Instagram in the '50s

So with my new iPad mini for Christmas, I have vowed myself to blog a lot more often! Watch this space and you can hold me to that. Gulp, no pressure. I'm beyond in love with my iPad, and so to start off I want to show you a few past time pictures. Obviously I really don't want to be boring you with old family snaps.. but these pictures are from film slides my Auntie got developed as a Christmas present for my Nan and Grandad. And what I love most is the quality and mood of these beautiful prints. 

They almost look like Instagram snaps, how stunning does my Nan look?! 

Olive and my Nan poolside in Singapore

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Model like! Love the vintage feel of these photos

The sort of photo you'd see on a comical birthday card right

Those cars. Love

Dancing queen

Sisterly love. My mum sharing a kiss with her sister, so adorable!

This ones my favourite.. Nan and Grandad by the sea

I wish they hadn't of sold their film camera, I'd do anything to be able to take shots like these! 

iPhonegraphy infatuation

I probably don't go a day without taking a photo on my phone. Actually to be honest I probably don't go an hour..
 Whether it be for humour aspects (ugly mug shots of my double chinned friends), selfies (vain..), quirky interesting things I see on my day to day travels or if I'm taking a photo for genuine photographic purposes. This evening my Mum genuinely gave me a lecture about how I'm on my phone too much, texting 24/7 or scrolling through Twitter and Insta feeds. It's true, perhaps I am on my phone a wee bit much but digital media is too ADDICTIVE! It's about to get a whole lot worse when I get my iPad mini.. oops. One of the main reasons I want to get an iPad is so that I can blog a lot more, so in the near future expect a whole host-of-posts!

Being the internet fanatic that I am, I follow a lot of iPhoneographers on social media and a Facebook post by Ade Santora lead me to this video of a Flickr group showreel. These were all shot using mobile phones - who needs studios, flash guns and hefty DSLRs? Love these black and white shots!


http://theappwhisperer.com/2013/12/08/mobile-photography-flickr-group-showcase-theappwhisperer-taw-december-8-2013/

Sorry you'll have to click the link, I can't seem to find an embedded code to use!

london - photo essay

Here is the photo essay for a selection of my Trafalgar Square photos that I finally got done. (Er deadline is tomorrow). If only Windows Movie Maker wasn't so basic there's so much I would've liked to of changed boooo..

Song credit to Clean Bandit - Dust Clears

let's fill this town with artists..

..or 20 something A Level Photographers wondering the streets of London.
 Last year we went to Camden (the photo essay link to the blog post here!) and this year it was Trafalgar Square. London really is the best place for people photography, people watching and general people oddities. With its historic architecture stroke modern glass skyscrapers and the River Thames slicing right through it, it made a good place to photograph. But I mean how many times have we all been to London.. you'll probably recognise a good half of these places. These photos are all for my latest themed project 'To Infinity And Beyond' by the way, hence why some of the photos may seem a little unrelated to London or normal tourist snaps!

Photo essay is on its way next week

Quite literally the first thing outside of Leicester Square train station. Dinky lil art shop

Must. Stop. With the addiction to slow motion water!

Statue vom. Lol sorry I couldn't not. Well this is a brilliant caption

Frozen 

London's finest.. about a metre from the Marble Arch

As Remembrance Day approaches, perfect photo

The tamest squirrels I've ever met! One nearly crawled INTO my handbag

I was literally this close to him, so cute

How my head feels when I'm walking through the streets of London 

Erm no of course I wasn't look at his butt, this is a really imaginative, unusual portrait shot...

'To Infinity and Beyond' - spaceship inspired perhaps?

Lee Friedlander - 'Mannequin' inspired. Happy with this shot

hup two three four, one vodka two vodka three vodka, floor

I have had such an ace weekend at De Montfort Univesity in Leicester! Firstly on arrival on the Saturday I had the open day and absolutely loved hearing about the Graphic Design course. The lecturer was really really enthusiastic and the work I saw by previous/current students was incredibly talented. The remainder of the weekend was left in the hands of my cousin and her uni friends to show me the ropes of uni life! Cheap budgeted (but actually tasty) meals, a fair few glasses of vodka, a beach party, a lot of walking and dancing, a 5am bedtime and a blasting hangover later.. makes for a brilliant weekend spent with a lovely group of people!
All in all it was such a hugely motivating experience for completing the rest of my A-Levels to say the least.. here's to the next seven months (without trying to sound like I'm wishing my life away oops)

Whilst rushing to catch my train this morning, in the heart of Leicester town centre we came across a marching band :) 

Taken on my iPhone and edited using After Light

iPhoneography edits

to infinity and beyond

Galactic/alien inspired shoot. From our new given theme "Evolution and Revolution" this year, I've rebranded my theme to - "To Infinity And Beyond.." (you've got to love Buzz Lightyear). So I've ended up down a journey directing towards the solar system, infinity, the universe, stars and so-called aliens.. you get the point. Here's my first shoot of the new project. I decided to do a studio shoot as I usually hate it so I thought it was about time I tackled it, but I actually really enjoyed this one. Thank god for Amy who put up with my crazy alien decor of stiff gelled hair, metallic silver face paint, sticky jewels and nearly nude shots!

Combination of studio shoot and astrophotography shoot

 I also combined the studio shoot with astrophotography. This is basically night time shooting of the sky using long exposures where you can see more stars than the naked eye can. So yep, there I was last Saturday standing shivering in my garden, clothed only in my onesie and slippers, tripod to hand and camera pointing to the clear sky.. it worked though!

 

This ones my favourite, accidental plane trails

how mobile phones are made by Qais

I went to Leeds Uni open day today and went to a talk on a course called New Media which looked fantastic. We were shown this video during the talk, to demonstrate the different types of work that graduates had produced. This video really moved me, from a topic that I'm regretfully not all entirely aware of or knowledgable on (I won't give it away, you'll have to watch it to find out what I mean!) I started off admiring the swift motion graphics, then laughing at the metaphoric concepts but then feeling fuzzy and sad when I realised the real meaning of this. A great idea by Qais Sarhan

delicious in mauritius

Pre-holiday it was getting 'delicious for mauritius' (it didn't work, I ate my weight in food in Portugal washed down with a various selection of cocktails influenced mostly from the lure of 'happy hour'). Although saying that, we made up for it by going to the free gym classes [in Mauritius] 8.30 every morning (the hell is wrong with us I don't know). We did Step classes (the most fun), Spinning and other free weights toning classes with two crazy Mauritian guys (queue hench, bulging biceps, short shorts, thunder thighs and continuous glares into the mirror to check their butts out); these guys were crazy ass gym fanatics.

But during holiday, Mauritius was definitely delicious and I'm not just talking the food- I'm describing the views I woke up to for 13 days. I went to Belle Mare Plage and stayed in Constance hotel along the East coast with my family, 9 of us, and was absolutely stunned at the beauty of it. For such a tiny little island, there were so many different aspects to it. From the turquoise indian ocean lapping the white beaches to the shanty towns further inland, veg-and-fruitful markets, boat harbours and sugar cane filled landscapes. 

Here are a select few (there were nearly 300 photos, 50% family photos that would indefinitely bore you to death) of the photos I took. I went on a Photographic Safari with a company called Clique and some of the photos were taken with the help of two lovely pro photographers (international award winners to be precise, so cool) Joseph and Alex.

Chasing light as always. On our hotel patio

Footprints in the sand at night

Chasing light on Belle Mare beach. From Portugal to Mauritius

Brother, Mum, Nan. First dip in the pool, it creeps me out how much Mark looks like Tom Daley here. Spitting image. Water is the best setting for photos

Cousins caught mid jump

Saint Geran, nearby hotel. Flower arrangements just got fancier

^A random snorkeler I caught mid-swim..

Monochrome. Pier along the coast

First attempt at slow motion water. Desperately needed my tripod and an ND Grad filter though damn!

Indian ocean caught in slow motion

Flacq Market

Flacq Market

Flacq Market

Flacq Market

Flacq Market

Flacq Market

Flacq Market

Flacq Market

Trou d'Eau Douce, boat harbour

Trou d'Eau Douce, boat harbour
Portrait of Mum

Trou d'Eau Douce, boat harbour
Portrait of Mum

Trou d'Eau Douce, boat harbour

School walls. "He who opens a school door, closes a prison" - Victor Hugo