Loire Valley

Back to 2008, August.
My journey to France. 7 days tn the city of love - Paris, and then journey along Loire River exploring beautiful castles.
Below I present Chenonceau Castle, made in XVI century. Built on the Cher River surrounded with beautiful gardens. I think it is the most beautiful castle I've ever seen.

For the victory...

I think that was my first serious photo shot. March, the 19th, 2009.
Karol is the Gniezno Speadway Racing Club rider. Speedway Racing has always been his passion.
To take these pictures I had to go for a short trip. There was foggy and windy weather that day... I went to Gniezno - my friends' hometown. I didn't have any ideas where to take the photos. But Karol, filled with enthusiasm about the session, create a little studio with some bedsheets on the walls and spotlights, and friends holding lights and the background. There was a lot of fun. But I have to admit they did a good job! And result is great. We decided to take some pictures in the town as well. After few hours we just went to our houses. I had plenty pictures to work on besides my hands were freezing... Some of my work you can see below.

Karol - good luck!

Fields of gold

Somewhere in the Polish countryside...
20 mins away from the city. It's hot again today. Shouldn't choose this day to take pictures. It would be better to lay down in the shadow somewhere on the grass. OMG... I need water, water, water....
Good I don't have to look for a field for a long time. There's nice gold barley on a quite wide piece of the land. I can see nice spot to stop. My EOS, polarize, tripod.... Everything on the place. Half of hr of work and i got over 100 nice shots.
Here I present few of them.

awaiting...

Caroline and her awaiting son David with bigger sis Natalie.
This is what called happiness and never ending love.

Czartoryski's Castle in Goluchow

My colleague was telling me many times about the place called Goluchow with Czartoryski's Castle. And because I like trips I've decided to go there one day. Finally it happened on May, the 5th 2011. I've filled in the picnic basket with sandwiches, cookies, candies and hot coffee in flasks. 2 hrs in the car, but it's worth it. We came to the town called Goluchow looking for the castle. It's situated close to the road, but because it is built in the little valley we couldn't find it at the first look. The castle isn't very big, but made with a very good style, cosy and nice. We decided to visit the park first. 160 hectares of the land contains 600 kinds of different trees, shrubs and bushes, ponds with ducks, streams. At the end - the forest with bison and horse stall.
The walk made us feel hungry. Sandwich with some salad and egg... yummi!... Mug of hot coffee warms us up.
Now it is time to visit the castle. I was wondering how it looks inside. The present exposition inside includes a part of the old collection of Greek vases and paintings of Polish and West European painters. Every room has got the doors and paneling matching the ceiling in ornamentation, material and technique. There are also paintings by Spanish painters of the 17th century - such as Pantoja de la Cruz. The Spanish exposition is completed by Spanish furniture. I was amazed exploring the place.

Auschwitz - the camp of death

We all learn about history in the school - about cruelty of the World Wars. But for most of us it's hard to imagine the suffering and pain the people went through in their daily lives. Hard to imagine, till you find yourself in the place like Auschwitz - Oswiecim.
Every brick in the wall, every stone on the road - these are the witnesses of inhumanity and cruelty towards other men. They've seen the blood of thousands of people, they've heard scream of mothers as they watch their children and men die....

... it's hard to imagine people could create such fate to other people...

And the old tall birch trees forever will sing a funeral song in the memory of those who died for our freedom...

Auschwitz II - Birkenau (Oswiecim - Treblinka)

The magic of Kraków

Kraków is one the most beautiful cities in Poland. There's smth in the air what makes this place very special and magical. It's a cradle of Polish culture and has very important position in the history. The last time I was visiting the city it was over a year ago. Some may say that is a long time ago, but I can assure you that my memories are still alive. It's not easy to forget that atmosphere.

There is a place in my heart reserved only for Kraków.