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Sonja Veljanovski

@sonjavelji

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People, places, (tasty) things.
📍Melbourne

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What a year.

It’s been quite the full-circle moment - starting out as a tween filming my Nonna in her kitchen, to capturing the greats and unsung heroes of Manchester. Now that my time in the UK has come to an end (💔), I’ve been getting all soppy and sentimental, looking back at some of the really special projects I’ve had the chance to lead during my time at @mcrfinest.

This job had a massive hand in making Manchester feel like home for me. Getting to discover a different corner of the city every day, and most importantly, doing it alongside an extraordinary team of creatives. Big BIG love to my fellow content wizards @charlottedobsonn and @jackueoso_ . Making videos on my own really isn’t half as fun, and certainly not half as good, as when it’s done with you lot. The same goes for the wildly talented writers, editors and account managers who helped make these ideas a reality.

I have so much love for this city, and even more for the people in it. Thank you for letting me get all up in your space with my camera for the last two delicious years.

Viva la @mcrfinest !! taken in Manchester, United Kingdom by @sonjavelji

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3 months ago

My favourite colour is Peveril green.

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#mcruk #manchester #pub taken in Manchester, United Kingdom by @sonjavelji

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6 months ago

One Fine Winter* Morning🌲

An Aussie’s first Christmas abroad and it was DELIGHTFUL.

It wasn’t white but it was bathed in some kind of day-long golden hour. The trees were real, the streets were the right amount of quiet, and people left their homes to watch jazz on Christmas Eve.

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#movingpostcards #amsterdam #visitamsterdam #filmmaking #streetlife taken in Amsterdam, Netherlands by @sonjavelji

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9 months ago

Currently! 🍝

Very rarely posting in real time but we’re back in Nonna’s kitchen, eating good.

“What do you want for dinner?” We throw a few ideas around, just to keep an open mind, but we always land on the same meal. Pasta alla norma. There’s eggplant, tomato, garlic, basil and a shite ton of EVOO and salt (Nonna’s signature).

When you’ve been gone for three years, the slowing down that comes with aging can feel a little jarring. But god forbid you offer to make her dinner. This is when she winds back the clock and defies the realities of arthritis. Full steam ahead, table set in 20.

Her kitchen is her time machine. I think it’s mine too. taken in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia by @sonjavelji

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4 days ago

Slow and steady in Monopoli.

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#monopoli #weareinpuglia #mediterraneanlife #sonyalpha #visititaly taken in Monopoli, Puglia by @sonjavelji

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6 days ago

Sweet, sweet Levanzo.

Before and after the scheduled 45 minutes of day-trippers, the island is a total reprieve from the (welcomed) overwhelm of Sicily.

Enough cars to count on one hand, each covered in love hearts (and penises) drawn into the thick blanket of dust.

The kids sell handmade bracelets next to the panini shop, searching real hard for the English word for grazie as they hand over the one you just bought.

And then you end the day by pulling up a stool and watching the sunset with those who chose to stay the night.

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#sicily #egadiislands #islandlife #italianlife #trapani taken in Levanzo, Sicilia, Italy by @sonjavelji

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9 days ago

If you see a plume of BBQ smoke hovering above Ohrid’s bazaar, there’s a good chance it’s coming from Vkusno Kebap.

‘Table for one’ is not my favourite request to make, especially ahead of a long line of hungry groups promising more bums on seats. But resisting the smoking piperki behind the glass became virtually impossible in the end.

So on the last day of my trip, I put on my big girl pants and joined the orderly queue, only to be given prime real estate - a comically large table stationed by the rotisserie chickens - all to myself.

The only time I will ever let a man sit on a nearby stool and watch me eat was on this specific occasion. The server waited eagerly for my verdict on the tavče gravče, then gave me an elated, toothy grin when I offered him two happy thumbs up. Audience or not, they were very good beans.

It’s the kind of place that values one person’s presence just as much as a full table with deep pockets. The kind of place that writes your bill on the paper tablecloth and fills your bread basket before you’ve polished off the first slice.

While I was worried about taking up too much space, they were just happy to feed me.

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#ohrid #macedonianfood #balkanfood #northmacedonia #ohridlake taken in Ќебапчилница Вкусно by @sonjavelji

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13 days ago

You’re in Puglia, granita in hand, and the temperature starts to drop. Life is good.

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#puglia #pugliaview #monopoli #gallipoli #italianlifestyle taken in Puglia, Italy by @sonjavelji

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25 days ago

This is Mario. One of Noto’s artists.

I walked into this studio with the primary goal of escaping the heat. Buongiorno! Buongiorno! After a beat, Mario pointed to my camera. “Artista?”

Not an easy question to answer with a piece of tech slung around your neck in a room full of gorgeous paintings.

He took out his phone anyway and started translating. Talking me through his work and the corners of Sicily that inspired them.

He made it so easy to ask for a photo. He even sat down at a desk, demonstrating his brushstrokes as if I wasn’t there.

And then he asked for a photo with me.

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#noto #visitsicily #peopleofitaly #italianart #syracuse taken in Noto, Sicily by @sonjavelji

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a month ago

I recently got to spend some time with family in Draslajca, Macedonia. When I arrived, the table was already set with Turkish coffee and fruit.

With the help of my cousin’s translations, my uncle Kire and I caught up on the last couple of years, my travels and so on. I discovered that he had never left the country and I asked him why.

‘Why would I need to?’

It made sense when he walked me through their garden lined with cherry trees, both sour and sweet. He beamed as he picked them straight from the tree for me to try.

I felt this growing up too. My Baba routinely peeling and slicing apples for me after school. Because where’s the love in handing over an apple whole?

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#northmacedonia #macedonia #balkan #sonyalpha #balkantravel taken in Draslajca by @sonjavelji

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a month ago

Right place, right time.

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#matera #basilicata #sassidimatera #visititaly🇮🇹 #sonyalpha7 taken in Matera, Italy by @sonjavelji

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a month ago

And it always feels like coming home.

📍Lake Ohrid, Matka Canyon, St. Naum

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#balkantravel #macedonia #northmacedonia #ohrid #travel taken in North Macedonia by @sonjavelji

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2 months ago