Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Inspiration ~ iliveinoctober, Tanya

Russian photographer Tanya,
iliveinoctober, on flickr,
kindly allowed me to blog about her beautiful photos.



I love her portraits of women in nature. They do not just happen to be in a natural setting, but rather are an integral part of the natural surroundings, and in the most peaceful, whimsical and beautiful ways. I'm sure you can see what I mean...









The tones in this, how the water matches her...!





So a part of nature. do you see what I mean? Her hair!



and these are a little different, more urban...


And this one is one of my all time favourites of Tanya's.
It reminds me of my first photography influences as a child. B&W art and photography books, where shape and lines, and movement make the photo. love!



Thank you, Tanya!
iliveinoctober

Sunday, March 21, 2010

For the light of the window ~ flickr inspiration

I absolutely love this Mamiya C220 image by hiromi-u*s*s,
who says, on flickr,

I practice in various ways.

Light is gentle; nowadays.


Her whole Mamiya set is lovely, and I love the childhood moments she captures of her little ones

Friday, March 19, 2010

Winter rose gardens

It's the beginning of Autumn here. :) I can't wait for a good day to go out and find it properly!
I am so far behind on posting about last year's seasons in the rose gardens though. Here is Winter, mostly from impromptu mini-clothing photoshoots...

(click for larger)

The best part about the sun setting so early in Winter is that it is beautiful timing to finish school for the afternoon, walk from there to the rose gardens, play in the park for two hours in wonderful light, and then enjoy the setting sun as we walk home again.











going home



This was also the evening we lost one of the bears... at the end of this walk through across the field! My young son remembered a few blocks away and we went back to rescue the bears, which he promptly wrote about in the little journal he had in his pocket. ♥

(The bears were found on the stone pathway. Can you tell? <3)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

light-chasing

I wanted to thank Mini-Stylista for the lovely feature recently, and at Dream Beautiful Girl as well.

Both of the photos chosen are from my favourite part of the day to take photos, light-chasing in sunlight in the hour before sunset.
Sometimes we are not anywhere in particular, or anywhere like where I would REALLY love to be in beautiful light (summer field, etc, or anywhere really, with a less obtrusive background than the houses in our own immediate surroundings) but the light beckons and we just go out to play at this time, often with camera too.








In summertime it takes so long to wait for this light, and when it is here we sometimes delay bedtime and forget indoor entertainment to go outside and play.







And when we are home it really is light-chasing as the sunset light only falls in strips, for houses and trees block the low sunlight.



book love, and charlie and lola ♥

A little off-topic perhaps, but I absolutely love well written and illustrated children's books, and have been passionately interested in good quality children's books since my first child was very small.
I have to say, a post at some point about children's books and reading was probably inevitable, and my only uncertainty was whether to talk about them in this photo-centric journal, or to make a separate journal for all our book loves. We'll see...
.
Tonight, for fun, Lili (7) and I added a stack of our most favourite books to our Library Thing list, after tidying a bookshelf or two and getting nostalgic about our favourites.
We had a stack of books as high as the bed, which was most impressive! Meanwhile little Amélie made her own stack too.

I will make a list of our most favourite books too, and what we found useful for different ages. With three kids and a strong interest in books, there are a few! Also, anything listed on our Library Thing library is highly recommended, as we only added the best books.

Here's one recent favourite!
Anything and everything Charlie and Lola! Adore! ♥










Monday, March 15, 2010

lensbaby daydreams

Sometimes it is just perfect to be imperfect, forget technically good and just play.
To be childlike and see things in a different way...
No wonder I love lensbaby lenses. They are daydream-like, soft, selectively blurred, beautiful, and simply too much magical fun! We've had more than one otherwise ordinary hour enlivened by second hand vintage dresses, old toys, classic books and lensbaby play.

butterfly



jemima puddle-duck, beatrix potter



and i always love these
reading alice's adventures in wonderland
by lewis carroll xo





"Would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly 'why are you painting those roses?'



hearts



(hearts, dew and sunshine through autumn leaves. heart, aperture kit)

Also ♥s, love and a big thank you to the lovely Mini-Stylista

Mini-Stylista

... for a lovely post
about Amelie Alice here... Amelie Alice Children’s Photography