So lately, things have been a little like this…

The boys have been off camping, and whilst it’s lovely and quiet – I kinda miss the chatter. I know they’ll be having the best time – come rain or shine…  can’t wait to hear all about their adventures in the woods.

So it’s been just us two…  which has been magic… enjoying a little sunshine and some delicious treats…

I had a wonderful portrait session with a family visiting here from Singapore…… they were totally delightful! They wanted some memories of their little boys first time in London… this is such a fabulous idea and I’m going to start offering this “tourist” photo session to other families visiting here… Please get in touch if you’re visiting London in future.

We hung out by the London eye and Big Ben – it was a little too blustery considering it’s actually nearly June!!

Hey, I’m thinking of organising an instagram meet up in London…after I was inspired by this film.  I’m thinking the Shoreditch area as there is SO much goodness to capture – Would you come & play? I’ll announce details next week… stay tuned.

Fancy a walk through the rice paddies in Ubud Bali? – this is our One Minute Memory… Everyone else rushed ahead of us, so it was Cosmo and I taking our time, capturing along the way. It was hot and sweaty, but so amazing, with green as far as the eye could see… locals working and gathering their produce and just as we thought we couldn’t walk anymore in the heat… there was a beautiful restaurant with the most delicious drinks waiting for us… bliss!

IT’S COMPETITION TIME!

My course COLLABORATE starts next week, I’m excited to see the films that can be created with you and your family capturing together… You could even make a One Minute Memory…

I’d love to offer TWO places on my course…just leave a comment on this post, and I’ll choose the random winners on Tues 4th June at 6pm GMT… I’d love to have you join us…

Have a great weekend…

I’m off to Paris tomorrow to spend time with Irene as she hosts her first Tedx event…  Andrea will be speaking at the event, so I get to see her too! and I’ll be able to cross some items off my list too – this trip is kinda #25 & I’ll be doing #8 & Andrea is going to help me with #9… Which is all pretty cool!

See you on the other side… wishes can come true…

Where to begin?

I feel like I’m under the best mountain of memories…

This is a good place to be. I’m just finding my way back from a month of living very differently.

Being away and disrupting regular patterns is amazing.

Seeing new parts of the world is amazing.

The whole experience was… yes, amazing.

And I have a ton of material – photos and footage to tell some of the stories…

But how do I begin?

I’m trusting it will unfold as its meant too… that it will surprise me, just like parts of this experience have.

I figure I will probably start slowly, with mini stories… Sharing moments I want to remember. There will be time capsules films… I have enough footage, just a little fear is creeping in of how to start to cull through it.

Can I summarise? Just to give a flavour and set the scene… and get the ball rolling of re-living this dream.

There was Bali… A wonderful introduction to our adventure, a familiar place, full of family (Luke’s sister & brother have families there) we soaked up the heat, adjusted our body clocks, Cosmo learnt to swim underwater, Ky rode at the front of a boat, they snorkelled for the first time ever. We woke early each day and watched many sunrises… there were also two birthday celebrations – mine and Lukes – we were spoilt… it was lovely.

The colours of Bali sparked so much…. the richness and creativity in every direction filled me up… if our adventure had stopped there, it would have been enough… but thankfully it wasn’t over… it was just the beginning.

There was Cambodia. This was the BIG adventure. New discoveries, constantly on the move exploring new places. Our longtime friend Jake, shared his favourite spots away from the tourists traps and this gave us a special perspective of a country coming out of such tragic times.

I loved it there, reminded me of travelling back in my younger days. Full of unspoilt scenery, rawness… real life so very different from ours, a lot of emotion and stimulation for all the senses. It was a whirlwind, the best kind, where your days are so full of experiences, that each day feels like a week.

There were boat trips, beach trips, city trips, motorbike trips, canoe trips, jungle trips, temple trips… and so much more…

Cambodia blew my mind.

Then our final chapter, back to the island we lived on for two years in Thailand. Going back to see what had changed. Surprisingly, so much was the same, familiar places and faces at every turn. But there were also differences…

Standing in our old house (which is now a shop), was a real moment. A rush of emotion of a life we once had… the tiled floor Ky used to crawl upon, the stairs he learnt to walk up, the grass he used to run on… Was now a boutique, selling bowls and beaded bits. I cried, then I also let go. This was good.

We had good times catching up with friends, the boys found a whole new gang of children to hang with and ate plenty of crepes. We had the most amazing day for Thai New Year.

Yet, I hardly picked up my camera, inspiration left me… the rain, continuous storms and lack of light were getting to me.

I struggled for a few days with this feeling, thinking I was wasting this opportunity, and what kind of artist am I to not be inspired here of all places. I sulked… then I worked through it and accepted perhaps this was how it was meant to be. It doesn’t always have to be about photo making and shooting, sometimes you just need to be. To be me. To recharge. To be with those you love, and just BE. Play cards, watch films, sit in cafes, and do very little. So that’s what I did… made memories in a different way.

We have so many memories now, real stories to share with together and with others, for years to come. The boys have opened their eyes to some amazing wonders, made new friends and discovered what great travellers they are…

We were spoilt beyond measure, filled up to the brim with goodness. Lived a different life for a little while. I’m forever grateful for this time in our lives, everything slotted into place and many personal dreams were achieved.

This was the right time, in the right places to open our eyes to see how far we’ve come and the possibilities of what’s next.

This is just the beginning of my stories of our big hopeful adventure… there’s plenty more to come… Stay tuned.

The past few weeks have whizzed… there has been much happening in our lives, so much to be grateful for and I feel full to the brim…

My course A JOURNEY has some wonderful stories being told within it… all these lives… from all over the world, being made into their Time Capsule films packed with memories, that I just know they’re going to love in years to come.

Spring shows up in London one day, only for it to snow the next… it’s confusing us all… and it’s obviously all us Brits can talk about!

Last Sunday was Mother’s day here in the UK… delicious lunch with my lovely boys and the most amazing shoes (I love stars)… my sister Boo, wrote the sweetest post about her favourite mums here.

More dining out with fabulous photographer friends recently… I find it’s important when you work at home alone a lot of the time, to get out and connect in real life… and naturally have special treats.

I’ve also finally finished my new WELCOME film – a mixture of my photos and films to showcase my work and what I love to create.

And finally… exciting things are happening over the next week, starting with Lovely Luke’s 40th birthday celebrations this weekend… it’s going to full of family, friends, food and fun…

Happy Friday!

x.

Oh and the colour making continues…

The wishes from the younger members of this family were answered this weekend… as London became covered in snow… there’s nothing more wonderful than watching their excitement of playing in it. They don’t feel the cold, they just dive into the magic…

While we’re left standing at the top of the hill. For. A. Long. Time… next year I’m getting my own sledge!

Lately things have been… well…

I’ve been totally overwhelmed by the creativity from the people in the 12.12.12 group. There are Time Capsules from all over the world, telling all sorts of stories – it’s beautiful and makes me smile BIG. I’m so happy that a commitment was made to this project and that so much has been gained by anyone who took part.

Guiding everyone through this process has made me even more excited about my new class – A JOURNEY because it will be similar in lots of ways… committing to projects – making time for them – telling stories – having wonderful memories to look back on… and that’s just part of it. If you’re interested… all the details are here…

Most Saturday mornings find us on the football sidelines… I love watching Ky play, but mostly I shoot with my iphone and waste time on Instagram… this week we were blessed with a little sunshine and a glorious field to mess around in.

This week I’m hoping to share some portrait sessions and some additions to my ongoing personal projects here… While I beaver away trying to make some magic for myself from my 12.12.12 footage, the pressure is on! Plus there’s all the end of year stuff to get together… favourite images, maybe a film and choosing a new word for 2013… Fly has served me so well throughout this year… what do feel I want next year to be?

I’ll keep you posted.

Oh my goodness… the move from our current house… the thing we’ve been waiting for… is finally going to happen.

It’s a mixed bag of emotions for sure… lots going on, as we’ve de-cluttered, put things into storage and are now packing the remains of our stuff into boxes and crates.

Amongst all this focused work of the move, I’m weirdly brimming with creativity, and it’s had me pulled in all directions. I have so much to do for the move, yet I’m starting new projects, gathering a community, and shooting portrait sessions – I cannot wait to show the beauty that is Sas… (see above) as part of my Women I Know series and this session from my On my Parent’s Island project. These are Francesca’s gorgeous boys…

I was telling someone about this, and she said often we open ourselves up to creativity when doing the mundane tasks… like washing up, standing in the shower etc… so perhaps all the boring packing has been a blessing and ignited something.

One of the projects I’m working on is a follow up to Creating Time Capsules… running this course all year long, has been an amazing experience. I’ve learnt so much and watched some amazing people create beautiful magic. I’d like to offer a follow-up to what was learnt, take people on a creative journey and a whole lot more… it’s formulating and I’m excited.

It means that the original course is going to run differently from now on, and I’ve switched it to a self-paced version, with access for a whole year to the material… All the goodness is there, but you can work at your speed and join up whenever you like. All the details are here…  and if you’re interested in receiving details about the new offerings for Time Capsules, then sign up to my mailing list, and I’ll be making an annoucement in a couple of weeks… just gotta get this little move out of the way! HA!

I thought I’d share one of the Time Capsules I made at the beginning of the year, as part of the Creating Time Capsules course (I use this as an example during the editing tutorials) – It does contain some of the footage from I love… my kitchen table and even the same song!… I’m so glad I made it… because sat here today, surrounded by boxes and bare walls… it makes me remember all the good times we’ve had in this house, the simple everyday stuff.

This film is a gift to myself.

There will be another nostalgic Time Capsule of our house… yep, another film is in production, I’ll share it towards the end of the week…

Oh, one last thing!… if you’re at all interested in making a Time Capsule as a gift to yourself and your family, why don’t you join in on 12.12.12? A wonderful group of us are recording “our day in a life”… it’s going to be so much fun… all the details are here.

Thanks for being here… now back to the packing I must go… x.

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of goodness, tiredness, and gratefulness.

I don’t really know where to begin… how to put it into words, how to gather all my images and how to share this journey in all it’s glory. Coz it was good, SO GOOD, the kind of good where you are constantly questioning “is this really happening to me?” “who am I… to be here, soaking this all up?”

“AWESOMEly good”

There is plenty more to come. Plenty, I tell ya.

Recently…

My talented friend Francesca of Mrs Eliot Books had an exhibition of her prints… her opening night was a lovely gathering of friends and family… you can see more photos & read all about here.

A photo shoot for the wonderful Kim B and her growing beauty business, it’s really inspiring watching other women make a success out of something they love to do.

Here in London, Autumn has well and truly arrived… the freshness in the air and changeable weather, we’ve been making the most of getting outside on those bright sunny days.

…Whilst trying to not get too overwhelmed by all that’s on my plate at the moment… packing up our house, trying to find a new home, planning my trip to Oasis, organising the family, work/life/money… oh you know, everything! There’s been a little too much DC consumed I tell ya! But I’m staying on track, and taking BIG DEEP breaths and filling up with gratitude.

***

Lastly,

If you’re interested in joining the next round of Creating Time Capsules, registration is OPEN… all the details are here.

Recently…

We attended Jeanine & Joe’s wedding as guests… wow, that was a magical affair, can’t wait to share more from it.

The view was breathtaking… and a chance to frolic in the fields…

There was a dinner for two with my love… most delicious and most needed.

A “Time Capsule” family session shot… and new personal photo projects started…

And these boys… my muses. The summer holiday continues… driving me crazy and filling me up with goodness all at the same time. {I wanna start shooting real polaroids again… anyone out there want to guide me through it?}