Feeling hot hot hot!

I realise how un original this title is to this post but it's been incredibly hot here in England for the last couple of days and to be honest I have been absolutely loving it. I've been feeling like I'm on holiday, especially when I'm sunbathing in my garden with my headphones on pretending I'm by an ocean but even when I opened my eyes I wasn't that disappointed in where I actually was.
I've taken so many  new photo's recently and I've also purchased photoshop which came with my new camera so I have been exploring my way through that, I'm finding it pretty complicated so far but starting to get a little used to it. I mean considering I've only known how to edit on basic phone apps and to transfer over to photo shop where it's a little bit more technical is a little over whelming but it's just going to take practice and lots of watching tutorials on you tube!
I'm trying to be a more positive person at the moment because over the years I've realised how negative I've been about things and things have just gotten me down but I'm trying to focus on what's happening right now instead of worrying about the future or over thinking my past.
Sorry this is a short post, I'll be posting a few more photo's very soon to show you once I've finished editing those.
How are you enjoying the sun?
Until next time...
xxx

The magic of nature

One thing I've noticed while being a photographer is that when you study an object that your taking a photo of you start to realise the amount of detail and beauty in an object. Nature is an area I focus on the most and because I spend so long photographing bits of nature there's so much more of a flower or rain or leaves than meets the eye.

I've developed such a love for the outside world and the beautiful nature it has inside it and that's one of the reasons why I love capturing it so much.

I just love being creative with editing, sometime's it's great to keep it simple but other times you can do so much with a picture with edits.

My favourite programs to use are, Enlight, Aferlight, Pixlemator, Deluxe FX and Picassa. 

I've learnt so much about editing and photography especially over the past year and it's just honestly so much fun for me,
Hope the Easter Bunny has given you some nice gifts!
xxx

Current favourites

I was just about to call this post 'February favourites' then realised we're pretty much half way through March and decided it's probably a bit late for a February favourites but too early for a March favourites. So I figured I'd just share a few of the things that I have been loving recently and just stuck with a plain old 'Current favourites' title.

These Strawberries and cream incense sticks were something I was given as a gift for my birthday not long ago. The smell to me is just pure heaven and has made such a difference to my bed room and it's got such a summery scent to it, so good! 

These have been my most worn necklaces recently both of which I was given for Christmas. Although I did choose the leaf necklace because it just looked so beautiful hanging in our local shop. It's actually made from a real leaf which has been frozen which I thought was really unique, my mum also got a similar one haha! 

The necklace on the left is from Accessories which is one of my favourite places to look for Jewellery as I find they always have really unique accessories. I'm not usually one for the longer chain necklaces but these both are long chains and I just absolutely love them.

Humans Of New York is a project that I've been following for a while now, I just love the whole creative idea behind it and the different stories. It just reminds me how different our lives can be and that every one is going through something or has been through something we have no idea about. But it's so interesting to see each individual's inspiring stories. 

I never honestly used to wear blush a lot but recently it's been something I've been wearing every day because I'm pretty pale I love having something that adds a bit of colour to my cheeks and this Barry M blush pallet has such pretty colours and I think these shades are perfect for Spring/Summer, 

It also comes with a bronzer and a highlighter on both sides of the blushers. 

This Maybeline mascara was something I had been hearing a lot of good things about so I gave into the hype and tried it myself, honestly has become one of my favourite beauty products that I've ever used. Although you do have to layer it a little bit each time to get the full look you want but it's definitely something I can recommend if your looking to get your hands on a mascara! 

Tv Shows 

This is a show that honestly I had never heard of up until recently when they made their season come back which I watched and loved it! So once I had finished the new season I began to watch all the old ones from the very beginning, currently on season 2. I literally have the theme song stuck in my head most days and often catch myself humming it haha! 

Music

Becoming slightly obsessed with these guys, Years and Years have become one of my favourite bands and have been constantly playing them for some time. Desperate to see them live! 

Jess Glynn had me at her first single. I feel like her album are going to be my tunes for the summer, they're just so catchy and I personally think she's so underrated because her voice is Ah-mazing!

What have been your favourite things recently? 

xxx

Spring time & London trips.

I cannot believe how fast march has crept up on us, like seriously it'll be summer before we know it. I think Spring is probably my favourite season, I love all the flowers, the smells, the slightly warmer weather and of course the cute baby animals. Now that it's getting warmer and the weather is a little better spring and summer are the times when I take London trips quite often. I purchased a new Wide angle lens the other day and London is always a great place to take photo's because there's just so much going on. So I've been testing that out a little.
My friend and I adventured around London last week and I have to praise her because she's expecting a baby next month so walking around the mad streets of London/getting on busy public transport and with London just being London she definitely did well considering we were walking around for 7 hours or so (of course we took breaks to sit down)







We took a look around Harrods which I hadn't been to in a few years and turns out my friend had never been there either. I was actually really surprised at how unbusy it was (is that a word?) Usually it's horribly packed in there but we had moments when there was only a couple of people in one area. We did go at the beginning of the week so it's probably less busy around that time.





Then had to get our daily dose of starbucks my absolute favourite is the Strawberries and cream it's just beyond delicious!





Kensington is one of my favourite places to go to in London if not my favourite. It just feels so classy with the posh/White houses and it's just a beautiful area.



Honestly I could never get bored of this beautiful city. What's your favourite thing to do in London?
xxx

Streets of London.

London is one of my absolute favourite places in the world no matter how busy it is the business of the streets will never take away the beautiful buildings and surroundings. Yesterday I went on a little adventure around London, I had some places in mind that I wanted to go to but I also just went with the flow. As I'm getting more and more confident with getting the tubes on my own I feel like London trips are getting easier for me and that I can get around quite easily on my own now without relying on someone else's good geography.

I firstly took a little look round Warwick Avenue which was quite a pretty place with a perfect view of the river and boats that you can look across just minutes away from the tube station.



I also looked around Picadilly circus and came across China town which I've never actually been too before so it was nice to have an explore around there. Found a lovely little sweet/snack shop which sells so many types of different flavoured Pockey which are delicious!







My friend also lives in London so we had a lovely catch up and adventured around Notting Hill which is one of the cutest and most unique places I have visited. It's like London's version of Brighton. It was my first time visiting there and I'm so excited to go back again especially when it's a bit warmer in the summer.









Definitely looking forward to spending more time in London when the weather is a bit warmer, sunny London is my favourite and everything looks just that little bit better in the sunshine, y'know what I mean?
xxx

How I edit my photo's.

Hey all!
One of the main questions I get asked especially on instagram is 'how do you edit your photo's?' so I thought it would be better to explain in a blog post for anyone who is interested.
You don't always have to use an expensive program to edit, I know many people use 'Photo shop' or 'lightroom' which I'm starting to look into but that's because I've been involved with photography for a long time and wanted to get more experience into editing. But if your a beginner or somebody looking for the easier options I really recommend 'Picassa' which you can download on your laptop for free which has been something I've used ever since I started editing photo's.
I then also use two apps on my phone called Deluxe FX or Aferlight which are both great. With Afterlight you may have to pay a bit extra to get some more effects but you hardly have to pay anything and it's always worth getting the extra good edits. But they are both pretty similar with just the odd few different touches to them. Definitely my favourite photo editing apps.

Before I edit on any program I use a couple of settings on my DSLR. I currently have a Canon 700D and use a 60mm Macro lens which I absolutely love. Firstly I always set it onto 'manual' settings because I love the option of you choosing your own settings for the photo instead of having it set automatically. I then also set it to F.2 and set the colour tone to a bit more of a purple/blue shade and then of course I'll set the lighting settings depending on what the light is like. That's pretty much the basics of how I edit my photo's. Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.
xxx

Monday Blues.

Happy Monday!
I'm sitting here all cosed up (is that even a word?) in my dressing gown currently listening to 'History' by one direction, ooh yeah! With the wind quite literally howling away in the background. It has been extremely windy here lately and the sound of it is so powerful I'm actually a little afraid that the giant tree infront of the house and my bed room window is going to come crashing down (let's hope not),
Turning 23 has come and gone and I've almost had a week of already being 23. I feel like since I turned 23 it has just sort of thrown 'life' in my face.  I feel like time is just going way too fast and I'm not doing anything that I actually want to be doing. I think this year is a year where I have to make some changes, I want to be happy with my life and myself and I can't continue to be as negative as I have been otherwise honestly I won't get anywhere.
I've started writing a diary again because I recently found my old diaries from when I was about 10-16 and I'm so glad I had written about my life back then, I absolutely love going through and reading about what I did or felt that day and I love laughing at some of the cringy things I had written. And my mind is always so full and it's good to keep a document of what your feeling or what you have been doing and it's a good way to release a bit of stress or anxiety.
Do you keep a diary?
Hope you have a good week!
xxx