England – Jolene's Life in Focus

St. Ives Vacation

September 17, 2018January 17, 2019Posted in England, Travel, United KingdomTagged Beaches, boats, cobblestone streets, Cornwall, Cornwall England, Doors, England, old church, photography, Porthmeor Beach, sand, seagull, St. Ives, St. Ives Cornwall, travel, travel photography, United Kingdom7 Comments

For the past year or so, I haven’t felt like me. Do you ever go through phases like that? Like, between work and school and whatever else you have going on, your creativity just vanishes into your daily obligations? For the first half of 2018, I didn’t even feel like taking pictures. I took a digital photography class, hoping it’d spark something inside of me; instead, the assignments became just more tasks to complete. And I would think, where did I go?

So, as I reflect on my summer–yes, the rain is already falling in the Pacific Northwest–I see that I needed St. Ives. I needed the remoteness of Cornwall, England with its narrow roads, pristine beaches, art galleries, and ocean views. I hope it makes sense to say, I felt myself returning.

On one particular night, I bought a glass of wine at a beach cafe and then sat on Porthmeor Beach, facing west. After an 85-degree day, the sun fell into a pink mist, turning the sky violet as it dipped below the water, scattering light across the waves. The sands cooled my feet, and I drank my wine. A German girl next to me took photos on her iPhone. A father chased a naked child who squealed and collapsed with laughter in the sand, wanting to be caught. Others lined the wall above the beach, waiting for the sun to set entirely. And we all got to experience the zephyr of ocean air, forgetting what came before and to abandon expectations for what might come after. Just to breath. Listen. Embrace a perfect moment.

Some peeled away after the sun disappeared, returning to hotel rooms or pubs to finish watching a game. Others lingered in the silence.

That was St. Ives to me, a few moments that existed beyond a camera lens. A few moments that showed me that stress and obligations can sometimes strangle the spirit right out of you, if you let them. It’s okay to slow down and enjoy life at a slower pace sometimes. I guess that’s why we go on vacation–to be reminded.

And I did feel like taking my *big* camera out, eventually. I captured a lot of photos on my cellphone this year, but here are a few from my Nikon as I explored St. Ives.

The Burden of Being Fancy

July 19, 2018July 19, 2018Posted in Travel, United KingdomTagged Bath Abbey, Bath England, Battle Abbey, Beach, boats, cell phone photography, England, footprints, Hastings Castle, Hastings UK, photography, reflection, ruins, sand, seagull, St. Ives, tin mine, travel photography, White Cliffs, Wine14 Comments

When I got my Nikon D800 four years ago I thought, this camera is going to change my life. I dubbed her “Fancy” and vowed to travel the world with her, taking once in a lifetime photographs that would have National Geographic pounding at my door. Today, I just think about how much she makes my wrists hurt and how there are probably thousands of people running around with Fancys of their own, wanting a shot with National Geographic or Lonely Planet.

I’ve learned that I’m lazy. I don’t necessarily want to learn all the nerdy and technical components about photography that will make me better at it. At the end of the day, I just want to capture what’s beautiful about the world around me. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.

More and more often, I take pictures on my cellphone, which is funny because that’s how this whole blog started years ago: cellphone photos. That’s not to say I’ve totally lost interest in Fancy; I’m just a lot more selective about when I take her out. During my last trip to England, I took most of my photos on my phone. I mean, it’s compact; I can easily hide it in my purse when I’m done using it. I don’t have to worry about breaking it. I can instantly upload photos to social media.

So…sorry, Fancy. Here are some of my favorite cellphone photos from England earlier this month.

London in Black & White

June 10, 2014November 11, 2016Posted in TravelTagged black and white, black and white photography, England, London, mood, photography, travel6 Comments

Five Years and Four Cameras Later…

October 13, 2011October 13, 2011Posted in UncategorizedTagged Craigmiller Castle, England, Glastonbery England, photography, Scotland, travel, travel photography17 Comments

925724709_d5PLU-M — South of Edinburgh, Scotland 2006

Five years ago I was a 29 year-old, freshly divorced, wannabe world-traveler with a crisp new passport and an exotic looking, Spanish-Irish-British love interest who was begging me to fly to London. Having just sold my first condo, I had a few extra dollars and splurged on a plane ticket. I also redeemed some credit card points for a free 5 megapixel digital camera, which I planned to use to photograph creepy old castles to hang on the walls of my new condo. I knew absolutely nothing about photography at the time, other than what I thought would look good on my walls.

Unfortunately for Joseph, my poor love interest, I sat next to an especially charismatic journalist type on the 9 hour flight who had stimulated my brain to such an extent that I couldn’t later adjust to Joseph’s shy personality. I was far more enraptured with the Scottish and English countryside than the painfully forced conversation to which I’d been subjected. Ah well, it’s for the best that didn’t work out anyway. I had pictures to take!

Time flies. Since that first trip overseas, I’ve returned to Europe (although other destinations) three times and to Africa twice. I’ve upgraded my camera four times, and I’m finally figuring out the technical components of photography – although, it’s my personal opinion that having a fancy camera can’t make you a good photographer.

These are the first images I ever took with my first ever camera, a wimpy little 5 megapixel Samsung Digimax A503. And yet, they are some of my favorites.