Vesna Armstrong Photography

When I go for my usual short visits to Zagreb, my native city, I never used to feel I had time to go anywhere else in Croatia. All my family and friends live in Zagreb, and there is so much to re-visit and photograph in the Croatian capital. But, as in recent years I have come to increasingly like the nature and countryside and care less and less for cities and city lifestyle, I am now ready to explore and experience "other Croatia" - smaller towns and villages, rural areas and spots of natural beauty. On my last visit to my native country, this October, I got to go somewhere I had wanted to go for a long time and had never been before, the beautiful small town of Slunj in the Kordun region, central Croatia. My Mum's next door neighbour and dear friend, Zorka was born and raised in Slunj and has two family houses over there where she spends a lot of time. She kindly offered to drive us and stay with us in her townhouse for a couple of days. The weather was beautiful and ...

I had not been in Zagreb in winter since I left for England in 1988. I was always able to choose the time of year for my visits, and it was always spring or late summer, when the weather in Zagreb is nice, but not too hot. However, lately my Mum has been poorly after a stroke, so in mid January I decided I had to make a short, unplanned visit to see her. She is recovering well, and we had a lovely time together. It was bitterly cold with freezing temperatures going down as far as -12 degrees Celsius, but I took it in my stride and managed to enjoy winter in my beloved native town. My Mum lives in Tresnjevka, the biggest area of Zagreb, only a few tram stops from the city centre. She lives in a house she had had built in the 1990s. I wanted to spend all my time with Mum and didn't plan on going out to take photos. I didn't even bother to take my DSLR with me; I only packed my little compact Sony. One afternoon, while my Mum was having a nap, I nipped out and took a few shots o...

This time of year is the time to reflect and as I do so I cannot help thinking wistfully of my dear Mum, my beloved Zagreb, and of course all my family and friends who live there. So this post I dedicate to all of them. Both photos were taken back in September during my last visit and processed yesterday. My Mum and her naughty but very affectionate young tom cat, Miki. She just adores the cat as the image shows. I have definitely inherited my love for cats from her as my Dad was not that keen on them at all. Ok, I must admit the image is very soft, out of focus to be honest, which probably results from my not being used to taking photos of people but I do not mind the softness here as it goes well with my Mum's softness for cats lol. Mind you, I did focus on Mum's eyes and just do not know what happened. Perhaps a bit of camera shake. I desaturated the colours in post processing as Mum's top was a bit too garish and I also gently removed some of her wrinkles. I tru...

I took this photo of Mum back in summer when I was in Zagreb visiting. She is sitting at the table in the garden of a restaurant in Petrinjska Street where we had a beautiful lunch of grilled squid, chips and roasted vegetables. The midday light was tamed and diffused by the parasols placed at each table. I was quite pleased to see there was no reflections in Mum's spectacles and that the photo turned out to be one of the best I have ever taken of Mum. Sretan ti rodjendan, draga mama! Happy birthday, dear Mum!