the road less travelled...

The mornings are getting so dark around here, that most of the journey to work is done in darkness now. I have to confess though to a certain fondness for seeeing the world wake up and the sun rise, even if it is through the windows of the car.

I'm beginning to get my mojo back again and am still enjoying the mondo beyondo course I've started. It's making me realise about the things I want and I realise how much I really want to be a photographer and that I just need to stop procrastinating and take steps to do something about it!

There, I've said it in black and white to make it more real. Only it's pretty scary wondering if I'm good enough or whether I can do it, but sometimes the road less travelled, even if a little bumpy in places is still the place I want to go and it's got to the point where not trying to make the journey has become impossible...

three ways...

Soon it will be time to clear the garden of all the remnants of summer flowers but still they keep on growing and adding a little colour to my world...
* and no, these weren't taken with the new lens lol, I've still to upload!!

yesterday's parcel...

Remember when I said there was a parcel waiting for me yesterday?... Well I got home sooo excited, so much so, that I never even bothered to take a photo of the parcel waiting to be opened because I just couldn't wait!!

So...please forgive my very hastily taken iphone photos but here is my reveal... A new lens, *swoon* ...my first ever L lens. Canon EF 70-200mmL USM
Now I know this probably doesn't mean much to those of you who aren't geeky about photography and camera accessories and it doesn't look especially pretty in the way of other parcels but... oh my heart skipped a beat when I opened the box...


*Advance warning*...Expect a whole load of photos once I finally get to give this lovely a workout this weekend!

part two...

Remember on this post when I explained how I was doing a photo collaboration with Catherine? Well this was part two!

This time it was my turn to choose the theme and I chose the word Harmony. Catherine sent me such a beautiful package and for her; when she thought about the word Harmony, all she kept coming back to was Summer.


Everything about Summer just feels right for her and she sent these photos of the most fantastic strawberries to express that feeling.Even in wintertime the strawberries are a reminder of summer and harmony...


Catherine also sent me the most lovely tea, which is a flower bud. I've been saving it until I could appreciate it fully, in a lovely relaxed manner and I have a 3 day weekend coming up yay! so am going to try it then!

Thanks Catherine! Head over to her blog to see what I sent....

less is more...

Sometimes you just need to mix things up a little... I realised recently that all of my photos have been in colour and so I decided to play with black and white for a change when I was out for a walk. I just love the way you can really see all the details differently when there is a lack of colour. Sometimes less is more...


I think this pared down vibe must be catching because I am loving simplicity in all things at the moment. I've been listening to this album over and over; just perfect with a little dreamy sunshine...

catching up...

It feels as if I've had 1001 things to do lately and none of them very interesting; just you know - stuff that needs doing and sorting but I think I'm finally catching up with myself!

Somehow in amongst being busy, I hadn't realised how long the nights are getting and took this after I'd been out for a meal with some girlfriends and realised I still had my 365 photo to do for that day! Oh and the title is from an old Cure song that I just happened to have in my head and it just seemed to fit somehow...

ordinary magic...

This weekend I've had a fascination with ordinary magic. Just the kind you get from seeing the ordinary things around you in a different light. I swear I could take photos all day long and nothing could make me happier...




I've also been playing this cd endlessly and it's got inside my head. Go check out the link and see what I mean. I also love the video that she has on her site with the sea and the birds - just perfect...

lights out...

So 8.30pm arrived last night and Earth hour was upon us. I used the time to play with my camera in the dark with only candles for light...

Check out this youtube link to watch famous landmarks all over the world switching off their lights...

Spring Zing...

I'm getting carried away with the fact that Spring is upon us. Just have a little more light is so lovely, even if the sun is not exactly shining but still...


Now is the time when I'm starting to think of sorting through my photos and organising them - when really, all I want to do is stick them on the wall with Japanese masking tape!

fruit love...

I'm trying to make an effort to eat more fruit at the moment. For all I have a fairly healthy diet and the fruit bowl is always full, I never really think to eat it, even though I do actually like fruit.

In truth, I think I prefer to photograph it than eat it but I'm trying!

keep calm...

I've been looking for some new art and came across this brilliant print from this shop on Etsy and just had to indulge. As I love to take photos and I love typography this was just perfect. I've ordered it in dolphin grey colour and can't wait until it arrives, even looking at this makes me smile.

Keep calm and snap on, yep that's me!

in the blink of an eye...

No sooner did it get past Sunday, I blinked and here we are again...I really need to get to grips with this blogging lark and post more frequently!

* This weekend I've started reading a new book and finished this one.
* Made some delicious spicy parsnip soup, (Recipe to follow...)
* Played with my new 50mm - I managed to break the last one :(
* Bought a new pair of boots and a pair of black skinny jeans
* Visited a camera shop and held the lovely Canon 7D and 5D as I was curious to their weight *swoon*
* Took Sparky on a snowy dog walk







How about you?

the heart of the great alone...

I meant to blog about this earlier, as I went to Edinburgh at the weekend for the day. Looking for something to do while I was there - (other than shopping and eating), I came across this exhibition.





The exhibition is about Scott, Shackleton and Antarctic Photography. The above images are by Herbert Ponting. I thought this exhibition might be interesting as I have a love of photography but it was awe inspiring, in fact maybe one of the best exibitions I have ever been to. The photography itself was amazing and considering the photos were taken 100 years ago they had a real contemporary feel to them. I urge you to follow the above link where you can visit the e gallery and see for yourselves...

little pieces of the weekend...

This weekend had more of an Autumn feel to it...

Even breakfast looked like Autumn with the berries and nuts

Dusk from my window - it's getting darker every day now...

A lovely walk where I came across a patch full of weeds that looked so beautiful in the evening sunlight

I think me and Autumn are going to get along just fine...

in a nutshell...

Some things from the weekend...

a run

some crafting



a little sunshine



and some lazing



a bbq



and a homemade plum frangipane tart



recipe to follow



I would have posted this yesterday but we had a power cut yesterday evening for about 3 hours just as I was thinking of going online - grrrr! :)

polaroid love...

Following on from my last post,I forgot to say that when I was in Belgium we went to a flea market, which was fantastic.



I managed to pick up a sonar 5000 polaroid camera for 7 Euros which I was very happy about. It's pretty well loved, (for that read scratched lol!) and I don't actually know if the camera works and finding sx 70 film is proving a little tricky, as they stopped making it in 2006. I have found one place where I can get a film for £18.50 for 8 exposures - eek! I have to say I was actually considering this as a treat but the postage is £14 - yikes and it's only coming from Europe - so £32.50 for 8 exposures and I don't even know if my camera works - mmmm - I'm still pondering...

Still, there is hope in the form of the Impossible Project. A group of former workers are on a quest to produce film that can be used in vintage polaroids. They have exactly a year which ends at the end of 2009 and have signed a lease on the old polaroid factory for 10 years. The problem is that some of the components used in the film are no longer available so they are seeking experts with information The site gives a contdown and at this point in time there are 13,240,759 seconds to go...

So until then, this is the next best thing for now. I found this site called Poladroid which you can download and use to transform your photos into a polaroid style. It's cute and fun for playing around and best of all it's free!





Enjoy your weekend!

life on film...

Having been inspired by the fact that the lovely Catherine and also Martina have recently bought cameras to shoot film, before I went to Belgium I was checking out Etsy and ebay to see if I could pick up something to play with. We do have an Olympus camera but it's in need of repair and hasn't been used for years.

Then I remembered that M has a camera that belonged to his father, an Agfa Silette L.


- Yay, I'd totally forgotten about this and I think it's in working order, so now I'm back I've bought some film and need to start playing!!



Not sure how I'm going to reign myself in as I'm used to taking 100's of photos not just 36! Let the love begin...