On a side note from the normal ‘french life’ rants… I have been bugging the French boy for awhile about showcasing some of his photos from India. While I appreciate his modesty, I think they are quite interesting photos (especially for people like me who haven’t had the luxury of visiting India thus far) and a snippet of life in India. I remember when I met him that he said it had changed his life forever, his perspective on life. His photos tell a little piece of that story. So he has put together a small collection of some of his photographs which are his own interpretation and a preview of the spirit of India and its people.

Here is the link and I hope you’ll enjoy it

eiffel tower, las vegas style! mmm strawberry margarita.

Vegas is even crazier than on the movies, I tell ya. It is so over the top, overly luxurious, un-freakin-believable. You have to laugh but be impressed at the same time. It is a piece of craziness plonked right in the desert. Every casino offers you FREE drinks (the drunker you get, the more you spend). Every hotel has a massive casino where you will struggle to find the exit (the more lost you are, the more you spend). The hotels are insaaaaane. One of our amazing moments was drinking wine on the 64th floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel with a view right over Vegas by night (even the bathrooms were surrounded in glass so you could look out). Pure extravagance.

I spoiled the French boy with a burlesque show at the Flamingo which turned out to be amazing. He spent our last night at a poker table until 6am in the morning. So yeah, all in all, a crazy fun time full of casinos, margaritas, 45 degree heat (feels like a blowdryer), street entertainers, the biggest buildings ive ever seen. Madness.

On the 6 hour bus trip back to LA, I chatted to a guy and was saying about how crazy the consumerism is in Vegas, how much money is lost there, the addictions, and how I can’t imagine actually living in a place like Las Vegas. He turns to me and says “Well, actually, I do”. Oops, I will just put my foot right back in my mouth now where it belongs. Sorry dude.

I love photographs.

I love the act of taking photographs.

I love the feeling of knowing you have truly captured what you had pictured.

I love seeing other people’s photos that inspire me to take more photographs.

I think once you start enjoying photography, you start to see beauty in different (and small?) things that you may not have seen beauty in before. I know I spend far too much time looking at other people’s photography rather than taking them and that is because I am still very much learning.

I wanted to share three of my favourite photographers at the mo - here are a few collages I have put together of my favourite photos from each of ‘em (and why I like them). So, enjoy x

1. Israeli born Guy Aroch, whose beauty photography is close to perfection - each photo has a light, ethereal, day-dreamy vibe that breathes emotion. Taken from unique angles (lips, eyes, skin), it feels like you are privvy to being inside a private beautiful moment. Each of these individual prints would set you back about €2,500 (that’s around $5725 NZ dollars, $3472 in greenbacks, or £2192 quid!)… so, uh, dreams are free!

2. South African born Warwick Saint captures the art of tattoo photography quite simply and beautifully. He took some of these shots of tattoo artist Julie Becker (dark haired lady below) at a hotel in New York and I think it’s rather funky. A quote from the man himself on this collection… “She is a canvas on which worlds upon worlds have been inked, all co-inciding with perfect harmony. I wanted to capture a feeling of beautiful intimidation”. These wonders are around €4,500 for each print.

3. Haiti born Marc Baptiste is a sparkling gem reigning from the Caribbean. He is not afraid of colour (and bright ones) and his photography is provocative as ever, without being over-the-top-in-your-face-naked-kind-of-sexy. It’s much more subtle. Each print will set you back about €3,500 for each individual print. Phwoar.

You may have heard of the 365 day self portrait challenge.

Make 1 shot per day, of yourself. Post them publicly on flickr. Which people can then freely comment on.

These photos can be of any body part of your own to be considered and you are only really bound by your own creativity.

Many brave ladies have put themselves up on flickr every day for the world to see, starting off reserved, leaving themselves open to public criticism and stranger’s judgement. And we all know what is easier to give than receive and that is, criticism. But the amazing thing is that so many of them get a major confidence boost, with strangers liking and commenting on their photos and seeing beauty in the person that they can’t necessarily see themselves - you can see the change in people’s photos as they become more confident. Pretty cool.

Here is one person’s take on a self-portait. Ha.

Lets be honest, how many of us have pictures of ourselves that we just love? Females are their own worst enemy at times. We are quick to point out our obvious flaws in every picture (that others may not even see), so putting up 365 photos up for the world to see is an achievement in itself really.

All credit to those who give it a go. I don’t feel the need to do it myself but love checking out others who did.

One  particular lady I came across who has some really interesting shots (and obviously is a great photo editor) is Katie, a self-taught professional photographer who gave it a go. Her photos are intriguing, creative and each has a story.

Check out her 365 day photos here:

care of katielee

Enjoy. and if you are feeling ambitious, give it a whirl.

I have seen my own country from a different light since coming back.

It is so goddamn beautiful.

A few pics I have taken here…

Ohiwa beach

us bikini girls playing in the sand

the beaches in n-zed

Cathedral Cove

We plan to spend every weekend away exploring the North Island and make the most of our short time here. I want to show the French boy as much as I can. We bought tickets to Womad, the world music arts festival in the Naki and have a few weekends planned for snorkelling/diving missions as well as a few weekends away with friends.

Home sweet home.

This week in Scotland there has been…………….. SUNSHINE!

Real sunshine, well kinda. Its not the blaring hot summer sun we get in kiwi land but we are pretending it is.

People are smiling more, and we have been heading to one of two places after work: the park (with the dogs I’ve started walking), or the beer gardens to lap up the last bit of after-work sun. Mmmm. To be consistent with Scottish weather, I wouldnt be surprised if it snows on the weekend. The weather man here has a really difficult job I tell ya. Four seasons in a day.

I’ve started dog walking and I love it. Gives me motivation to exercise as well as getting doggy luff time. Here’s a photo I took of Nina, she’s a chinese crested with no hair on her body. Everyone say’s she is ugly but I think she’s ugly-cute.

Me and my girlie have 3 weeks left until our Europe trip and getting reallllly excited. I get so amped about seeing new places and new things, that’s what Im here for after all. And we get to see 5 new countries. We will be couchsurfing quite a bit with locals so looking forward to new experiences.

I am trying my hand at photography and am learning a few things from the French boy.

Sometimes I feel borderline paparazzi, clicky clicky. But apparently it is the best way to get good pictures as you delete 80% of your photos and will only have a few shots you like. Photography is an amazing thing because once you start looking through a lens, you see beautiful opportunities in everything and things most people would not find beautiful. It gives you a new eye for things, it’s exciting.

When John Lennon was shot (and killed) in 1980, young Czechs started scribbling graffiti in the form of Beatles lyrics and odes to Lennon to defy the authorities. The scribbles may change constantly and the wall would never be the same one year on, but the message is the same. Peace.

Some photographs I took of the Lennon wall in Prague… a touching experience.

All you need is love. Love ♥