I love photography! I took a ton of courses & I know how to take beautiful pictures. Even more so, I know how to make a beautiful picture from an average one using all kinds of Photoshop tricks. My photos look great! Sometimes even better than the actual reality behind those photos. One of the main secrets of a good picture is the focus. Yes, good photographers decide what will stand out & then crop or blur, or even stamp out everything, which can defer viewers’ attention. That is how great photos draw us in!
Back in 2012, I launched an online magazine for amateur photographers, “LiuboF”: about love, about photo & about love of photography. I published it for five years & had to stop when I started my studies & work at an American University, but my love for photography & blogging remains!
If I were to create my picture of success, that would be a cozy home with warm, welcoming hosts & relaxed, smiling guests. That is the ultimate focus! If we look closer, we can see in this picture many fulfilled needs: there is food on the table, so there is enough finances & health to hold such a fun gathering; there are loved ones & close friends, so there is mutual respect. This picture brings me a feeling of contentment: my life is worth living & I live it the best way possible! There is also one more crucial thing that holds all of it together: a feeling of safety!
If I take that out, everything changes. That’s what happened in Ukraine. That success picture was shuttered to pieces, forcing us to leave, looking for a safe harbor where we could start all over again. The saddest part is that bringing the same people into the new picture is almost impossible. I mean, yes, I can photoshop them in here, but it’s not the same, right? We, like many other immigrants, had to sacrifice some of our love & belonging needs for the sake of fulfilling our need for safety. It is a tough choice that I wish nobody ever has to face.
