Paris Highlights

 These are two of my favourite shots from Paris. I still am not sure that I really know what I am doing with this whole photography thing, but these two photos give me some hope. I am so thrilled with how they turned out.

I have no idea what this second building is, but I was obsessed with it during our visit (and it's not just cause I can totally imagine myself being a bohemian artist of the past sitting in one of the windows painting or writing poetry as Jeffrey creates beautiful music...). I loved the way the light hit and reflected off of it, and how that would change the entire feel of the building and the city.
I am already wanting to go back there. *le sigh*

Olympus Pen F - Fuji Colorsuperia film

WAW - Broken

I really wish that I was one of those people that was always on top of things. One of those people who can do like a million different things and do them all well. I wish that I could keep a cleaner house, cook all my own dinners, bake delicious treats for friends, and make incredible crafts, cards or clothes with my hands.
I wish that I was one of those people that could actually keep up on my weekly assignments.

But I am not one of those people. And one of these days, I will learn to accept this and stop beating myself up for it (not literally of course).
Until that day, here is my shamefully late Weekly Assignment - Broken.

We had someone come in to trim one of the trees out at our family cabin in the Okanogan. At one point he cut off a particularly large branch, which fell directly onto our brick campfire pit. No one was really too upset though since my mom has been wanting a new fire pit, and I had the perfect subject for my weekly assignment!

This also fills one of the requirements for a very old weekly assignment - Requests. One of the requests was for "something broken" (thanks Michelle for giving me an easy out on that one).
I am still working on the rest of the request list which included:
something humerous,
zoom-out photos (progressively more & more zoomed out),
favourite things I use everyday,
insect battle royale (I almost had shots for this one, but didn't get my camera out quick enough!),
shoes or cocktails or jewelry,
my dad giving my husband a noogie (that one might be even tougher than an insect battle!)

Weekly Assignments shot with my DSLR Canon Rebel XS

Tally-ho, pip-pip and all that...

Whenever I see a carousel, I think of that scene in Mary Poppins where they ride off of the carousel and along the animated English country side right into a horse race that Mary Poppins, of course, wins (sorry for the spoiler).
When we came across this carousel in Paris, I was a little disappointed that I had black & white film in my camera... but in the end, I actually really like the results. They feel old and ironic somehow (though I am sure an English teacher somewhere would tell me that there is nothing ironic about these photos and that I clearly don't actually know what the word means).
But here they are anyway...

Taken with my Olympus Pen F - Kodak BW400CN

The view from the top

After an exhausting first week back to work, and a busy (but very enjoyable) Saturday, I woke up this morning craving this view with some French pastries and coffee.
Vancouver is a beautiful city and we are enjoying a very late summer right now, so I am not complaining.... there is just something about enjoying the view and the food on holidays that makes it all the more sweet.

Photo by Jeffrey with his Pentax K1000 - fuji color superia 


P.S. Even the birds are different in the south of France. They would whip around the hilltop where we were staying, at top speeds chasing each other around, and not once would they even pause to look at our tasty pastries. They simply did not pay attention to us at all.

WAW - Slow Shutter Speeds

Ok, so I know that the purpose of the Weekly Assignments is to try new things and learn about my camera and photography. But I am falling very far behind and with the beginning of the new school year already in full swing, I fear that my chances of catching up are slim.
So I cheated a bit... but just a little. This week's assignment is "slow shutter speeds" which I have to admit is one of my least favourite things in taking pictures. I rarely have a tripod with me, and I am terribly impatient. So, I was dreading this assignment a little.
Then I saw this post about abstract photos on Photography Blogger - a photo blog that I follow, and it got me thinking... about some pictures that I took in the past. And yes, also some pictures that I could try out in the future.
Last Christmas when my digital camera was new, I was trying to learn about all the different settings and how it all worked. So I was playing with the shutter speeds and experimenting with "fun tricks" I could do with it - a luxury the film cameras don't allow me. These are the shots I got:

"Light Painting" with Christmas Tree Lights

None of these penguins was actually lit at the same time! Sans tripod - not too bad.

Yes, I would still like to play more with low shutter speed and maybe try out some of those abstract photos, but in due time my friends, in due time.

All photos taken with my Digital SLR Canon Rebel XS

Things that make you go hmmm....

I have said many times before,  and I'll say it again - one of the things that I love about film is it's unpredictability. Though sometimes this can result in disappointment (which I am starting to encounter less and less these days), it can also result in these wonderful textures or effects or feelings that add so much to the picture, but that are completely accidental. Maybe one day I will actually learn how to take photos like this "on purpose".

Olympus Pen F, Kodak BW400CN

Vivre la France, Vivre la plage!

We are heading to the Okanogan today to spend my final weekend of freedom with my parents in the warm Okanogan sunshine. My family has a cabin on Okanogan lake that is absolute paradise. It is hands down my favourite place in the world. (I have some posts from my last visit there in the archives from last September)
Though, looking back at these pictures from the Mediterranean, I might start to consider a close second. *love*

I took 3 shots of this boat to make sure I would get a good one!

Olympus Pen F - Fuji 200 Color Superia


Jeffrey also took a great shot of that boat from the other side on the digital (Canon Rebel XS)