A JOURNEY TO PORTUGAL

A Journey To Portugal from isabelle H.R on Vimeo.

T R A V E L  V I D E O

A short travel video I made from my two week long trip to Portugal.

The music is the portuguese music style fado performed by

Amália Rodrigues. The places displayed in the video are

cascais ⎮ lisbon ⎮ obidos ⎮sintra

I tried to capture a small piece of Portugal's

soul for those who haven't been there before, so they might get a
little glimpse of what the feeling of the culture and country is like.

COULDN'T FLY ⎜ ILLUSTRATION

This was a tiny text I wrote a while ago. 

But the words has always somehow been in

the back of my head. I like the simplicity

of it, yet it can still be quite profound.

One of the birds couldn't fly.

The other birds helped him

but never wondered why

For me it's based on the thought of a lot

of young people, that despite having their

family/friends around, feels alienated in the bigger 

picture. The people who are supposed to be dear 

to them, doesn't really know them. The sad part is that 

they think they understand the individual, but the truth 

is they are not even curious what's on the mind of their

loved one. Especially parents fail to know their

children's true person.  The most fundamental aspects of 

a good relationship is lost and they don't even see it.

Such ignorance they can be so unaware of. 

And the youth is left with a sense of loneliness, 

even though their closest ones are right there.

All pictures taken by Isabel H.R

FARMOR OG FARFAR

K A R I N    ⎮    B J A R N E

This little piece is for my grandparents,

Karin and Bjarne.

They got married in 1949. 

I remember the story of the two of them

being recently an official couple and my

grandfather studied abroad in Newcastle and

my grandmother received numerous letters in

the mail from my grandfather, and at one

point the mail man said:

"I think he must be in love!"

to my grandmother. It's a little bit clichè,

but it's something so sweet about it.

She always tells the story with such 

enthusiasm and a little touch of humour 

even though she's 88. She's my proof that 

age is just a number, age might give you a few

practical restrictions, but if you're young

at heart, no one can say anything against

that your philosophy of life is wrong.

I just saw a documentary about the pianist

Alice Herz Sommer, a 109 year old woman

who was the oldest pianist and holocaust 

survivor until her death in early 2014.
In the midst of the german invasion in

Prague, she was asked to play, and she

played concerts which seemed to take

everyone even the german officers away

from the harsh reality. There were even

guards listening from the outside through

the window. It is a beautiful reminder

of what music can do and how 

significant it really is.

But the point of mentioning Alice is her 

appreciation, spark and outlook on life. 

Through music which she says brings 

her to another world, she has learned 

to see the beauty about life. 

People always see disadvantages about

getting old, but I believe that as long as

your mind is intact and clear, you have the

time of your life to immerse yourself

with the things you love, and just stay in

it, be it, create your own sense of reality in it.

And you can't be selfish about it, cause

you're old. 

But she mentioned that you have to get this 

old to realize life's beauty. It's a interesting 

statement, but I think that depends 

more on the individual. I suppose I would 

have to get old first to answer that, as I'm 

looking at my life in retrospective.

I myself have not experienced that kind 

of love my grandparents have yet, but 

if I do I would be forever grateful.

I do believe there's something special,

something more to love, like it surpasses

reality, I think the bonds we create

is not for granted even though in the end

we die alone, and we are sepparated. 

I think love goes beyond the dimensions of 

reality, and it's something worth living for

I believe. Just like the music,

the passion, for Alice Sommer, it's her

own sense of something otherworldly, 

something holy.

All pictures taken by Isabel H.R

PORTUGUESE TREASURES

P O R T U G A L
cascais ⎮ lisbon ⎮ obidos ⎮sintra

Here's some of the small things I've gathered on my two week long trip to Portugal.
A handmade flower band which I got in a small village called Obidos,
a small tile inspired by Portugal's many tile artworks, a note book I got in a

huge bookstore called Ler Devagar in Lisbon, two post cards depicting
Portugal's historical Fado, a music genre which is still kept traditionally as it

is a part of the heart and soul of the Portuguese culture. I've also got an
african shell, another handmade flower band, a doll being a
traditional portuguese farmer girl and a porcelain bird.

All pictures taken by Isabel H.R

DEAR STRANGER - LETTER

THE MAKING OF PORTRAITS

Hungarian model, Merse Molnar. 

P O R T R A I T S

I've never really had the guts to try to do portraits.

I suppose I never thought I would be able to

capture a persons characteristics in a meaningful 

way. But here I dived into unknown territory 

and gave it a try as my first proper portrait.

I've also thought about what the differences between a

photographic portrait and hand crafted portraits like

painted or drawn ones. I suppose it all comes down to

the artist himself. Perhaps the photographer are simply
intrigued by the person's natural features and qualities. 

But sometimes the artist want to make use of the

artistery, and go beyond the limits of what's 

portrayed as something purely realistic. 

I chose this picture particularly because of the look

he expresses with his eyes is something quite

seductive, yet suspicious or dark. So with the

power of a pencil I wanted to make that

more visible. Reveal a part of his subconsciousness,

that couldn't be exposed in the same way 

through a photograph. 

And perhaps that might raise some

questions for the person portrayed himself?

ON THE ROAD

where do you feel at home

where do you feel you belong?

maybe you're still on the road

searching

with a sense of loss

perhaps thats where

your soul belongs

on the road 

constantly changing

new faces and discoveries 

around every corner

like a ghost

rushing through

no one who knows you

no attachments

no strings to pull

you back

just you and your 

self

on the road

all the way

until you're old

that's when you'll see

things are not what they seem

cause all the faces you've seen

still holds you

in their dreams

- poem written by me,

 Isabel H.R

FAR AWAY

How can you be so close

yet so far away ?

Sometimes there are certain people you want to 

connect with, but you never seem to reach them.

It seems to be an endless game, cause whatever you do,

they will never acknowledge you, they will never really see you.
You're invisible dust, blowing against the wind.

But the eyes has a way of betraying

Cause you never really know,

do you?

- Picture is a still from a video 

I made a while ago.