Well, the Canada Day long weekend was jam-packed fun! On Friday I went downtown to Nathan Phillips Square for fireworks and fancy crepes, on Saturday we saw more fireworks at Downsview Park, on Sunday I watched Baby Driver (suuuuper fun movie), and on Monday I went with the family to Scarborough Bluffs! 

These photos were taken without a tripod, and I was very impressed and pleased at how well the photos turned out, how quickly they were captured, and how easy it was to figure out the right settings for what I wanted! 

The Baby Driver soundtrack turned out to be perfect for our outing–a vibe of fun, oldies but goldies, and vacation chill all at the same time. How was your holiday weekend? 

Lately I've been feeling like I've hit a wall with my photography, so I did what I usually do when I feel like I'm stagnating: googled a solution.

That's when I found this amazing 52 week photo challenge! That's right, for a full year, I am going to take one photo a week. This will hopefully improve my photographic skills and break me out of my creative funk! I'm excited, nervous, and raring to go. Follow along on the blog to see my progress, frustrations and joys, and, of course, the photos!

Tragically, I'd never been to High Park in all my 22 years as a Torontonian. But my mom remedied that by gathering the family together to go see the cherry blossoms bloom at High Park. It was a brilliantly sunny day and predictably packed, and the flowers were beautiful. 

We also took a stroll through the zoo, where the animals looked a little ragged as they lost their winter coats.

I wandered over to the lakeshore afterwards and met some swans.

Knowing I had ten days before my last exam of third year, that my siblings were off school and work, and that my mom would have Friday free due to the holidays, my little sister and I scrambled to plan a family trip.

We checked the weather forecast (Friday would be gorgeous but Saturday rainy), found a hotel open off-season, and mapped the routes we would take. Only then did we let everyone else in on our plans, and it went off without a hitch. 

A BBQ lunch was packed, snacks bought, and pyjamas selected, and then we were off! Check-in was late, so our first stop (after Timmies and washroom breaks) was hiking on the Bruce Trails!

My sharp-eyed mom spotted a snake while we were walking!

Then we found a cliff we wanted to climb, which we had climbed (with my dad) the last time we came by. Gotta keep up those traditions, y'know?

A few minutes later, we emerged onto our favourite view! The splendid grotto!

And proceeded to explore and then picnic.

After checking into and resting at the hotel, we headed to a beach ten minutes away that my sister had found called Singing Sands beach–and they really do sing! I'm not sure what causes it, but its ethereal and lovely. We had a BBQ there and watched the gorgeous sunset and beautifully bright stars.

Hope you had a great Easter holiday! Comment below and tell me how it went!

I challenged myself to brave the gloom and the cold and take some photos. Then I challenged myself to play with colour temperatures in Lightroom. 

A couple of days later the fog rolled in. Went for a walk to try to capture it, but by then it was fading. I had fun though.

A few months ago I had the exciting opportunity to visit Montreal for two nights and two days. I'll be honest, I had reservations. Previous experiences in the city were middling, but to be fair, the weather had been torrentially rainy both times that I visited.

​So although I had my reservations, I was ready to have my mind changed. Plus, I was visiting with a friend who'd spent her undergrad in Montreal and was over-the-moon about showing me around. And let me tell you, she did a great job. I left the city looking forward to going back, with nothing but fond memories and a full belly.

Of course, there were two photos I had to take, no matter how cliche. One: boots + leaves. Two: a funny sign (which inevitably appear when you travel). 

When we finally got to the peak, gasping through the stitches in our (fine, my) sides, it was to find the incredible Mont Royal Cross towering above us, and the whole vista of the city spread out before us like a spiky quilt. It was only then that I found out my friend had a fear of heights, and I was both surprised and gratified that she'd taken me on this hike nonetheless. (She's amazing).

I only have two more photos of this trip, which I took while strolling around downtown Montreal before a work event. More photos can be viewed on my insta (instagram.com/finderscapture), just scroll down a little.

Almost a year ago to today (which shows exactly how bad my procrastination is) I went to the Bird Kingdom at Niagara Falls. I had a fantastic time, and am really pleased with how my photos turned out. The trick I applied which I think really helped, was to make sure that I focused on the eyes of the animals.

I drove from Edmonton to to Golden, Banff to Kicking Horse to Calgary to Kelowna over the course of three days, with about 13 children unrelated to me. 

There are certain things you notice when road-tripping with carsick, bored toddlers when your phone is dead (or about to die) and the radio/audiobook/CDs will only make your headache, and their crying, worse.

I noticed, vocally, often, the trucks like very fast giants always ahead or behind us.

I noticed the eagles and hawks and ravens peering down at us from telephone poles and old trees, or from their heights in the sky.

I noticed mountains--countless mountains--craggy and ancient, white-headed or bare, scraping shoulders and immovable and yet, always, beckoning us into and through their arms.

I noticed the rivers, which paled the further we drove until they were the colour of sea-glass, that dusty pale green-blue colour, glimmering in the sun or snaking under clouds.

I noticed the signs everywhere--unpronounceable place names and warnings of avalanches, deer, elk, snow, moose, grizzlies, steep turns and upcoming stop signs.

I noticed to entertain and distract unhappy small children. And in the doing, I noticed a lot more than I would have been consciously aware of otherwise. I'm a social traveller. It's not as fun for me to go somewhere if I can't enjoy it in the company of someone else, if I cannot watch them enjoy it too.

And children have an endless capacity to be entertained or awed or excited about something, as long as you point it out to them with great enthusiasm or respond to them eagerly. 

(There are exceptions. A tired, hungry, sick kid will be miserable with great gusto until they decide not to be, or are fed/napped/soothed).

So really, a road-trip with 13 kids was a drive in the park. 

​Here are the photos of our stay, which was beautiful and exhausting and amazing all at once. More photos and video are viewable on my instagram (just scroll down a bit).

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of photographing the 4th Annual Fashion Against Poverty show, a registered non-profit organization that concentrates on transforming the lives of less fortunate children in Canada and Ghana, West Africa. 

It was really exciting getting to go backstage and see all the hectic preparations: the make-up being applied, hair getting done, wardrobes being readied, and walks being practiced.

Getting to photograph the actual fashion show and all the designers' hard work on amazing models was an honour!