hello

Back from a trip to Brussels with my love - I haven't had the photos developed yet so instead here is a page from my wallpaper city guide of my favourite thing in the city - Hotel Hanon. The whole area around the hotel is so full of beautiful of Art Nouveau architecture it was such a delight to see it all.

disposable memories

At the beginning of February I bought a couple of disposable cameras. I hadn't used a one since I was about 11 years old and I had forgotten how fun they are. My very first experiences with photography were with disposable cameras and snapping away silly photos of friends and family took me right back. The slightly distorted colours and not so great quality of the photos is all part of the charm and as I pretty much forgot what I took photos of, each frame was like a little gift. These photos were taken around the time we had the big freeze and of the first snow that followed.

one for sorrow, two for joy

I am beginning to design some hand made textile jewellery and a accessories that I hope to sell in my shop soon(ish) along with lovely things like postcards, and possibly some found objects.

This is a sneaky peek of a little brooch collection although I will be keeping this one as I like it too much (I can foresee that happening a lot!). It's based on the markings of a feather from one of my favourite birds, the magpie.

Have a nice weekend everyone, see you next week

Zx

music and pictures

I have become obsessed with a Vimeo channel called Have a Nice Book and their short movies that take you through entire art books by amazing photographers to catchy music. This one is The Last Resort by Martin Parr, the song is Money by the Drums. I warn you once you start watching these it's difficult to stop!

love

Last week Daniela of Trebuchet wrote a truly beautiful post on the letters her grandparents used to send to each other and the sentimental power that a handwritten note to a loved one can have.

It inspired me to re-read some of the letters that my maternal Grandparents sent to each other a few years after they were married. At the time my Grandfather was living in Boston, Massachusetts where he had relocated for a short period to work. My Grandmother was still living in London and so they wrote to each other often.

I love seeing my Grandmother’s impeccable handwriting and reading about my mother when she was a baby. Hearing about their daily lives and their hopes and aspirations for the future makes me feel as though I know them better.

I miss them both so much and in the spirit Valentine’s Day (which I take to be about all forms of love) I wanted to show you a few photos of them both when they were young.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

thrifted crochet and lazy days

A lazy Sunday spent knitting a hat and taking silly pictures. The pink hyacinth flowers are in full bloom and are smelling gorgeous. We recently found a collection of hand made crochet lace doilies at a flea market. There are so many of them ranging in size and all made from very fine white thread. I was so happy when I found them but also a little sad to think of the time and effort that someone put into making them all for them to end up at a flea market being sold for so little. Because of this I am determined to give them a good home and the biggest of the family has found its self a place already

At the end of the month my lovely and I are going on a little trip to Brussels and I am really looking forward to it. We have lots of ideas about what we would like to do when we arrive but I was wondering if anyone had any tips they could give me on things to see or places to eat. I would love to hear your favourite hidden gem :-)

Zx

frosting

I went to a cupcake making class for a friends birthday. I made apple and cinnamon cupcakes. It was so much fun, especially because we got to practice fancy frosting which I have always wanted to learn. And speaking of frosting that is exactly what the scene outside the window looked like when I woke up on Friday morning. The pinkish morning light made it look like an other-worldly landscape, or, if you think like me, a great big frosted cupcake! Enjoy the weekend everyone

Zx

things about springtime

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There are so many things to look forward to in spring. Just a few of mine are wearing bright cheerful knits, chasing butterflies, blowing dandelion clocks and eating at Rochelle's Canteen. But for now we are still in the depths of a glorious winter - brrr I'm going to make a cup of tea!

Happy Wednesday, Zx

expired film

Some photos I took during December using a roll of very old film. The third one makes me laugh because it reminds me of fighting with my cousin at Christmas time to get him to allow me to take his photo. Funny how some people who take so many photos hate having their photo taken themselves.

snowfall

We nearly always have snow at some point during winter here in London but because of the mild weather we had in December and January I thought this year would be an exception; then the temperature dropped and snow started falling on the city last night. We woke up to the magical sight of a world asleep under a blanket of powdery white and went for a long walk to take in the atmosphere of the day. There is always a special glow in the air when there is snow on the ground - whether it is the opportunity to build a snowman, watch children rushing down hills on sleds, having snowball fights or testing the ice on frozen lakes. Perhaps it is just because everything looks so beautiful.

I feel as though February is going to be a month of ups and downs. There are going to be changes in my working life and a lot happening outside work too so I am thankful for special weekends even more so than usual.

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend and have a lovely week ahead.

Zx

experiments

I have been experimenting lately with both film and digital photography. I love shooting film; for me it is a kind of alchemy that captures the moment in very special way. I really enjoy the anticipation of getting a roll of film back from the lab and the unique complexities of the photos produced. That said day to day I use my digital more, it’s quick, cheap and reliable.

I recently bought an FD fit adapter and an M24 fit adapter to use some old lenses from broken film cameras on my DSLR. I really like the results.

The photos are of some of the flowers from the market the other day taken with my normal auto focus zoom lens, a Helios lens from a Zenit-E and a Canon prime lens. The hyacinth flowers have started to poke their heads out of their bulbs to have a look around and hopefully they will come up to say hello soon.

I think I will continue to experiment with these old lenses, it is an inexpensive and fun way to introduce more variation into digital photography.

A Note: Sorry for not being so quick to reply to things, my internet has been down for a few days so I am doing blog stuff at work.