Uploads from the girl who made it on her own

uni love

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:30:18 -0700

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

Sometimes I really like an instagram photo and then it takes me three weeks to actually sit down and overwork it.

This is my uni's entrance and I can't get over how pretty the whole surrounding is. :)

no matter the year

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Mon, 06 May 2013 09:07:45 -0700

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

important is not the day you find something
but the day it suddenly makes sense

We got a quick assignment at uni today to photograph something with the theme "ten minutes later" and this is part of what Daniel and I did.
(I am so thankful for our uni's surrounding for we literally only have to step out of the front door to have a perfect location for photos.)

passed and forgotten

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:59:22 -0700

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

strangers on a walk around the lake on sunday

the view from my window

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:56:00 -0700

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

in Stuttgart :)

acceptance

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:28:10 -0700

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

I have been staring at this for a few days and am uploading it on a whim now. :)
It's getting easier to go outside with my camera, and I might be the only one who loves the dull weather.

your presence inside me

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:27:39 -0700

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

During our skype conversation last night Laura was pestering me to upload more photos, so here is one I took of her last summer. (:

the deepest sleep

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:58:10 -0700

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

Two weeks ago I went to Karlsruhe together with my mum to visit a huge art gallery, which was a great insight into other people's minds and contained lots of amazing artworks. The second we stepped into the stairway of the bed & breakfast we stayed in, I thought 'I want to take photos here'. I feel like I kind of forgot that this is what I was so used to doing some time ago, taking photos in locations most people don't even notice, showing the beauty of them, and putting my own thoughts and feeling in there somewhere along the way. So I went back later and actually took some photos, and I really hope I will find my way back to the natural habit of all of this.

(I quickly edited this photo to post it on instagram before, and finally sat down again today and overworked it.)

a new start

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 10:03:59 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

I recently got my hair cut, my semester break has started over a month ago and I'm not quite sure what I've been doing, I don't have a lot of work and I'm still always busy, I haven't had internet in Stuttgart for two months now and it's good to do other things sometimes, I feel an immense urge to create and at the same time something is always holding me back. But I had a reunion with my camera today and it was lovely.

Still living by these words:
winter is for self-discovery,
summer is for inspiration

the quiet dancer

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 09:30:26 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

(It's Laura's birthday today and this is for her.)

My dearest Laura,

There has once been a girl I have admired from far away, on a place on the internet that seems so long gone now. I admired her for her photos that seemed to contain such deep emotions, and yet I was feeling like I didn't know her at all. I remember people asking her about the wall she used as a background in many of them, always being jealous of the wall, the wall, the wall. The fascination for it all over the place amused me, for there was so much more to see in her photos than just that (hands down, it is amazing) wall. I spent last night trying to pin down a point where that girl merged with you, one of my dearest photography friends, and came to the conclusion that it must have simply happened when I didn't pay attention.
For the longest time I have been wanting to take a photo and write something for you (actually, from the very start), and I was about to say that I don't know what took me so long. But to be honest that would be the easy way out. For the past years you have inspired me so much, that I simply felt like to be able to do you and your work justice, I needed to create something epic, something that would so undoubtedly represent you and who you are to me. Little did I know that the idea would just come around on a late Wednesday afternoon, one day before your birthday, and long after I'd last thought about it. I feel like the process of creating this photo was a little like your view on and mixture of old and new photos. I have always been hesitant when it comes to using older photos, for the simple reason that they, and everything they contained, felt so far away already. But yesterday I noticed that in terms of photographs, the past might indeed be able to change, being predestined for it even, and that is something I quietly learned from you along the way. The combination of these photos, the one I took of you on our day together in Munich, and the one of me in that kind of fog I have never experienced before, feels so much like you that I have a hard time believing that it's me who took them in the first place.
I want you to know that I was never really able to put into words what our friendship means to me. We went from messages to skype calls, to real meetups, to being in the same photo, to more messages with more understanding, to comfort and support, to us as we are.
I often catch myself telling people about that amazing friend of mine, because you keep surprising me with your creativity and ideas. And I'm not just saying that, about half of my circle of friends knows who you are. Your photostream is and forever will be the first I check when I haven't been on the internet for a while, or even in the morning when I spent the whole night on the computer. Your photos speak to me, and I don't ever want to stop communicating with your beautiful soul. For me, you are the dancer in the photography world, the one that always stands out, the one that does things I am too afraid to try. I feel like there is so much more to say, and yet I have no idea how to actually express all of it, so I'll just leave it at that for the moment.
You cannot imagine how much I always wish for you to be okay, and how glad I am therefore to see you happy. I think I don't even have to say that I hope you're having a lovely day today, but I do wish you a wondeful birthday spent with people who make you smile.

Thank you for being in my life,
Rona

to embrace the cold that comes after

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:46:46 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

Winter happens to be back where I live and I couldn't be more excited. :) I noticed how I've been feeling a little (very) restricted in terms of my photos lately and so today, when I looked out of the window and thought I should go take some and at first came up with so many reasons not to (not in the mood, no concept, blah blah blah), I just pushed it all aside and did it anyway, just like I used to so many years ago. I ended up being a little cold and a little wet, but feeling so very alive. :)

This feels a little like these photos I once took: 1, 2, 3

an afternoon with a friend

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 12:04:37 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

I took this on a lovely day back in November, when I went up here with Julian a year after we took this photo.

the other soul

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:47:57 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

While going through my photos today I realised that although I haven't been taking a lot of new ones, I do have quite a few old ones that I like. And there's so many from this day I spent in Munich together with Laura last summer, I really need to get around to editing them all at some point.

My first semester at uni is almost over and I wouldn't mind if it wasn't for another month or two. Which makes this the first time ever that I'm not desperately waiting for the holidays to begin, and it's a lovely experience really. :D

the happiest

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 10:49:03 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

"I think things are beautiful when you don't plan them, and you don't have any expectations, and you're not trying to get somewhere in particular."
- Alison Mosshart

I spent the first week of 2013 in the French Alps together with my friends Chrisse, Seb and Gregor and it was full of laughter, good times and lots of snowboarding, of course.

Whenever I create a time-consuming photo like this one (about nine hours of editing in total, and it's made up of seven photos), I think of how Noukka once said to me that I always do so much while editing, but that it can't really be pointed out in the end. Which might be kind of a good thing, and kind of a bit too much perfectionism. Ah well. :)

two thousand and twelve

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 12:08:01 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

I spent today writing a review of my past year:

January

lots of work at the bakery
a wonderful week of snowboarding in Chamrousse with my friends Nina, Julian and Gregor
lots of dwelling in the past
went to Strasbourg for a weekend to visit an old friend

February

picked up running again after spraining my foot and having to take a break for a few months
gave up on my twelve months project after only two months although it felt like such a right thing to do, it just wasn't the right time
work work work
tried so desperately to get back into photography, succeeded at times, failed in the long run
had a long and important conversation with Julian
went back to France together with Lisa, Seb and Chrisse

March

visited the family I lived with for 5 months the winter before (things change but the memories and feelings stay the same)
Lisa stayed with me for a few days after coming back home
was never ready for spring to come
made running my thing
so much frustration on my way to finding the right study
won first prize in a photo competition
still worked a lot

April

took two of my favourite photos after a long break: 1, 2
left my job at the bakery
finally decided on what studies to apply for and started creating again
fell in love with my journal
did something very out of character and talked myself into liking someone who wouldn't have been good for me anyway
the 21st of the month marked my being home from France for a year and I was feeling very nostalgic
had a photoshoot with Seb that was a lot of fun
constantly worked on my uni application and enjoyed doing so
bought myself a 35mm f/2.0 that I broke only three months later...
created a photo that means a lot to me together with my sister
I thought it would be easier this time and it wasn't and I didn't understand how people turn out to be the way they are sometimes
started organising my film photos and made a film diary
somehow got a new job

May

Noukka came to visit and we spent some lovely days together
took a photo that's been in my head for more than two years, and made a series out of it together with photos I took of Nina and Julian, Seb and myself
started going running every other day and kept motivating myself with don't break the chain
completed a film photo series that took me two years
spent a lovely evening with Seb in Stuttgart
put too much pressure on myself because of a series about friendship, and kind of gave up on it for the moment
learned something about the things I never create, ironically by throwing my journal into the water
forced myself to draw more
handed in my uni application after a last stressful and exhausting day
kept bringing myself down by thinking about what could be wrong with it
realizations about friendships
couldn't get over something
a lovely day that stayed in my mind
lots of appreciation for afternoons spent with Seb, as well as my friendship with him and Gregor
finished my second uni application and handed it in

June

vw camper adventure with Nina, Julian and Chrisse
home alone for two weeks
kept going running every other day
got invited to a qualification test at my first choice uni
spent a very drunk night with Seb and Gregor watching the finale of Germany's Next Topmodel (a silly tradition)
my photo appeared on Times Square
actually got into university, which took a lot of pressure off me :)
went to Munich to visit my sister, who lived there for a while, and Laura
started a new 100 days project as a documentation of my last summer before I would leave for uni
managed to reply to all my emails and completely empty my inbox for once (never again since...)
tried very hard to work on my self-discipline

July

summer was there and I was stuck somewhere I couldn't explain
thought about what I used to do for my photos a few years ago so many times and still couldn't bother to actually go back there although I so desperately wanted to
took a lot of photos that could have been better, but might be good memories the way they are
rediscovered my love for reading after having a hard time to get back into it for the past two years
discovered my favourite blog in this world
took photos of There and Jan that I really like
was very unmotivated to go running most of the time and still went every other day
went to Hamburg to visit Janna and Fenja after not having seen them in four years
somehow got over my aversion to portrait format
went to Lake Constance for a weekend together with Laura to meet other photographers
Nina came home from Leipzig for a month

August

took lots of photos of home and fell more and more in love with it
felt very unmotivated whenever I had to work
was incredibly annoyed and frustrated for mostly no reason too many times
realizations about the past and present
feelings came back
our trip to Berlin for my sister's birthday got cancelled last-minute, but we spent a great night at our favourite club in Tübingen, stayed over night and made pancakes the next morning (one of those things you'll never forget)
lots of runs
late summer nights spent with friends
enjoyed having Nina and Ava around so often, and spent quite some nights at our favourite club until it finally closed :(
was feeling a little restless because I still hadn't found a room/flat to rent for when I would move out a little more than a month later
time pressure

September

spent three weeks in Corsica together with Nina, Julian and Chrisse (week one, week two, week three)
read a lot and really loved living without a to do list at the back of my head for a while
didn't have the best birthday
came home and was very annoyed by all my piled up messages and recurring responsibilities
lack of understanding
had a lovely birthday party
finished my 100 days project, although I was very behind with editing and uploading the photos

October

moved out to attend uni in Stuttgart, and it was easier than I'd expected (I called my new room home on the second day)
discovered a beautiful forest not far from where I live in Stuttgart, and kept going running as often as possible
things turned out the way I wanted them to be (without even knowing what I wanted in the first place)
had a great photography course at uni
got a new phone and started using instagram
things with Jassi will always stay the same (lovely nights in Reutlingen with her, Chrisse and others)
felt whole again
autumn was painfully beautiful (failed to document it as well as the year before)
my photo appeared in the official advertisement for the new Apple MacBook
loved having a reason to get up in the morning, going to uni and meeting new people

November

lovely classes at uni
had a great conversation with Nina
inexplicably occurring difficulties with certain friends
loved being in Stuttgart and loved coming home
a great assignment
reunions are always lovely
kind of fell for someone and never had a chance
still not good at paying attention if I'm not very interested
made new friends
was forced to draw for uni and even liked it a little
felt a little broken

December

getting over someone is never easy
did my best to keep creating as only I can
went to Strasbourg together with Simon and Daniel
first snow and Christmas market
started selling my postcard set 'summer and autumn'
fun times at uni
continued my series 'at the end of november'
Christmas didn't feel like Christmas
saw quite a few people I went to school with again and managed to only talk to those I still see on a regular basis...
was very behind with work
didn't have a single day off during the holidays
went snowboarding with Seb, Gregor and Chrisse for a week

(inspiration - thank you Fenja for showing me)
closeup of the writing in comments

at the end of november

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 13:19:20 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

2010 taught me what happiness is and friendship should be like
2011 left me hopelessly restless and longing for more
2012 ran past me but never let my hand go

(an ongoing series of film self portraits)
take a closer look

postcard set

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:20:31 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

Three years after making my etsy shop, I finally managed to put up my first product: a postcard set of these film photos I once took for a series in summer and autumn.
You can find it here.
A purchase would be very, very much appreciated for all money will go towards a new camera I am yearning to buy. :)

inevitable change

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:02:13 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

You’re not defined by sadness,
but when someone would ask you now
if you were happy,
what would you say?

And the fact of a lacking answer
is the reason why
you need to turn around
and become a better you again.

Every time I go outside to take photos I come back with either nothing I can use, or with something that's completely different than I'd planned. It's a little furstrating really.
I can't believe it's Christmas in a week.

the best things

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 10:56:28 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

film, mid january 2012
Chamrousse, France

I cannot wait to be back on the pists. :)
(I keep uploading memories because I haven't taken any 'real' photos lately...)

home on a late september morning

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 12:52:40 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

film

My christmas this year will be spent scanning in the 22 rolls of film I have been neglecting during the past year and updating my film diary, which sounds very exciting to me. :)

strangers

nobody@flickr.com (the girl who made it on her own) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 07:16:07 -0800

the girl who made it on her own posted a photo:

film, mid september 2012
on a camping site near Bonifacio, they wished me a happy birthday after they'd heard my friends sing for me :')

I'm always careful when it comes to photographing strangers and I really, really hope they wouldn't mind that I'm uploading this here. But for some reason this photo means a lot to me.
I finally put together the third and last blogpost about my trip to Corsica this summer, it's here.
So now there's only ten days of my one hundred days of my old life project missing and I'll do my best to have them up soon, only two months too late.

It's december and my pro account expires in two weeks. Aw. :(