18.01.2012

Day 105

Happy Tuesday my dears!  Tonight we're finally (!!) watching Bill Cunningham New York and are so, so excited.  He's such a romantic figure- inspirational and visionary but also lives in a sort of self-imposed isolation.

I've seen the trailer about a thousand times and can't believe all the awesome interviews the producers managed to get.  Although, my favourite interview cameo ever was Mikhail Baryshnikov in the Annie Leibovitz documentary.  Who wouldn't give their right arm to photograph him in his studio??

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17.01.2011

Day 104


It seems that as soon as the mercury drops into a range that only polar bears and penguins are familiar with, I bound out the door with my camera in hand, exhilarated by the way the crisp air seems to clean out our heavy winter lungs.  It's almost as exhilarating to see how fast I can get back into the house once my hands have turned to wind-chapped blocks and my camera is frozen so solid that it actually stops advancing.  But eventually everything thaws and I get this!

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16.01.12

Day 103

I've got two new somethings to show you guys!

Something No. 1- a LOMO sprocket rocket (which, I think, sounds vaguely dirty) with which to pervert perspective (we may as well keep the dirty ball rolling);

Something No. 2- I've started developing and scanning my own film!  This was actually a very long awaited project that I put off for years (years!) because I am a rather horrible chemist and the thought voluntarily putting myself back into the world of meniscuses, exact temperatures, getting the right step in the right order (!) was enough to make me ship off both my film and right arm to get someone else to do it.

But honestly, it wasn't hard at all, and it felt exactly like what I imagine it feels like to be a magician and pull a rabbit out of a hat.  Could it be?  Science = Magic? !  Oh dear.  I think I just blew my mind.  Or this could be an indicator to install some better ventilation in my darkroom.  You decide.

Have a great day!

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12.12.11

Day 102

A still life can be a lot of work, but at the end you get to eat everything and that kinda makes it all worthwhile.

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6.12.11

Day 101  
 
I suppose I should tell you how this got here.

It started months after our poor little Nix's body failed to keep up with his heart.  We missed him so much that it felt like little pieces of our hearts had gone with him.

So Steve decided to take a trip into the woods to clear his head.

While in the woods, he came across a filthy wild beastie feasting on deer poop and leaves.

He tried to be quiet so the wild beastie wouldn't hear him, but it was too late!  The beastie had seen him!  With the poor, ravaged leaves still falling from his frothing mouth...

He attacked!

But the beastie didn't know that in a past life, Steve had been a lion tamer and one wild beastie was small potatoes.  The wild beastie realized that he had only become such a bad little wild beastie to protect himself from the scary things in woods because there was no one else who would love and protect him.  As he was having this epiphany, Steve patted him on the head and got up to leave.

But the wild beastie ran after Steve and tried to follow him home.

Steve realized that the wild beastie had claimed him as part of his family and as he had no one else, agreed to let him come home.  When the wild beastie (heretofore know as Rocky) heard this, he jumped for joy!

And I think he kinda likes it here.

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4.12.11

Day 100  

And building closets...

And rescuing puppies stuck under beds...

 And eating cookies...

And baking bread...

And much more that wasn't quite as exciting as puppies and new closets and fresh baked bread, but just as important.

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1.12.11

Day 98

Ah, my dears, life has been busy.  Busy doing this...

In October, Blo- Blow Dry Bar invited us to their First Street Launch Party and asked us to donate a shoot to help raise money for the Wings of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation.  Since helping to support those affected by cancer is something we believe in so strongly, we decided to do one better and donate our Shoot & Style package.  Our stylist hand picks a blend of vintage and designer clothing tailored to your body, personality and style followed by an on-location shoot at two of your favourite places.

When we met with Nicole, our winner, we felt like John Lennon was behind us singing Instant Karma.  She's is easy-going, funny and absolutely gorgeous!

So, thank you Blo for inviting us to be part of your event and thank you Nicole for being you!

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5.8.11

Day 94

Earlier this week I promised you stories of rebellion and dissent.  Now keep in mind that I am a huge wimp and the most defiant thing I've ever done in my life is smuggle my camera into lectures at university and record bootlegged videos so I didn't have to write notes during class.  Bad ass, huh?  But I think on this particular day the sun had addled our brains a little and made us do things we (read: I) wouldn't normally do.

Things like scale chain link fences in skinny jeans and wedges to take pictures in abandoned warehouses.

Of course, since I suck at being rebellious, I was constantly looking over my shoulder for rabid guard dogs or gun-toting mercenaries.  Laelia took great pleasure in warning me of the phantom dogs and laughed as I jumped around and freaked out.

It's ok though.  I plan on taking her hiking in the mountains soon, and I know how she feels about bears.

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

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4.8.11

Day 93

The other night Laelia and I started talking about those defining experiences in your life when everything in the universe seems to have clicked just for you.

It's pretty mind-blowing to consider all the events that led up to that one moment.  Like dominoes, everything had to happen in the right place at the right time for any of us to be born, to have met great loves, or even to have heard a song we like on the radio just because we're stuck in traffic.  At times like that, I can't help but feel that the universe is coaxing us in the right direction; whispering in our ear to do exactly what it is we need to do to get where we're supposed to be.

In Laelia's case, that little nudge from fate happened at a bookstore.  She was going to art school and a little lost (I can attest this feeling.  I think most art students are!), trying to figure out who she was and how to express that through her painting.

Now, even in art school there are mandatory text books.  (In fact, the biggest, heaviest text I own is from art school- 8 lbs of deliciously opulent art history. Sigh... :)  Laelia already had a copy of the textbook she needed but it had wandered away somewhere in her car or studio.  It wasn't really a big deal that it was gone- the semester was nearly over and the book was for a studio class, which meant there was no final exam to study for, just a critique of her work.  But buying paint in the university bookstore one afternoon, she walked past a copy of the misplaced book.

I think we've all had a moment like this- she walked three or four steps past the book but something convinced her to turn around and pick it up.  Later that night, Laelia opened the textbook and noticed it was a newer edition than her old one.  As she flipped through, she happened across a tiny little paragraph and in it, read a quote that changed how she painted, how she thought, and how she looked at the world.

A few days later Laelia found the original copy of the textbook (as most lost things usually show up right after we replace them) and looked for the quote that she had seen in the later edition.  It wasn't there.

Sometimes the universe whispers to us.  We just need to learn how to listen.

So there you have it, my dears.  As promised- life, the universe, and everything.

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

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3.8.11

Day 92

Tomorrow, dear friends, we'll have tales of life, the universe and everything.  But today I!MUST!PAINT!THE!CEILING!  Wish me luck!

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

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2.8.11

Day 91

This month Laelia and I have been bffs for 11 years.  Wowza.  Yesterday, all that time we've spent together became really apparent.

As we were shooting, we started to talk about clothes.  I'm sure that I've mentioned this before, but it's so true that I'll say it again- Laelia has a wardrobe that would make Rachel Zoe green with envy.  I told her how I stand in front of my closet every morning I ask myself "What would Laelia wear?"  She started to laugh.  

"I don't know where you end and I begin," she said.  "I choose my outfits based on what you would wear."

Have a great day and tell a friend how much you love them :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

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1.8.11

Day 90

I was supposed to be painting my bedroom ceiling today but enjoying the sunshine with the bestie sounded so much more fun.  Then the sun got to us and we turned into rebellious little miscreants.  Stay tuned this week for (slightly exaggerated) tales of our fearless adventures.  

Have a great day :)

Love,
Hearts & Photos

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28.7.11

Day 89

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27.7.11

Day 88

When we were kids my parents used to take us on these seemingly endless road trips- hauling us along narrowly winding back roads, over plunging precipices with roaring cataracts hundreds of feet down, through forests arching close overhead.  It didn't seem unusual then, but almost every day that drive included at least one ferry boat ride.

It really didn't bother us.  In fact, it was usually the best part of the day.  We were thrilled to be out of the vehicle- an old suburban with open windows for air conditioning and metal seat-belts that scorched your legs.  I've got sepia-coloured memories of my little brother and I playing on the sandy beach, waiting for the ferry to come in, of building rafts from driftwood, lips blue from the glacier fed water.  Getting back into the hot vehicle as the ferry docked, laughing as we watched the goosebumps on our arms disappear.

My dad would drive onto the boat and as soon as he put the suburban into park we were out the door again, begging our parents to let us watch the metal gates screech and slam shut.  Then the boat would shudder as the motors started up and we'd race to the front, my parents walking unhurriedly behind us, hand in hand and smiling.  

Have a great day :)  

Love,  

Hearts & Photos

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