poland

london part i  //  london part ii  //  campaign  //  paris  //  poland

we were still in london while waiting for a bus in the city. i had butterflies in my stomach telling dan i was so excited and nervous at the same time to go to poland. i didn't know what to expect. we got on the bus and traveled through the country-side of england until we reached standsted airport. we took off in the plane while i filmed outside the window and as quickly as we got to paris, we landed in poland. 

dan's family were waiting for us at the airport, and as we walked out of customs, we all hugged hello even though we've never met before and i couldn't understand polish - my butterflies instantly disappeared with how warmly they introduced themselves. as soon as we walked outside the cold air stung my skin and painted my arms with goosebumps. i was too distracted by the first thing i noticed which was the sun in the distance about to set, differently to how i've ever seen it shine before to care about the cold though. we hopped in the car and were taken to their home in the country where we had dinner, looked at photos and fell asleep.

we were in poland for three days, and i couldn't thank dan's family enough for making it the most memorable three days ever. they took us somewhere new every day, explaining to dan the history of the places we were visiting and dan translating for me. i learnt a few polish words and his family were very patient with me when i was trying to talk, i could say hello, good, thank you, beer, cold, water, yes and no. we made do with those little words i knew, and somehow language was hardly a barrier while i was there. 

dan and i are longing to go to poland again soon, it would be so lovely to be able to spend a longer amount of time with his wonderful family exploring, hanging out and taking pictures. im so happy we got to do this though, coming to poland was definitely a highlight of our trip.

i was obsessed with the beautiful forests we constantly passed while driving.

the city was filled with blossoming trees.

on the first day we were there, they took us to walk through the city of gdansk.

there were lots of people dressed up so they could busk on the streets.

gdansk is beautiful, i love all the buildings and how they're all decorated with different colours.

the oldest church in the city. we were about to walk to the very top.

halfway through walking to the top of the curch.

we then went to an old army barracks were you could also see the entire city from.

driving back home.

some photos from dan's uncle's backyard.

we went for a walk around the empty lots close to dan's family's home.

it felt like the sunsets in poland last forever.

dan and his cousin, karol.

that night we had a big bbq where i put away my camera and just enjoyed the company.

we woke up on the second day, and they wanted to take us to a real european forest which was just a short walk away from their home.

dan and his cousins.

beautiful backyards.

half and half.

i have always wanted to see a pile of logs in a forest!

walking back home. the air out here was so fresh, it made dan and i sleepy.

when we got back from the forest, we got in the car again and drove 20 minutes to the next city.

walking through the city of sopot.

the baltic sea.

here we walked to very end of the longest pier off the baltic sea.

the last minutes of light at the baltic sea.

sun setting in the next city; gdynia.

driving back home at the end of a long day.

this was the morning of our last day in poland.

we drove into the country to see an upside down house, i still couldn't get enough of the scenery.

and the forests..

i would love to live in one of these houses!

on our way back from the upside down house, we made a stop at a gorgeous lake. a natural lake like this is something else i have always wanted to see.

dan & i.

we stopped at a lookout to see the lake and trees from up high.

that afternoon we went back to dan's uncle's house and more of dan's family came over to say hello and goodbye. we all sat around and talked (dan translating for me!) and drank coffee. before we knew it we were hugging and waving goodbye at the airport before jumping on a long flight back home. we'll definitely be back soon.

last but not least, dan and i were filming throughout our entire adventure overseas, and dan put a little video together from the hundreds of clips of silly faces, beautiful landscapes and busy streets. our memories from london, paris and poland: 

london part i  //  london part ii  //  campaign  //  paris  //  poland

london part ii - kew gardens

london part i  //  london part ii  //  campaign  //  paris  //  poland

the days of rain we had in london were few and far between. today was a little different. we woke up to a cloudy windowsill, the air was cold and sharp down my throat as we walked towards the bus stop. the streets were busier than ever today as we decided to explore kew gardens. we jumped on a double decker bus and rode far away, out into the suburbs. the houses in kew were big and beautiful. they were decorated with manicured gardens, all pretty and perfect.

for as long as i can remember i have always wanted to visit kew gardens. it has been my dream to see their giant greenhouse in real life and take some pictures of it. we don't have anything that looks like this in australia, and just as i imagined the whole day was dream-like and beautiful. it rained but we didn't care, the sun still came out on occasion to warm our frozen skin. here is our day in pictures.

busy baker street.

we thought the bus wouldn't fit in the tunnel.

arriving at kew gardens, it felt like a dream.

inside the greenhouse. it was hot like an australian summer inside and the glass of my lens fogged up.

the pretty plants inside the second greenhouse.

we kept tripping over while trying to take a picture.

dan distracted by a squirrel running around in the trees. it's the first time we've ever seen a real squirrel! 

basking in the warm sunshine.

dan made a friend.

juice breaks as clouds started to roll over and cover every inch of the sky.

exploring the last greenhouse (while taking shelter away from the rain) that had 7 different environments. every room you walked into felt like you were walking into a different country in a different season of the year.

the rain finally stopped while we were inside the last greenhouse and i was finally able to get some pictures with the pink cherry blossoms.

swans are my favourite.

the sun came out again, the most beautiful way to end a perfect day.

 i can't wait to visit you again kew gardens!

london part i  //  london part ii  //  campaign  //  paris  //  poland

this weekend

 we left early in the morning.

long, winding roads and trees everywhere. 

 the sun slowly peeking over the tree.

 location scouting at the wedding venue, acres and acres worth of land to explore.

shooting the lolly table and hanging up the wedding dress in the tree.

we had two cameras to shoot with thanks to our lovely friend max! these tree photos are edited with 'white lace' from digital film.

a pretty wooden window with a pretty view in our temporary home.

sitting outside in the sunlight.

we had the most wonderful home-made breakfast.

the sights in the beautiful town of bundanoon.

markets with lovely home-made things wrapped up in flowers and vintage colours.

the best coffee shop, ever.

midday lunch before newly married katie & austin and their family joined us.

edited with 'white lace' from digital film.

parked on the side of the road.

day two of taking photos was at this beautiful location.

the long drive back home.

a wall of trees.

i spent this weekend with dan shooting katie & austin's wedding, who are both dear friends to me. everything was amazing to say the least. dan and i left early on saturday morning and drove a few hours to get to moss vale. when we got to the location of their wedding, we spent a little while walking around the acres of land scouting for locations to shoot at, these were the last few quiet moments we had for that day.

from there, the rest of the day was a wonderful blur of laughter and tears, family members rushing in and out of rooms to try and get ready. trying to take photos of katie without austin suddenly rushing past and peeking at the bride before the ceremony (which luckily didn't happen but was a little too close for comfort!). but, i'll tell more of the story of their wedding day when i post the final photos!

we didn't finish shooting until about midnight and my hands felt glued to my camera after taking photos for fourteen hours straight! none of it would have been possible either if i hadn't had dan by my side helping me and second shooting throughout the day. we drove back in the middle of the night, going fast down the winding dirt roads lined with forests and i was so excited that i saw my first real life wombat scurrying back into the trees as we were driving past.

when we got to our temporary home, we fell onto the beds and fell asleep without a second thought. in the morning, the owner of the bed & breakfast had the tastiest home-made goods waiting for us to eat. she told us stories of escaping the loud city years ago to retreat in bundanoon and her husband and dan chatted away about their similar interest and job (dan's current and his past) of being a music engineer. after checking out, we headed into the main town (which is old but well taken care of and full of life, even if it's in the middle of nowhere) and sipped on more coffee at our now favourite coffee shop. 

the rest of this day will come soon in photos, we took more portraits of katie and austin at a home with acres of land (all the properites at moss vale seem to have giant backyards) filled with flowers and landscaping, buzzing with bees and mosquitos but beaming with colours.

bushfire trees

i thought i'd take the time to write a little blog post of all the photos i took that i never got a chance to post, as well as the in-between photos that i take in daily life and let you all know what i've been up to these past couple of months. life has been a sweeping adventure so far this year. sometimes i will sit and think about everything and sometimes i will be firing the shutter, one photo after another and nothing else exists. some of these were taken with my camera and others with my iphone.

driving through the bushfire trees of autumn. roadtrips to nowhere.

hanging out with the boys from scarlet chase.

working with my talented team again for black milk clothing.

i went on a massive roadtrip long ago with the band say it forever. we were running through rivers with our clothes on, and had a watergun fight as the day was ending. after a two hour drive back home, this is half of the band curled up on my driveway.

taking photos in a park with overgrown grass of my lovely friend katie and her lover austin.

dan and i on a drive for no reason.

we dropped off friends at the airport during the week. this year my best friend moved to live in adelaide.

soft acoustic music being played at a wedding i documented with ashley.

more empty stretches of road, it's sort of calming after spending a whole day surrounded by people - to have your hair thrown around by the wind, watching the sun turn black and listen to soft music loudly.

i shot some beautiful weddings far and near; in sydney, berry, wollongong, mittagong.

i had coffee with my sister and family in wollongong. dan was driving us home and i was sleepily taking pictures in the passenger seat.

more rehearsals and staying up til 5am. dreaming of our tour around america, always driving, playing music, taking photos, meeting all of you.

dan and i going to watch live music in the city.

an editorial and lookbook i shot with a cute puppy.

last but not least i wanted to share with you some beautiful behind the scenes film photos oh deer boutique snapped at our last shoot:

 i hope you've all been wonderful. i told myself that i need to take my camera with me everywhere i go, and that's exactly what i've been trying to do. if you don't mind, i may make a few more blog posts like this - of just life and the little things that happen here and there.

also, one more thing. i've been so busy lately shooting and editing and going to meetings that i haven't had a chance to do free curve friday for a while - and i'm sorry! someone on formspring a while ago gave me a lovely suggestion though, to make a curve that looks like a fairytale, soft and pretty. so instead, for the next few weeks i will be releasing a series of fairytale curves, starting with alice in wonderland:

you can download the free curve "alice in wonderland" here. instructions on how to install your curves can be found here.

this curve works best on photos shot on an overcast day, or photos with lots of shadows. it adds a lovely purple tone like the caterpillar's smoke 'who r u...?'.

hopefully this little surprise + a few more will make up for my silence :)

pyramid rock festival

in the new year, i was sent by the au review to shoot pyramid rock festival in phillip island, melbourne. the day after we got to melbourne & our ten hour drive, we woke up early and set off for another two hours to phillip island. the day was hot and the roads were long, but we listened to music loudly in the car, put together snacks and drinks for the festival and drank way too much coffee until we finally got there.

we drove through the grounds, passing hundreds of tents and roaming teenagers already drunk at one in the afternoon and got around to the back where we were lucky enough to have vip camping by the sea. i picked up my photo pass and dan and i went off in the heat to watch some music. 

at night, the air was polar and we would crawl back to the car and sit in complete happy-tiredness. the bands would sit in groups outside and play soft music, talk into the early mornings and it felt like i was in the movie almost famous. i felt at home. constant music in the background somewhere and anywhere, sun in the middle of nowhere and taking photos.

french horn rebellion, they were like monkeys running up on stage - completely awesome!

spiderbait

masculine spiderbait crowd haha

the vasco error

the herd

view from our camping ground

dan and i. i loooved the grass at the island, which seems like a silly thing to say, but it was some nice grass.

guy on a wheelchair being held up to the sky in the middle of the mosh pit

sparkadia

photographer taking photos of the crowd

gotye

gotee, goti-yeah, gote-yer

cloud control

the living end headlined the first day, they were probably my favourite act of the whole two days. they are absolutely amazing live.

second day of the festival:

calling all cars

grace woodroofe, who thought everyone who was at the festival lived on the island.

illy, they had the most energetic and crazy crowd

peeking over the fence from the vip bar

the getaway plan

graveyard train. i totally recommend listening to these guys!

drapht

taking a break in the middle of the heatwave day

boy and bear

the panics

bluejuice

last but not least, scissor sisters who played through midnight and welcomed us into the new year.

you can see

all

 the edited photos i took on the day on the au review website:

day one.

day two.