Le Painer

On my 31st birthday my sisters came over to spend the day with me. Ian was away on a trip and they didn’t want me spending my birthday alone. The older I get the more introverted I seem to become so the idea of a birthday alone wasn’t terrible. I didn’t mind it at all but having the company of my sisters is always a great time.

The day consisted of my favorite weekend activity: brunch and a visiting to the market. They insisted I should have cake for my birthday but I didn’t want cake. I felt it was too formal and stuffy for the day I was having and the mood I was in. Instead I suggested macaroons from Le Painer. We picked up about a dozen, one in each flavor and brought them home. Over a cup of hot tea we enjoyed the macaroons, cut in half, family style to share and exchange tasting notes. It was perfect.

This past weekend we stopped by La Panier to pick up a few thing: macaroons for a Christmas party with friends, a turkey sandwich for lunch and chocolate croissants for my sisters. I brought my camera with me; something I’m not proud to admit I haven’t done in awhile. I take so much joy in thinking of different ways to photograph a place I frequent or to see it through the way of the camera. However the best thing for me, as I was looking through the photos I took, were the memories that came up, such as my 31st birthday spent with my sisters.





Le Panier is located at Pike Place Market. Everything I’ve tried has been delicious but my regulars are the macaroons, the turkey sandwich made on their classic baguette and the chocolate croissant. It doesn’t matter what time of the day you go, you will always find a the line starts at the front door but it moves fairly quickly.

La Panier // In Pike Place Market
1902 Pike Place
Seattle WA 98101

Lately

For the past six months I've been tweaking my lifestyle and schedule to build more efficiency into my day. I will have to say this does not make me a very fun person to be around. With time, my goals continue to be aggressive however my energy is limited. If I'm not discipline with my day, it's much easier to get distracted or burnt out. Here are ten things I'm currently doing that's keeping me on top of my game:

1. Getting at least eight hours of sleep every night.
2. Having a consistent morning routine: gratitude journal, mediate, yoga sculpt and then my day begins. 
3. Understanding what foods work well with my body and fueling it with that.
4. Drinking a ton of water. 
5. Thought downloads. 
6. Doing one thing every day that gets me closer to my goal / dream. The secret of your success is found in what you do daily; I read that once on Pinterest. 
7. Blocking hours at a time on my calendar for the top three things I want to accomplish and giving myself a break in between.
8. No alcohol. Nope, not even wine. And I also gave up coffee. See #2 and #3.
9. Making a handful of commitments, scheduling it into my calendar and making it nonnegotiable. At the end of the week I do a quick review to see what worked, what didn't and make adjustments for the upcoming week. 
10. Taking a social media detox. This is my biggest distraction and time killer. If I need a mental break I simply read a book; something I always say I never have enough time for. My books are loaded on my phone so they're easily accessible. 

Photographs inspired by Vilhelm Hammershøi's painting,“Woman Seen from the Back” (1888). 

Night Changes

Most of my editing and blog posts are done right before bed. I wonder if that has any influence on my recent sway towards dark moody images such as these black and white peonies I shot a couple of months ago. These were taken on my digital camera which I rarely touch anymore and it makes complete sense as I was just trying to tweak them to look like film prints.  

So I'm sitting here editing while listening to the Pop Chill Playlist on Spotify when it plays this catchy song that I automatically start to like so I check out the playlist and it turns out to be a One Direction song! I tried really hard not to like it but I can't help it. It's so sweet!!! So I'm accepting it and dedicating this post to it.

We're only getting older baby 
And I've been thinking about it lately 
Does it ever drive you crazy 
Just how fast the night changes? 
Everything that you've ever dreamed of 
Disappearing when you wake up 
But there's nothing to be afraid of 
Even when the night changes 
It will never change me and you

Midnight Flower Studies

Post production is my least favorite part of the photography workflow which is also my primary excuse for not blogging as much as I would like. When I shoot, I usually don't have the end in mind. I just shoot what I see and feel within the moment. These roses were taken awhile back. I picked them apart to photograph right before I was going to throw them out. They were bright orange, vibrant and lush. I used the cushion to my leather couch as a backdrop (hey, you gotta get creative with what you've got right?). At the time I wanted to capture those details that made up how bright and beautiful these rose were but once I was in post production I couldn't do it justice so I dismissed them completely.

I was cleaning up my files tonight when I found them. I still think the way I tried editing them before wasn't the best so I started playing with it again. Now I think I have it down to a look that feels more... me. Of course the goal would be to work towards being able to execute my vision from the beginning to end... but what if that vision changes? It took me awhile to find what felt right, what felt like me and I guess that's why they say, 'it's the journey that counts.'

The Beginning, of Anything You Want

This year...

1. I'm going to shoot more still life photos. 
2. Post my work regardless if I don't completely love it.
3. Take a calligraphy class and hand write more love letters.
4. Every morning, spend an hour of solitude journaling.
5. Make an effort to see the people I love more often. 
6. Spend time with my Hasselblad. 
7. Embark more adventures with my beau. 
8. ... and more girls' trip.
9. Learn how to bake 'healthy' donuts. 
10. Visit South Korea and Japan. 

The Study of Light

I took a black and white photography class back in spring and as part of a homework assignment we were asked to focus on the lighting in our photographs. Of course I picked to study the light with my favorite subject: peonies. You can see a little behind the scenes in this Instagram photo.

In preparation of this shoot I bought the peonies a week prior which allowed them to fully bloom and open up; almost to the point of the petals beginning to turn into a darker color and dry up. For the background, I wanted to use something different from a traditional seamless white backdrop. I wanted to use something with a subtle texture to add another element the creation/movement of the lighting and settled on a cardboard box. I shot these both on black and white film and digital but wanted to share the digital versions.

I hope these peonies brighten up your Monday.

Have You Ever...

... wrote an entire blog post over the span of two hours and then decided last minute not to share it and delete it altogether? Welcome to the world of 'Am I really a blogger?'. Internet, now you have it why my blog is a continuous neglect and lack of updates.

Ugh... for now, here's some peonies to make me feel better. 

Macau

Back to my Asia trip, while we were in Hong Kong my beau and I decided to make a day trip out of a visit to Macau. Also known as the Vegas in Asia I didn't mind finding out what that actually meant or looked. An hour and 1/2 turbo boat ride across the South Sea of China later you'll find yourself in Macau. Being that I hardly ever do any research prior to any of our trips, I really didn't know what to expect... OK, maybe I was expecting tacky flashy 'gamble here' signs. Instead I found a convention center that was built like an old ruin right outside of the ferry terminal. Of course I started snapping a ton of pictures and then quickly realized it would actually be a fun place to play tag with my beau... so I did a little bit of that (hey, it's my vacation). As I made my way towards the main city, I could tell why it was known as the Vegas of Asia. The hotels seem bigger than the ones in Vegas and as we made our way inside of one (which I can't remember the name of), it definitely sounded and smelt like Vegas: slot machines going off, the instant punch to your nostrils of the odor of smoke, and AC so cold you experience instant brain freeze! We tried our luck with Roulette but obviously had none given we walked out empty handed. 

As we continued to explore the city we made our way to the real ruins - Ruins of St. Paul's. I actually loved the old Macau so much more than the new commercialized modern Macau. While there, I learned that  Macau was formerly a Portuguese colony until about 15 years ago when it was given back to China. I was amused by how one block can make you feel like you're in China and the next make you feel like you're in Portugal.I walked around in utter amusement of it's beauty. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things I Love About December

... Snow Days ...

... Christmas ...

... Get together with friends & family ...
... Hot coco by the fireplace ...
... Holiday decorations ...
... Hats, boots and gloves ...
... Christmas lights ...
... More excuses to eat ...

It's the most wonderful time of the year.