Long Exposure Photography - Los Angeles

Last week I booked a flight to Los Angeles at 9pm for a 9am flight the next day.

Why, you ask? Am I really that spontaneous?

Well, yes, but not quite.  I became and AUNT and I had to meet my new nephew! I know I may be biased, but he is seriously the cutest little thing ever!! I cannot yet share any pictures of the little nugget because I was told I am not allowed to, so instead I will show you some of my photography from the trip.

I obviously took the opportunity while in California to shoot as much as possible, mostly at sunset, although sunrise would have been awesome too since I was sometimes up while getting used to the time change.

I have been to Los Angeles a hundred times, but as I said in previous posts, I never really took advantage of it from a photography perspective, so I wanted to make sure to take full advantage this go-round.

Tripod and camera in hand, I set out to photograph long exposures of some famous and well known spots around Santa Monica and Malibu.

See my pictures below and let me know what you think and if you have any recommendations for other photo worthy spots in the area for the next time I visit (which will be often since I want to see my little man!)

Bisous

Santa Monica Incline Overlooking the PCH and Santa Monica Beach

Palm Trees in Santa Monica 

Cars speeding down the PCH at Blue Hour in Santa Monica 

Light Trails on the PCH 

Santa Monica Pier at Blue Hour

Santa Monica Pier at Blue Hour

Stopping waves under the Santa Monica Pier

Water under the Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier at Blue Hour

Santa Monica Pier at Blue Hour

Point Dume

Views of Point Dume looking to find my brother surfing

Point Dume, Malibu

Point Dume, Malibu

Point Dume, Maibu

Point Dume, Malibu

Point Dume, Malibu

Point Dume, Malibu

The Struggle is REAL REAL

I have been trying to shoot as much as possible recently to essentially re-learn my camera.  I was a photojournalism major at Boston University, and after a few years working for Lucky magazine I somehow got wrapped up in the commercial real estate corporate America life for 6.5 years and lost my creativity and a bit of myself for awhile.  But now I am back!  After putting myself and my passion aside for way too many years and dealing with insufferable heartbreak, I made the decision to quit my corporate job in Chicago and travel to escape life for a bit.  I think I took some great pictures on these travels, but unfortunately it wasn't until I returned back home to my parents house and had lots of time to sit, contemplate and overthink that I realized that I not only want to get back into photography and pursue that as a career, but that I NEED to.  I look back and realize all of the wasted photo opportunities that I had, not only living in Chicago, but while traveling to London, Dubai, Cape Town, Mauritius, Florida, LA, Vegas, Palm Springs and Sun Valley, that I did not take full advantage of to the best of my ability.  But, that's ok, I can always go back to these places and I will, plus many many more!

It has been super hard to take good blue hour shots here in Connecticut and New York recently because, as some of you may know, spring time can be very rainy and cloudy here, and it has been! It has been over cast most days/nights and very cloudy, which can be great lighting for normal pictures, but not for blue hour long exposure shots, when you are actually trying to capture that moment right after sunset or before sunrise when the sky turns amazing colors!  And to top that off, my lens is bent, so my filters don't really fit properly.  Must. get. this. fixed. but really don't want to miss shooting opportunities...ugh the struggle is real!

Anyway, I am hopefully off to LA soon, since I am going to be an aunt!!!! And am so looking forward to shooting A LOT while I am out there, even if my lens is still bent, because obviously I need it with me while I am out there, Canon will have to wait to evaluate the issue, and the cost (sigh).

Bisous

Photography- Desaturated vs. Saturated Images

In an attempt to shoot blue hour at a local town park, I learned a good lesson- check where the sunsets because that is where the sky changes color!  I took a photo of this tree in high school, when i really fell in love with photography, and had it framed in my apartment for years.  I attempted to recreate it during blue hour, however did not get the results I wanted.  Here are the desaturated, black and white photo and the slightly saturated photo, which shows the color of the sky that my camera picked up, not seen by the eye! Pretty cool!

Bisous

Long Exposure Photography Part II

Loving long exposure photography and learning to use an ND filter.  It is amazing what you can do with this incredible technique!!  Take a look at some of my most recent work!

Bisous

Long Exposure Photography

I have become obsessed with travel and landscape photography and have been doing a ton of research  recently on long exposure photography in particular.  Today I took my new neutral density (ND) filter out for a test run and below are the results.  Not perfect and definitely a work in progress, but I am beginning to get a hang of it.  It definitely takes a lot of practice, but just from shooting for one day I can say that the more you do it the more you begin to understand how it works and the easier it will eventually get!  I am by no means an expert, I shot on a beach today with my new Sirui tripod, which proceeded to fall over (with camera attached) into the rocks and seaweed, scratching my new filter, great!

If you have any helpful tips, please share!

Bisous

Travel Diary- London

What to do in London

London is one of my favorite cities in the world! There is so much to see and do, so many great shops, restaurants and bars, and of course cute boys with sexy accents.  Ok ok that's not why I love london, but it sure does help to have some eye candy (and some fun) on those rainy days.  Below is a list of some of my favorite things to do, but I am by no means an expert.  I may have to move there to really become an expert...maybe that will be in the cards soon, would be nice!

1. Sunday Roast is a must
2. Fish & Chips is also a must
3. Shop at Liberty London (and take pictures of the interior and exterior of the building because it is so beautiful)
4. Selfridges is by far one of my favorite places to shop in London.  They had a chic rooftop bar that their website says they are now transforming into an exciting new summer venue- stay tuned.
5. Harrods- Obviously.  I'm not going to lie- I have popped champagne inside Harrods (at a bar, ok?) like a true tourist and I LOVED it!  
6. Walk across Tower Bridge and go inside to the walkways, where you walk across glass floors directly above the Thames River below.  Beware if you are afraid of heights as this is not for the faint of heart, but you can be sure to get some great Instagram pics!
7. Visit the Shard, the tallest building in Europe, and have a drink (or two) in one the bars upstairs for amazing views across the Thames River.
8. Visit Parliament at Westminster, Buckingham Palace and The Victoria Tower Gardens.
9. Walk across Millennium Bridge with views of St. Pauls Cathedral and visit the Tate Modern Museum.
10. Visit Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
11. You MUST walk around (and get lost in) Notting Hill.  The neighborhood is so quaint with rows of gorgeous brownstones each painted a different color, and has some great shopping as well!
12. Regent Street is beautiful at night, especially when its all lit up and there is some great shopping here as well.  Walk down to Piccadily Circus while you're there.
13. Bond Street for some shopping.
14. Marylebone is another cute area with cute shops and restaurants.  It is worth meandering and getting lost, you will be sure to wander upon some cute streets and discover something new.
15. Take a ride on a double decker bus and sit at the top for some great views.
16. Take a ride on the London Eye if you have time, the views are amazing!
17. Borough Market is my favorite outdoor food market.  They have so many cute bars, which are great for after work drinks, and meeting above mentioned cute British boys!
18. Axe Throwing at Whistle Punks.  I know, but this IS a thing and I did it and WON.  Yep, somehow I was the champion out of the whole group of guys and I was the one who was skeptical about going.  Give it a go, it's a good way to work out some aggression, and who knows, maybe you will beat all the guys too!
19. Soho, Chelsea and Carnaby Street are all must visits for shopping, restaurants and bars.
20. Go to a pub, have a pint, or three, and if you are there during the summer, take that pint outside on the sidewalk with the rest of the patrons.  You can do this basically anytime of the day and there will be people of all ages at the bar.  It's fantastic!

Most of all enjoy your trip and take lots of great photos!  There is SO much more to see and do in London, but these are just a few of my favorite, although some may be a bit touristy, but if you are visiting for your first time I think they are a must do. 

Let me know your favorite things to do in and around London and if you have any other tips and recommendations.

Bisous

Busabout Brand Ambassador

Hey loves! Check out this video application I made for Busabout Europe's Brand Ambassador job application!

https://m.youtube.com/my_videos