People keep asking me questions about Instagram and I simply can’t help but write about this social platform on my blog. I’ve already shared my ideas on ‘Why I love Instagram without taking endless selfies’ and ‘3 fundamental steps to grow your following’. Then for one week only I offered a free Instagram Audit where I had a look at the accounts of all those who emailed me. I wrote…
When you think about a big city what do you picture yourself? Probably a lot of commercial and residential buildings, shops, monuments and some parks. What I love about London is that you can have such amazing places as lavender farms right in the city! Yes, it’s not in the centre, but still not that far away! I have been seeing a lot of photos from there on Instagram and…
I take all my photos on iPhone. It’s easy, quick and always accessible when I need a camera. I got a lot of questions about how I edit my photos I post on Instagram and here is a tutorial for you. It took me a few months to find the edit style I like. I follow some really beautiful profiles on Instagram and had always been wondering how they get…
I’m back to my mission to explore where Londoners get caffeinated and today’s pick is Prufrock Coffee. I’ve heard about this place for some time already and I finally got a chance to visit it. Also, it’s in my UK Bucket List and I’m very determent to tick as many boxes as possible in the next 12 months. The first thing I like about it is location. It’s a bit…
I know I know, for some people the idea of having The Bucket List seems stupid and too cliche, but for me it’s the only way to organize myself and plan my time. I’ve been in this situation before – after a year of living in Budapest, one week before leaving this beautiful city I realized that I hadn’t done a lot of things I wanted to. I know…
Instagram is the fastest-growing social media platform with over 400,000 million active users each month. It’s become more than just a platform to share your snapshots of everyday life: it’s a marketplace, search engine and, most importantly, a community. It’s a 24/7 platform and the best way to reach people of almost all interests and demographics. I’ve been asked many times about how to grow an Instagram account, so after…
Today is 2 years since I moved to London. Even though I was super excited, I was deeply sad to leave my family and friends in Saint Petersburg. A woman at Russian border control tried to cheer me up saying that my passport is valid for the next 10 years and I can visit home often. The moment I landed in London I was back to my normal mood of…
When my parents ask me what I do in London in my free time I say ‘I love doing street photography!’. They are like: ‘What? You just photograph a street? Like any street? A road? A wall? What?” Well…yes and no I answered. And then they came to visit me in London and my dad was taking photos of everything: signs, tube, houses, cars, etc. I found myself giving him…
I remember when I first came to London I was taking photos of every corner without thinking about composition, rules of thirds and other important things from 5 Fundamental Rules of Mobile Photography. When I had a lot of ‘so-so’ photos I got really frustrated and started to think about how other people take photos of London and that’s when I discovered Instagram as an endless source of inspiration…
This coffee shop was on my list for quite a long time. It’s located near hell Oxford Street, and I guess it’s the main reason I’d been avoiding it. Interestingly, it wasn’t overcrowded when I got there, maybe because there are not many tourists in London now. Or maybe they simply don’t know about this place… Anyway, there are 2 Curators Coffee shops in the city: Curators Coffee Gallery near Oxford…
A few weeks ago one guy left a comment under one of my photos on Instagram saying: ‘It’s interesting how do you manage to capture empty streets of London!’ I didn’t realize that indeed all my photos tend to be without people on it. The truth is that I just wait for the right moment when there are no people passing. But then I thought that you can actually achieve ’emptiness’…
I love to travel and I guess I’m not alone having such a hobby. And I don’t mean having 2 holidays per year in a hot country where you spend all the days on the beach. I mean looking for any opportunity to go somewhere new, even within the country you live in. I should say it’s very addictive. Once you start travel frequently you just can’t stop. But I…
I continue exploring the city in the way I like the most – getting into the area and just walking on the streets with a camera. Also I was looking for a big and spacious place where I can do my work with a laptop and not being destructed. TBC (The Book Club) is like 3 in 1. It’s the place to hang out with friends playing table tennis, to…
Today I want to share with you how you can make your mobile photos look more professional. You don’t need an expensive DSLR to take clear and sharp photos, whether it’s for your blog, Etsy shop or just for Instagram. I know some photographers who have used their mobile shots for big marketing posters, so impossible is nothing really. Clean lenses A while ago I realized something that plays a…
Not a long time ago I found a trick on how to make a photo of a building much better. You know when you see a beautiful object and want to snapshot it in the way you see it, but then when you check your phone you realize that perspective is wrong? Instead of a perfect rectangle or square windows, you get something reminding you a trapeze? Very beautiful, right?…
This is one of three ‘Grind’ coffee shops in London. Holborn Grind review was one of my first posts here on the blog, and here is the first Grind in the city – Shoreditch Grind. I have never seen a coffee shop having it’s own building, and it’s amazing! It stands out quite good and I couldn’t pass by without checking it out. Because of black walls it can look…
There is something about vintage shops that attracts me – the sweet memories of childhood full of new discoveries, a connection with the past when things were very different and that tiny feeling of nostalgia. Vintage shops make me reflect about what people valued in a past comparing to insane time of consumerism nowadays. In the middle of Soho I stumbled upon ‘Vintage Magazine Shop‘ which I couldn’t ignore. Interestingly,…
I’m trying to have it as a rule that I eat breakfast out on Saturdays. During the week I’m always in a hurry – I only have time to quickly eat porridge with berries and to buy a take away coffee at La Moka. But Saturday morning is finally the time to enjoy the most important meal of the day. We usually go to Jack’s at Junction for ‘Eggs Benedict’…
Last time I lived abroad I fell into the usual trap when you postpone all sightseeing (museums in particular) until the very last moment when it’s time to pack up and leave. In my last 2 weeks in Hungary, I visited more places than in the entire year before. I already see the same thing happening to me here in London. This time it is a bit trickier as I…
What I always liked in London is local markets, whether it’s fresh vegetables stalls or designer accessorizes. There are several well-known markets in the city – Portobello Road, Borough Market and Spitalfields to name a few. But what attracts me more are small areas, usually just one street called a market. They are not busy with tourists and are a nice place to hang out at the weekends. Actually you…
