Framed Moments and Captured Spaces.

Photography is one of my big passions - my biggest passion, in the area of creativity. I love those framed moments and captured spaces. It's such a personal thing for me; it's art - self expression. When I show you a (particular) photo I've taken of someone else, it can sometimes feel like I'm showing you a portrait of me - and I am, just not in the physical sense. And those that I've taken of myself? The 'selfie' takes on a whole new meaning...

So many people view photography as just "point and shoot", but they've got that confused - that's a camera. Photography comprises imagination, creativity, style, light, feeling, self, thought, angle, work, experiences, talent, skill, stories, subjects, themes, collaboration, plans, ideas, and you - and sometimes a lot of swearing, too. The camera is the wonderful tool used to capture all of that. We wouldn't have photography without cameras, but we wouldn't have so many amazing photos - works of art - without photography, without the minds behind them.

Photography can sometimes be seen as a weak practice, by those who believe that an image is as simple as aim, click, done. I get very irritated when some say "isn't photography just another word for unemployed?" or ask photographers "yeah, but what's your job? What else do you do?". Even worse than that is when people say or insinuate that the photos are only beautiful because you have a good camera. Ehem, was Harry Potter a great wizard because of his wand? I-don't-bloody-think-so. Tim Walker certainly doesn't make the amazing images he does because he bought a shiny camera with a big lens, throws his arms out in a random direction and presses a button.

On photos that I have taken of my sister, I have had comments in which people say that the images are only pretty because she's so beautiful. Well yes, sometimes the photographs I post haven't had much effort or creativity put into them, they are not the pictures that make me feel like I'm showing you a part of me, and they are pretty because the subject is...but I like them and I like taking them.

Out of all my photos, I tend to prefer the ones that I found more challenging, that incorporate more of my imagination, and sometimes they aren't the most gorgeous ones, the ones that everyone else favours, but that's okay, it's for me. Photography, writing, clothes, blog posts - first and foremost, they're for me; my rabbit hole - a whimsical world to escape to.

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The photos above were all taken by me (and if the subject is human, then they're of me too), snapped on my Samsung Galaxy Mini gt-s5570 phone. Most of the other pictures on my blog were captured with a Nikon L120. All except the last have appeared on my Instagram. Most of them, like the photos I take with my proper camera, are un-edited.
They are a mix of just pretty captures and photos that have a little extra something behind them: putting on a dress that matches a vintage mirror for the sake of a shot; getting my mum to stop the car because I noticed that the blooms on a tree, a sign, a steel fence and a grey sky contrasted perfectly; spending ten minutes trying to get the perfect shot of me donning a sixties hat picked up in a charity shop that day; almost tripping over myself in the search of a mirror when the afternoon sun is filtering through my window beautifully; waiting for the right time for the sun to make some Bottlebrush seed pods cast the perfect shadow; and, most notably: waiting until dark so that I can turn off the light in my bedroom, close the door, hang an embroidered silk shirt on my cupboard door as I hold the front of it up so that a reptile light - balanced on my knee - could shine through it, while I hastily snap the photo. 

Sydney, Part 2 - People Watching

All images were taken by me and are un-edited.

When I went to Sydney earlier in the month (you can see part 1 here) my absolute favourite thing about my visit was the people and their street style. People of so many various interests, cultures, origins, ethnicities, languages and accents with such different and unique style.

I love people watching and Sydney was the perfect place for it. People were fearless in what they wore, I could've donned a top hat, zebra print shirt and a rainbow bubble skirt belted with a curtain tie and I would have fit right in. Although this ensemble would be with the addition of warm tights, fluffy socks and a big jacket -which would all be as equally outrageous - as it was freezing. I wish I could have gotten some shots of the people that wore get-ups like this, but unfortunately the people I managed to snap were wearing rather casual clothes. Most of the people were pretty much on a mission, so if I wanted to take a photo of them, I'd have to act fast. By the time I'd debated  in my head whether or not to chase after them or had taken my  camera from its' case, they were out of sight.

Although one very stylish person I managed to photograph was my mum's fabulous friend Robyn Catchlove (yes, that's her real name) who was mentioned in my previous post as our guide around Newtown and can be seen in the last image. She's posing for me inside a bar, positioned in front of a big glass window chosen especially so we could watch the people pass by. Although the image is in black and white, she's very vibrantly dressed: in an oversized electric blue jumper, a rainbow scarf and necklace, black leggings with red snakeskin shoes and her usual red lipstick and orange hair. But her personality is even more fun and exciting than her wonderful outfits.

As my mum, Robyn and I watched the people walk past the window we were sitting at, we spotted a rather brilliant looking man in a big leopard print coat. He was just the first of the people I am wishing I photographed. The clothes were as vibrant and as unique as the people that wore them, who were seen in flashes of colour wherever I went and were almost always smiling.
During my visit I saw a girl with galaxy tights, blue hair and a tardis dress and a man with so much curly black hair it hung over him like an umbrella. My mum and I spotted a guy who looked just like Viktor Krum from Harry Potter and the goblet of fire when we were enjoying Sushi Train one night, and another time we watched a woman in a full length cloak and elf ears as she crossed the street. One day we saw a lovely old man pushing a trolley and selling flowers (who I kind of wanted to be) and a girl wearing a summery fifties dress on a vintage bike, complete with a sixties picnic basket on the one day it was sunny.

Despite my wishing that I could have taken photos of all the lovely people I saw, I'm still happy with the images above. The first one is my favourite, I took my camera out after my mum and I came across an area where almost everyone was smoking. The photos I took weren't that great until this lady sat down and lit her cigarette. I was clicking away and managed to capture the smoke quite nicely I think, she gave me a smile and my mum and I continued walking. The second was taken not long after that and the others were snapped on different days.

I could go on forever about all the beautiful and interesting people I spotted and the clothes they wore. How liberating it was to wear whatever I wanted, putting on my stripy tights or my faux fur jacket and zipping up my seventies boots so haphazardly. Living where I do, pretty much anything other than sneakers, a plain shirt and jeans would be considered overdressed, so it was nice not to care about what I was wearing. After my experience in Sydney I will endeavour to be a little more fearless in what I wear.                      

Rest Stop Photo-Shoots

All photos taken by me
Model: Ireland

One of the best things about having my own camera is being able to take it with me anywhere, so if I come across a beautiful place - I can just turn it on and take some photos of my sister (who is always a lovely and willing model.) Like yesterday, when I jumped at the opportunity to take photos of my sister under a tree that was dropping gorgeous pink flowers and yellow leaves (pink and yellow is not normally a colour combination that I like – but this was lovely.)
Unfortunately the ground was a bit wet, which lead to a bit of complaining on my sister’s part when I asked her to lie down amongst these fallen leaves and flowers - so I could fill the frame with just the colourful vegetation and her (as well as the fact that it gave me the ability to sprinkle some of the flowers in her hair.)
All these photos of my stunning sister were taken at rest stops we pulled into during a six hour all round car drive to see family members, which involved lots of talking and listening to Florence + the Machine.

Though we only stayed overnight, it was great to see my relatives again and celebrate my grandfather's birthday, as well as seeing cousins and an uncle awesome uncle - big thank you to that awesome uncle, who bought my sister and me some high top converse. I got the classic black and white converse, but if I had the money, I'd own green, red, blue and hand painted ones with the tardis and Doctor Who quotes.
I think these converse are going to be showing up on this blog often, as they can work in so many different outfits (as well as the fact that they are some really good looking shoes.)

Also, thank you to those who commented on my last post, although so far it was only two, it was very interesting to read about what goes on in your fashion/photography shoots.