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.

My Cup of Tea

It’s amazing how passion can fuel you. After spending most of September in Europe, my first priority once home, was to get my 20 rolls of film processed. To shoot on film requires patience and love of the artistic medium otherwise you’ll find yourself pulling your hair out. To travel with film can sometimes be frustrating too, if not for me, for those I am traveling with (sorry, Babe). I always have to take into account the time TSA will need to hand check each roll of film and when you’re out and about discovering your surroundings the roll of film typically ends at the worst time such as a geyser shooting water a few feet away from you. So to bring it home safely; I get a little antsy to see it to the end of its creative cycle.

My first day home was spent in the darkroom processing my black and white film. It is so gratifying to be able to fly across the world and capture as much of the experience through each click of the shutter, protect the images to see its way home with me (seriously though, you should see me going through TSA), carefully developing them with my little hands and watching the images appear on the strip of film as I remove it from the reel. That instant of rediscovering those moments is absolutely wonderful!!! Yes, shooting film may be a nuisance at times but the benefits outweigh it. 

The first stop on our trip was London. My beau’s friend, D who lives in London graciously offered us his place to stay and provided us with the best recommendation on places to eat. Of course you can’t go to London without having high tea and he recommended The Savoy. On this day we visited Buckingham Place, walked through St James Park and made our way to The Savoy. Our experience at The Savoy was great; the customer service was exceptional. I was never able to pour my own tea because somehow our waitress would beat me to it. We enjoyed a long afternoon sipping on bottomless tea, eating unlimited pastries and sandwiches while listening to this talented lady play the piano. 

The Savoy

Strand, Savoy Way, London WC2R
0EU, United Kingdom

Shot on Kodak Tri-x 400. Developed with love by yours truly. Scanned at home. 

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. 

Happy Valentine's Day

My beau and I just celebrated our three year anniversary at the end of January and being that Valentine's Day is early February, we've had to figure out what to do with back to back celebrations. Typically we dine out on our anniversary and the beau prepares us a meal at home on Valentine's Day to avoid the crowds. His meals are equally delicious compared to restaurants... well, I'd say better but I'm bias!

For Valentine's Day here are my favorite pasta restaurants I frequent and think are amazing!

Ristorante Machiavelli (pictured above)

Captial Hill 

Tavolata 

Belltown 

Branzino 

Belltown

Happy Valentine's Day!

New York

I can't lie, with all the fun and beautiful New York Fashion Week photos on my instagram feed I'm wishing I was there more so than... here. So today I spent some time looking through my archives and pulled photos of New York City from the last trip I took. Here's to New York. I'll see you soon...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York. September 2013.