Whimsical Winter

A few weekends ago, I happen to wake up very early on Saturday morning to see that overnight, the first snowfall had covered the city. Now, in Vancouver we don't often get snow this early in the year, and if we do, it doesn't stick around for long. The untouched fresh snow got me all giddy like a kid on Christmas morning... so of course, instead of crawling quietly back into my cozy bed and enjoying a much needed and deserved "gros matin" (sleep-in), I sprang into bed, waking up poor snoozing Jeffrey, chattering all the while about the snow and how I just had the impulse to grab my camera and go for a walk in it before the world woke up and disturbed it. To my surprise, Jeffrey simply laughed and responded "Actually I saw the snow a few hours ago and thought about waking you up to do exactly that" (This is why I love this man!!).
So that is what we did. Threw on some warm clothes, snapped up our cameras (me with my Olympus Pen F and him with his Pentax K1000) and set off to wander this winter wonderland in the darkness of the early morning. It felt so whimsical and magical to be out enjoying the quiet, snow covered streets, while everyone else was warm in their beds.

Eventually our fingers got cold and our bellies began to grumble, so we stopped into a cozy retro 24-hour diner in our neighborhood to warm up and grab some grub (and to snap a few pictures of course).

By the time we left the diner, the sun was coming up and the rest of the world was waking up. Our little secret rendez-vous in the wee hours of the morning had come to an end, and it was our little secret. :)

Sorry about the quality of the interior and early morning shots, I am still figuring out shutter speeds in low lighting.

Look Up!

Amongst my other photographic tendencies (such as berries, reflections and cars), I am also drawn to towers and steeples. I am not sure if it stems from my romantic image of the princess high above in the turret or from growing up in the mountains surrounded by majestic peaks. Or maybe I have taken advice to "keep your chin up" a little too far. Regardless, I find a strange contentment in looking up at those towers.
Do you ever have those things in your life that you just love to look at for no explicable reason?

Birthday Girl!

This weekend is my baby niece's first birthday! Sadly, we don't live close enough for me to see them as often as I would like. Being far from family, and missing watching my nieces grow up are honestly the only things that ever make me want to leave Vancouver. I always hope that, despite the distance, I can be as close to them as I have been with my aunts.

So, Happy First Birthday Bear!! 

I love you (and those adorable little cheeks of yours)!!

Christmas 2009 - Olympus Pen F

Summer 2010 - Olympus Pen F

Summer 2010 - Olympus Pen F

Perfect Perfection

In my life, I have always been drawn to things that stand out, that are different, that "add character". I remember when I was a kid, there was a girl in my dance classes who had a very unique nose. While everyone else was making fun of it, I remember (even then), admiring it. I loved how different it was, how it looked like no one else's nose. It's the same with the type of men that I am attracted to... most would say that I have no clear "type" because I have dated (what seems like) everything under the rainbow; but actually, "my type" is men who have some character to their face... some "imperfection" that makes them unique. I especially hate those Gap ads about getting "Everyone in Cords" or "Everyone in Khaki"... I always think: "Why on earth would I spend that much money to look like everyone else??"

But there is a chink in my armour, an Achilles heel, a soft spot... it is my affinity for teeny, tiny, perfectly round berries! Especially if there is a bunch of them all clustered together, looking exactly like one another, no one standing out from the others. I just can't resist snapping a picture of those little spheres of perfect perfection.
Here, just a few of my favourite berry shots (just a few, trust me, there are more!)

Olympus Pen-f Shots

Pentax K1000 shots

This last shot is one of my absolute favourite photos

Lest we forget...

On this day of Remembrance we take a moment to honour all those who put their own lives in danger to save the lives of others. Those who left their families behind so that others could be with theirs. We say thank you to everyone who fought for freedom around the world. Regardless of your political or moral views surrounding war or the military, we all need to take a moment to appreciate the selflessness of so many people that have lived through and seen things that most cannot even imagine.
In honour of this Remembrance Day, a few photos of my brave and loving grandfather who landed in Holland on D-Day. I only wish that I also had a photo of my other grandfather who landed in France on D-Day, but who is sadly not with us anymore. On this day I cherish the memories that I have of both of them.

My Pa 

Pa with his great granddaughter