#ivanakresic

[ivanak]

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.

[ivanak]

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.

[ivanak]

Looking up to find beauty in unexpected places.

[ivanak]

#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

[ivanak]

Winter wonderland.