Hello everyone,
Tanya is here.
Today is my birthday and I’ve decided to start writing more and sharing more of my work, projects, and the things that inspire me in 2025.
I often find myself lost in my own thoughts, as if a heavy cloud is hovering over my head. Overthinking comes naturally to me, and it’s not always easy to quiet my mind.
In January, I started writing morning pages, and after reading a few inspiring books, I came to a simple but important realization—the only way forward for me is to write and share with the world.
I’ve never considered myself a good writer, and speaking feels even more challenging. So, I’ll start with what feels a little more comfortable for me right now—writing.
For my first post, I thought it would be fun to share some interesting facts about me:
- I got a degree in International law. But life has a way of surprising us. At 24, I left that part of my life behind and started creating with a camera I received as a wedding gift.
- When I was 14, I learned HTML and built my own webpage about Japanese anime. It became surprisingly popular, and one day, I received a package filled with souvenirs from a boy in another country as a thank-you. For the first time ever I got a perfume.
- I got a tattoo on my hand simply because, one day, my husband asked if I had ever wanted one. In that moment, I thought-why not? The image of a cherry blossom immediately came to mind. It reminds me of my creative side. Many memories are connected with it.
- All my warmest childhood memories are tied to summers spent at my grandmother’s summer cottage—the wooden yellow house my dad built, nestled among big apple trees. Three months of pure freedom, far from school and city life.
- When I was 14, I started writing a book-but never finished it. It all began with a map of a town I sketched in a big notebook my parents bought me.
- I’m an introvert at heart, and big social gatherings can feel overwhelming. And yet, somehow, I have friends all over the world.
- The summer I first started practicing photography, I took only one fixed manual lens on a trip to the Czech Republic with my parents. With no autofocus and only one focal length, I had no choice but to learn manual focusing-and that’s how I truly learned to see.
- Some of the people who inspire me most are Hayao Miyazaki, Joe Hisaishi, Tove Jansson, Claude Monet, and Peter Lindbergh. They each followed their own path, no matter what.
- I believe that choosing a profession should be about finding a tool that helps you as much as it helps others. Photography, for me, is first and foremost a healing tool. It allows me to see the world in a more positive and beautiful way. I believe art has the power to manifest things, to shape our own reality. A camera captures the truth of the world-the way things exist. And in that way, it’s a tool for seeing life from a new perspective. Isn’t that incredible?
- Right now, I’m learning how to live a slow life in one of the fastest cities in the world, Dubai.
Happy little things 