happy friday ...

"A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed."
~ Ansel Adams

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! xx

play time ...

The one advantage to have some down time is that i'm getting to play around with old work, images that whilst i love composition wise i'm not totally happy with the edit. In the past year i have grown tremendously (& yes yes i do believe modest is such an over rated quality) & my style i feel is really coming into it's own. I'm finding much more of myself in my work & i love it. So i'm going back over old work, experimenting, trying new things & walking away happier because of it. Do you ever do that, revisit your old work? Anyway i wanted to share a few of those with you from my trip to Provence in July of 2010. & hopefully soon you'll see some of these available for sale on etsy or possible my society 6 shop which i really must tell you all about later this week ... don't let me forget! 

capturing nature in 2011 ...

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 ...

 

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).

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!

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!

step one ...

So i have this sudden desire to create amazing landscapes ... maybe it's the snow or my recent post about Jennifer Squires Ross but i want to create some landscapes to be proud of. Well this evening i finally got to see snow (more than just a dusting) & so i took a walk with my camera & tripod in an attempt to get something vaguely pretty. Landscape has never been my forte & night time photography something  have no clue about. So anyways what i really need is help ... photographers who's work i can study, books to read, websites or just suggestions, hints & a how to guide for dummy's beginners! 

To all those who celebrated thanksgiving i hope you had a fabulous day & to everyone have a wonderful weekend. 

around the world with fPOE ... this week it's London, Canada

First of all i want to say how much i love writing these posts ... i get to look at the amazing work of a group of incredible talented women from around the world & then share with you. It's about as good as it gets! But anyways back on track this week we're heading back to North America but it's London, Ontario, Canada & the stunning imagery of Jennifer Squires Ross. & really i'm not sure where to begin. I've never been good at landscapes, i want to take a class & learn from someone who understands them & as i sit here looking at Jennifer's work it makes me want to jump on a plane & have her show me how a professional does it. I'm in love with the peace & quiet, the stunning beauty & the simplicity of her photography. 

Jennifer produces the kind of images that you would hang on any wall in your home, that make me thin of "zen" & i'm really not a zen person. They're so calming & tranquil, places i just want to wander around on a lazy sunday, escape to with my camera through out the seasons & explore so i can come to understand them in the way that Jennifer does. It's as if she becomes part of the landscape around her, never taking anything with her but leaving a part of herself behind in her work. The skill that goes into creating suck pictures blows my tiny little impatient mind, she achieves everything i wish i could & in a way that seems effortless. Yes i know i'm gushing here a little but landscape photography of this skill is something i have never mastered but i've always dreamt of, & maybe it's something i never will understand but i would at least like to try (so some tips would be nice here ... pretty please in the spirit of almost christmas). 

I've also noticed that it doesn't matter what the subject Jennifer can produce that tranquility in the curves of a flower ...

... a lonesome lifeguards chair ...

... & yes i am in love with all things snow right now!

As with every week you can purchase all the images you see in the blog post on etsy, as well as viewing more of Jennifer's work on flickr, her blog, & her website. & i have no clue where we're heading next week but i'm really really hoping for some snow!!

provence ...

So i have to say i'm sorry to you guys for the lack of posts ... for a while there i was on a roll but thing's have been happening at my end (you know as life does) & so i haven't posted as often. So now for some more photos from my trip to Provence, it's hard to believe i've been back for 3 weeks already. Work is as exciting as ever & the weather sucks but anyways it's nice to curl up on the couch. 

Ok back to the photos ... these were all taken on our first full day down in Provence. It was a day where we got to do a whole lot of driving, partly because somehow i forgot my camera. Yes i had everything else including my lenses but no actual camera. So we had to return to our hotel to get it, thankfully we weren't that far down the road. & the first few photos are from our wanderings down the back roads of Provence, being the driver it was easy to make my fellow travelers stop, lucky for me they didn't mind. 

Being as it was Sunday we weren't sure what would be open (if you've ever lived in Germany you'll know the whole country seems to shut down on a Sunday) but i'd read about this town up on top of the hills & an abbey that was open on Sunday's. By the time we reached Gordes we'd been in the car a wee while but it for sure worth the effort. 

& this was our view at lunch ... 

The town itself was stunning, very quaint, very french, & possible a little touristy but gorgeous all the same. 

From Gordes we headed down into the valley to visit the Sénanque Abbey. It's hard to explain just how stunning the Abbey was. It's still inhabited by monks, & surrounded by the mountains & fields of lavender. 

You can't go inside the abbey unless you do the tour (which was in French) but i knew me & the camera needed to check out the insides so i paid my money & whilst the guide gave us a history of the abbey (i have a flier in English containing the short version) i wandered with the camera, exploring everything i could. 

The details everywhere was stunning not to mention being incredible peaceful. The monks who live there belong to a silent order ... so well you can imagine the effect if has on you. The calm & tranquility, nothing to "spoil" you just life at it's simplest. 

Anyways from there it was back to Aix-en-Provence for dinner ... but of course we stopped a couple of times along the way ... with views such as this who wouldn't?

leave part three: cambridge ... the classic view

So i've chosen to post these photos first because i want you to see Cambridge as i almost feel it should be seen. It's so full of history & stunning architecture that it's like colour would somehow ruin it's essence. Saying all this tomorrow's post (it's anything but short) is over flowing with colour photos & more information than you could ever wish for (& by the end of it i imagine you will be praying for me to shut up). So anyways here's a few black & white's from my lone morning wandering the streets of my home town camera in hand & looking like the tourist that i technically now was.