Posts Tagged 'travel'



Ice and Stars on the Bruce Peninsula

This past weekend Tito and I drove up to the Bruce for a quick city getaway. We stayed at the Round House – an absolutely beautiful B&B in Tobermory. The lady was really sweet, the living room was huge and had beautiful picture windows that faced the lake – we couldn’t have asked for better! We loved it so much we booked another weekend right away – we’re going back for Tito’s birthday.

Tobermory and the surrounding area are beautiful in winter – the trails are pretty much empty, everything is frozen over and there are some spectacular photos to be taken – Here are a few of my favourites!

On the Cyprus Lake hiking trail.

Cyprus Lake

This is the area known as the Grotto. It’s a popular spot in the summer time, and starkly beautiful in the winter. Pictures don’t convey this, but the water was icy and the waves were huge. The result of all that spray hitting the area had created a beautiful coat of ice on every surface.

Tito in front of some trees that show the effect of the surf. One side is totally covered in ice, the other side is normal.

The Grotto itself

I couldn’t get enough of these ice formations…

Georgian Bay

Of course, long drives are also solid knitting time; I made excellent progress on my first sweater…

And I just had to include two more – Tobermory is a dark sky reserve. We took many stunning star shots, but these are my favourites;

In this shot you can almost really see the Milky Way…

But this shot was my favourite. Taken in complete darkness, out the B&B window, with a 45 minute long shutter. It looks like an evening shot filled with shooting stars.

Inspira – Kiluea Necklace

Kiluea

Today I wanted to share pics of the birthday gift I made for my friend Kris – For my birthday gift this year, and also to celebrate 20 years of friendship we went to Hawaii, and thanks to her being willing to drive out (at 3 in the morning, in bad weather, on a G2 license ;o)) we got to see Mt Kiluea, in all her glory, before the break of dawn.

inspira lava

I have to tell this story: the boat ride was very very rough. There was a small craft advisory and 20 foot waves and we left the harbour at 3 am. The boat would ride up a crest and, quite literally, freefall into the trough with a sickening thud. It was pitch black and we couldn’t even see to be frightened of the waves. We were on this heart thumping ride, hanging on for dear life for about 45 minutes before I could make out little glowing red rivers in the cliff-face. By this time I was chock full of adrenaline and my legs were shaking uncontrollably from the ride but we were fascinated nonetheless with whatever detail we could make out.

Kiluea

When the boat finally approached it’s destination we saw it. 12 000 metric tons of flowing lava. Over a quarter mile of it, gushing from the cliff face. We both cried, we couldn’t help it. We were looking at the mechanism by which the earth is reforming herself. We were looking at a process against which we were specks of dust lost in immensity. I remember shooting for all I was worth, ripping film, hanging on to the boat with every available limb except my shooting hand, trying to protect the camera from the salt water, feeling the hot steam of the ocean when it hit the lava.

Kiluea

The boat would ride a wave, and I would be able to shoot, then the wave would move on, the boat would crash into the trough, the wave would hit the cliff letting off a huge head of steam and I would have to wait for another wave to lift us to be able to shoot again. Changing lenses on the fly, changing cards, focusing by hand in otherwise complete darkness, on a violently moving surface. The most adverse conditions I have ever shot in, I’m amazed anything at all came out.

Kiluea

What Kris and I experienced together that day was epic. I make this little necklace to commemorate it. I know Kris is not big on ‘bling’ so a delicate little cluster, on black hematite chain, containing real tumbled lava from Kiluea herself, along with Hawaiian sea coral, and Swarovski fire opals was the way to go. I gave it to her for her birthday yesterday and it looks lovely on her =o)

inspira - kiluea

Inspira – Venice

Venice

Today I wanted to show off the new Inspira series bracelet for the city of Venice. The first one of these beautiful pieces was sold to a dear friend, but I loved it so much I had to make another one for the show!

Venice

Venice Bracelet

This delicate bracelet is hand woven, one bead at a time, using blue and midnight blue swarovski crystals and Japanese glass delicas. It’s finished with sterling silver filigree cones, a lobster claw clasp and a short length of chain with a single cubic zirconia hanging off the end. In the sunlight the sparkle factor is spectacular!

Venice

Venice is the most beautiful city I’ve ever shot. The architecture, the canals, the way you could get lost wandering down quiet, empty little streets for hours… beautiful small bridges and hidden gems abound in this wonderful city, made all the more poignant by the fact that Venice appears to be sinking. How heartbreaking, to think that we might lose this breathtaking jewel of a city.

Venice Bracelet

Venice

Venice Bracelet

This is a close up of the weave.

Venice Bracelet

This piece, along with an 11 x 14 copy of the gondola shot will be available at my show – in just over two weeks!

Sneak Peek – Inspira Photography

I’m so excited – I’m finally ready to go to print with the final photo selection for my show! Selecting the final images was very tough, there were so many to go through and I’m sure there are some gems who escaped me, but I’ve done my best to narrow it down. Here are a few of my favourites, enjoy!

I am so proud of this photo, I had to crouch in a very uncomfortable position waiting for this beautiful emerald hummingbird to come back to her nest and feed her baby. This photo was taken in the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica.

This textural shot was taken at dawn, on a beautiful frosty morning when Lake Ontario had frozen over.

This is a neighbourhood in St. John’s, Newfoundland called ‘the Battery’. It’s a community of solid, salt of the earth folk who’ve built their homes right into the cliff face. More than one window that I peered into had a boulder in the livingroom. No kidding! I felt this neighbourhood really represented the cheerful, obstinate, resourceful spirit of Newfoundland.

More travels from the past year included a trip to Paris in October. The colours of this photo really captured me, it was amazing just to stand there and watch the leaves falling to the ground. This photo was also the focus of a beautiful piece of inspira jewellery.

Around the world again takes us to Hawaii, where Kris and I had the honour of watching lava tumble into the ocean at 4 am. This boat ride was terrifying, 20 foot waves had me hanging on with every spare limb while trying to shoot, AND protect the camera from salt water. What an experience! I cried, I couldn’t help it, I felt so in awe, watching the mechanism by which the earth is made, for anyone going to Hawaii I urge you, yes the beaches are nice, but go and see the volcano!

The beautiful ceiling of the Great Mosque of Córdoba, (or the Mezquita) in Spain was breathtaking, but even more fascinating is the history – it began as a Visigoth Church in 600 AD, was reworked over 2 centuries to become a Mosque beginning in 784 and then in 1236 following yet another ‘change of management’ a Catholic church was plunked down right in the middle of it!

Closer to home – this is the Leslie Street Spit here in Toronto, shot last winter. Ice had coated everything, right down to each tiny branch of this tree. I will be making a piece of jewellery inspired by this piece as well, we froze our butts off but it was such a great find it kept us shooting for hours.

I’m not sure how folks will react to this shot, but it was so beautiful I had to include it. This man was peacefully napping on a couch in the back of the beautiful Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto. The light coming in from the stained glass windows was giving this beautiful, surreal colour to the floor.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into the collection I’m printing for the show =o) Only a few weeks to go, I’m so excited!

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