put off either; this place serves the Venetian craft beer Sepia.

You can enjoy your food and drinks indoors while chatting to the witty owner or his humorous aid, as well as other customers, or relax on a tiny terrace watching the boats go by. There is also a nice selection of books about Venice, some of the titles went straight to my Amazon basket!

Here you can enjoy a glass of Pinot Grigio, which is not your regular white in colour but deep orange, as well as some really cloudy Spumante. Just trust your hosts, they will know how to treat you in an “all natural” way!

Address: Calle Crosera, 3771, 30125 Venezia, Italy

Phone: [phone]

Open: 10am- 10 pm

Estro- Vino e Cucina

Yet another pit stop for the natural wine aficionados, just around the corner from All Adriatico Mar. Bigger, with many wine and dishes on offers but with the less homely service. If you are here to try some wines, go for it. But if you are after a long and friendly chat with the staff maybe it is not the right place.

Advice is almost impossible to get so just point and order. All the wines that are served by the glass are lined up on the counter.

Also, pay attention to the glass creations by Mattia and Marco Salvadore, the young and dynamic glassmakers duo from Murano, as well as unique wine glasses by ElijahToffolo.

Address: Dorsoduro, 3778, Venezia, Italy

Phone: [phone]

Open: from 12pm to 10pm

Ristoteca Oniga

Also in Dorsoduro, this easy going yet impossible to get a table without reservation restaurant offers a turnover of creative and seasonal dishes. The wine list is nothing to write home about but try to express concerns to the charismatic owner and he will bring you a small selection of natural and more unusual wines off-menu. It was thanks to him that we found out about both All Adriatic Mar and Estro wine bars.

As for food, it is all peppered with organic ingredients. Try their sarde in saor (sardines in tangy onion marinade), seasonal pastas and the odd Hungarian classic like goulash (a nod to former chef Annika Major). Grab a sunny spot in the campo, or get cosy in a wood-panelled corner.

Address: Dorsoduro, 2852, 30123 Venezia, Italy

Phone: [phone]

Open: 12pm- 3pm, 7pm-11pm

Al Merca

Extremely busy ‘hole in the wall’ type of place, buzzing day and night with locals and tourists that flood Campo Bella Vienna square it is situated on, just off the Rialto market.

Apart from the regular choice wine and all sorts of Aperol Spritz and Bellinis, there is an impressive list of natural wines with such heavyweights as Sasha Radikon and Dario Princic on offer. For such a pocket-size establishment the list is truly impressive.

The cicchetti here are far from being my favourite but there is a fabulously iconic deli next door where you can get a wide range of cheese and meat products (Casa del Parmigiano).

Address: Campo Bella Vienna, 213, 30125 Venezia, Italy

Phone: [phone]

Open: 10am-2.30pm, 6-8pm

Vino Vero

And now to the other side of the Grand canal, to Cannaregio, to a place that definitely shouldn’t be missed by any natural wine pilgrim- bar Vino Vero. You have not seen Venice if you haven’t popped in to this establishment at least once, although I must warn you that it can be quite dangerousJ

Situated on a vibrant stretch of Fondamenta della Misericordia, just opposite San Marziale Church, this wine bar boasts a wide selection of natural and biodynamic wines, mainly from small producers, and offers some of the most delicious cicchetti you can find.

Although the place is tiny and people come and goes like the tides, everyone seems to be able to fit in. The conversations flow and new friendships are constantly formed, even if just for a night.

If you feel adventurous you can request your bottle of bubbly to be opened by sabrage method (with a sword). Oh, and did I mention the soundtrack?

Address: Fondamenta Misericordia, 2497, 30100 Venezia, Italy

Phone: [phone]

Open: 11am- 12am

Image copyright- Julija Svetlova

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Pablo Bronstein, Historical Dances in An Antique Setting

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/pablo-bronstein-historical-dances-antique-setting

One of my favourite live performances this year. Pablo Bronstein is the latest in a series of celebrated British artists to create a site-specific work in response to the imposing Duveen galleries which sit at the heart of Tate Britain.

Image copyright- Julija Svetlova

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The Great Museum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkiraUfMdQk

Director Johannes Holzhausen talks about The Great Museum,  his documentary about he Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. He spent 3 years working on the project about this world-famous cultural institution. Humorous, witty and attentive piece of cinema.

Image copyright- Julija Svetlova