European Bison in Hungary

The European bison, the largest land mammal on our continent, was severely hunted until it finally became extinct in the wild in 1927. By then, only 54 individuals remained, all in captivity.

Since then many things have been done to bring back the European bison to its ancestral lands by establishing new wild bison populations in several of our rewilding areas, and creating new breeding stations.

The bison is not only endangered and in strong need of more space to roam, it is also what is called a “keystone” species in Europe’s ecosystems. Its grazing and browsing behaviour opens up bush land into open mosaic landscapes and its trampling and manure creates space for hundreds of other species. The bison is simply a biodiversity enforcer that we really need out there.

Choose the return and expansion of the European bison to where they once belonged, like in Hungary,  Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Slovakia.

I Love Winter!

it is a simple matter of fact that I love winter…it is never too cold. You can always wear another layer of clothes

In Hungary winter is really magic, in the countryside you can smell the wood burning fire, nature is waiting for spring. It is like being on a suspended time frame.

Winter in Orseg, Hungary

If you like my picture you can freely download it from Unsplash

These are 8 reasons I love winter:

• When the first snowfall hits and you’re left gaping at the sky in wonder, captivated by the Earth’s ability to turn water into these icy sprinkles.

• The blast of cold air that washes over you when you open your front door, filling your lungs, and you, with a renewed appreciation for that “fresh air” your mother was always telling you about.

• The moment you step in from the cold and feel your skin tingle with appreciation.

•  The desperation you feel when you’re sprawled out on your porch in nothing but a sweaty loincloth during a summer heat wave, wishing that winter would come early and relieve you of this slow and painful death.

• The happiness you experience from the temporary mass extinction of bees, that allows you to frolic across fields and hang out in your backyard without fear (but with a couple of extra layers).

•  The freedom to wear ugly-yet-comfortable sweaters without shame is enacted every time the temperature drops below 40 degrees. Let those singing reindeer shirts see the light of day, for once.

•  The irrational feeling of success you experience when you cup two handfuls of snow together and feel them crunch into place, creating the perfect snowball.

Snow in Ljubljana

Today Ljubljana woke up under a blanket of snow that gave to the city a more magical twist.

Photography Awards

Photography Awards

These are the Photography Awards I like / trust and sometimes take part

• IPA International Photography Awards  Website
• Sony World Photo Awards    Website
• Belfast Photo Festival   Website 
• Siena International Photography Awards   Website
• Miami Photo Festival  Website
• The Spider Awards: Black & White Spider Awards™   Website
• Chromatic Awards  Website 
• FAPA Fine Art Photography Exhibition  Website
• Istanbul Photo Awards  Website
• International Color Awards   Website
• Monochrome Photography Awards  Website 

Healthy lifestyle

After having been unwell for nearly two months, I decided to reduce the intake of medicines and try improve my health with natural products. These are the most important one I have introduced in my diet and the one are giving md betyter results

Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey

This drink is great for cleansing the gut, lowering blood pressure and more ener
Honey and apple cider vinegar each have many healing properties and when combined the benefits are even greater. They are rich in potassium which regulates heartbeat and muscle contraction and thus normalises blood pressure. Both ingredients improve digestion, support friendly gut flora, improve energy and stamina and have a gentle cleansing effect.

This healing drink is super easy to make and it takes little time to prepare when you have the ingredients handy.

Ingredients:

1 – 1.5 tablespoons of organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar- Braggs brand is very good (start with 1 teaspoon and increase the dose)

1 – 2 teaspoons of raw honey (start with 1 teaspoon and increase if desired)

A few drops of lemon juice to taste

Dissolve the raw honey in a half a mug of warm water, cover and leave overnight for the enzymes present in raw honey to activate. In the morning add apple cider vinegar and lemon juice to the mug with honey and fill it with hot water. Mix well and have first thing in the morning around 20 minutes before breakfast.

You may need to get used to the taste at first but your taste buds will adjust pretty quickly.

Lowers blood pressure by promoting vasodilation

Improves overall gut health and supports good bacteria

Provides live enzymes that markedly improve digestion

Promotes gentle systemic detoxification daily

Stimulates circulation – effective for cold hands and feet

Boosts energy and decreases fatigue

Slows down ageing by speeding up toxin removal and improving skin health

Golden Milk

‘Turmeric milk’ aka ‘golden milk’ is known for a number of health benefits and so is ‘cinnamon milk’. These 2 ingredients go well with milk adding on to the flavor and health benefits. Turmeric cinnamon milk is prepared by using both these well-known and immunity boosting ingredients and is tasty too. Turmeric cinnamon milk is easy to prepare and here is its recipe along with health benefits:

• May Help Reduce Inflammation and Joint Pain.

• May Improve Memory and Brain Function.

• Curcumin in Turmeric May Improve Mood.

• May Protect Against Heart Disease.

• May Lower Blood Sugar Levels.

• May Reduce Blood pressure

1 cup that I drink at night

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened milk

• 1 tablespoon raw honey

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil (I do not use it all the time)

• 1/2 Teaspoon of Ginger ( I tend to use it fresh)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric ( I tend to use it fresh)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Dash of nutmeg (Sometime)

• Dash of black pepper

Energy Drink

The problem with vegetables, is no one wants to eat them! It’s unrealistic to believe that everyone eats enough vegetables. There’s a reason why our parents had to shove them down our throats…

Instead of force-feeding ourselves vegetables, there’s a simple way to eat them, and that’s making homemade vegetable juice.  Vegetable juice gives you all the powerful nutrients of vegetables without the gut-wrenching responsibility of eating plates and plates of broccoli.

The best way to get vegetable juice is to buy a juicer and juice at home.

There are many juicer models available. Really, it doesn’t matter which model you have as long as you get one. Go to your nearest home store and buy whichever one fits your budget.

4 Beets

2 Lemons

3 Celery Sticks

1 Tomato

A Handful of Pomegranate Seeds

I have introduced in my diet

Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds

Dry Apricots

Peanuts

Run

At present I run approximately 5k three times a week and I manage to achieve this target using one of the many apps you can find online!

Why I left Venice for the Countryside!

Sometimes you explore a new place and are surprised to feel so at home. A feeling deep down in your gut that you belong there. And everything just seems to flow together. This is what happened between me and the rural countryside in Hungary, I have not chosen the place but is Orseg that  has finally  chosen me!

Although I lived in Venice and Milan not to mention many years in London and Edinburgh, I spent most of my life living in a home with small/medium/big gardens. I have great memories with friends and family… 

Now I live half time in Ljubljana the pretty capital of Slovenia and in Őrségi Nemzeti Park in Hungary

Like me, you may be someone who spent most of your life in the big city and wondered what it would be like to live in the country. Here are my top 3 reasons why I left Venice and found myself at home in the rural countryside.

#1 Too many people, cars and buildings

Living in Venice was giving me a touch of claustrophobia. Walking stuck in a herd of a hundred people on the sidewalk is a nightmare to me.

Some big cities are much more sprawling, but certain things you can’t escape. I lived in London and you’ll drive for an hour and all housing subdivisions look the same, every neighbourhood has the same Big Chain stores, and the streets get jam-packed during rush hour.

Is that how we’re meant to spend our time? I really don’t think so.

Let me tell you, today I live in the country. When I need to drive into town, I pass acres of farms, foxes, deer, sunflowers fields exploding up from the horizon. 

#2 There’s too much smog in the city

It’s not normal or healthy to be surrounded by smog. This sounds obvious but millions of people choose to do so.

Breathing in dirty, dusty sand is bad enough. But heavy smog from industrial pollution is deadly serious to your health. Respiratory problems, skin conditions, cancer, and other damaging effects are to be expected when you live in a cloud of toxic pollution. Plus, if you are going to spend money to live somewhere – shouldn’t it be pleasing to the eyes?

I found Venice extremely polluted and I could not stay without using my inhalers at least twice a day

And this isn’t a static condition. It’s something that gets worse every single day. 

#3 Where are people going to wish they lived in 5-10 years?

After having lived in Venice for a few years, I greatly appreciate the quiet country life. When people come to visit, you can see the stress melting off them. 

I am more creative, I can think more freely and see the world and what is around me in a better more relaxed way, I am not upset all the time, I love it!

I tend to meet more real people with real problems, Social media is less important but stopping and having a coffee or a Palinka is very much appreciated. You may cue in a small grocery store for 20 min because of chats but quality of life is more relaxed, there is a different perception of time. I appreciate more what I have got and what I really need, I am much more closer to a minimalistic way of life... and I am experimenting again the  100 thing you posses or rule 333. There is no luxury, dress code, fashion, etc you are considered for what you really are and what you do and not for how you "appear".

For these reasons and more, I feel that areas like this will be among the most hotly contested within the next decade. Things are getting weird quick in the big cities. People are getting fed up and they want out.  

Claim a spot while you can!

The Captive Stork (A Rab Gólya)

Since living in the Hungarian countryside I grew very passionate of storks.

Storks do return to their carefully built nests year after year, They bring life to any village!

I recently discovered a great ballad by Hungarian author János Arany titled A Rab Gólya "The Captive Stork,” written in 1847.

By the way  he was a Hungarian journalist, writer, poet, and translator. He is often said to be the "Shakespeare of ballads" – he wrote more than 102 ballads been translated into over 50 languages, as well as the Toldi trilogy, to mention his most famous works. 

The poem or ballad describes a lonely captive stork standing in the middle of a small plot who would love to be free and  fly, all the way to the seas, but can’t because its wings have been chopped.

Árva gólya áll magában
Egy teleknek a lábjában,
Felrepűlne, messze szállna,
Messze messze,
Tengerekre,
Csakhogy el van metszve szárnya.

Tűnődik, féllábon állván,
El-elúnja egyik lábán,
Váltogatja, cserélgeti,
Abban áll a
Múlatsága,
Ha beléun, újrakezdi.

The stork at one point tucks its head under its wing because it is too painful to look at other “free storks flying to a better homeland.” But the stork waits. Perhaps one day “it will fly into the sky where the blue of freedom reigns.” and "Waiting, waiting, always waiting", the end, however, the “lonely stork" realizes that even if its wings grow out, wicked people will cut them once again.

The original Hungarian can be found online. I was unable to find a proper English version I only found this one

There is a great song from Arany ballad and is  by Margaret Island the Budapest band and the great voice of singer Lábas Viki create a magic atmosphere 

Clearly, the stork has a special meaning for Hungarians.

Vero the new app, why and how to use it

Vero, a photo-sharing app that launched in 2015, is the latest app to benefit from ongoing frustration with Facebook and Instagram's hated algorithm not to mention recent uselessness of Twitter .

A week ago, Vero was ranked so low it didn't even appear in the App Store's top 1,00 apps; today it's the most popular app both on the App Store and Google Play Store. It's gotten so popular that the app's servers have been overloaded, with many users unable to post or even sign up for an account. 

The creators and owner of the app are very clear and upfront it will be a pay as you go app. I like the idea and I never believed in freebies and if is free is too good to be true.

I like as well the concept no algorithms no advertising. In exchange of a fee?? Why not!

Here is a summary of the manifesto: Vero is unhappy with the way social media has become about algorithms and ads, and they’re trying to create a more “natural” way of sharing things. In practice, that means no ads, ever (the service will be funded in part by an annual subscription model they’ll introduce soon, and in part by Vero receiving a commission on sales made through the platform).

It also means users have more control over who sees their posts: the news feed is chronological rather than thrown together by an algorithm, and users decide whether each post they make will be broadcast to close friends only, friends only, friends and acquaintances, or anyone who chooses to follow them.

In its manifesto, Vero said it does not incorporate advertising into its revenue model, but will instead begin charging users for a subscription after 1 million free users have joined the service.

“As a subscription-based service, our users are our customers, not the product we sell to advertisers.”

Vero’s been variously described as “the new Facebook” and “the new Instagram”, but in reality, it’s actually more like a combination of both

It’s similar to Facebook in that you can have friends as well as followers, divided into acquaintances, friends and close friends.  You can use it to chat with people, and you can post a range of content like links, text posts, photos, film recommendations etc.  It’s similar to Instagram in that you can post nice looking photos. There are no stories, it is good for me...I never used them anyway.

Arguably, its biggest selling point is that it has a chronological feed, allowing users to see everything. Companies can’t pay to boost posts because there is no algorithm that highlights certain posts over others, meaning – provided you scroll far enough down – you won’t miss any of your friends’ images.

Another interesting feature is the fact that, unlike Instagram, users aren’t required to crop their images: full-sized photos can be uploaded and displayed in their original ratio.

This business model stands in stark contrast to other apps like Facebook, which has become very advertising heavy. Without money from advertising, Vero has admitted it will eventually charge users to sign up for the app, however, the first million users will receive free access for life.

I like very much the modern design the easiness in creating an account and in how to use it.

Of course, at the moment it is a bit of an empty place...but was exactly the same on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! I do not mind to try a new medium in the hope it will work

I am on vero as marco secchi

How to use Vero:

Like most social media apps, you first have to sign up with your phone number and email address after you get Vero. By entering your phone number, you can let Vero access your contacts to see which friends are also on the app. You can also invite your contacts to make a Vero account. This step is also skippable, and you can connect with friends later.

Once you’re all signed up, you officially have a Vero account. Now you can add a bio and avatar to your profile page.

Vero will then show you its “Featured Content” page. Similar to Instagram’s Explore page, it’s where you can check out posts from verified Vero users.

When you tap “Done” in the upper right-hand corner, you’re brought to the main page — your Vero feed. The app will then direct you to share your first post.

Here is where the world opens up. You can post a myriad of different things to your Vero feed. Search for music (they literally have it all), movies (seriously, they have every movie ever), books (yeah, all the books), places, links, and finally photos and videos.

Still kind of afraid of the great beyond, we decided to keep things simple with a photo post.

The Vero photo editing process is almost identical to Instagram’s. Your filters and simple editing tools are cleanly displayed below your photo. You’ll still be able to pre-edit in another app and then upload from your library, too, if you like to have a bit more variety in your editing options.

Tap “Done,” add a caption, tag a location if you like, and then choose who’s able to see your post. When adding friends and followers in Vero, you’re able to categorize them into “close friends,” “friends,” and “acquaintances,” thus letting you control how far you want each post to reach.

Venice Photo Walk and Tour

During your Photo Tour of Venice, I will point out details invisible to the untrained eye and reveal the best vantage-points on your chosen route. Learn to tell a story through images, take great shots of iconic monuments and capture atmospheric images off the beaten track.

So bring your walking shoes and be prepared to discover the mysteries of the city. Bring your camera and learn how to have more fun with your camera.

• Discover parts of Venice less travelled by tourists. • Hear interesting tales and stories • Take better photos • Turn your photos into exciting stories. • Have fun!

Let a Creative Italian Photographer walk you through the city of Venice in an unforgettable Photo Walk capturing real candid moments of your stay in beautiful pictures. Enjoy a relaxing vacation and bring home remarkable pictures of your visit.

Touring Venice can be a very exciting experience, but it can also be quite an adventure if you are unsure of which places to visit and how. The language barrier may also represent a curious obstacle but it can also be frustrating. We offer innovative and unforgettable Photographic Tours to welcome you to the most fascinating and romantic place in the world. Experience Venice through the eyes of a native Italian Professional Photographer. He will guide you in an exclusive tour through the most interesting Venice landmarks and monuments.

All city excursions are exclusively custom-made to fit your needs. You can explore the sites whichever way you like and at your own pace.

Walking around Venice together with a professional photographer is an enlightening experience. He will show you all the tricks of the game but it is also a fun and new way to visit a city like Venice. You will be able to visit, see, experience and tour places, situations, people that would be otherwise difficult to come across. The Photo Tours will take you through off-the-beaten tracks to the most important monuments and landmarks. You will avoid the tourist pedestrian highways and will take more secluded, intimate and truly Italian passageways. Let it be romantic, creative, fun and friendly, the astounding imagery will do the rest. We will show you the right places to eat, where true Italian dwell and the hidden beauties of the wonderful city.

• Tripadvisor Venice Photo Walk with Marco Secchi rated "excellent" by travellers

Fujifilm X70

UPDATE MAY 2016 After two months I decided to sell the camera, it is too flimsy and too slow and in my humble view there are much better point and shoot for that amount of money. I got a Leica Q much more expensive but a real super camera!

The new Fujifilm X70 camera has a spectacular design and a magnificent look as well with the retro aesthetics just like the some of the other Fujifilm X series cameras which make it unique and special.

The camera is easily portable and fits in a jacket/coat pocket and weighs only 340g with in-fitted memory card and NP-95 battery which makes it a perfect for an adventurous trip and street photographers since it's highly inconspicuous. The lens is 28mm f2.8 and a 16MP APS-C sensor that provides an exquisite and high-quality image. The diaphragm has nine rounded blades and a close-focusing limit of only 10cm.

I was not in need of a new camera and just wanted to try one for a review.

It is super small but I really mean small but at the same time it is very nice to hold it with a rubberized front and rear grips which are well-sculpted, and the camera feels comfortable in one hand.   At the beginning was not easy for me to use the LCD and was always looking for the viewfinder but I got used quite quickly and was fun the possibility to shot or focus touching directly on the LCD screen.

It has the same functionality of my XT-1 and XE-2 (with the new firmware ver. 4 ) and I tend to use my Fuji in AF-S and focusing is very fast and precise. It seemed to me very good for street photography and I did not miss any frame even with people and boats moving.

Fujifilm X70 has an admirable feature which is the 1.04 million tilting dot LCD touch panel that is 3.0 inch and which is also capable of rotating at 180-degree angle.

The touch panel has the following functionality which includes in preview mode:

• Image enlargement capability: this is achieved by double-tapping on the touch screen which also centers on the active focus. 
• Image moving capability: just like the phone, one can move the image by dragging it with the finger on the touch screen.
• Image zooming capability: one can enlarge the image by widening it by the use of the two fingers just like in a touchscreen phone. 
• Image scrolling: one can scroll the image upwards or downwards by swiping either way by the use of a finger. 

In shooting mode you will have access to:

• Focus Area Selection: Move the focus area before taking the image: one can achieve this by tapping on the touch screen.
• Touch Shot: Touch to focus and shoot on a specific point.

There is a small icon in the mid right side of the screen where you can switch between the two modes as well as turn the touch function off.

Adjustments in exposure compensation can easily been achieved by the dial.

Additionally, the lens control ring can also be used to adjust continuous shooting, film simulation, ISO speed, and white balance.

On the left hand side of the camera there is another function button. It sits quite well hidden. Very useful. I have decided to assign it to external ring control.

There is also a dedicated switch with an automatic mode, that I think may come handy to less photography savvy users. The camera also has a built-in Wi-Fi connectivity and an in-camera time-lapse.

The new 18.5mm f/2.8 lens in the X70 is a super performer. The quality of this pancake design lens is outstanding.
It’s an entirely new design by Fujifilm. It consists of 7 elements in 5 groups with 2 aspherical elements. It’s constructed in a  compact way,  and because there is no collapsing necessary when turning on/off the camera, this results in a much faster startup time when you switch your camera on.

The lens autofocus quickly thanks to the X70 hybrid autofocus system with both contrast detection and phase detect AF  which offers a 49-point Single Point AF mode and a Wide/Tracking mode that offers a 77-point autofocus area. Autofocus is fast, with reported autofocus acquisition said to be of as little as 0.06 seconds.

The X70 can start up in 0.5 seconds in High Performance mode, it is amazing and has a shutter lag time of just 0.05 seconds, can continuously shoot at up to 8 frames-per-second for around 12 frames and can use a completely silent electronic shutter with exposures at 1/32,000s.

Another feature that is is packed in the X70 is the digital crop feature or “digital tele converter” as Fujifilm calls it. When shooting jpeg mode you can chose to use either a 28mm, 35mm or 50mm crop mode.  The camera does some magic so you actually get a full 16mp file, obviously you can see some compression.

The  camera has additional accessories that include the LH-X70 Lens Hood, WCL-X70 wide conversion lens, VF-X21 optional viewfinder and BLC-X70 half leather case. The camera is available in two colors, silver or black. 

The X70 is in my view meant for people who needs a compact camera, and for street photographers who needs something  inconspicuous for getting candid moments of streetlife.

This post has not been sponsored and I did not get media samples or freebies. For more information, check out my full disclaimer policy.

On the trail of Tintoretto

An exhibition honouring 16th-century Venetian master Tintoretto opens in Rome today Saturday, following the painter's career from his days as an ambitious disciple of Titian to a bitter old age. "Tintoretto was the most controversial painter of his time," Melania Mazzucco, one of the organisers, told reporters in the Italian capital.  Tintoretto, whose real name was Jacopo Robusti, owed his nickname to his father who was a manufacturer of dyes ("tinta" in Italian). He became one of the greatest practitioners of the Venetian style.

Tintoretto used to live meters away from Campo Dei Mori where he used to walk probably every day

The exhibition, which runs until June 10, begins with one of his monumental works "The Miracle of the Slave" (1548), measuring 4.16 metres by 5.44 metres (14 feet by 18 feet) and normally jealously guarded in Venice. The choice of putting a slave at the centre of the painting instead of the saint who is rescuing him was considered scandalous at the time.Another masterpiece in the show is "The Theft of the Body of Saint Mark" (1564) showing a group of Christians in Alexandria taking away the saint's body from a bonfire that has been miraculously extinguished by rain. Apart from religious and mythological subjects, Tintoretto also painted hundreds of portraits -- a source of revenue from aristocrats, writers and celebrities that he used for contacts and protection. Tintoretto's pride was legendary: he once turned down a knighthood from French king Henry III because he did not want to kneel down and he refused to allow his beloved daughter Marietta to leave his home. His final years were cruel to the painter. Marietta died in 1590, followed by his son Giovanni Battista. His last self-portrait shows a somber and humbled Tintoretto, his face marked by the harshness of life. His last child died in a convent in 1652, leaving him without descendants.

Oh no not again!

10 Ways to get over an Artist Block...may be I need to check it again

Artist's block..oh no!

I’ve had artist’s block that is for sure.

I don’t know whether my lovely muse has gone on strike, or possibly a mix of  stress and lack of confidence, but I haven’t taken a picture since a couple of  weeks.

Not only that but I really do not want even to take out my camera.

This has happened to me before so I do not worry too much and I know what I have to do. 

First, do absolutely nothing, and avoid to get stressed.  I know will come back.

Second, sometimes we all need a break.

Third, I go and look at paintings in galleries. I don’t know anything about art but I  love it.  If creativity is a reservoir, it definitely helps fill it up again.

Fourthly, I go for walks with my iPod. The sea helps too, but there is no sea in Milan!

And finally, I read lots .

And then out of the blue, I woke up this morning and was happy to take pictures again!