Au fost prea putine doua zile pentru cat de multe ar fi fost de fotografiat si pictat la Biertan, langa Sighisoara, unde cativa fotografi amatori si-au petrecut, impreuna cu cativa pictori, si ei amatori, ultima zi a lunii septembrie si prima din octombrie. Am organizat aceasta mica tabara de creatie impreuna cu Agora Art Studio si, credem noi, a fost un succes. Ne-am propus sa dedicam ultimul weekend in tricou al verii celor doua arte vizuale intr-un loc cu totul special, in inima Ardealului, un sat frumos dominat de pe deal de o biserica fortificata superba construita in secolele XV-XVI in stilul goticului tarziu, cu elemente specifice Renasterii. Se spune ca aceasta biserica, dintre cele peste trei sute de biserici sasesti fortificate din Romania, este cea care si-a pastrat cel mai bine aspectul initial.

Ajunsi in locul ce ne urma sa fie gazda primitoare pentru aproape o zi intreaga fiecare si-a localizat motivul ce urma sa-i fie model de lucru. Pictorii au fost mai statici, prin natura pasiunii lor, dar nu mai putin fini obervatori, pe cand fotografii au avut sansa sa ia satul la pasi marunti in efortul lor de a gasi cel mai bun unghi, cel mai inedit si neasteptat moment si cel mai reprezentativ detaliu. Impreuna am cercetat aproape toate ungherele bisericii si imprejurimile si apoi ne-am pus pe treaba, cu tot arsenalul de unelte colorate, pensule, culori, hartii, tusuri sau aparate de fotografiat. Turistii care treceau pe acolo, nu putini si mai ales straini, au avut ocazia sa admire nu numai picturile dar si sa fie martorii placutelor momente de cvasi-relaxare in care pictorii au pozat fotografilor.

Fiecare participant a avut ocazia sa se exprime prin arta si pasiunea sa, sa ii descopere pe ceilalti si, la final, sa imparta cu ei munca unei zile intregi. Am tras peste noapte si am mancat grozav de bine la Domeniul Dracula Danes unde unii dintre noi au avut chiar ocazia sa calareasca. La Biertan, cativa kilometri mai incolo, viata isi vedea de ritmul ei, destul de lent in timp ce noi pictam si fotografiam. Am trecut un pic sa admiram si stilul interioarelor de exceptie de la conacul Apafi al printului Charles din satul Malancrav, aflat si el foarte aproape.

Weekendul nostru la Biertan a fost o binemeritata desprindere de stresul cotidian. Vreme de doua zile am dat la schimb obisnitul si rapidul nostru ritm citadin pe acea stare de relaxare pe care doar contactul cu opera de arta o poate oferi, am exersat impreuna acea deschidere a unei portite spre o dimensiune culturala intotdeauna aducatoare de bucurii durabile. Nu in ultimul rand, am trait bucuria de a fi impreuna cu oameni cu care impartasesti aceleasi pasiuni.

Iata si cateva fotografii din acest minunat weekend, o experienta pe care abia asteptam sa o repetam! Un filmulet cu mai multe fotografii dintre cele pe care le-am “impartit” cu colegii nostri pictori poate fi gasit aici.

Be part of a unique creation project: Discovering Transylvania through painting and photography!

I have the pleasure to invite you join us at the end of  September this year in a very special creation camp I organize along with Agora Art Studio: Discovering Transylvania through painting and photography!

The camp, covering three days from September 30 to October 2, is tailored as a unique cultural project – a common creation camp – aiming to combine, in an agreeable and constructive manner, two visual arts, namely painting and photography. The attendance, amateur painters and photographers, will have the chance to work together, each through his or her favorite art, to discover and understand the others, and to observe the style and vision of each participant in the camp.

Those attending this project will make a short but fruitful trip in the realm of these two visual arts by approaching a common subject through the artistic exploration of a theme. They will work in nature to sense the colors, the composition, to analyze and reproduce in their works the atmosphere and the local flavors. They will develop their artistic speech and relax in art.

The camp aims to study the medieval architecture of the fortified Transylvanian churches built in a late gothic style mixed with baroque elements, yet leaving enough room for creativity and the pleasure to discover the specificity of the place. We will discover the everlasting charm of the city of Sighisoara with its famous narrow streets and high towers and the fortified church in Biertan, one of the first German villages in Transylvania.

The schedule

• Friday September 30 – the group meets around noon and accommodates in Domeniul Dracula Danes. At around 3.30pm we will go for a walk in Sighisoara and visit the church Biserica din Deal. After this magic moment we can enjoy a local cake and a bio apple juice.
• Saturday October 1 – work session throughout the day. The painting and photo groups will work separately while interacting creatively from 9.30 to around 13.30. We will be back at Domeniul Dracula Danes at around 2pm. The afternoon is dedicated to painting, photographing and, why not, riding the horses belonging to the domain. Short horse riding sessions for beginners are also available on demand.
• Sunday, October 2 – the morning is dedicated to a meeting of the painters and photographers for the presentation and evaluation of the works of the previous day. It will be a relaxing discussion while sipping our morning coffee.

Accommodation

We suggest we accommodate in Danes at the Centrul Ecvestru here.

Price

The fee for the camp is of 250 ron, which includes the painting and photo lessons and the guidance through Sighisoara and Biertan. Each participant will be in charge of the accommodation, food and transportation. You can decide for a different accommodation arrangement but please make sure this decision is not affecting the above-mentioned schedule.

Availability

As many as 6 places are available for each of the painting and photo sessions.

Please subscribe no later than September 10, 2011.

Contact

Those interested in painting can contact Agora Art Studio here while those interest in photography can contact me here.

(English version here)

Impreuna cu Agora Art Studio va invit sa participati, la sfarsit de septembrie, la o inedita tabara de creatie: Descopera Transilvania prin pictura si fotografie!

Ce-ati zice de un inedit proiect cultural – o tabara de creatie comuna – ce isi propune  sa conjuge, intr-o maniera agreabila si constructiva, doua arte vizuale, pictura si fotografia. Participantii, pictori si fotografi amatori, vor avea prilejul de a lucra impreuna, exprimandu-se fiecare prin intermediul artei sale, de a se descoperi si intelege unii pe altii, de a observa stilul si viziunea fiecaruia in parte.

Le propunem celor care ne vor insoti in acest proiect o scurta dar pragmatica incursiune in lumea celor doua arte vizuale prin abordarea un subiect comun, explorarea artistica a unui motiv, lucrul in natura, sesizarea cromaticii, a compozitiei, analiza si reproducerea atmosferei si a specificului local, dezvoltarea exprimarii artistice precum si relaxarea prin arta, dezvoltarea comunicarii interculturale prin intermediul artei.

Un subiect generos – doua viziuni creative. Descopera Transilvania prin pictura si fotografie!

Tematica taberei de creatie:

Studiul arhitecturii medievale cu bisericile fortificate sasesti din Ardeal, construite intr-un stil gotic tarziu impletit cu elemente de baroc a caror interpretare lasa, insa, suficient spatiu creativ pentru manifestarea stilului autohton.

Descoperirea farmecului inefabil al cetatii Sighisoarei cu strazile ei inguste, turnurile breslelor, scara acoperita, biserica foritificata din Biertan, una dintre primele asezari germane din Transilvania, loc incarcat de istorie, martor al vremurilor in care arhitectura gotica si spiritul artei occidentale bateau la portile Carpatilor.

Detaliile si ansamblurile acestor monumente istorice vor fi tot atatea subiecte spre inspiratia creatorilor.

Program:

• Vineri, 30 septembrie – in jurul pranzului ne intalnim si ne cazam la Domeniul Dracula Danes. Apoi, in jurul orei 15:30 vom porni intr-o plimbare prin Sighisoara unde vom vizita Biserica din Deal si vom face o plimbare pe stradutele pline de farmec ale vechii cetati. Dupa aceasta plimbare putem face o binemeritata pauza pentru a savura o prajitura traditionala saseasca si un suc de mere bio.
• Sambata 1 octombrie – zi dedicata integral sesiunilor de lucru. Grupele vor lucra la Biertan separat  dar interactionand creativ, pe tematicile si metodele lor specifice (picturala sau fotografica). Timp de lucru 9:30 – 13:30. In jurul orei 14 ne vom intoarce la Domeniul Dracula Danes. Urmeaza o dupa amiaza ecvestra in care avem privilegiul de a observa, schita si fotografia minunatele exemplare cabaline apartinand domeniului. Rase diverse, cai excelent antrenati. Optional, pentru doritori, putem organiza si scurte sesiuni de initiere in calarie.
• Duminica, 2 octombrie – dimineata organizam o intalnire in plen a pictorilor si fotografilor participanti pentru prezentarea si evaluarea lucrarilor prin expunere directa si proiectie si pentru o discutie relaxata si creativa, la o cafea, asupra lucrarile realizate in ziua precendenta.

Cazarea

Propunem sa ne cazam in Danes la Centrul Ecvestru aici.

Cazarea, masa si transportul sunt suportate individual de fiecare participant. Participantii sunt liberi sa aleaga si alte variante de cazare in masura in care acest lucru nu afecteaza buna desfasurare a programului mentionat mai sus.

Taxa individuala de tabara este 250 lei. Aceasta taxa include lectia de pictura si fotografie de sambata precum si ghidajul insotit de explicatii prin Sighisoara si Biertan.

Locuri limitate.

6 locuri pentru Pictura.

6 locuri pentru Fotografie.

Data limita pentru inscriere 10 septembrie 2011.

Cei interesati de aspectul pictura al taberei pot lua contactul cu Agora Art Studio aici iar cei interesati de partea foto ma pot contacta aici.

Those of you who love taking photos and plan to go beyond the usual limits of the photo hobby now have the chance to spend your free time in a creative and challenging way.

Following three full years of experience with several groups of passionate students, most of them mothers of some students in the American, British and French schools in Bucharest, I have decided to continue the private photo lessons this year starting late September or early October until late June next year.

These were fruitful years, the hands-on experience being much appreciated. We have completed our efforts with a splendid exhibition in mid May last year and another one this year you can see here. The results are, according to everyone’s opinion, really paying off.

Lessons are based on the small group learning, each group being composed of no more than eight members. Lessons are available in French, English and, of course, Romanian. There will be as many as two two-hour sessions per month, basically once every two weeks or however your personal schedules allow you. A final schedule is expected to be ready by the end of September. However this schedule can be easily tailored for your specific needs.

Lessons will take place in private locations, at least this is how it has worked so far, mainly dictated by the difficult traffic conditions in Bucharest.

Lessons will be held by Mihai Constantineanu who has been working for many years as a photo journalist and for some years now as a professional photographer.

Mihai, a 44 years old engineer, has a long experience built up in soft skills training sessions throughout many years.

In the first year the course is mainly structured to answer to the basic two needs of the beginners: better knowing your digital camera and means of improving the digital pics on the computers, both with a multitude of examples and hands-on experience.

A second year course will go deeper into the artistic part of photography while identifying, for each of the students, its own photographic style after one year of training.

The lessons will mainly cover:

1. The basics of photography: how cameras work, short history of their development, basic notions such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO and how they affect the final photographic output. Reaching the right exposure and how we can “teach” the camera to read our thoughts.
2. Various cameras and lenses on the market, their strong points and their limitations.
3. Settings, access to settings and making the right setting choice in various situations we encounter. Automatic, semi-automatic and manual modes of the cameras. Overriding the camera’s decisions to get full control over it.
4. Quality of light on photography, choosing the best timing for taking a photo.
5. Understanding camera’s automatic light metering, ways to prevent errors and why it is a must to override is decisions sometimes.
6. Basic composition rules.
7. Basic photo processing: resizing, cropping, adjusting exposure and many others, according to the level of the trainees.

The groups will be created according to people’s level of knowledge and the preference to either photo techniques or computer processing. The schedule is flexible and can be easily tailored to fit your specific needs.

Starting March, thematic photo outings will be organized on a monthly basis.

In case you cannot join a group private lessons are also available.

For additional details please call Mihai 0723 634 371 or use the contact details here.

Interesul stârnit de expoziţia noastră “An A to Z of Romania through the lenses of expat women” deschisă aseară la hotelul Crowne Plaza din Bucureşti ne-a uimit pe toţi. Participarea a fost peste aşteptările oricui iar vânzarea cărţii a depăşit un nou record. Iată câteva fotografii. Expoziţia va rămâne deschisă la Crowne Plaza până pe 24 iunie. Vă aşteptăm cu drag!

Toate fondurile pe care le vom strânge din vânzarea cărţii şi a fotografiilor în ediţii limitate se vor duce spre asociaţiile de caritate.