snowy sunday

ok, so las vegas was not exactly warm in the week that we were there. but there was no snow. not like in toronto. vince and i flew back to a literal winter wonderland. it was beautiful but unfortunately not the homecoming we wanted or expected.



{ day 058 | sun feb 27 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 201 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

my new bal

in person, she's a strikingly vibrant yellow with a slight undertone of green. a colour bal calls mimosa.



{ day 057 | sat feb 26 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 201 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

badwater basin

sigh... i heart roadtrips. our last full day of "vacation" and we headed to death valley. badwater basin is the lowest elevation in north america at 282 feet below sea level. i had a picture in my mind of what it would look like and was fully unprepared for how beautiful it was.



{ day 056 | fri feb 25 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 201 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

ignite

the last presentation of the convention was photographers ignite. 17 speakers, 5 minutes per speaker, 20 slides played automatically at 15 seconds per slide. can you say, fun?



{ day 055 | thu feb 24 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 201 | kaimal mark ii | ina's 1969 | no flash }

feeling fuzzy

it's the last day of the tradeshow and the second last day of wppi. i feel fuzzy. and just slightly exhausted.



{ day 054 | wed feb 23 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 201 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

grand garden arena

wowsers, very cool fact about wppi twenty eleven: a few of the talks were held in the mgm grand garden arena!



{ day 053 | tue feb 22 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 201 | john s | kodot xgrizzled | no flash }

the eye of the storm

lines formed in random spokes in front of the three sets of tradeshow doors. it was crowded. people were everywhere. you could sense that hysteria was threatening to bubble over. the only thing i could do to keep patient was take a deep breath and look up at the ceiling.



{ day 052 | mon feb 21 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 201 | jimmy | ina's 1969 | no flash }

vegas baby

{ day 051 | sun feb 20 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 201 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

in transit

vince and i headed for vegas today!



{ day 050 | sat feb 19 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 201 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

eleven pipers piping

one of my workshop instructors told me a year or so ago to never delete any of my images. that a photograph occasionally needs some space before it can be viewed objectively. that oftentimes, we're disappointed in our images because it doesn't match what we saw when we were at the photoshoot, in front of our loved ones, or on vacation. that the reason for this is because all our senses are engaged when we're in the moment - and a photograph can only communicate a portion of the experience.

this is one of those images that grew on me over time. when i originally edited this together last week, it did not match the vision i had in my mind. but i had to leave to catch a flight so i left it as is. i pulled it up to have a look a couple of times during the week and realized that it wasn't as out of line as i originally thought. today i think i might actually like it.



this is the second image in the twelve months of christmas series. my play on the theme of eleven pipers piping is music and while i didn't take any images of pied pipers, i did capture an image that included this lovely old record player. i thought the bokeh looked like they could have bulbously appeared from the giant mouth of the phonograph and that's where my idea was born. i don't think it translated exactly as i imagined but, for some reason, this image makes me sing.

[my friend, belle, and i are doing this project together! check out her lovely images here.]

edited to add some more details:

a) the bokeh. gaah this is what i love about holiday lights. i know bokeh is overdone but i still love it. and always will.

{ canon 7d | canon 35mm f/1.4 | iso 200 | f/1.4 | 1/125 sec | no flash }

b) the phonograph. if you know a little about my style, you'll know i love contrast. new versus old. modern mixed with vintage. high tech versus lo-fi. this is a recurring theme that permeates my home, my clothing, and my photography. i knew that i wanted to incorporate some vintage styling in this project so i made sure to capture some images with my iphone hipstamatic app. i found this phonograph on the cover of a book and immediately knew i had to have it.

{ iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 185 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

in love with louboutin

{ week 07 | canon 5dm2 | canon 35mm f/1.4 | iso 400 | f/1.4 | 1/50 sec | no flash | cable release }

dinner

i gotta stop dining out so often. but how can i when it's so easy and yummy?



{ day 049 | fri feb 18 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 200 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

the great melt

lots of snow on the ground + a warm day = the great melt

i love it when the winter snow melts away. it makes me feel like spring is within reach. the only thing i hate about it is that it reveals all the stinky garbage that's been hidden in the snowbanks for weeks and weeks.



{ day 048 | thu feb 17 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 200 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

man versus machine

when i went into work today, i checked my e-mail and came across this link from vince. i was bummed that we missed the first day but we made sure to watch that night. man versus machine. at jeopardy. what could be better?

not surprisingly - if you know me, that is - i felt sorry for the machine (aka watson) when he got an answer wrong. then i thought, don't be silly... he doesn't feel bad. which led me to think that ibm should have programmed him to make a sad face when he missed a response. wah-wah waaaah.

man versus machine. at jeopardy. machine won.



{ day 047 | wed feb 16 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 200 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

insatiable

i used to be a major bookworm. i would cozy up in bed right after school and read nonstop until the sun came up. there are so many distractions now though that i usually only read a few pages at a time and it can take weeks - if not months - for me to finish a book.

not so with the hunger games.

this is one of those books that i could not put down. i even brought it to work so i could sneak in a paragraph here and there. but i ended up leaving the book closed because i knew i would not be able to limit myself. plus i wouldn't do the book any justice by reading it in snippets. so i took a quick lunch break to take in a chapter with my eager and then devoured the rest of the book when i got home.

the next day, i read the second book in the trilogy.

i absolutely cannot wait for my flight on saturday. i have grand plans to bury my nose in mockingjay and not look up again until we land.



{ day 046 | tue feb 15 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 200 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

blue valentine

after having my point-and-shoot stolen at the paris airport, vince bought me a new one for valentine's day! i can't wait to test out my pretty blue baby in vegas. :)



{ day 045 | mon feb 14 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 200 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

all star

vince ate like an all star at all star wings today!



{ day 044 | sun feb 13 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 200 | chunky | ina's 1969 | no flash }

hint of spring

it was warmer today than it's been all week. i think i even detected a hint of spring.



{ week 06 | canon 5dm2 | canon 35mm f/1.4 | iso 400 | f/1.4 | 1/50 sec | no flash | cable release }

brunner

fresh off thursday's ridiculously yummy mac'n'cheese, i went for brunch at the oliver and bonacini café grill and ordered - what else - the mac'n'cheese.

it was alright but not nearly as good. it was a huge portion and it very nearly beat me. i refused to let it get the best of me and polished off every bite like an obsessed maniac. then i felt sick. it was enough to be my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. my brunner. why do i do this to myself?



{ day 043 | sat feb 12 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 200 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

closing time

i love fridays. especially after closing time. there's an extra bounce in my step as i walk home. monday seems a world away. i think of all the things i want to do during the weekend and i get motivated and inspired.



{ day 042 | fri feb 11 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 200 | chunky | ina's 1969 | no flash }

the night of the truffled mac'n'cheese

this will forever be the night of the truffled mac'n'cheese made possible by top notch service.

vince and i went to the fifth grill during winterlicious for his second birthday dinner. i wanted to add a side of the truffled mac'n'cheese to our meal but it was no longer on the regular menu. indeed, our waiter confirmed that it was taken off the menu just before winterlicous but that he would see if it could be made available. i feared the worst... but, to my surprise, they made it happen.

it was quite literally the best mac'n'cheese i have ever had... and i've had a lot of them. it was simple, flavourful, delicious. please bring it back. i would literally go there again and again just for the mac'n'cheese.

this experience ranked as one of my two favourite 'licious meals. it was one of those dinners that cause me to sit back, sigh, and swoon with joy. the other one was at the now defunct truffles circa two thousand and six. if only all meals could be this perfect.



{ day 041 | thu feb 10 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 200 | chunky | ina's 1969 | no flash }

his day

vince's birthday today!



{ day 040 | wed feb 09 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | roboto glitter | ina's 1969 | no flash }

grating

it's really weird how some people can just get under your skin. especially when it's someone you rarely see. someone you really don't know. but that someone has a personality that is. just. grating.



{ day 039 | tue feb 08 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | kaimal mark ii | claunch 72 monochrome | dreampop flash }

snowy fun

a snowy monday was made bearable - even strangely pleasurable - by the warm temperatures. i took my time walking home, watching large snowflakes land on my mittens and kicking up snow with my winter boots.



{ day 038 | mon feb 07 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | kaimal mark ii | ina's 1969 | no flash }

fizz does a body good

i knew i wanted a little fizz to go with my superbowl junk food bonanza. i like soda but i'm trying to cut back on sugary drinks and beer just ain't my thing. then i found the perfect fizz. pink grapefruit perrier. and it was on sale too.



{ day 037 | sun feb 06 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | bettie xl | ina's 1969 | no flash }

xlv

superbowl forty five today.

ok i admit it. vince and i don't follow football but somehow we always manage to set aside the time for superbowl sunday. to be completely honest, it's just an excuse for us to be lazy and gorge on junk food.

oddly enough, i actually have an old and tattered child-size green bay packers jersey. favre to be exact. unfortunately i packed it away in the locker and - keeping in the theme of the day - too lazy to look for it.



{ week 05 | canon 5dm2 | canon 35mm f/1.4 | iso 200 | f/2.0 | 1/50 sec | flash | cable release }

snowy day commute

it was a snowy saturday. vince and i made our way up to richmond hill for a family gathering to celebrate chinese new year. at the party, we played taboo for the first time. it was fun. and it's not just because we won. :)



{ day 036 | sat feb 05 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | melodie | blackeys supergrain | no flash }

waiting room

i don't mind the rooms. i just hate the wait.



{ day 035 | fri feb 04 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | john s | claunch 72 monochrome | no flash }

the year of the truffle

happy chinese new year! this is the year of the truffle. he was extra naughty to celebrate.



{ day 034 | thu feb 03 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

the snowstorm that never was

the news warned of a veritable apocalypse. schools closed. even public schools in toronto, which never seemed to happen when i was young. people stayed home. but not this courageous girl. i braved the snowstorm and walked all the way to work. then all the way back home. twenty eleven will always be the year that i braved the snowstorm that never was.



{ day 033 | wed feb 02 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

what are the odds

what are the odds.

my work had last minute tickets to the leaf game. forty-five minutes after our ceo sent out the e-mail, i responded that i would love to go. the tickets were still available. this was my second leaf game in 2011 (here was the first). again, the game went to overtime. again, the game went to shootout. again, our leafs won.

seriously, what are the odds.



{ day 032 | tue feb 01 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

monday blurs

normally i get the monday blues. the preceding weekends are always so fun that the first day of the work week cannot help but pale in comparison.

after coming back from kenya, however, i got the monday blurs. i was so overwhelmed when i returned to work that i put my nose to the grindstone and didn't look up until it was time to go home. huh? where am i? what am i doing? where did monday go?



{ day 031 | mon jan 31 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

the comfort of familiarity

it's nice to be back in my comfy camouflage loungers and cozy zebra snuggie.



{ day 030 | sun jan 30 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

out of africa... and back in the cold

it's a little surreal to be back in toronto. back in the cold. the city is overcast and the enveloping warmth and vibrant colours of africa seem like a distant memory.



{ week 04 | canon 5dm2 | canon 35mm f/1.4 | iso 400 | f/1.4 | 1/50 sec | no flash | cable release }

nairobi before dawn

our last night in nairobi passed in a flash. we headed to the airport before sunrise. as i sat in the van, scenes from the past two weeks played over and over again in my mind... memories that will stay with me forever.

the swing of the purple cross hanging from the rearview mirror in bonnie's van
angie's tears of joy at the maai mahiu idp camp
vince holding in his lap a little girl whose parents had passed away from hiv/aids
a little darling at the idp camp running up to me unsuspectingly and hugging my knees as i was taking a photograph
standing behind john as he spoke to the massive assembly of children at the kapkatet primary school
vince showing me a picture of a canadian house that fourteen year old kennedy drew especially for him
playing b.s. (or flowers) with bonnie, michael, and charles
ambrose's warm smiles as he brought us our delicious meals
curious children at the primary school asking if my ponytail was real and commenting that it looked like a horse
vince swinging little ones around and around by their arms at the idp camp
the excited shrieks from two young girls when they saw my smiling chinese face in the window as our van drove by
the delightfully infectious giggle of the little girl vince would chase around on the grass at our build site
the face of beautiful fourteen year old fancy as i waved goodbye




{ day 029 | sat jan 29 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

rift valley

our time in masai mara ended too soon. before i knew it, we were on our way back to nairobi. we stopped at a rift valley lookout and soaked in the african countryside one last time.



{ day 028 | fri jan 28 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

savannah

i am in love with the african savannah.



{ day 027 | thu jan 27 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

safari

we made our way to the sarova mara game camp for some r&r time. i was really looking forward to this portion of the trip as i have always wanted to go on safari. we arrived at the hotel for lunch and then had our first game drive that very afternoon! it did not disappoint. this pride of sleeping lions was one of the highlights. a few females and their cubs. papa was off to the side, also sleeping away.



{ day 026 | wed jan 26 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

there were two photos that i wanted to use for today's three sixty five image. here is the other one, which i also love.



{ day 026 | wed jan 26 | redux | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

progress

on the last morning of our build time, our house looked like this.



{ day 025 | tue jan 25 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

tiny faces

we always had a group of kids visit the build site after school. they would play like little darlings but if they saw anyone pointing a camera at them, they would ham it up and fight for a spot in front of the lens. i resorted to sneaking into the partly built house to try to get a photo of their sweet little faces without them noticing. i think only one of them saw me. not enough to cause commotion.



{ day 024 | mon jan 24 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

the moon over kapkatet

there's something special about seeing the moon still high in the sky in the early morning.



{ day 023 | sun jan 23 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

near kolin's shop

we drove by this small city a few times during our stay in kapkatet. i'm not even sure this would be called a city. it was basically a stretch of the main road that was rather densely populated with a cluster of small shops. i guess something similar here in canada would be a strip mall in the suburbs.

each time we drove by, i noticed a little sign that read, "kolin's shop" - this store caught my eye because it reminded me of my sister's chinese name. i did so many double takes that i nearly got whiplash.



{ day 022 | sat jan 22 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

fenced in

this was the fence that surrounded the church property. just up the street from us was a primary school and a secondary school. every day, before and after work, we'd hear the singsong voices of many kids saying, "hello!" or "how are you?" or "come here, my friend!" or "give me da ball?" or simply "tsssssssssst!" oftentimes, a group of kids would line up at the fence and just look in at us. at whatever we happened to be doing. we must have been such a curiosity to them.



{ day 021 | fri jan 21 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | claunch 72 monochrome | no flash }

team karibu

our team of thirteen called ourselves team karibu. in swahili, this is pronounced care-ee-boo and means welcome. in english, it would be spelled caribou and refer to the animal. a stretch for sure but if anything has to do with animals? then i'm on board!



{ day 020 | thu jan 20 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }

a donkey's life

i think donkeys are adorable. but i wouldn't want to be one. they haul a lot of stuff. and they get whipped.



{ day 019 | wed jan 19 | iphone 3gs | hipstamatic 190 | helga viking | ina's 1969 | no flash }