CUT and DRY

A Romantic Sunset

A beautiful sunset may provide calmness and peace. Close your eyes to soak in the moment...

Hope you have a lovely Sunday! xx

Keep Moving Forward

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

~Walt Disney

Hope you have a wonderful day! xx

Sister

I'm grateful for the love and support you always provide, my sweet sis. Thank you for always being there for me.

I love you, Jeanne!

We live in an ever changing world - uncertainty, unexpected losses, and challenging situations are part of our lives and can cause stress and anxiety. Let's face it, any major life change can be stressful.

Sometimes, I feel anxious and stressed. When I'm under stress I experience mental symptoms, such as irritability, anger, fatigue, and difficulty sleeping. In fact, I'm often feeling on edge and not being able to relax and am excessively worried about things such as health, family, work.

When stress and anxiety trike, these three techniques help keep me calmer.

My Coping Mechanisms When Stress Hits:

1. Deep breathing.

Lie down, or take a comfortable seat. Breathe in through the nose for at least five seconds.

With your mouth closed, exhale until you’re out of breath.

Repeat five to seven times.

2. Nature as a healer. (Eco-therapy).

Walking stimulates relaxation and improves our mood. Spending time in nature and doing outdoor activities can act as a stress reliever. Researchers have found that nature, even looking at trees simply makes us happy.

3. Getting a good sleep. Getting a good night's sleep can reduce stress and improve our mood. Not getting enough quality sleep regularly raises the risk of many disorders.

These strategies work perfectly for me. I hope they are helpful for you guys too.

Hope you have a great weekend! xx

Have a Happy New Year!

Hello everybody, I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season! As 2022 winds down, I just wanted to thank you so much for your continued support and encouragement all these years.

Cut and Dry wouldn't exist without you, lovely people. I am truly grateful to each and everyone of you for reading CAD. My New Year's resolution is to make more time to catch up with you next year, no matter how demanding and crazy work and life gets.

So, warm thanks to all of you! Wishing you a joyous 2023! xx

A Sad Story

A a photographer, sometimes I have people contacting me to use my photographs.

So this past July (July 3rd, 2022), a magazine editor reached out asking for permission to use two of my photographs in an essay he was writing.

July 3

July 15

"There are two of your photographs I would like to use if I may? One is the face of a young man who seems to be on an underground train - about to travel through time and space and the other is of two Iron Maiden fans ( could we get these two photographs to use in the piece?)

Your work is great. I really like how you capture a kind of between worlds - the real - the surreal - in a kind of cinematic noir. It is as if we are waiting for something to happen, will the train doors suddenly open and the young man will flee the train pursued by a couple of heavy, dark villains, are the Iron Maiden fans part of an underground cult that is plotting to take over the world?

Someday I would like to write about you and your work.

I will let you read the essay once I have it written." ...................................................................................................................................................................................

I thought I'd google his name as well as his magazine to find information on that editor. Then I decided to give permission. His enthusiasm and admiration for my work just made me happy, not for ego; but for the joy of knowing my photographs positively impact on others. It's nice when your work generates enthusiasm in viewers, it's nice when someone, above all when a magazine's editor finds your photography exhilarating and interesting.

Days were passing by without hearing from Sergio, to make a long story short, so I thought I'd pop in and see what was going on regarding my photos.

It was only a few days ago, when I learned the sad news that Sergio Burns passed away on Wednesday 20th July, 2022. This is absolutely sad and shocking news.

It is with great sadness that I am writing this post. Sergio Burns was an author, a senior journalist and editor at AM Ayshire Magazine. He has written for a wide range of newspapers and magazines including Mail On Sunday, Sunday Herald, Japan Times, Contemporary magazine, Scottish Fields, In These Times (USA), Austin Chronicle (USA), and was for many years the writer of the Europhoria column for Indalico (Spain) and the New Entertainer (Spain). Studied at Glasgow University, Strathclyde University and the University of the West of Scotland.

I've hadn't the honor to meet him in person. He was a very talented and creative writer and editor.

I would like to express my deepest condolences to Sergio's family.

R.I.P. Sergio Burns

Everyone Is an Artist + Have a Beautiful Weekend

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! It seems ages since I last wrote a blog post; and I am sorry for that. As you may know, I love photography. However, it's safe to say that it is not easy being a photographer. There are hours spent doing editing and/or post-processing photos, countless outings empty handed, lots of expenses, etc. So I've been working on a photography project for the last couple of months. I've also been practicing my photography skills in order to develop my craft and grow as a photographer. But I do love blogging too. So here I am guys.

I thought I'd share a few fresh photographs with you, if you'd like to see. All taken in Athens, Greece 2022.

Hope you have a great weekend! Take some time to spark your creativity and do something cool. It's important to spend your time doing what inspires and recharges you. Remember, everyone is an artist in their own way. xx

P.S. Feel free to visit my Facebook profile and say hello. https://www.facebook.com/betty.manousos/