We decided to do something useful instead; so we visited the neighborhood of the house I grew up in, and took some photos of some good-looking scenes.

I have serious orientation problems, and I always had. I have a hard time finding my way at places I do not know well enough. My parents were annoyed of this, and did some serious — and, sorrily, completely futile — efforts to improve this situation. We went to the top of the hill we lived at quite frequently — soon it became my task to lead the family there. I got lost and frustrated fairly often — until I found a street with lot of stairs going straight up.

At the top of the hill is a small forest. There is a really scenic view, some really nice-looking glades, and a strange monument erected for the leader of the Hungarian Jacobine Club, Ignác Martinovics. I loved to play here when I was a child. I imagined this place to be a secret fortress among huge, snow-covered mountains, where warriors fight each other with stone axes. (I even made my own stone axe each time we went up there.) Now I saw it is still a popular place among young children. However, when it was time for them to have lunch, we were able to shoot some photos with V.

Then we had to hurry to Mum’s since she waited us with some superb lunch. So, in spite of the terrible and irritated morning at the photo course, we managed to have a really nice day at the end.

We soon became friends, and I remember him being the most interesting person I ever met during my eleven years spent at the university. He is also the only one who is always open to an honest and constructive debate. That’s how our relationship turned to be really serious, almost intimate: discussing countless topics through e-mail. I think he is one of the persons who inspired me to learn to form my arguments more clearly and logically.

Being someone really close to me, he also helped me getting through two or three serious break-ups. He was with me when I had to make the most important decisions in my life. I can only hope that I was able to return some of this support during the years spent together.

When his girlfriend, Zsófi organized his surprise-birthday party in a cozy pub in the city, she asked us to bring some photos about Balu and about our common memories. She collected the pictures in two thick. nice-looking albums.

I only make photos regularly since I got my first digital camera in 2004. However, I was able to collect a lot of photos which picture important or memorable moments of us. Here are a few of them.

This photo was taken in May, 2004, on an excursion organized by the editor-in-chief of the university newspaper we both worked at. What surprised me when finding this picture on my old computer, that he seems so young, while it was taken barely four years ago. However, when I thought it over, I realized that he did changed a lot in the last years — and not just his looks.

These are our footprints on the bank of the Danube, near to their house in Göd. Mine is the smaller one; the funny thing is that we basically are the same height. This photo was taken when I visited him at the end of the summer. We were walking and talking by the Danube and somehow I felt that I needed to swim. It was strange, because I nearly never swim in natural waters. However, it was so much fun, that two days later I went back and swam again — now I even took my swimming trunks with me. Being at Göd with Balu is always a nice and peaceful experience.

In 2005, I started to organize small parties for my friends. We had a few drinks, played pool, and talked a lot. I always tried to make sure that Balu is there at these occasions. He is funny, and really easy-going; he is kind with everybody, so when he was there, he also helped me to keep the group together. It was really helpful, since my friends did not necessarily knew each other. I was always imrpessed how easily is Balu able to start a conversation with someone he never met. This is an ability I always lacked, and always admired in him.

An other newspaper excursion with an almost entirely changed staff in 2006. By that time, Balu became a very good and experienced columnist and editor at the paper. He also won two awards given for university journalists. A year later we started to hold a course together on university journalism.

A trip to Szilvásvárad in 2007. We were on holiday at the same part of the country, so we spent one day together. We made a small excursion, and then we visited Eger and finished the day in a very nice confectionery.

This photo (shot by V.) was also taken at Szilvásvárad. Once I stated Balu and Zsófi to be my “favorite dream couple”. This is a very nice and typical moment of theirs. I hope it is also a nice way to say thank you for the excellently organized surprise party to Zsófi.

So it was a real stress, I barely dared to download the pictures on my computer — surprisingly, the results are not bad at all. Far from perfect, of course, but there are pictures that I am really proud of. As a whole, I am satisfied with the results, especially because my pictures are supplemented by V’s. The two of us could cover the event really well.

Some rules for the future:

1. Always attend the wedding rehearsal. You need to know the place and you need to know the exact course of the ceremony.
2. Bring your own lighting, if possible. Two reflectors on the priest and the couple won’t spoil the atmosphere, but will enable you to use your camera optimally.
3. Don’t be shy; make it obvious that you are the official photographer of the event. After all, you are supposed to be the professional; your photos will be available to everybody, and if you are allowed to, probably you are the one who can make the best picture at any given moment.
4. Insist on having some time just to take photos, and do not be afraid to dictate. Arrange the people as you please — when the pictures come out, they will agree that you were right.

V. maybe enjoyed herself, maybe not; I can never be sure. While I approached the evening as a blend-in practice, wearing a t-shirt, jeans and sport shoes, V. acted as a professional model at a fashion-show. She was prettier than pretty, especially because of her brand-new shoes and stockings; she definitely overdressed everybody. I am not worried about her, however: since she was the one who introduced me to the Hungarian goths, I am pretty sure that she has enough practice to get on with an evening like this.

Very unlike Cal and M., who looked much more like to startled parents who were anxious to be able to leave with their little daughter. Both of them were dressed for their daily jobs; first they were sitting in an empty room for one and a half hour — later joined us for the concert just to find themselves an other place to sit for the rest few hours. They were having a nice nap on each other’s lap; M. looked frightened, Cal a bit bored and embarrassed; eventually to whole evening was his idea. I am sure he got much more than he payed for.

So I missed M. going wild again; her sarcastic humor was the most I could drag out of her. But she said she likes goa. Maybe we should go to a goa party next time to see her wild side. If it really exist and she is not just a very good… storyteller in her blog.