Skyline

This is Seattle skyline from the Space Needle at midnight!

Seattle

I visited my friend in Seattle and we went down to the public market a.k.a pikes place. I love how the water is so close to downtown. If you are ever in Seattle you definitely should come and visit this place.

The City

View of the city from the ferry. Fisherman's wharf and Pier 39.

Alcatraz

A view from the ferry when coming from Sausalito.

Sausalito

 Diamond the dog at Sausalito pier! 

Golden Gate Bridge

I made a new friend in SF, her name is Floor. One day we decided to go to Sausalito, which is right across the Golden Gate Bridge. So we decided to walk it. We had no idea how we would get there but decided to wing it! The walk over the bridge was about 20 minutes, lots of spots to take nice pictures! After the vista point we tried to get down to Sausalito and since we could find a walk path we decided to go down the bike path. Over all it wasn't too bad, it was a downhill walk, nice weather and great views. Even though we did get a few looks from bikers and drivers, probably thinking "Silly foreigners!"

Spotted these guys at the California Academy of Science!

Let me just say that... Pier 39 is one of my favourite places to visit in San Francisco. Fisherman's Wharf is just an awesome chaos in general.

Fisherman's Wharf

Let me just say that... I've decided to start photobloging my travels. Since I came to San Francisco I've done more travelling than expected. (not that i'm complaining!) In the last three weeks I have been to almost every part of San Francisco (in search of a place to live), then went over the bridge to Sausalito (to finally see some sun!), San Diego and Seattle! My favourite part about these trips was that they were all spontaneous! 

UK National Committee for UN Women

Let me just say that... Us women need some motivation once in a while to step from the shadow of the tall  overpowering men and show our sparkle! For the men that are reading this, you are probably wondering what does this have to do with shoes? But as any women would tell you, "Everything!" Every woman knows that a good pair of pumps can a make an impact. Its not just the fact that hey make you stand a little taller, a little prouder but they make you a hell lot more confident! Now ladies strap on those heels and get that senior position! So here is a little push:

I was asked to capture the UN’s Women WEP Launch at BNP Paribas on May 1st 2012. The WEP or Women’s Empowerment Principles is a campaign by UN Women asking companies to sign a CEO Statement that supports the empowerment of women in the workplace. The aim is to make a better working environment and community to be in by having more women in senior positions. As a woman myself I found the idea of this event very compelling and I couldn’t wait to attend.

The launch included several high-profile speakers such as Baroness Northover, Liberal Democrat peer and government spokeswoman on international development, as well as Cynthia Carroll, chief executive of mining giant Anglo American. Other speakers included Robert Swannell, chairman of Marks & Spencer and Marie Sigsworth, Group Corporate Responsibility Director at Aviva who talked about her experience in improving gender equality. (The Financial News)

This event was truly inspiring and empowering, it came to me as a shock that even in this modern age, where women and men are supposed to have equal opportunities in employment, there are still things such as ‘unconscious gender bias’, especially in senior positions.

One phrase that caught my attention at the beginning of the event was when Dr Heather McGregor said “Men, if you feel outnumbered in this room, now you know how we feel a lot of the time.”  That phrase stuck because until then, I didn’t notice that this was the sad reality.

If you would like to read a more detailed description of the event you may visit this link: UN’s Women WEP Launch. Also you will be able to see one of our pictures in the Financial News.

I will keep updating if there will be more!

Anastasia Shavarska

Sensation White

           Let me just say that... I'm in love with Sensation White!  

Let me just say that... I'm in love with Sensation White! If you like house music, festivals or just an incredible atmosphere then you should find out more about Sensation White! Sensation White is one of the most famous and popular house festivals around the world. It was created by ID&T, which is a Dutch entertainment and media enterprise. It started in 2000 and ran for five years only in Amsterdam. However, now it is run in Spain, Germany, Chile, Belgium, Czech Republic, Russia, Denmark, Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, Brazil, Norway, Ukraine, United Kingdom and now recently announced in the United States, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan.

Sensation used to be a Trance event but it has recently become a House only event. One key element to it is that everyone has to wear white! The slogan for it is “Be Part of The Night – Dress in White”, and of course the venue will also be completely themed in white.  Just imagine almost 50,000 people all dressed in white raving away to some of the best DJs around the world! Some of the more familiar names are Tiesto, Swedish House Mafia, Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, Fedde Le Grand, Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, Steve Angello and Laidback Luke just to name a few.

Personally; what I love about Sensation is that the main attraction is the atmosphere and not the DJ. People come just to be a part of this unique experience and this is definitely an experience not to miss! To give a little taste of Sensation, look at the video below. It’s a trailer for Sensation Innerspace Ukraine, I’ve been looking for good videos of it and found that this one is the best! Just look at how many people are there, it's insane! So I’ve got tickets to go to the one in Amsterdam on July 7^th and honestly from the day I’ve purchased them I just can’t stop staring at them. I simply can’t believe I’ll be going there. I’ve been wishing to go to sensation for almost five years now and I finally get to! I don’t know if you have ever had this feeling but it feels incredible! Just to give you an idea what it feels like just look at the video and you know what I am talking about. The video is a trailer for Sensation Innerspace in Ukraine and every time I watch it, it gets me more and more pumped!!! I really hope I get my new SLR by then, I bet the pictures will be amazing from such an event!