I have a fairly large wall in my my main living area. Right now it’s the home for a painting I bought years ago. Sadly, that painting no longer fits in with my tastes and so I’ve been formulating plans for this wall of mine over the last few weeks.

Some of you may of seen my moodboard for my main living area. First of all, yes, it still hasn’t been started BUT I promise you, it’s been slated for September. No ifs or buts. Anyways, let’s forget about my lack of following through for now… I mentioned back then I was going to purchase the Toronto Ork Poster in black and white. I still am and I’ve decided to build a whole photo gallery wall around it.

Rather than talk my way through it I figured I’d give you some context. So, below is where I am thinking of going. The photos shown aren’t necessarily the ones I’ll use but at least it gives you an idea (please ignore the scale of the images within the frame too!). I wanted to add a small burst of color to it but not something that would compete with the photography. Of course, finding frames/images that will work with the symmetry I’m hoping for may not be possible, but I’ll adapt if need be.

As I hope for the wall to be full of great memories and things near and dear to me, I wanted any artwork on there to be my own too. I want the wall to be a story all of it’s own. So, as I love quotes and lean on them often when I need a bit of motivation, I took two I discovered recently and turned them into prints which are now available in my shop. I adore how they look in white frames and I hope that you do too. I’m already sending this one out in gray to a customer so I’m excited to see how others place these within their homes as well. I currently have them at an introductory price of $8 but they will go up to $12 as of July 30th!

Eye Chart Albert Einstein Print

Eye Chart Elbert Hubbard Print

What do you think?  Do you have any home renovation projects going on?

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the ShakeIt Photo app for the iPhone. Well, I finally downloaded it and it’s addictive. It can transform the most dull photograph into something completely freakin’ cool. It’s the closest I’m probably ever going to get to a Polaroid camera so I’ll take it. Plus, for .99c how can you say no? I’m all about cheap entertainment over here.

A note about the photo above. J wrote it and sent it to me from his phone when I was having a bad day. He has a habit of doing small things like that. He’s pretty sweet huh?

P.S. Forgive me for the lame title but I couldn’t resist.

I have a really bad habit of not drinking water throughout the day. Often I’ll pour a glass and it will remain untouched with perhaps only a sip or two here and there. Usually this means I’m chugging glass after glass of water at night. Why on earth I can’t do this throughout the day is beyond me.

Hopefully the lemon slices will help.

I’m slowly but surely trying to sort through the 100s of photos I have on my laptop. I can be pretty ruthless when it comes to trashing them but sometimes I’m glad I wasn’t so trigger happy with the delete button.

Post like these make me want to restart my 365 project. I kinda miss that moment in my day when I’d just put everything down and have a date with my camera. I’m also slightly obsessed with the idea of creating a stop-motion video. Something tells me my camera is going to be released from it’s neglected spot on the shelf any day now.

A couple of weekends ago, J and I went on what was supposed to be an hour long dog walk. We decided to try out one of the Toronto Discovery Walks. We took the Don Valley Hills & Dales route. Before we knew it 1 hour had turned into 8 hours. It was such a beautiful and sunny day. One that ended with sore feet, sun burn and exhaustion but one that was worth every minute.

Every so often we’d jump down to the creek to dip our feet in the water. While Riley refused to swim (he’d only go in so far), Bosco and Kayden took full advantage of the chance to cool down.

There were many breaks under the cool shelter of the trees.

When this particular trail ended, we just wanted to keep going and so we took the Eastern Ravine & Beaches trail and ended the day down at the lake.

A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Photo’s taken with my iPhone

38/365: My boys arrived today*. After a rough week, I couldn’t wait to get myself a dose of cuddles and kisses. Once the love fest was over, Bosco secured his place on the chair next to James. The very expensive, {gasp} white {gasp} chair**.

* My ex and I share them. We’re lucky to have a good relationship still so it works for us.
** I’ve given up trying to keep these chairs clean. I’ve no clue what I was thinking buying them in white as most of the fabric covered parts are non-removable. Once I get more confident with my sewing machine (read: when my mam arrives in the summer – she’s an amazing seamstress – and can help me) I’ll be churning out some slip covers so I don’t have a shed a silent tear every time I look at them.

37/365: I finally won the mental battle with my sewing machine today. It’s been a few years since I’ve sewn anything so I was a little nervous. But, I put all that aside and just went for it. The result? Two fab pillow cases for my living area. Photos coming soon!

36/365: I was all set to do some sewing today but procrastination and indecision took over. Oh, and the fact I’m afraid to cut my material. Someone pass me some sewing cahonos please.

35/365: I had naturally wavy hair as a kid which straightened out as I got older. Yet, every once in a while my hair will just naturally curl. Today was one of those days which I welcome as it means no styling whatsoever. I like that.

34/365: In a scramble to take my photo late at night, all I got is random bathroom accessories. ;)

33/365: In an attempt to take a break from the computer today I pulled out my sketchpads and Prismacolor pencils. It was just one of those days where the creative juices had run dry and I was more productive making pencil shavings than I was sketching.

32/365: I had an appointment downtown today. I typically walk everywhere so couldn’t resist an opportunity to snap some shots on the TTC. I’m really happy with how this shot came out. I had no idea what would be captured as the camera was sat on my knee. Not bad eh?

31/365: A Zebra massage thingy. That’s all your getting today. It was late, I was tired and it was all I could think off. Roll on February and hopefully more creative photography!

30/365: Still not feeling love with my photography creativity.

Psst… this photo wasn’t taken on the 30th – boo! I totally forgot all about it and even though I made a mental note at night to get on it, before I knew it, I was off to the land of the sleep. However, as I’d already figured out what to take for that day, I simply took it on another one so I’m not counting it as failing. :)

29/365: Has a case of cabin fever today so I headed out to a local coffee shop called Second Cup (it’s actually a chain over here in Canada). I pretty much spent the whole day here. It was nice to take breaks from working to do a little people watching and just lose myself in the hustle and bustle of activity. This location will be my new working home over the coming weeks.

28/365: I rarely untie my shoes when I take them off. Do you?

27/365: Had a bunch of errands to run tonight. My enthusiasm for photography has waned a little lately (mostly due to lack of creativity and leaving it until night time) so I quickly snapped this on the way home and marked it as done!

26/365: Completely forgot to take a picture today. Thankfully a game of Monopoly saved me. Sadly this throw of the dice officially bankrupted me and gave the game to James. Oh well, at least I didn’t fail at Project 365, so I did win with something.

25/365: A rainy day here in Toronto. Need I say anymore?

24/365: It was a cold and rainy day in Toronto. Perhaps the perfect end to a long and stressful week. Though now I’ve reached the decision to close up shop for a bit, I see some light at the end of the tunnel.

23/365: His ‘n’ Hers essential bathroom accessories. ;) And no, I still haven’t started this bloody book.

22/365: Movie night popcorn! We watched 500 Days of Summer. I really enjoyed it. While not a “OMG, go watch it now” movie, it was definitely the type of movie I needed. It has a great score and soundtrack by the way, including the song above which I love!

21/365: Seems I take a shot on this corner (Yonge/Dundas) every week. This is definitely my favorite so far. I love the results you get with an high ISO sometimes.

20/365: I really didn’t want to take a photo today and probably took this just before midnight. The fact I took one of myself is actually ironic I suppose as I’m rarely in front of the camera. P.S. Self portraits are harder than they look.

19/365: Feeling bogged down by some decisions today so James coaxed me into a game of Monopoly. Hoping I’ll wake up with some get ‘n’ go tomorrow!

18/365: I woke up with a case of the blahs today and spent much of the day lost in my own thoughts. At times like this, tea is my friend. What do you seek comfort from when feeling a wee bit down in the dumps?

Hey guys, I’m starting a new series. Since becoming active on Flickr, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some amazing photographers that are motivating me to push my photography further and I want to share them with you too. So, my new series Captured will focus solely on photography and will include mini -interviews and hopefully eventually more educational stuff. Yah!

Please welcome my first guest, Arlyne VanHook, who’s Flickr stream has been making me drool all week since becoming contacts.

What camera(s) do you shoot with? Nikon D300s

What lenses do you own? Nikkor 18-55mm and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4

Which one could you not live without? 50mm

How long have you been shooting? 6 Months

What program(s) do you edit with? Lightroom and Photoshop CS4

When natural light is not on your side, how do you get around it? I manually adjust shutter speed, ISO, aperture and, white balance until I get the right exposure.

What’s your favorite subject to shoot? Still life photography has become my favorite subject recently. I also love fashion photography would love to do more of that!

Who inspires you the most on your Flickr stream? Wow…there are many and they are ALL so unique in there art. I would have to say that the first person to inspire me on Flick was F. Prestes, for her creativity in the graphics, Rebecca Lily for her stunning composition and tones, Siebe for his stunning tones and creativity, Steven Brisson for his clear focus and composition, and lastly Ava for her stunning work.

What are your favorite online photography resources? Google… hahahah! Deviant Art is a great place for actions, art and, textures but I would have to say that Flickr is my biggest resource. Everything from presets, actions and textures can be found for free or for a good price on there.

What’s the most useful tip you’ve received about photography? Go manually as hard and scary as that might sound. It’s been the BEST advice given to me!!!!

Lastly, what does photography mean to you? Photography to me is inspiration, life, beauty, art… I can go on!!!!!

ARLYNE VANHOOK ELSEWHERE
Flickr | Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Images © Arlyne VanHook

17/365: It’s been too long since I lounged in bed and just read a book. Used to do it religiously. Today was supposed to be that day (and we have the perfect overcast day for it) but I’m just busy exploring. Oh well, I’m having fun and that’s all the matters. The book can wait.

16/365: James went to a local outdoor rink today to skate so the dogs and I tagged along. I have a feeling they would of preferred being on the ice rather than sitting on the side lines with me. This is a rare, sweet moment I was able to capture as they waited for James to come back around. They spent most of the time howling/talking in impatience, as did Bosco, who was likely still being impatient in the background as I took this.

15/365: I was finally able to capture the flowers James bought me in all their glory. I love them. No roses for this girl. They just don’t do it for me, but these sure do.

14/365: Today was my 1-year anniversary for opening up my Etsy shop. Hard to believe a year has passed already. James (who never forgets anything) surprised me with the cutest flowers to celebrate. As today was another long and busy day, I didn’t get to put them in a vase until later at night. But, as I wanted to capture the gesture, I took some of the pretty daisies and thew them into my light-box. I love the results.

13/365: Today was a long day. I think I worked close to 12 hours. As a result, dinner was an after-thought (again!) but thankfully James brought me home a delicious Smoked Corned Beef sandwich with Matzah Ball Soup from Yitz’s. It was delicious and as someone that has previously avoided Matzah Ball Soup (I’m not really a brothy soup kinda gal), I have to wonder why.

12/365: Heading down to a nearby pub for some down time after work. Once again, my 365 was an after-thought but I managed to snap this along the way. More action at Yonge/Dundas. ;)

11/365: The problem with Project 365 is you often forget to take a picture until you find yourself scrambling to do so at night. This was that night and I suspect it’ll happen often and that you’ll see dinner shots often. I had chili.