Photography Challenge days seven, eight and nine.

So here are the pictures seven, eight and nine. The challenges were a vegetable, a bad habit, and someone you love. This is what I got. :)

Photography Day 7: A Vegetable

So this is my lunch I cooked for work today, roasted carrots my favourite! You half them, sprinkle them with pepper and olive oil. Put some garlic cloves around the edges and bake them in the oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Half way through you want to turn them over. When they are done sprinkle them with lemon juice and voila!

Photography Day 8: A Bad Habit

My bad habit as you can see is letting my laundry accumulate and before you know it I have five hours of laundry ahead of me. I need to work on this.

Photography Day 9: Someone You Love

Photography Day 9: Someone You Love

These pictures of pictures are of my parents. Cliche, yes, but it is true. I do love them.

No oil-tankers.

Currently in Canada there is an ongoing debate wether Enbridge should build twin pipelines from Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. Each pipeline is approximately 1,100 km long, passes through over 800 rivers and streams transporting toxic bitumen, and would allow over 200 oil-tankers to pass through the Great Bear Sea every year potentially harming those who inhabit the area. If there were to be an oil spill, and believe me there will be (the oil-tankers will be passing through very narrow areas and fjords) it would devastate the natural ecosystem that resides there. Currently, the area is home to several species of Pacific salmon, whales, orcas, dolphins, among land mammals such as wolves and the Kermode Spirit Bear. 


Wether you believe in the threat of global warming or not it is unreasonable to allow the Northern Gateway Project to proceed knowing that it is going to destroy the beautiful British Columbian coast. For more information please check out the following links...


http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/campaigns/Energy/tarsands/Learn-about/
http://www.dogwoodinitiative.org


Please say no to oil-tankers off the coast of BC.

Day three, four, five and six of photography challenge

So I fell a little behind with my blog posts photographs. Here are all the pictures that I have taken in the last few days correlating with the challenge.

Day 3: Clouds

Day 3: Clouds

There are two pictures of clouds here because I could not decide which one I liked best. Clouds are one of my favourite things to capture. Every cloud tells a story. The first picture you will notice the big grey cloud looming over the edmonds/22nd street area. What you do not know is that I had spent the day downtown enjoying the lovely weather, however, when I arrived in Burnaby via sky train it had begun to snow. As I cam upon 22nd street station the sun was out and it was beautiful. So in the picture you see two separate areas not far from each other experiencing two different types of weather. 

My second picture was also taken near 22nd street sky train, but facing a different direction. I love the texture and layers associated with this cloud.

Day 4: Something Green

My challenge for day three was to take a picture of something green. It would have been easy to take a picture of a plant, tree, or grass but I thought this ceramic frog was more fun. This was something I took from my father's place after he passed. It has been in my life for as long as I can remember.

Day 5: From a high angle

Day 5: From a high angle

Again, two pictures. The first one is the top floor through a window at the Vancouver public library. Down below you can see carts filled with books, and I love that you can see people in the windows reading or studying.

The second picture is in Granville station looking down the enormous escalator there. If you've been to Vancouver guaranteed you know which escalator I am talking about. You know the one that feels like it takes five minutes to get up.

Day 6: From a low angle

This picture is also taken at Vancouver public library but outside. Staring at the building I noticed it's structure and it reminded me of the coliseum in Rome. My friend pointed out that it is actually called the coliseum and it was modelled after the one in Rome. Well I guess they got the right point across then. I just think this is such a beautiful building.

It is time for the Oscars!

Yes ladies and gentlemen tonight is the Oscars! I love, love love it. I have positioned myself on the couch with my Oscar hors d'oeuvres and I am ready for the magic to begin!

Can I just say how much I loved Jason Segal on the red carpet!

(Meatless hot wings, sweet and sour meatballs, vegetable quiche, spinach dip with french roll, and apple cider with a kick of fire ball, believe me it's good.)

Billy Crystal just did his wonderful musical tribute to the nominated movies. Being his 9th time hosting you would think he would have run out of material by now, but he is a truly gifted funny man. However, the only part of his song I did not like was when he took hit at Jonah Hill's weight. Funny or not, it was uncalled for. Jonah Hill looks amazing and it incredibly talented; that is all that matters. 

The red carpet was great. I really liked that the women were dressed incredibly classy. Cameron Diaz's dress was probably my most disliked;The bottom of it was just too much. I have a more classic, simple kind of taste. However, her makeup and hair was very elegant.

Ok, lets finish watching!

Photography Challenge: Day 2

So today is the second day of my photography challenge. The challenge today was to take a picture of the outfit I wore. I did not want to be in this picture, and due to the fact I just got off work and it is almost midnight my brain is not currently functioning on the creative side.

Let me explain my outfit to you, and I promise I will try and make it as exciting as possible. Today I wore my favourite pants. My truly most beloved pants of all time. They are skinny khakis that I purchased at H&M in Paris in the summer of 2010. I fear for the day when they give their last breathe. I also wore a very comfy sports bra. Yes, a sports bra. Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE COMFY. Girls you know what I am talking about, plus I notice that when you reach a certain age in the battle of sexy vs. comfort, comfort always wins. Then I represented my store with a Gap tank top. We honestly do make quality layering pieces. I did however only wear it because the cute daisy shirt I recently purchased from Urban Outfitters via online shopping was much too short for work. Love cropped tops, but they don't really add to professionalism. 

That is pretty much it. Had on underwear of course, and shoes. Well short, brown, vintage looking boots and a for half the day I had a moon shaped green rock necklace but the chain broke so that's the end of that.

Well, it doesn't really matter because no matter how much I think about these clothes, they are just that; a pile of clothes at the end of my bed. They aren't special (except for my pants of course, they are truly wonderful). They are just clothes, but I happen to be part of a club which contains probably 90% of North American girls in which we all care about what we wear and how people perceive us. Even girls who say they don't care actually do care. I know this for a fact because those girls who "don't care" aren't dressed in all kinds of crazy colours, and they aren't 23 year olds who wear mismatched socks (at least not in public). Every North American girl consciously thinks about what she is going to wear that day. Even girls trying to make a "statement". Whether you're following Vogue, or you're inspired by a local hippie commune, get over it, you love it.

my new baby.

After months of daydreaming and scanning Craigslist I am now lucky enough to have my very own polaroid (thanks Leo). I realize that polaroid cameras are becoming very trendy again, as Urban Outfitters sells refurbished ones online for 200 dollars and the 600 films is being sold in select stores and camera shops. However, if you are like me and have always felt the love for the instant photo we are definitely in luck. I believe Leo was able to pick this bad boy up for only 25 which compared to Urban's 200 is a steal! I don't think people realize that they are making film for these lovely cameras again.


So here is the first unveiling of my beautiful new camera. I can hardly wait to start to use it.

If anybody has any recommendations for how to use this to get the best shots possible please leave me some comments. I am curious to know how you use your polaroid. 

Photography Challenge: Day 1

Ok,


so here it is the first picture I would like to submit for my photography challenge. I realize it is not very conventional, but then again neither is life

Self Portrait

I chose this one in particular because I believe it best describes how I feel most days; unamused and bewildered. I hope you've enjoyed, as there will be many more to come.

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30 day photo challenge.

So I found this online and I thought it would be a creative way to expand my skills and knowledge as a photographer. I will post my first picture tomorrow and let you know how it goes :)

i have no special talents, i am only passionately curious - albert enstein

Yesterday I spent countless hours strolling through Etsy, pinterest, and other social creative sites looking at all the beautiful things people make. I thought to myself if only I could knit or sew, or something of the equivalent I could make and sell beautiful things like these people.

I have to start accepting the fact that I am good at what I am good at and those people are good at what they are good at, and we all can't be good at everything.

Ahh that was a mouthful.

However, to showcase some of my passionate curiosities I created these to inspire and motivate you.

I know I am good for something, I just haven't found it yet.

a resolution to start a goal.

I do not recall making any resolutions around New Years. I guess I had too much on my mind. I don't really know if I even believe in making them. Does anybody really follow through? 

A friend of mine who worked at a gym full time told me that January till March every year are the busiest times there. Is that because people started their resolutions only to end them after three months, or because people only want to look good for the warmer months?

I think that resolutions are not life's answers to making your dreams come true, but obtainable goals: yes. 

Aren't goals and resolutions the same thing? Well yes and no. Yes because they have the same idea in mind; to improve something about yourself. No, because resolutions are made to resolve something in your life. Something you're not happy with. Once broken a resolution generally stays broken where as a goal is just that; a goal. A goal is something to obtain. It is something you do not have that you want, something that you work towards. If you fall off track of your goal, it is still only a goal and getting on the path again is generally easier.

So this year I have made a tiny list of goals that I would like to reach. Small things that I feel will make me happier and overall a better me.

1. Run three times at least three times a week (my bigger goal is to run the BMO half marathon this coming May in Vancouver)
2. Learn to knit properly (I have tried many times and I just really want to know how)
3. Begin to learn a new language (Either retouch French or possibly German)
4. Save for a trip at the end of August (God knows I need one)
5. Read more (I love to read and really don't as much as I used to)

I think each of these items are obtainable. There really shouldn't be any problem for me to complete them. I don't expect to be fluent, or the best knitter or runner but a head start to possibly a life long hobby is what I hope to be my general outcome. Wish me luck!

a weekend with eagles, snowy owls, and rockabilly.

Hello,


this past week I have the good fortune to be able to do a multitude of things. It has reminded me and made me appreciate more what a diverse, beautiful province and city I live in.


My day off Thursday I had an opportunity to go for a scenic drive to Tsawwassen/Ladner area to see something most people won't ever in their life time; bald eagles and snowy owls in their natural habitat. 


We were driving down a long stretch of road in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain and I really did not know what to expect. Suddenly someone in the car yells, "Can you see them?". We all turn our heads and we see at least eight eagles perched in a tree. As we continued to drive there was another four more perched on top of a house. Another six more in another tree. Two swooping down in and around the vehicle as we drove on. They were everywhere. When we arrived at Boundary Bay Regional Park we got out of the vehicle walked towards the left of the road. We noticed a ton of other people with the same idea we had. Some there with tour groups, some by themselves; but all with cameras. As we walked on to where a large group of people were standing we noticed another eagle sitting in a tree and beside him on another branch what looked like a hawk. They looked so beautiful and so peaceful. You have to see an eagle fly above your head with its wings spread out to understand what noble creature they are. Eagles are truly the kings of the sky. 


We then took a walk towards the right. As we walked down the road to the left you begin to see the owls.  Solid white, beautiful creatures mounted on logs. There must have been fifteen or more of them that I could see up close, not counting the ones that were off in the distance. By the end of it we were all cold and soaked, fingers frozen from snapping pictures. 

(Pictures taken by me above: a hawk and eagle perched in a tree, three snowy owls perched on driftwood)


Then on Saturday after delivering the kitten Lua to a new family at Horseshoe bay, a friend and I decided to find a jazz club to listen to some music. We ended up on West Broadway at a place called Fairview Pub. We were fortunate enough to be there on rockabilly night.


Rockabilly is what you would call a portmanteau of rock n' roll and hillbilly (country) music.  Envision 1950's Greasers, Elvis Presley and Bettie Page type lookalikes. We people watched as the rockabilly crowd swing danced. I had never seen anything quite like it. It reminded me what a dynamic place Vancouver is, not just with racial diversity but culturally as well. Rockabilly night at Fairview Pub happens the second Saturday of every month.

c'est la vie.

After five days of beautiful sun, we are back to Raincouver. There is nothing I would like more than to sleep until the sun comes out again, but then again there is nothing like waking up to five baby kittens jumping on your face.


It is getting to the point where I know it is time to give them away, but then they look at me with these big beautiful eyes and a pout, which asks, 'let us stay'. Sorry baby kitties, you've scratched me for two months while I slept and tore apart my bedroom. I wish I didn't love you so.

Seriously, can the sun come back already? It is hard to get motivated to start your day when you see a gloomy cloud of mess outside. 

Fleet Foxes- Montezuma

welcome.

Not all those who wander are lost.

- J. R. R. Tolkien