i blurbed my book!

I was so excited to receive my very first (and only) copy of a hard cover, bound and printed book filled with my photos! I've been meaning to do this for ages and I finally made the time to take the iPhone Instagram pics of my trip to Tokyo and turn them into a book. For someone that takes photos CONSTANTLY either as a form of story telling or visual diary having hundreds of photos that don't have a home seems like such a waste!

I used Blurb Books which is a super easy and super fast online service. They have great templates and you can download an InDesign extension for full creative control. Blurb allows you to do a direct import from Instagram. However I did this for a book I created for RK (secretly breaking into his account to put a book together of a trip he took a while ago) but because uploaded images are really compressed the quality isn't that great. This time I used the original pics from my iPhone (I generally don't use Insta-filters but do minor edits in Snapseed) so the resolution was much better.

I know this is just a glorified photo album but there is something about seeing my own work in a book that just makes it all a little more exciting! I already have another couple of projects on the go and look forward to creating my own personalised library!

postcards – a little more from tokyo!

Its taken me a while to work through editing these (and there's still more to do!). I'm drowning in learning how to use Lightroom and working out some kind of workflow. I'm slowly getting there I guess but the more time I spend with these photos the more desperate I am to get myself back to Tokyo!

postcards - tokyo in black and white

postcards - oh tokyo how i love you so!

People told me I would love Tokyo. I knew I would love Tokyo. But I never thought that in just 10 days this AMAZING city would get under my skin the way it did. I seriously can't stop thinking about it!

For me, this trip was about taking photos. My intention was to shoot film during the day and use the DSLR at night. Unfortunately my Nikon FM2 broke the 1st day there so I was committed to the DSLR and my trusty Holga.

I could write pages as to why I love Tokyo. It is my favourite topic of conversation at the moment - but I thought it would just be easier to post my photos which I hope tell the story a little better than my overexcited ramblings!

I also just wanted to say a special thank you to that beloved man who thinks that dropping everything to jump on a plane so I can take photos and he can look at buildings a reasonable thing to do! xx

As soon as the sun goes down its like Tokyo changes into a new sparkly glamourous outfit...

my first wedding!

So, quite a while ago now my friend Annette asked if I would photograph her wedding. Knowing me as well as she did she gave me PLENTY of time to get used to the idea so I could get all of my panic out of the way first.

I have to say I was really nervous. It was the first time I'd ever done anything like this and I was still getting my head around my Canon 5D II. I bought a flash and lots of memory cards and a spare battery and got extra prepared like the slightly anxious nerd I am.

The brief was to capture the day as it unfolded in my style of photography that Annette had become a big (well my biggest) fan of! STRICTLY NO POSED CHEESY SET UP SHOTS! This was a perfect brief as it would allow me to observe, anticipate and simply tell the story of the day.  

It was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it! I don't see myself as a wedding photographer but the idea of documenting a period of time as it happens is what really appeals to me.

There was something great about being the only person who got to see every part of that day and I hope when I handed the photos over to Annette and Ben they got to experience everything they didn't get to see.

A massive thank you to Annette and Ben for trusting me! 

TurraWarra in Silver Shade

TurraWarra Estate & Gallery

Its been a while and things have been a little crazy - talk about hitting the new year sprinting!

I have been so obsessed with getting to know my Canon DSLR in preparation for my very first WEDDING SHOOT (I will post about that soon!), that I've completely ignored the things that I love the most. So this weekend was spent with my 35mm Nikon, Holga and Polaroid SX70 - oh the joy!

 This is the first time I've use The Impossible Project's Silver Shade Cool 100 and I have to say I'm in love. Nothing could be more different to a DSLR image than something that pops out of a Polaroid camera and I think I almost forgot how exciting it was to wait to see what beautiful imperfections develop while you wait!

feeling slightly illuminated

52 Photos Project: Gallery 30 {illuminate}

Even though I'm more of a winter girl there's just no denying how much better things seem when the days are long and the light is warm and hazy.

Summer is nearly here, this year is nearly over, new plans are being made and everything feels a little more possible. Many books will be read, a lot more pictures will be taken and I'm guessing some fruity cocktails will be consumed... most likely!