Hidden Gems

While reading the news on The Guardian (I was curious as to Sandy coverage outside of N.A.), I stumbled across a beautiful feature on 17 of London's "hidden" architectural gems.

It turns out that these are just some of the images from a new 448-page hardcover by author Philip Davies and photographer Derek Kendall called London Hidden Interiors. The book features almost 200 of the city's best but not-so-well known architectural wonders. From Hindu Temples to Dance Halls to neo-Byzantine Chapels, this is a feast for the eyes. And not to mention....perfect for display on a coffee table!

Here are some of my favourite images from Guardian's website. You can be sure I'm searching for the actual book at Indigo soon as this weather calms down!

Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey

Gala Bingo Hall, Mitcham Lane

Finsbury Town Hall, Islington

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Brentfield Road

Peter Hone's House, Ladbroke Square

Masonic Temple, Liverpool Street

Drapers' Hall, Throgmorton Avenue

The book is not available online yet as it was just released yesterday. However, Amazon has a page setup setup already here. (This is not a referral link)

Cheers To The Weekend...

My weekend....

♥ Yummy apple juice for grown ups
♥ So bad for you yet so.so..soooo...good
♥ Bring back the 90's with my Casio
♥ My sweet little Abby

How was yours?

Spring into Summer

Cam and I had a meeting first thing Monday. To celebrate the company's anniversary, they handed out loot bags of candy and giant red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. But the real icing on the cake? They told we can take the rest of the day off!

So we came home and after a few hours of wondering what the heck to do with so much free time on a weekday, we decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood.

Well, we ended up walking 10kms! I did manage to take a few pics when we went through one of the parks, using my CCTV toy lens on the Olympus EP-2.

Mini Progress Report

Just a super quick update on the home decor front.




I purchased the mirror for a mere $30 at Homesense on Boxing Day and hadn't found a place for it since. I hesitated to hang it between the curtains because it seemed too big but when I showed my husband, he said it looked fine there. Now that we have the dramatic lighting, the larger size seems to fit quite well.



The framed black and white photo was a find at Goodwill back when we were in the apartment. I love how well both the chrome frame and photo itself looks against Benjamin Moore's "Silver Fox" paint.

I'm really hoping to have the bedroom painted within the next month or so and a few other minor projects complete. Expect another update soon!

Happy (Insert Special Occasion) To Me! -

There was really no special occasion but I'll be happy to make one up if an excuse is needed.

I jumped on the Micro Four Thirds band wagon this weekend and purchased the Olympus E-P2 camera with a 14-42mm kit lens. I've been casually considering a replacement for my Nikon D70 DSLR for quite some time now. The D70 still works perfectly but it's too bulky to carry everywhere and let's be honest, a part of me just wanted something new after seven years with this baby.

Interesting Tidbit: The Nikon D70, along with its Canon 300D EOS counterpart, were the first consumer DSLR cameras ever released! At the time, retail was $1000US body-only or $1300US with the 18-70mm kit lense. The Canadian retail price was of course, a lot higher especially when you factor in the 15% GST/PST at that time! These days, an entry level DSLR can be had for just a few hundred and everyone and their mother has one. Needless to say, the DSLR revolution has come a long way!

Here is what the Olmypus E-P2 and kit lens looks like in all its glory! These photos were taken with my Canon Powershot G10 point-n-shoot camera which is actually bigger than the E-P2!










I have a number of upcoming product reviews to take photos for so hopefully this weekend I'll be able to test out the ability of this camera! I'm also looking to add a pancake lens to the mix, perhaps the Olympus 17mm 2.8.

Not sure what the Micro Four Thirds is? These links will explain it better than I ever could! >> Wikipedia, Mu-43.com Micro 4/3 Online Community, Four Third's Micro Four Thirds official site.

Any of you have a Micro Four Thirds camera? What's your feedback?

The World Expo - Shanghai 2010

Just a quick post - I was going through my photos last night and found these from the 2010 World Expo held in Shanghai. My father treated Cam and I with two day passes. Boy, was it a lot of walking...and a LOT of people! But it was an experience of a lifetime. I have many more photos but edited a few of my favourite pavilions there.

You might notice that all the photos are gray. This is after a good amount of brightness and contrast adjustments. The big cities in China are not exactly know for their fresh air! And an overcast sky certainly does not help with the lighting.

Just Reach for the Stars

all images via www.nationalgeographic.com

These would be really cool blown up huge and hung above a living room wall in a contemporary home with sleek lines and a minimalist esthetic.


via Google image search

Or perhaps printed on textile à la Christopher Kane...


via Fashion Clipping on flickr

Choosing Our Wedding Photographer

via www.theartofcomplexambition.blogspot.com

We received our wedding photos!! Last week to be precise. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to really sift through them but from what my husband and I can see, we definitely made the right choice.

Our wedding budget was quite small in comparison to the average cost these days. Actually, less than half. But I knew that photography was the one thing I did not want to skimp on. I didn't need a retail priced Vera Wang gown or a $300 headpiece but I did need photos that I would be proud to show when I'm old and wrinkly.

So how did I go about finding a photographer I loved without breaking the budget?

I began my research like I always do; on the internet. I wrote down the names of photographers whose work I liked - mostly found through wedding blogs like Style Me Pretty, 100 Layer Cake, and Green Wedding Shoes but also online wedding forums and bridal magazines. I went to the photographer's websites to take a further look through their portfolio. Published work can be misleading as sometimes it's the only photos from that photographer that were any good. Once I was satisfied with their work, I looked at prices. That immediately knocked out more than half of those on my wishlist but I knew that already. I wouldn't have expected someone who is regularly published in Martha Stewart Weddings and The Knot to be the same price as an indie photographer! What it did was give me a good idea of the price range for the quality I wanted.

I then emailed photographers remaining on my list for their prices, taking into account the fact that it would be in the Dominican Republic. I contacted photographers from Toronto, all over the US, and in the Caribbean. I discovered that photographers based in the Dominican Republic or nearby were just as expensive as photographers flying.

Finally, I narrowed my list down to two photographers whose prices were essentially the same. One was based in Toronto and the other in Texas. Both were interested in building their destination wedding portfolio and both had styles I admired. In the end, I was swayed by the photos from the destination wedding the Texas photographer had covered earlier in the year. The Toronto photographer does beautiful family and baby portraits so I would love to hire her a few years from now.

If I can give any advice after my own experience, it's to take everyone's advice with a grain of salt. It's not that they don't want to help you, but every situation is different. Two warnings I did not heed? 1) Use someone with experience in destination weddings! and 2) Beware of photographers who incorporate their own vacation into their working trip.

While my photographer only had one destination wedding under his belt, I could see that his style and techniques were consistent. His forte is natural light and sunlight, which would be the exact lighting at our wedding. Secondly, I actually wanted a photographer who would make a vacation out of his assignment. I truly believe this adds a personal touch to their work. Our photographer arrived a couple days earlier with his wife and found some great scenes while they were exploring the resort. I didn't want a photographer who would take the usual shots and either didn't want to or didn't have time to discover unique photo opportunities.

I'll be sharing a review of our photographer and photos from our wedding ceremony, reception, and trash the dress in the following posts. Stay tuned!

Snowmaggedon!

Alright. So walking to work in -10C (-18 with the windchill) with dress pants on was NOT the brightest idea I've had. Not exactly thrilled to be at work but at least my legs are defrosting!

Took a couple quick snapshots this morning. You can't tell, but the snow is coming down like crazy in the first photo. It was moving way too fast to capture!

The second photo is of the 'Fortune Frogs' that we picked up in Beijing. Each one holds a wooden dowel in its mouth. You can take it out and run it down the frogs back, making a different sound with each frog. The shop owner told us to hold the frog facing us and roll the dowel towards ourself,to welcome fortune.

I guess it worked because a month after we brought these guys home, I received a nice raise at work. Either way, they're a cute addition to our home!

Canadian Winter