Aiga Rēdmane

The beautiful Kristīne Čakare, wonderful dresses by Dace Bahmann and not so calm waters of the Baltic sea. It was crazy windy but the weather didn’t stop us, it made everything more exciting. The photoshoot was for ourselves, to celebrate femininity and creating some moments within and outside of photography.

The past two weeks I was publishing on Instagram bright photos of my friends telling their coffee stories. The idea came from trying out a Philips Saeco coffee machine at home for that period of time. We usually spend coffee breaks together at some coffee places but this time our living room became a coffee&marshmallow bar and a fun photo studio. At first the stories were shorter but then the writing warmed up.

So the first one up for the coffee portraits is the photographer Kristaps Hercs. Black coffee and espresso would be the first match for Kristaps. And chocolate cookies (enjoyed a lot, thank you!).
When we had to find a present for him it was clear that it should be coffee related. He grinds coffee himself, tries out different methods of brewing coffee and is ready dig deeper (maybe there is a barista in making!).

The next guest in the coffee studio is my friend Liene Pētersone with whom I started the coffee journey together. When going abroad sometimes our itinerary is based on coffee places. But not only abroad – a creamy and fruity cappuccino after an early morning workout and as a tasty afternoon delight is a great reason to enjoy the everyday life.
By the way, Liene could set a record for an ability to sip one cup of coffee the longest – for 2h approximately!

Hello from our energetic and wise coffee friend @girts_bono!
Each morning before work Ģirts goes to his favourite coffee shop. While he is locking his bike, the barista recognizes Ģirts and she is already making black coffee for him. Ģirts steps in and the coffee is ready. At work there he pours this coffee into a cup to have a better taste experience. So from these photos you can imagine the image of a guy riding a bicycle holding a coffee cup. Black coffee, black cup. As Ģirts says: „Coffee is for enjoyment and a coffee break is time spent for yourself”.

The lady in black is our dear beauty artist is Aija Ūdentiņa known as @aijah2o. After photoshoots we’ve done together I have noticed her habit drinking cold coffee. Turns out that’s a drink that hairdressers and make-up artists might be having. They usually are offered to have a cup of coffee before work. They start working and the coffee is next to them waiting. Aija is enjoying the aroma of it (sometimes that’s enough) and when her hands are free, the drink is already cold.
Aija doesn’t drink coffee at home. She says that the best coffee is the one that is made for you. It matters how and where it is done, how and by whom it is presented. The whole process being at a coffee place, meeting people or writing (her organizer is always there for her).
And one more thing, when Aija is visiting someone, she is having the same kind of coffee as the host – to know the person better. This time we had cappuccinos 🙂

My dear Ģirts Raģelis started his coffee journey several years ago in Portugal drinking espressos. When Ģirts came home he went to a quite random place called Golden Duck (it’s closed now) to get this drink. Well, the coffee journey took a break here (the coffee wasn’t good at all) and it restarted later with lattes and cappuccinos. Now Ģirts is gradually entering the black coffee league. When enjoying coffee he is looking for a bitter taste. Actually a bitter sweet one (just add a symphony and a song is ready). 🙂
At first drinking coffee was accompanied by writing or reading. Now this process is shared together with friends as a great reason to meet people. Or play virtual ice-hockey (greetings to @kbreidaks and @girts_bono!)
One more thing that Ģirts loves is oranges. Turns out that he can slice them up in mid air! Real-life fruit ninja in action. And Ģirts is the secret master of making big bubble latte (ordered by me) 🙂 Fun skills, serious skills – it all matters.

It’s me – the host of this coffee-photo-studio 🙂 This is a happy yellow conclusion for a nice time of having friends over and making coffee portraits. Thank you @girts.ragelis for mine! So, where it begins? My early coffee influence was my grandmother. She was drinking instant coffee with condensed milk. It was crazy tasty! I was told that children couldn’t have this drink but I had tasted it. When I was seven she took me with her to a pensioners ball. I was offered to have a coffee (that’s strange because I was a kid). I said no because I suspected that my grandmother would not allow me. The idea of having coffee was so tempting that I couldn’t think about anything else for the rest of the evening. When we came home I told her that I was offered to have a coffee. She said that she would have had allowed me to do that because it was a party. Such a regret for a missed opportunity! Sweet and creamy coffee was my thing for quite a while as a grown-up. But some months ago I found out that I can’t drink milk. So black coffee it is! At first I was sad but now I enjoy this new chapter of coffee drinking, and I’ve said good-bye to adding sugar to it. The idea of coffee is sold well but I don’t mind. The most important part of it is enjoying coffee time together with my friends. Cheers!