wishes, hopes & dreams for 2011 ...

2010 has been a wonderful year for me ... both personally & professionally. I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing photographers, meet fabulous individuals & learn from a variety of people all of which i feel has given me a great stepping stone for 2011. When i look back i can't believe the opportunities i've had & slowly i'm finding my way in this crazy world of photography. 

& 2011 we all know is going to be a life changing one (literally) for me (& my husband) with the arrival of our son (in theory april is when it will happen but any kid of ours you never know how impatient or stubborn he could turn out to be). So keeping that in mind here are a few of the things i want to work on ... some of my wishes, hopes & dreams for 2011:

1. put together a boudoir based studio ... nothing major but somewhere practical i can do more shoots. I find there is so much more freedom with boudoir that i don't get from family portraits but keep in mind i will have my own little model to work with from april so this may change. 

2. Looking at new avenues for showcasing my fine art photography ... this includes me learning book binding techniques & such. I want to be able to do more from home for obvious reasons. 

3. Getting my name out there more in the big wide world of the web. I know my audience but i need to be more proactive & let people see my pretty pictures. 

4. Take a business & or accounting class ... spend any amount of time with me talking such subjects & you will quickly understand how useless i am at this!

5. Take a landscape workshop in Yosemite & work more on my landscapes. It's an area that for many years i've really understood but recently have come to love classic, simple & incredible peaceful black & whites. I feel as if it's time for me to explore this genre more. 

This list could go on & on so i will stop here for now ... i'm not saying in the next few days you won't see or hear from me more on this topic but right now i am heading off into the unknown of 2011 & wishing you all a very happy new year. 

Dachau ...

When my husband's family visited back in October (yes i'm lax in my postings) we stopped at Dachau en route from Lake Constance to Salzburg.  I've been there before & shared images with you but this was a totally different visit. Every time i return i see things i never noticed before & am left wondering about the world we live in. This for me wasn't about taking "pretty" pictures it was about showing you a world inhabited with pain & more emotion than we can even comprehend. Nothing lives here, not really. 

one fine dae ...

One Fine Dae is a wonderful gorgeous blog i read full of lots of pretty, & Linda who runs it is just as wonderful & fabulous. Anyways i can't believe i only just discovered she had this equally gorgeous shop on etsy & i'm totally in love (& i can guarantee you will be too). 

around the world with fPOE ... this week it's Chico, California

So after a short break for the Christmas holidays (it's been crazy busy on my side of the world) i'm back & super excited about this weeks "around the world with fpoe" ... not that i'm not excited every week but for the very simple reason we're heading to California. Now before i go any further this has nothing to do with photography or the images i will be show casing just that i love California. See we have only managed one stop off here, visiting LA & checking out the stunning photography of Myan. So without any further ado i present to you the world of the Dizzy Pixie (love that name i feel as if it sums up me & my little "pretty shiny over there world) & Briana Morrison. 

Briana works with a variety of cameras to produce her wonderfully dreamy, soft, vintage images. They have that quality that i can't quite put into words (or that could be pregnancy brain & my current issue with words) but i could happily hang each & every last one of her pretties on the walls of my house. It helps that she chooses the same subjects that speak to me also ... the random & the small as well as the more obvious. She sees the details, explores colour & texture & leaves us feeling as if we've glimpsed some private moment that would have otherwise passed us by. I love that feeling ... seeing something that the world wouldn't otherwise reveal & leaving us with the impression we've been let in on a secret of some kind. When i look at Briana's photography i am left feeling as though the actual colour itself isn't so important as the way the light falls on the subject & the emotions it brings out in us the viewer. 

& now for some of my favourite things ... (ok so stating the obvious on this first one) ... 

... Paris ( i can't put into words how much i love this city & i hate cities) ... 

... & kitties (anyone who's read my blog knows how much of a sucker i am for a kittie picture).

& as with every week all the images you see here are for sale on etsy, & you can view more work by the Dizzy Pixie on Flickr & her gorgeous blog. Have a wonderful fabulous new year everyone & we will see you in 2011! 

it's the simple things in life that make us happy ...

a wonderful christmas with family & friends ... 

hubby bought me a brand new tripod (yippie skippy excited) ...

having fun with some new actions ... 

made a quiche for the first time & it turned out pretty good ...

thinking about my hopes & dreams for 2011!

an incase of post ...

So i've been crazy busy getting the house ready for Christmas ... my folks should be arriving from England here in 30 minutes & i have barely sat down between working, cleaning, baking & runing around like a headless chicken!  So keeping that in mind i haven't gotten around to writing any posts. 

So here is my "in case of post" ... in case i don't get a chance to write again before Christmas i wish you all a wonderful holiday! It's been a fabulous year & to say i'm super excited about the next is putting it mildly. But i wanted to say a big thank you to all the wonderful people who have supported me this year & hopefully next year will be even bigger & better for love.laugh.believe! 

it's the simple things in life that make us happy ...

no more work for me until after christmas ... 

the tree is decorated ... 

an evening spent reorganizing & de-cluttering my kitchen (thanks to my new white shelves) ... 

watching a christmas carol with the hubby ... 

& the lil dude has a name (finally) ... Jacob Michael Evans! 

happy friday ...

 

feeling the blues ...

So there is all kinds of stuff going on over here ... i've been crazy busy (or at least i feel like it). With work, the growing baby (not that am complaining about that one), the need to clean, de-clutter & organize my house, photo shoots & the horrible nasty weather we've been having i've found myself in a bit of a photographic funk when it comes to my fine art. I'm not sure unmotivated is quite the right work but a combination of things has left me feeling a little uninspired. So i'm throwing it out there for you guys ... what do you do when this happens?

ps. The photos are from our day trip to Strasbourg, France on my birthday. We had a wonderful time with some great friends. 

going home to roost & celebrate magazine ...

Going Home to Roost is a gorgeous blog written by a wonderful lady called Bonnie. Well Bonnie decided to create a magazine for Christmas called "Celebrate" full of DIY projects, downloads & perfect Christmas gifts. 

& if you flip to pages 48 to 49 what do we see ... 

around the world with fPOE ... this week it's New Jersey, USA

After a couple of weeks in Canada ... Ottawa, London, & Ottawa again & Sydney in between, we're finally heading back to the big ol' US of A, & the east coast, or more specifically New Jersey & the work of Preeti Desai & her stunning shop Preetalina. When i headed over to Preeti's shop the first thing that hit me was the colour, everything is so vivid. I mean we're talking every spectrum of the rainbow here, glorious technicolor at it's best. & on this cold bleak December morning as i write this it couldn't be any more of a refreshing change. The next thing that hits me about Pretti's work is how gorgeous it is because gorgeous really is the word. It's that kind of pretty you see in a movie, the light has that magical quality & i expect to see two long lost lovers appear as if from nowhere. 

From the landscape to the macro Preeti is another of those artists who seems to understand the way nature works. She sees the small & simple beauty's in it, the subtle characteristics that we wouldn't notice. & she understands it in a way that gives us this Hollywood picture perfect place. Like a sprinkling of fairy dust or the chalk drawing in Mary Poppins you can just jump into it sometimes feels too good to be true. But here we are staring into her beautiful photographs & we know she saw this, it's her view of the world. & here again there is a little of the dream like quality, a haze that covers it all adding to the romance & the ethereal feel of her work whilst those bright bold tones show us nature in all it's brilliant glory. I honestly can't imagine a winter in this place!

But it isn't just nature in the obvious sense she understands there's the abstract ...

the skyward ...

& my absolute favourite of them all (he's adorable) ...

As with every week all the images you see in this post are available to buy on etsy. & you can also view more of Preetalina on flickr, her website & her blog. 

it's the simple things in life that make us happy ...

wrapping presents & catching up on my english drama ... 

mind blowing landscapes ...

receiving a late birthday present from the hubby ... 

reaching another mile stone in this pregnancy trip ...

my wonderful friends (where ever in the world you are).

dujour ... the handmade issue

dujour ... the handmade issue ...

now lets flip to page 98-99 ... 

Thank you so much to the wonderful Brittni of Paper N Stitch who wrote this article & included my images ... honestly am not sure this year can get any better right now! xx

the magic of winter ...

you see i see ...

week 25 - breakfast

week 26 - smiles

week 27 - believe

week 28 - tracks

like crack but the end result is way prettier ...

So here's the thing about me & etsy ... it's like an addiction ... but i get lots of pretty in return. So this year's christmas shopping was dominated by etsy ... because a. i love pretty b. i love unique c. i love supporting other people trying to sell their hand crafted, gorgeous products. So here are a few of the items i have discovered whilst trolling through the listings on etsy ... some you know for me & some for others! 

Orange Bicycle Tote Bag - sweet nature designs

2011 Weekly Planner - leather - handbound - my handbound books

Citrus Juicer in Bright Red - Abby T Pottery

Organic Lavender Linen Sachets. Handmade - Peppermint Pinwheels

Gray Fingerless Gloves - Elde

24 Assorted Regular French Macarons - Perfect for tea time - Sparkles Kitchen

around the world with fPOE ... this week it's Ottawa, Canada (again)

So this week in our around the world travels we're not really traveling very far ... 2 weeks ago (yes i was lax) we checked out the stunning landscapes of Jennifer Squires Ross (& i remain in awe of that work) over in London, Canada & this week we're returning to Ottawa having previously visited there to explore the work of Caitlin Brookes. The one thing i have noticed so far in our exploration of Canada is the nature inspired imagery ... all these photographers have made me want to visit, to see their back garden so to speak. The wonderful flowers, butterflies, lakes & such ... it really blows my mind to see the things nature has to offer us & the way our FPoE members interpret it. & this week is no exception. Shawna Cameron's photography is full of life, bright vivid colours spanning ever colour of the rainbow (& i love how her shop is organized into such colours ... i have to admit i got a little side tracked by the red). She captures the small details in things, & creates wonderful abstracts that look more like paintings than actual photographs. 

Shawna seems to have that understanding of nature that i will never get. It's not just a matter of knowing what will look pretty but she can take the things that have no obvious beauty & turn them into something special. She sees colour, & form all around her & gives the impression of never having left her back yard (& if i discover this is her back yard i will be incredible jealous). Even in the neutrals the colours spring from the page, drawing you in as the viewer. You want to explore this garden, see ever little nook & can imagine the smells on a spring day. Shawna employs a wonderful depth of field in her work making even the smallest of things seem larger than life, i feel as though I'm a burrower (if you know who they are) exploring the world around me. 

& obviously the same skills she employs through her nature can be seen in the simple scenes she captures else where ... this bird relaxing after a hard days work ...

more red (because it is getting close to Christmas) ...

& yummies!!

As usual all the images you see here are available for sale in Shawna's etsy store. You can view more of her work on flickr.

it's the simple things in life that make us happy ...

getting 12 hours of sleep (felt so good) ...

i have to buy this for the lil dude ...

& i discovered this gorgeous shop ... & this equally as gorgeous shop ... 

cleaning out my closet so i no longer get frustrated at all the things i can't wear ...

knowing that there's a distinct possibility am nesting!

21 weeks & 6 days ...

in the bleak midwinter ...

So we finally got our first real snow ... ok well technically our second but it's the first one where i didn't have to work. & it snowed for over 12 hours. So yesterday morning i got all excited about a possible snow day ... well my dream failed but i still managed to head up onto the hills before work with the camera to get some photos. 

& oh was it cold out there (i've forgotten how it feels to be above freezing) ... last year i discovered a wonderful use for my ski pants, bought with the intention of skiing but well it hasn't happened yet. They're perfect for taking snow pictures ... keep me warm not to mention that i can get down in the snow no worries. The only downside is you know the lil dude kind of prevents them being done up but being as they come with "suspenders" it's all good!

Out on my "wander" i met a german guy out walking his dogs & we chatted for a little while. It turns out he goes up there every morning to get closer to nature. I can't lie when people say things like that i automatically roll my eyes but as we talked he mentioned the bench ... my bench ... & how he finds it so peaceful up there. Yes he interprets it differently to me but it was wonderful to meet someone else who finds this place i love just as peaceful as i do, & enjoys being out there with you know nature & stuff. 

So here's my first snow blog for the year ... i imagine there will be a whole lot more to come ... & also i'd like to introduce you to my new favourite tree. Now i know i'm not alone in having a favourite tree but by the end of the winter you might be a little bored of it as i try & come up with all kinds of ways of photographing it because there is something totally bleak, lonely, isolated about this tree. I think it was love at first sight!