Leica- Expired

When I was given the Leica camera I was given a pile of film and most of it was expired. I decided to give a roll a go and big surprise, it did effect the quality. The photos turned out grainy and really lack in giving shadow and depth. But some people are into grainy shots, so here's to you. These shots are taking throughout Eastern Europe at the end of last year. Not sure if I will use the rest of these expired rolls, so if you want some, let me know.
-morgan

Leica- Gemany/Vienna

So this is my first roll of film developed from one of my favourite new cameras, my Leica M6. It has taken me a while to get used to this camera, with its separate lens/viewfinder and getting used to using a light meter is has been a challenge. This was a cheap roll of film but picks up some serious colour. These photos were taken throughout Germany and Vienna in November of last year. I really miss Autumn, especially now we are living in an area of Australia that has no real change in seasons.
-morgan

2012: a review

Last year was a massive year for us, and it has been so so fun to be able to share it with you all here on the blog. Here are a few facts and figures about how we spent 2012.

362 = days spent outside of Australia
46 = number of beds slept in around the world
6 (Kim) & 8 (Morgan)= weeks of paid work
7 1/2 = months in France
15 1/2 = Countries visited (we never slept in Italy but went twice)
USA, Iceland, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Scotland, Norway, England, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey.
16 = cities/villages we stayed in France
9500 = km's driven in our Renault 4L around France
12 = number of airplane flights
6 = number of long haul bus trips (2-12 hours)
10 = number of long haul train trips (2-10 hours)
100 = Kg of baggage on arrival back in Australia
15,000 = estimate amount of AU$ we spent while away

We never would have of guessed what 2012 would have been like. Had we have known what was in store, maybe we would not have done it all, but we have absolutely no regrets. We have made so many new friends this year and had so many incredible encounters. As we look back, we are often overwhelmed at how amazing life can be. We are so pumped for 2013 and have even more unknown expectations as to what will come in the year ahead, but what ever it is, it is sure to be great.
-morgan and kim

Istanbul, Turkey

After 7 days here in Istanbul (not including the 2 we had before we went to Olympos) we figure its time to share some of our experiences of the city so far. Since our first day we arrived and had our coffees paid for by a random old man in a little coffee house, we have been overwhelmed by the beauty and kindness of the Turkish people. Istanbul is a massive city with 13.5 million people (there is 22 million in all of Australia!) so there is always something going on. The city is spread over 2 continents, Europe and Asia, and most of our time has been spent on the Europe side.
We have enjoyed the change in culture, from waking up at 5.30am to the first light call to prayer from the Mosque next door to haggling with vendors everywhere, but especially the change in food. We have made good use of the street side food venders enjoying bagels, fresh squeezed orange and pomegranate juice, rice, honey churos, corn and doner kebabs all for 1 or 2 lira (50c-$1). I have loved the tea culture and the beautiful rituals of drinking tea throughout the day, once even served tea in the park. Morgan's mustache is always a favourite with the men on the streets who stop to comment or laugh and point as we walk on past. Today the men yelled out "famous man" as we passed a shop near our hotel which we pass most days.
We have explored the bazaar's and flea markets, rode the ferry to the princes' islands, admired the beautiful tiles and architecture, and taken so many photos on film.
-kim

Olympos, Turkey

It's a long 15 hour bus drive to get from Istanbul to Olympos, but it was well worth the journey. Olympos is an old ancient city (now in ruins dated from around 7AD) on the Mediterranean Sea in the south of Turkey, which has become a getaway for Turkish tourists. There is maybe 20 wooden treehut style hostels set up just outside the ruins, an area which is very busy in summer, but beautiful and quiet at this time of the year. We had a relaxing 5 days climbing mountains, exploring the ruins, reading books, playing backgammon and even swam in the sea. It's a beautiful area with lots of natural delights. We visited Yanartaş, a natural phenomenon of flames burning out of gaps in the rocks, and were blessed to share a BBQ sausage with a Turkish family cooking lunch on the ancient eternal flames. Now we are back in Istanbul, and ready to explore the city side of Turkey.
-kim

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Our time here in Bulgaria has been a very different journey than we are used to. We have had a few extra days in both Sofia and here in Plovdiv than we usually allow in a city and these places are very small in comparison to other cities. Plovdiv has a rich history as a passage for the Ottoman and Roman Empires. In the middle of the Main Street there is ancient roman amphitheater ruins and amazing old building facades. We have had a kebab a day in preparation for Turkey and enjoyed taking our time exploring both the new and old city. The weather has warmed up, we have gone out without scarves for the first time in 2 months and are very excited to get to Turkey tomorrow after a long evening bus trip.
- morgan

Sofia, Bulgaria

Who would have thought that Bulgaria would be the country where we meet the most Australians around the world. We have had a lovely time meeting new people (most of who are Australian) here in Sofia and exploring the city with them. We are staying at a great hostel which is super cheap and gives us breakfast and dinner so our days cost about $10 for the two of us. Most people at the hostel are either going to or coming from Istanbul, so we have been getting very excited about Turkey. Most people are also only staying 1 or 2 days so our 5 days here has enabled us to catch up on skype chats and take it slow.
This city is nice and compact, so it is super easy to get around on foot, although the crazy footpaths can make it an adventure. We have had some amazing dirt cheap food, and are making up for all the meat and carbs we have had elsewhere, with some decent vegetables.
The markets here are fun to explore. One find, which you camera buffs might enjoy, was a special Nazi edition Gold Leica camera. We nearly bought a mini accordion for $20, but decided we didnt want to carry it. Our bags are bulging enough as it is. Tomorrow we head to a smaller town 2 hours from here called Plovdiv.
-kim

Belgrade, Serbia

Well once again we are down to our last 24 hours in a city. Tomorrow night we catch another night train to Sofia, Bulgaria. Our last night train was pretty good, we got a whole compartment to ourselves and were able to sleep a little too. Arriving in a city at 6am is always a strange first impression, but since that first walk across town to find our airbnb apartment, to now, we have enjoyed exploring Belgrade. It isn't the most beautiful city, but there is so much to been seen in the grey communist style buildings with beautiful architecture spattered in between.
Things here are cheap (for us) and we have appreciated the large meals and low costs. We even went to the cinemas the other night to see Argo (great film!) and it only cost us $2.50. The Danube river continues through Belgrade and we are fortunate our place is realy close to the Kalamegdan Park and Belgrade Fortress, which has a great view of the river. There are plenty of street vendors selling a little bit of everything. We picked up a 500 billion Yugoslav dinar from the hyper inflation of 1994. The sweet old lady who sold us this said "Makes super souvenir. Easy to carry and very cool", and upon purchase said "thankyou very much Mr Bill Gates". Amazing.
-Kim