Weekend Observations and Links

Hope you had a great weekend!

It's absolutely pouring rain here at the moment, but we did manage to usher in summer with a little sunshine on the weekend. Good thing, as I had a shoot with the talented team of Gallant and Jones. Nothing says summer like a beach chair on the beach...

A little link love too...

Noodle Bar party at Poppytalk. So flipping cute. 

Beach House in Brazil at Design Elements. I can dream...

Flower Power at SF Girl by Bay

Have a good day! Back soon.

janis

Happy Friday

Have a fun, first weekend of summer! 

janis

Hello Long Weekend

...and if you're in Canada, have a fun, and safe, Victoria Day long weekend! Have any special plans?

janis

Weekend Observations

How was your weekend? Hope it was a good one.  Here's a bit of what I got up to...

Popped out to see my friend Heather, at her blueberry farm, to chat about an upcoming project. Heather's book, Farm-Fresh Recipes, was just released. Do you have a copy yet? Lots of recipes inspired by life on a farm, with her 5 year old daughter, Lily. 

I know you've seen them "pinned" all over the place, but I made a mini terrarium from a vintage mason jar that Colleen gave me, while on a shoot. It had been filled with cookies, and now it's filled with mini plants...not nearly as fattening.  

Played around with my Lensbaby for my Canon. Love how it makes this cityscape look. 

Loving my SX-70. My week with the ladies of Instant Love and the fantastic group of women that also took part. It really renewed my love of instant pics. This weekend I experimented with Impossible Project film and different lighting (bright sun, cloudy, showers, and indoors). 

That was it for me....well, and hanging out with my mom, of course. What did you get up to? 

Back soon!

janis

TGIF

This image is from another lovely shoot this week with Gallant & Jones. Wait until you see their new products. Let's just say, I can't wait for picnic and camping season.

What are you up to this weekend? Hope it's a fun one.

janis

Marrakech and Essaouira

Happy hump day! Hope your week is going well so far. Thought I'd share some more of my recent trip. I have to say, it was all pretty fantastic but, to be honest, a little harrowing at times too. More on that soon ;)

While in Marrakech we checked out the souks and had a road trip to Essaouira, as part of our  Instant Love polaroid workshop. I have to admit, I'm not one for "bartering" or "haggling" when it comes to shopping, so I only dabbled in the shopping experience. Here are some of the colourful sights I saw and shot....

Shopping around the souks.

Weekend Observations

It's nice to be back! I hope you had a great weekend.

Slowly getting back to normal around here. This weekend, I worked on the shoots I had last week, lounged around a pretty beach, and checked out some wall garden action.....

Check out Rose and Pistols here. 

Shot for Style at Home and Today's Parent.

These really are the last days of summer around here. The smashed sand pail sort of said it all, to me! Crescent Beach is about 45 minutes south of Vancouver. A beautiful spot. If you visit, don't miss Hooked Fish Bar. We had fish tacos and fish & chips. Yum. 

What did you get up to? If you're in the northern hemisphere, were you trying to enjoy the last bits of summer too? Fill me in. 

Have a great day!

janis

On Pause

I will be on a bit of a pause until I wrap up a very busy shoot schedule. As a freelancer, I'm uber happy for the work, but doesn't leave time for much else. I know I'm not alone, out there, in the world of freelancing ;)

Hope you're all doing well! Looking forward to catching up.
janis
x

Hawaiian Observations

I'm back. That was one relaxing holiday! We did a lot of swimming and snorkelling, and even made a new friend (see above pic). Thanks for all your emails and comments with your tips and suggestions for what to do in Maui. Who else finds it hard to get back into the swing of things after a vacation? 

Here's a bit of what we got up to. It's kind of long, hope that's ok.....

We stayed in Kihei, just across from Kamaole Beach Park III. Kihei Caffe is a great place for breakfast. I loved their very organized chaos. Shave ice from Local Boys is a must as well!

Fruit stands are everywhere. This was my favourite. Such a sweet couple, and I loved the machete action.

Ho'okipa Beach is near the town of Paia (home of Mana, best grocery store). 

Lahaina is a very touristy spot, but fun. Really, I suppose most of Maui is pretty "touristy". A very pretty place. Spotted these dancers preparing for a luau near where we were having dinner. Heaps of shops and restaurants. Didn't really do much shopping, but did spend a fair bit of time in ABC. ;)

Maui is all about beaches, but I really loved the up country too. These pics are of Makawao. Cowboy country. We didn't have much time to spend there (it was a packed day), but we managed to try out Komodo Bakery. Please go there if you find yourself in Maui. It's a family run business that's been around for about 100 years. We loved the donut kabobs and cream puffs.  We also had lunch at Polli's, a Mexican restaurant which was also pretty great and good value too. 

The road to Hana, is a stunning drive, though a slightly daunting. You really do have to start out early, as it's a long jaunt, narrow, twisty roads, and lots to check out. The rainiest part of the island, and so lush. Loved it (even though I felt a touch car sick).

This was one of my favourite spots, and beaches, along the road to Hana. Black Sand Beach is amazing. The bright blue water against the black sand looked so beautiful. I have to say, I was happy to have my "native" shoes (a Vancouver company) on this trip. They're so comfy!

Ahh, Makena Beach. I have new respect for the ocean after I was smashed and dragged by the shore break (note sign). I was happy that, when I emerged, my bathing suit was still on me. Definitely one of the best beaches, in my books. I'd also have to add Slaughter House beach to the list too. Small, quiet and an fantastic spot to snorkel.  

Whew. That is just a tiny portion of the pics I took ;) Now I've got some catching up to do. So many blogs to read! 

Have a great day! 

janis

Weekend Observations

Monday seems to have popped up rather quickly. Last week had been a full shoot week, so I did a little editing on the weekend, and lounged around at a beautiful park. Quiet and lovely. How was your weekend?

Most of last week, was spent shooting beautiful linens for St. Geneve. There is something to be said for well made linens. I wanted to throw all of mine out, when I got home. It's also pretty great that it's a local company. They make amazing linens, pillows, and duvets. I wanted to pinch a certain silk filled number. It was incredible. 

After a crazy week, it's always nice to hang out at a place like this. Whytecliff Park is about 25 minutes from Vancouver, near Horseshoe Bay. It's a great place for scuba diving too (we used to scuba dive often). If you find yourself in the area, you really should visit. 

That's it for today! Have a nice Monday. 

janis

Pretending It's Summer

Happy Friday! Did you have a good week? Plans for the weekend?

Thought I'd play a game and pretend that it's warm and sunshiny.  The rain has been pretty relentless (I still love you Vancouver).  Here are summers past in Melbourne, Hawaii, Naramata BC and, yes, even Vancouver....

Hello, Long Weekend

Back next week!

janis

Sunday Observations

I hope you've all had a nice and relaxing weekend! I've been in Victoria again, for the 3rd weekend in a row, for another shoot. This is what I noticed in Victoria today...

 A pretty little beach just down the road from our crack of dawn photo shoot. 

Red Fish Blue Fish is a tiny seafood pit stop housed in a converted shipping

container. Located on the pier right in the city centre. The "tacones" are fantastic!

Victoria is on Vancouver Island, about a 1 hour and 40 minute ferry ride from Vancouver (Tsawwassen ferry terminal). If you find your self in Victoria, and need a hotel, I like to stay at the Magnolia Hotel. It's more of a "boutique" hotel. The staff is great. 

What did you get up to this weekend? Long weekend in the U.K. wasn't it? 

Back soon!

janis

Brighton Bathing Boxes

I wanted to share one of my favourite spots in the Melbourne area; the Brighton Bathing Boxes. We made a quick pit-stop on our way to Phillip Island.

There are about 80 of these happy little boxes dotted along Dendy Street Beach. It would be fantastic to hang out on the front stoop of your bathing box, sipping a cold beer. Sigh. Apparently, if you would like to own one be prepared to dole out around $200,000. I'm out.

That's it for today. Looking forward to really catching up with you all when we get back to Vancouver!
Have a lovely day! 
janis
x

Beach balls and Kokeshi

Ahh, Merry Christmas. I've been shooting a Christmas story for the last couple of days, and was it ever hot. Nothing like shooting a roaring fire on a 29 degree day! I'll try to post a bit of a sneak peek later ;)

I've just posted some new images on etsy. I've actually just sold a set of the kokeshi for a girl's bedroom (they were 10"x10" each) and one of the beach balls prints, so I thought I should finally put them up on etsy. I'm kind of slow on these things.  I'll get it together one of these days!

I took this shot while camping at Monck Park. This image is just a sample of my hazy memories of camping there as a child. 

I have a small collection of Kokeshi and decided to shoot a few of them. They look especially happy in a bedroom or a powder room. 

Now that Christmas is wrapped up, I hope to be able to take a couple of hours to check out some of your fab blogs today. Have a lovely day!

Friday Fantasies

Do any of you have "Friday fantasties", but you know they will remain just that - fantasties? This coming weekend is one of those for me. I would love to be frolicking in the water, or just lounging by the water, but the reality is I'll be doing some post production and assisting a sister with her move (I'm happy to do it, Wendy. Really.).

Ahhh.

What would you like to do, or are doing, this lovely weekend? Feel free to make me envious. Have a good one!

PS. I goofed. I accidentally "rejected" a comment, that I meant to "publish". It was a really sweet comment too. I'm sorry about that!

Running Around Vancouver

Some days my job takes me all over the city. It never fails to amaze me that you can find yourself on a garden rooftop in Chinatown, a couple of hours later at a beach a few kms away, then just a couple of blocks from the beach you can feel like you're in a country town. I love living in the city. 


The day started off in Chinatown at 7:30am with my friends Julian and Alison of Considered Design. They designed this fantastic roof top garden at the Wing Sang building. The Two Half Cylinders structure (two way mirror and yew hedge) was designed by American artist Dan Graham. If you have to be up and at 'em at 7:30 in the morning, this is a beautiful place to be. Even in the rain. 

In between meetings and shoots, I stopped off at Locarno Beach. The sun had popped out and the beach was pretty much empty. The tide was out, so there was lots of slimy seaweed to walk over. Managed to slip and ended up sitting in it. Lovely seaweed butt for the remainder of day. Nice. Again, beach was pretty much empty, so I didn't entertain too many people. 

Just a few blocks from the beach there are cute community gardens running along old and overgrown train tracks. 

Last stop on Friday was the Millennium waterfront project. This area housed the Olympic athletes during the winter games. Love the giant birds. Kind of feels like you're in a Pixar film. 

Have a fabulous weekend! Hope it's sunshiny wherever you are. Back on Monday for Baked On Monday....some kind of bar this time. Mmmm.