a nice afternoon on the seashore

Monday afternoon I was kidnapped and forced to spend the afternoon climbing rocks and taking pictures at Herring Cove. It was torture. >:)

It takes almost exactly 30 minutes to get to Herring Cove from my front door. It's just far enough outside the city that you feel like you're on an adventure, but close enough to visit before work. It's amazing! We scuttled over the rocks, smelled the fresh sea air and generally fell in love with life itself. Below are a few pictures from the day, some are mine, some are Eric's.

The beautiful landscape.

There was plenty of time for sitting and contemplating life.

Eric at work.

Eric at play!

More infrared... I still find it hard to look at myself with brown eyes, but I love the look of infrared.

Infrared makes this photo look so soft and warm, I love it. Though I am wondering just what the heck I'm doing with my hand. Pretending to be bashful for the camera, I suppose. >:)

maximum awesomeness

I haven't had much energy to be creative lately - just trying to sort out my life and return to some semblance of normalcy. But as always, I have been scrounging around for inspiration and Max Wanger doesn't disappoint. Definitely take five minutes to check out his website. His photos never fail to bring a smile to my face.

interesting infrared

The other day my friend Eric was over with his fancy new infrared camera. Do you know what an infrared camera actually is? I don't either. So this morning I took it upon myself to learn.

Firstly, I wanted to know what infrared light is. Apparently, infrared energy is light that we cannot see, but our bodies can detect as heat. It is part of the electromagnetic spectrum that includes radio waves, X-rays and visible light. All of these forms of energy have a specific frequency, as represented in the chart below. (source)

Well that's all fine and dandy, but I'm sure you're wondering about a real-world application for this infrared business. Think night vision. If you've ever watched a movie or have seen a news clip showing military night vision equipment, you were looking at infrared technology being put to use. (photo source)

If you look back up to the chart, night vision and infrared photography lie closer to the visible light spectrum. The far end, closer to microwave, is most likely familiar to you as thermography, where infrared radiation is used to determine an object's temperature. (photo source)

Infrared photography is amazing; the resulting photographs are often dream-like and other-worldly. Foliage looks white and contrast increases as there is little infrared light in shadows. Infrared photos can be taken in colour or black and white. Here are a few examples. They really do seem as though from a parallel universe!

(photo source(photo source)(photo source)

If you google 'infrared photography' you will be met with hundreds of breathtaking images. I think this type of photography is so hauntingly beautiful, I really enjoy the atheistic.

Seeing yourself in infrared, however, takes some getting used to. As I said, this whole exploration began because my friend Eric dropped by with his new infrared camera. Here are a few results from the visit. How strange to see myself with light hair and dark eyes! Also, the shirt I was wearing is black. The infrared way of seeing really does turn the world on its head!

feed your soul

Feed Your Soul is an amazing free online art project that I stumbled upon via Creature Comforts. The premise of Feed Your Soul is to provide people with access to 100% free art that is available to download, print, and frame at your discretion.

The project is organized by Jen Wallace of Indie Fixx. Jen's goal is to help art aficionados feed their souls with art in these recessionary times and to help artists promote their work.

I think this is an amazing opportunity for both artists and lovers of art. You know I am always on the hunt for economical home decor so of course I had to share this with you. Below are a few examples of the super cute files that are free to download.

The best bit is that new artists are always being scheduled to post work so your choice is constantly evolving. This is definitely a site to visit and re-visit again and again!

puppy love

Tonight I am crashing and burning after a particularly busy weekend at work. Between 5:00 Thursday and today, I punched in 38 hours; my feet are rejoicing at the thought of a day off tomorrow.

Since I got home I've been enjoying Mom's delicious homemade wine and wandering through the Internet. I've managed to sip my way through half the bottle and five Neil Young albums and honestly, I couldn't imagine a better way to decompress after a long weekend of catering to everybody elses needs.

Of course my meanderings always lead me to flickr. For a site I often find myself lamenting (lacking aesthetic and intuitive browsing), I have to admit I spend an awful lot of time there. The only thing missing from my quiet night at home is a ball of fur at my feet. Well, for those of you who knew Belle, it was more like a ball of fur at my side wondering when I was going to give her more food.

So I've decided to post a tribute to dogs and that special place in your heart only they can fill.

dog's age

richie_rich2000

Viva La Hanza

moiracore

ajpscs

booniewoonie

Viva La Hanza

palmea

(Can you tell I am completely falling in love with polaroids? Yet again an affirmation that I was born in the wrong decade!).

struggling with hope

Yesterday started off as a wonderful day... there was no denying Spring is on its way. The birds were chirping and underneath the cool wind you could feel the warm sun on your face. With lifted spirits I decided that it would be a good day for an adventure. To Lawrencetown Beach!

I'm really lucky, to live so close to such a beautiful area. 15 minutes of driving and as you climb up a hill and round a corner you're suddenly met with a breathtaking vista of crashing waves, green cliffs and a sprawling rocky beach. Sheer bliss.

I gladly scampered down the boardwalk to the beach, so happy to be out with my camera by the wind and surf. I didn't feel overly inspired to take many photos, but I was so happy to be out of the city for a change of pace.

About an hour later I returned to the car to find the passenger side window smashed in and my bag gone. Stolen! Everything! Cell phone, wallet, iPOD, work uniform and my favourite red toque with the pompom among other things.

I am feeling very unsettled, violated, and vulnerable. I am trying to find it in my heart to forgive this person (or people) but I'm definitely struggling. I try so hard to believe in the goodness of other people. But today I just don't have it in me.

Here are two pictures from before the day turned upside down. I find it hard to look at them favourably.

new bedroom

I really wanted a pink bedroom with pretty wallpaper and a pink chandelier. But after a lot of browsing (both online and out and about) and price comparing, I decided that a pink bedroom will have to wait. For what? I don't know. But wait it will.

So my thoughts turned to white - an appropriate colour for peace, calm and fresh starts, don't you think? My apartment already has nice eggshell-coloured walls and 12-inch-high white moulding around the base of every room so I had an easy space to work within. My furniture is also white - making a totally white room make even more sense.

It was surprisingly easy to create an almost completely white room - white curtains, white duvet cover and pillow shams, white lamp base, white rug and voila. A white room.

The crowning glory of my bedroom is the hanging light fixture. I have a friend who's getting married soon so I have been spending more time than I should on wedding-related blogs. I was loving the idea of clustering paper lanterns for decoration and thought, "Why couldn't I have that in my room?"

Shortly thereafter my (very patient) brother took me around the stores as I scouted out possibilities and ideas. Luckily RONA isn't kidding when they say they have DIY experts because the lighting lady was amazing. She understood exactly what I wanted to do and told us exactly how to do it!

In order to successfully complete my mission, all I needed was a small metal plate, 3 rubber washer-type things, 3 dangling cords for hanging lamps (the kind you plug into the wall) and the lanterns.

Now, I'm not an electrical expert. So this is where my brother took the reins. I'm an idea generator, not a follow-through individual! Stephen drilled 3 holes through the metal plate and inserted the 3 rubber rings into each hole so that the rough edges wouldn't fray the cords. Then, we ("we") cut the plugs off each cord and spliced (is that even the word?) them to connect to the wires dangling out of the ceiling. We ran the cords down, screwed the metal plate into the ceiling, attached the lanterns to the bulbs and... Amazing! My very own paper lantern cluster. I love it. All it took was 3 hours and $75. Not too shabby to have something to smile at every time you walk into your bedroom!

The room isn't complete yet. I still need a headboard and some art on the walls. I also want an analog alarm clock that doesn't tick-tock the heck out of me. Digital clocks hardly hold the same charm. I am also looking for plants for my windowsill, a bigger, fluffier rug and... who knows what else. I'm sure with time things will fall into place.

happy easter!

I hope you have a wondeful, peaceful day! xo.

i love...

... baked goods. Especially tea biscuits. YUM!

going to the birds

I wasn't feeling inspired to re-work my clothesline in a photographic manner this season. But I couldn't leave my hallway empty. So as I surveyed my freshly decorated front door, I realized how easy it would be to keep going with a springtime theme using scrapbook paper and a pair of scissors.

I'm in love with my new feathered friends. They keep this place feeling full of life and activity as I walk up and down the hall. I have the bird silhouettes saved as PDF files so if you want to make your own flock, let me know and I will e-mail you the outlines! >:)