It's all I have to bring today 
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It's all I have to bring today--
This, and my heart beside--
This, and my heart, and all the fields--
And all the meadows wide--
Be sure you count—should I forget
Some one the sum could tell--
This, and my heart, and all the Bees
Which in the Clover dwell.

Emily Dickinson - 1830-1886
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As in a boundless sea in darkening fields and meadows
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As in a boundless sea in darkening fields and meadows 
The sunset's tristful rays fade and then sink from sight, 
And in mute twilights wake, over the steppe the shadows 
Creep swiftly, bringing night. 

Soft sound the gophers' calls, and, ne'er the stillness waking, 
Jerboas now appear - two or perhaps just one. 
They ghost-like haunt the plain, great leaps across it taking, 
And all at once are gone… 

Ivan Bunin

Vegetarian food: Slovenia has a tasty variety of traditional vegetarian food – make sure not to miss the delicious dumplings called “štruklji”.
Slovenian traditional cuisine is rich in the meat and meat dishes. But still, there are several vegetarian options that will leave both your stomach and taste buds highly satisfied. The most common traditional Slovenian vegetarian dishes are buckwheat porridge, filled pasta from Idrija similar to ravioli and štruklji. Besides those there is also a vegetarian take on some other traditional dishes, which are usually prepared with meat, but the vegetarian versions are getting more and more popular. You can taste a lot of those vegetarian specialties joining the Food Tour in Ljubljana. 

Music Postcards: Music from the late 70s and early 80s performed on Ljubljana concerts.

Lene Lovich: My Lucky Number One

David Bromberg:  Mr. Bojangles

Egberto Gismonti:  Magico

Ensemble Havadià '81-'82:  L'eternita

Jani Kovačič:  Škoflca

John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, Paco De Lucía - Meeting of the Spirits

Ibrica Jusić:  Emina

Drago Mlinarec: Caracas

Stefan Grossman:  Dallas Rag

Ginger Baker: Drum Solo

Sedmina (Melita & Veno Dolenc) : Magdalena

Lado Jakša:  Oslikana glasba

Ansambel Lojzeta Slaka: Kadar srečam te

All photos from the original concerts by M.Bočko

Street photography is so exciting – the searching and waiting for just the right moment when a story unfolds in a single frame. I love the surprise and randomness of candid shots, but once in a while I will ask complete strangers if I can make a street portrait of them if I see something of possible interest.  I’m not an ‘in your face’ street photographer.  I have nothing against it.  It’s a style that can yield some amazing shots, but It’s just not my style. I firmly believe that your photography style reflects your personality. Get inspired by the work of others but don’t try to copy them, define your own style instead.

One aspect of street photography that had always intimidated me was shooting people through the window of a cafe, store or even a bus.  Yet, I’ve always admired those images captured by street photographer friends. They really capture a “window” into someone’s life. I don’t mean this as a voyeuristic thing – I respect people too much for that – but it can be a beautiful moment, with room left for the imagination to create a story.

Including signage in the frame provides a nice sense of place. Reflections are interesting, too, and are almost inevitable. Shoot at an angle to avoid being in the picture, unless your goal is to create an original self portrait. Window photography is also a good time to practice shooting from the hip. It take a while to get your framing right, so don’t set your expectations too high at first.  There is no right or wrong way to do it – just be respectful of your subjects.  And turn off your pop up flash!

Photographing people in embarrassing situations is inappropriate.  I try to think how I would feel if captured that way.  I prefer to photograph beautiful emotions, such as people enjoying each other’s company at a cafe or day dreaming. Again, what you photograph is a reflection of your personality. Trust your instinct.  If you don’t feel good about capturing what might be a private moment, then don’t. If it doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t!

The best way to grow one’s skill is to get out of your comfort zone. This is especially important if you find yourself in a creative rut or are losing the passion for your craft. If that sounds like you, then try something new, something that is a bit uncomfortable and you will grow in the process.
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‘Window street photography’ worked for me that way. Now that I started doing it more often, I am more comfortable and see opportunities everywhere I go. My photo walks are more exciting and interesting. You know the feeling you get when you’ve captured something truly special?  You never want to lose that thrill!

Note: Many of you will ask if you need special permission to photograph people on the streets. Every country is different, but in most  places it’s perfectly acceptable to photograph people in a public place or in a place visible from the street such as through a cafe window. No model release form is necessary as long as you use the images for editorial purposes such as to illustrate an article or for fine art use only.  Any commercial usage requires special model releases signed by everyone included in the frame.  Be advised to check with your local authorities about their rules before photographing on the street.

A Post By: Valerie Jardin

Ljubljana Graffitti Tour

You can call it vandalism or you can call it art, one thing is for certain: Ljubljana is rich with creative street art and colourful graffiti. Some are just regular funny writings on the wall and some are true art pieces that should probably hang in someone’s living room. Take a walk around town and see them for yourself.

The walls are full of stories and Ljubljana Graffiti Tour proudly vocalizes their secret and colorful messages. This free walking alternative tour treats the facades of Ljubljana like a giant canvas on which social, political and cultural changes are depicted. Our local streetwise guides are celebrating the 5th anniversary of the tour with much applause and will make this first alternative, free street art tour an eye-opening experience. It will immerse you in a constantly evolving mix of Ljubljana’s urban graffiti gallery and street art culture.

You will learn about the roots of the movement – from partisan resistance to the subcultural scene of the 1980s – and see what the walls are saying today. Follow contemporary urban art through the Old Town, along the banks of the Ljubljanica River, pass the Rog Factory only to join the grand finale in the autonomous cultural zone of Metelkova (Ljubljana), right in the heart of the alternative scene, where you will hear first-hand recommendations for the best events of the evening.

Eva Gale

Take a walk on the colorful side of the town with the Ljubljana Graffiti Tour!

Graffiti are (il)legal

It needs to be said though, graffiti are officially illegal, but there are some spots where they are perfectly acceptable. Take Metelkova mesto for instance, the whole place is one big art show. Sculptures, graffiti, so many stickers, you can’t even count them. Everywhere you look there’s something creative and arty. There’s a basketball court at Metelkova where spraying graffiti is totally okay. I wonder if anyone comes to play basketball here, it seems the only sport that’s popular on this court is spray painting. And I find it funny how often these graffiti get repainted. The ones you see in this blog post, may not be there anymore when you decide to visit Metelkova.

Somewhat similar to Metelkova is Rog and everytime I go pass it, there’s something new on its outer walls. Like this Roman guy who is there to protect Rog from demolition. As you can see, someone didn’t like this thought and sprayed a long black line across it. I guess it’s tough being a graffiti artist.

One graffiti please

I find it interesting how graffiti are often associated with an “underground” subculture that rebels against authority and capitalism and yet there’s possible to find graffiti that are made to order. Like this one below, which was commissioned by a telecommunications company as a part of their anti-hate speech campaign. It contains slogans such as “Speak love” and “The power of words”. It also features this cool hand sign, which signals the letters L and J, meaning Ljubljana. How radical is this? The piece is indeed fascinating, though the obvious pink line and black spiral suggests that someone from the graffiti world wasn’t so pleased.

If you want to enjoy graffiti and other street art in Ljubljana, all you need to do is just to take a walk. Observe and form your own opinion. But if you want to learn more, then I’d suggest you take the Ljubljana Graffiti Tour. It’s free, very interesting and in a little less than two hours you visit many graffiti spots and learn quite a lot from them, who made them and why.​