Dream Circus & Kapput @ Moita InLive Cafe

Last Friday I went home to pick up my car and than drive 80km to pick up the guys from Dream Circus. They were going to give a concert and well as I like driving and their sound, what better to come with them and give them a ride .

When we arrived a few hours later at Moita the other band Kapput also r and sound check was great. The space they were going to play in was great, it was big and the sound was real good quality. The thing I like most about sound check is when you see the guys on stage and they’re so exhilarant that they just can’t keep themselves from playing their instruments, and what comes out is the thing I love most; an improvised melody. It was the first time for the drummer to do his stuff on stage with the band, they had to look for a new one and this guy was able to learn the music in only a week time, for that, congrats to Gonçalo Silva for rocking the night!

the other band Kapput started playing before we came back from dinner (DC was p to start at 10, but because of traffic and food they only started around midnight) but what I heard of them was really good ! Their music has quite a lot of melody in it which comes back and the singer, well as he said, he didnt know his lyrics yet because they only wrote it the day before, but he did a great job! Got some great photos from both the bands and the night was just really good, the atmosphere was great because both the bands knew each other and well the bassist’s were kidding around with the guitarists (the guitarists always think they’re cool and supposedly the bassists are kind of sissy’s but hey, both can’t live without each other!)

Overall it was a great night also the after party, I didn’t stay for long but DC only played about 5 songs and the crowd asked for more (though they didn’t get any!). I loved it!

This friday Dream Circus is playing again, this time in Side B, Benavente, and I’m rolling along as driver and photographer, they just launched their new CD and you should check it out, it’s only 5 bucks and it really is worth it!

When Kapput is playing again, I’m definitely trying to come, their sound has got an edge to it, it isn’t as heavy as the heavy rock from Dream Circus, but they definitely have something going for them! Support the band and get to know them better by going to their facebook page.

So two names to remember people; Kapput & Dream Circus! * you will certainly hear more from them, on my blog for sure! *

Popularity: 7% [?]

I’m used to driving a lot, 500km a week is my bare minimum, and most of the time it is just 200km one way and the same night 200km the other way. I like driving so it is not a problem and for my work as a photographer and web designer I drive a lot. I drive to go out with friends, I drive to photograph bands, to go home to work as a webdesigner, I drive a lot at night and a lot during the day and whatever weathe circumstances there are. Being it in a flood in downtown lisbon during the day or at night wih fog. It doesn’t matter, I just go, because I simply have to get there. Here are some tips and tricks to get around safely, especially if you drive a lot like me:

• Don’t drink or do drugs while you have to drive in the next 24 hours, not even a little bit of that beer or a puff from the joint. You ight not notice it a lot, but it is there. You have a responsibility to get yourself and sometimes others back home and your reaction time is slower if you drink o do drugs, you’re not yourself.
• Check your car regularly. It is important that if you drive a lot that your car has to be in good conditions, don’t hesitate in putting new tires if the old ones are getting a bit used, be sure your lights are ok and if they are not in good condition than replace the old ones. Get your car checked by a proffesional mechanic and go there right away when you think something’s not right. Believe me, it can save your life. Accidents are prone to happen if you don’t take care of your car. and try to get to know well you’re mechanic, if you stay with the same one for a long time, he will get to know your car and he will more easily spot problems and fix them.
• Always use your seatbelt and make others use them. Seatbelts are life savers, yes they can sometimes do wrong, I know someone that didn’t wear her seatbelt and by being jected from the car while she was hit it saved her life, but 90% of the accidents are fatal if you don’t wear your seatbelt. You get the problems with the police if someone in your car doesn’t wear their seatbelt and they can say they will pay it, but an accident isn’t something you foresee most of the times and if someone in your car is killed because he didn’t have his seatbelt on when you had an accident, or if this person is projected out of the car and hits someone from behind and this person gets spinal damage due to this, you will always feel responsible, becuase you were the one that didn’t make that person put his seatbelt on. and believe me, people can say it wasn’t your fault, but you will always feel guilty anyway.
• Be sure you have the documents of your car in order, and if possible get an all risk insurance. If an accident does occur than you won’t have to pay as much and it can save you from going bankrupt. It’s always a problem if your papers are not in oder, and it is just a little thing to get everything right, especialy if you drive a lot.
• Always have your mobile phone with you, and have it charged! My dad sometimes leaves his pone at home while driving somewhere, I than get eally iritated. when I had my accident in November, it was on a place no body passed by and I was on my own. My phone saved my life, because if it wasn’t for the phone they wouldn’t have got me out of there in time. I already had problems remebering where I was, but by havig my phone with me I was able to contact the police, fire man and he ambulance. It might not be you having the accident, but it is important to have a way to contat others, always. I don’t leave my home wihout my phone, it saved my life and it was on a little trip I did every day, not even 10km away from home.
• Let people know when you arrive and if everything is ok. It doesn’t cost you anything and it will improve your safety and spare you people getting upset because they don’t know where you are and if you are alright.
• Aways have a first aid kit, triangle and yelow vest with you, in case of accident you will need it, it can save lifes and here in Portugal you are obliged to have it or else you’ll have to pay a very high fine.
• Don’t smoke or awnser your phone (non handsfree) while driving and make sure you don’t have to focus on anything else than the road. Your atention needs to be on the road so not to cause any accidents, you might have to switch the music while driving and not see a curb and than what? Just be sure you have everything ready when you start driving. I have a iual of always putting my gps ready, my music in a playlist on my ipone conected and running and my phone next to me in my bag. If anyone phone or I need to change music or my GPS settings, I’ll just stop next to the road. I can’t remember well but I thik I might not have seen the curb when I had the accident because I was changing cd’s, this nearly killed me. A girl that lived in my village was reaching for her cd’s that were on the floor next to her, she ran into a wall and has been paralised and in a wheelchair ever since. Smoking while driving takes some attention of the road and besides if you create the habit of not smoking while you drive and stopping if you want to smoke, I can promiss you, you will smoke less. Is healthier for your health and your money.
• Know when to quit. If you are very tired at night and you think you might fall asleep, then stop the car and sleep for a few hours. It’s better to stop and sleep a little and maybe running a little late, than not stopping falling asleep and getting an accident. A friend of mine fell asleep while driving, she had an accident and had to do therapy for a very long time because she got amnesia and couldnt remember the last year of her life. Another friend fell asleep while driving and drove of a bridge. He made it barely, his car didn’t.
• Try not to drive a lot on your own. I used to always have my friend with me in the car If i’d go out at night and had to drive a lot. It’s worse to be alone because you will fall asleep easyer and if yo are on your own and you have an accident at night, well I can tell you it’s not pretty.
• If you do drive a lot, than think investing in a good comfortable car you trust. I had my Peugeot 106 5 weeks before having an accident that nearly killed me, I drove a lot but my car was 15 years old and it had a lot of mechanical problems. It wasn’t a very comfortable car and I would get back pain If I drove a lot. Now since my dad has a new car and I was already driving his old mercedes, I stayed with the Mercedes. I don’t care that it is a little bit more expensive driving and it doesn’t make me hapier because it is a more expensive car than most people of my age. The most important things about the car are that it is heavy, so the wind won’t  throw me of a cliff, it also won’t get pushed a lot when having an accident and it’s made f good metal material which will protec me in case of an accident.The front is big and the back as well. I’ve been hit by a car in the back, a pick up truck which wet 120km/h while it hit me and my friend while we were waiting on the traffic to pass, the back of my car was big, it was the trunck that saved us, because there was space enough for the car to get stopped and not get to the chairs. Car was completely messed up and I had spinal and head injuries, but I’m alive.

Accidents happen, especially when you are a lot on the road, it isn’t always your fault, but still they happen and you can’t do anything about it. The only thing you can do is make sure it isn’t you fault and protect yourself as much as possible. Like a friend of mine said: “I drive, so there is always the danger of accidents”. You can’t not drive because you are afraid and you can’t drink if you want to drive and be responsible. I haven’t had a drink for over a year, and I’m happy because at least I know I’m responsible and I’m always ready to pick someone up or get someone save home. Do I feel tempted to drink? Yeah I liked the taste, but for me it is more important to be myself and be responsible.

Just be carefull and drive save!

xx Becky

Popularity: 6% [?]

A few months ago one of my flatmates in London asked me to do a shoot for her and the rest of her team; Flow (Make Up Artist), Jeni (Photographer and Creative Director) and Tasha (Creative Directing and Styling), and this was the result. They have been organizing some great events lately and I think their creativity is an inspiration for all of us, have a look

These photographs were taken on a drowsy late afternoon and the only thing we had at hand was our bright orange living room in Central London, they decided the scene was to show exactly what they are, and just looking at the pictures you can figure it out by yourself

Oh how I miss those days I really had a lot of fun living in London and if I would ever get the oportunity return I certainly would, it cost me a lot to come back to Portugal, but hey, at least the weather in the winter here is much better

If you want to know more about the Akemi Creative’s than go and pay a visit to their site at Akemi Creative .co.uk

xx Becky

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So today I composed a list of 9 CD’s that I really love and that gave a me a lot of good memories. These are the ones that still can be found frequently on my playlist, though some are a bit outdated, they give me fantastic memories. Twarres from when I was still living in Holland, I still have the original copy somewhere, or Linkin Park with my sister singing in the car when we moved from Holland to Portugal, and Pendulum, listening all night long while working non stop during the days and nights in London..

Left to Right:

1. Pendulum – Imersion & 2. Red – End of Silence & 3. Linkin Park  - Meteora & 4. Veronicas – Hook Me Up & 5. DJ Tiësto – The Parade Of Te Athletes & 6. ATB – Future Memories & 7. Christina Aguilera – Stripped & 8. Twarres – Stream & Hoobastank – The Reason.

I’ve always had this little sof spot for music. We used to hear a lot of music in the car with my dad, mostly Beatles and Classic music but later on when I got a little older I started watching MTV & TMF ( my mom didn’t allow me to do this untill I was about 12 years old .. ) and since I also was singing at the local music school and had other music lessons since very young, well let’s just say music has always been a part of my life. Big trips spend in the car, 3 months living in a caravan with my parents in the middle of nowhere, going out with my friends to clubs or with my best friend Flávia to concerts, or even at school during breaks they would put up a lot of rock music (I have some good memories of those times) ah well, always there was music. If I work I have music on all the time, my Iphone / Ipod / Mobile phone won’t leave my side because it is my music source, in the car there is always music. I jus’t can’t live without it

xx Becky

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Ok so yesterday evening I went very early to bed because I had worked the days and night before so I really needed my sleep. Going on during the night isn’t something you should do a lot of times, but in some businesses it’s just needed to go on during the night to finish of some work for instance, in my case as a webdesigner  sometimes need to work during the night because I need to deliver a project and sometimes there is just no other time left to do it. So here is a little guide to how I learned to go on during the night and keep myself a little healthy.

1. Take a few short breaks, not too long apart and not during too much time at once, because if you do that you can actually fall in sleep, but at the same time the brain migt need some rest. I use my little breaks to take the dogs outside for a little walk or while I was in London  I would go outside and smoke a cigarette in front of my outside door. That way I could regain my focus and think a little.

2. Don’t drink too much energy drinks.Believe me, it does more wrong than it does good because after 2 or 3 you’ll stop working due to a racing heart If I go out I might take one or in the begining in the evening, but don’t over do it!

3. Don’t drink alchohol! Yes it sounds stupid, but if you want to stay awake and focused, than do absolutely need drink because it will give you fatigue and make you very tired, besides you’ll loose your focus very easily. I just simply don’t drink ever, but hey that’s me

4. Drink orange juice (fresh). You’ll need the vitamin C, it’ll give you an extra boost to go on and you’ll get less tired due to it.

5. Drink coffee in the morning. I used to not like coffee so I wouldn’t drink it and I’d have a strange “feeling” in my stomach, like a flavour that wouldn’t go away. When I started drinking Capuchino, this changed, but do it in the mornings, cause than you’ll need it more and it’ll have the most effect.

6. The room you work in needs to have a good light source, your eyes will get tired but they’ll get even worse when you’re not near a good light source cause you’ll be straigning your eyes even more.

7. Sit in a good chair / couch. I’d used to have a very nice couch in my living room in London, I would spend days on it without stopping. If you don’t have a good place you’ll get a lot of back pain. This can have a big effect on the long run, not only in a short space of time.

8. Know when to quit. If you’re really tired than just sleep, if you don’t you’ll really overdo it and that can have medical consequences. You don’t want to end up in the hospital due to kidney problems or a burn out. If you do go on during the night because you feel ok, than go to bed when you do start to feel tired.

9. Drink enough. Get enough fluids inside of you, you can get very easily dehydrated because you don’t notice it if you focus a lot on your work.

10. Eat. Your body needs the food and yes eat extra because dtaying up past bedtime hours is very straining on your body, it takes a lot of energy.

With this I’ll leave you, people just be carefull and know your own limits. Some people handle longer than others.

xx Becky

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This weekend I went yet again with my best friend Flávia to Santarém see some friends and stuff but because there was not a lot of money I decided to go on the national road instead of the highway. It takes about an hour longer, and I hadn’t done it a lot of times before, but I’m glad I did because the view was beautiful and we had some time to chat and it made a few things clear to myself.

I’m moving out of Lisbon in the near future, to the interior of Portugal, because although Lisbon might be a great market for some, I think that for me it is just to crowded with other freelance web designers and Photographers like myself. At this moment I’m paying quite a lot for my rent and moving somewhere else it makes it possible to get a house which is more than double the size I have now, for the half of the price I am paying at the moment, besides that although I might not get a lot of work, something got really clear in my head:

“I don’t need a lot of money, I’m happy because I have people around me that I like to be with, who make me happy, who help me and all the IPads in the world wouldn’t make a person happy. All the things that I want, I have, and for that I’m really greatful.”

Today someone asked me, when I told him I’m starting up my own small web design company, wether I needed funding. The thing is, that I can make a living as long as I have my Laptop and internet, for the rest most resources I can find online nowadays, no I don’t have any funding at all, and I know I can’t take the responsibility yet to have funding, because although money is great to start up with, I can’t read the future, and at this moment I have no leg to stand on if something goes wrong. I think that people accept funding and money much too easy; If I can make without funding, because I code / Program / Design sites from 0 to the end out of my head, why would I want funding? Thanx but no, it gives me less problems to do it on my own

Someone who can live with just a tiny piece of something, won’t be too stressed out when he looses something of his wealth, though someone who is used to having everything at all the time, will be at complete loss when he’s left with almost nothing. I’ve learned that I can make it with a few pennies / cents each day if I need to, I lived for 3 months in a 40C caravan in the middle of nowhere and haven’t complained, I know how to save myself. I also have seen people who had it loose it in an instant, and get completely insane due to not having the money and not knowing how to deal with it. So yeah, I prefer to have just a bit to having a lot and loosing it all

I know this is not a great post, but it might make people think. I’ve seen too many people spend money that they’d borrowed from the bank at things and times they shouldn’t and when the economy dropped, so did their life’s ..

xx Becky

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Last week 29th of January we went to see Vulture @ Imperium Bar in Santarém, Portugal, their sound is great and of course I had my camera with me so I took some pictures

These guys are really amazing live and already had their first CD launched If you get the chance to see them , take it, they are really worth seeing

By the way if you want to know more, than visit their page. I’m leaving you with a video from that night (not made by me ), Hope you like it

Today we drove 450km for me to go to the dentist, they did a nice job on my molars so now they hurt a lot and my tonsils are huge, swollen from something, so happy me is ill in bed again, tomorrow hospital and then we’ll see



Have a nice day
xx Becky

Popularity: 6% [?]

During this past year and a bit I’ve changed a lot because I came to a certain point in my life in which I had to choose wether to keep messing up my life or make a big turn in my life and adjust everything.

First I was in the wrong relationship with the wrong guy, which didn’t make me happy at all, and on a certain moment I decided to choose for myself, and so I did. This gave me freedom, I mean a lot of freedom, I’d been continually dating since I was 14 years old, so now at the age of 19 I started to see what friends and yes guys are all about. So going from a captivity like life to complete freedom, that gave a big shock, so after too much partying, too much drinking and yet again screwing up a lot, I decided on the 1st of January 2010 that I would not touch anymore alcohol, and so I did, now more than a year has passed by and I still don’t drink because even if I’m just 20 years old, it makes a big difference because I know that as long as I’m not too tired I can drive everyone home safely, I’ve got more responsibility yet it gives me more freedom.

I also decided that I wanted to get a break, a break from portugal, I wanted a big change that would get me somewhere else and that would open up new opportunities, and that was when I decided that from that point on I would take up every chance I got at doing new things and I would accept any challenge. So I moved to London on my own, that was a huge step, because I wasn’t very social and a bit shy, also I didn’t know anyone in London and I had only been there once before. But I made it, I survived it, and than I came to Portugal on a break in the summer. I had a car accident, with my best friend next to me in the car, it wasn’t my fault because some guy hit me from behind at 120km an hour on a road you could only go 50. Te most important thing for me was to get my friend better as soon as possible, what was funny was that when I woke up in the car she was the one calling for the ambulance and the hospital because I’d hit my head pretty hard, she’d only hurt her knee. We’d been friends for 6 years but she’d been with me trough everything, and she still continues doing that. It’s the moment I started valuing friendship a lot, and still do, because real friends are the ones that stay with you all the way, that go to the hospital as soon as they hear you got in an accident and the ones that support you trough months of recovering. Ad luckily I have one of those friends that does that.

I didn’t go back to London because i needed to stay at home, of course I didn’t listen to my parents when they told me it was too soon to go out, but it made me realize that sometimes you’ve just got to be patient, and that is something really useful.. Especially when 3 months later you get another accident!
So again recovering, though this time it was my fault, ok so the learning curve? Yeah I just totally lost my car, so a lot in bed, a lot not moving and being very patient, re organizing your life ..

The thing is the second time around a car accident was for me life changing. Yes I’d been in one before only 3 months before and I remember very well the doctor saying that: “I might not be able to get back to my old life completely” and “The next accident you won’t survive”, well that was very nice of them but I did get my life back on its feet and I also survived the second accident .. But I was alone, in the dark at 4.30AM on a road where no one would pass by. I honked and I flashed the light, I called the police and my parents, but when my parents picked up the phone they thought I was kidding, and it took a long time for the ambulance to come, and than I just shifted in and out of unconsciousness, which lasted for about 2 months. 2 Months in which i had to stay with my parents because I was in a shock state ..

I learned a lot, and am still learning, I’ve learned to be more careful, I changed my life around again, because I was very close to death and I now give a lot of value to my life, something that I feel people only understand when they have been close to death. I changed, I organized my life, I’m trying to be healthier and I’m getting back into shape, I also do the things I want most and spend quality time with my parents who are now really different to me. I use my time in the way that it is most useful and yes I still go out, once a week is my rule, just to relax and be with friends, photograph some bands, get to know new people and just be myself. I’ve learned that I can be myself and that others can judge what they want, but that I need to be me, not “different” but just me, the way I feel best without lying to myself, and that only people that respect me are worth being around.

So yeah, I learned a lot and I changed a lot, but I must admit I feel a lot better and the quote makes complete sense, you just need to get to understand it. Now I am who I want to be, but I’ll always keep on changing, trying to be the real me.

Popularity: 7% [?]

These are photos of the band Dream Circus. It was a great night out @ Imperium Bar – Santarém, Portugal 3 weeks ago. I liked their sound a lot. They’re going to bring out their first EP on the 21th of February, so if you want to know more go to their Facebook. The guys from Dream Circus are great people so it was a very nice night out. I’m hoping to get the chance and see another concert soon.

As I think bands are not only to photograph, here are 2 of their songs, that are going to be included on the Fear EP, that is coming out worldwide this month.

WARNING: It has a comercial in the beginning, until I get to working out a way of getting a better MP3 playlist, this is just going to be there.

I changed the layout, it’s much more simple and that is the way I want it to be, I’m simple, and this blog is so yeah, simple. I’m going into a new phase of my life, might go to London again soon and I’m not an intern anymore at Mário Príncipe Studio in Lisbon, instead I’m focusing on my own personal projects, getting to photograph more and also doing some web designing for some friends and clients, you’re going to know all about it because in the near future I’ll have a new site up with all my work.

See you soon

xx Becky

Popularity: 8% [?]

So how was your 2010? Mine was strange, very strange, on one side it has been my best year, yet still it has also been my worst.

I did a fashion photography course, I loved it so much I decided that that was what I wanted to do, but yet still didn’t have a great idea of how I would get where I wanted to go, one of the things I wanted to do was assist my “mentor” Mário Principe, one of the best fashion photographers in Portugal and nominee for the 2010 Portugal Fashion Awards! (where I went and It was amazing, he didn’t win, but he still is one of the best!)
In March I finished my high school 12th grade, finished the photography course and on the 12th of April I moved to London, that was a huge step, I went to a place where I didn’t know anyone and I started living on my own, it was amazing as long as it lasted, but still, it was amazing!
When I came back on holiday to Portugal and went with my best friend Flavia to the beach on the 6th of August, we had a car accident, with my ex boyfriend’s (and best friend) car, waiting on a crosroad for people to pass someone hit us from behind at 120km/h (on a 50km/h road) –’ Back damaged bla bla bla, well let’s just say I had until the 1st of October to get back upon my feet, of course I didn’t want to lay still for 6 weeks, but I did, kind of .. On the 1st of October I moved to my own little space in Lisbon (I couldn’t move back to London) and on the 4th I started working as an intern /2nd assistant with Mário Principe, I made some great friends and contact and had a great time. Than bad luck started, I mean real bad luck!

I bought my car, a Peugeot 106 on the 29th of September, first week it went fine, than when I tried to close the back door the window broke, next week while parked in Lisbon, they broke the drivers side window and tried to steal my radio, which they didn’t managed to do, week after I decided to take a week of from work at the studio, to take care of my back injury because of the car accident, well that saturday I went out to a Bar 60km from home with a friend, they broke his window and stole my bag with all my documents, my Tom Tom and my Iphone, I hoped my bad luck would stop, well lucky me, it didn’t..

On the 8th of October around 04.30H I didn’t see a curb in the road (no, I hadn’t drunk, I hadn’t partied that night) I went over the top falling down 3 meters, taking out some pear trees and than stopping at about 20m away from the road .. 4m down..

I love my work and I tried to get back to it, but my chest / ribs, sustained serious damage so I’m still recovering from it, I can’t lift etc, but although It was a lot of bad luck, and this little incident nearly cost me my life, I’m still here and I’m not giving up.

I decided to turn my life around, trying to get a better lifestyle and working on some things that are still in progress, but after getting out of a car crash which was supposed to have killed me and being in shock for over a month, I’m trying to grab my way up, and still not sure how, I’m going to try and make a difference, It might sound strange, but the ambulance people and doctors who took care of me, the fireman who cut me out of my car and the police who helped me a lot these past few months really left a big impression on me, and I have this little scratching something in me saying “this year I want to help people and make a difference, I want to use my second chance at life, and make it worthwhile!”

2010 brought a lot of bad luck but also made me cry of joy at some points, I had fights, I was robed and they stole my identity but I also got a second chance at life, and am in the process of getting my Portuguese nationality, I worked at a magazine and assisted a major fashion photographer who I really look up to, I made a start to my Portfolio, got my drivers license, lived in 2 of my favourite city’s and am still alive, and am really grateful for all of it.

So goodbye 2010, you were a great year and I grew a lot, but now it is time for 2011 to come and be even better One of the things I want to do this year is get into shape and leave bad habits behind. My injurys aren’t easy, but this time I want to be in top condition before I go back to work, so I’m training, walking 5km or more a day to get my back and chest in shape, eating healthy food and cutting back almost 100% of sugar and fat food, I went to the dentist today, who scares me as hell and am going to go for a full body check up when possible, It might not look like a lot, but it is, and though it isn’t very easy it is already showing and worth it, because I want to be healthy, it is now or never, and I prefer now! Last year I promissed myself not to touch any alchohol and so I did, though I didn’t drink a lot, It didn’t make me happy at all and I made some big mistakes, but that is the past and I’m moving on, I got trough with that promisse and am already a year +4 days alchohol free, I can drive my friends around without a bad conscious and I can be myself, because If you love me drunk and do not like me sober, than I don’t like you

Popularity: 8% [?]