Despite spending 12 of the last 15 years living in Auckland, New Zealand, today was my first time beholding the grandeur of Piha - that I can recall anyway. Armed with cameras, cookies and tea, a spontaneous decision was made to drive to the western coast of the city to adventure our way through to sunset. Wandering through this season of unknowns in my life sure is made more colourful and light thanks to afternoons like these.
It was tick, tick, tick off the bucket list this year and I am appreciative of these quiet few days I've had to sit and start the long process of mass editing to remind me of how wonderful this last year has been. My visit with the Griffith Observatory was a spontaneous one on a day-off during a road trip to LA for a dear friend's wedding. The photo above is easily one of the favourites I've ever taken. Thanks, iPhone 6 - you are pure magic.
I never imagined I would get to type those words, 'New York City', or post photos from the city this soon. Visiting New York has been one of my biggest lifelong dreams and last October, the opportunity popped up and I said a very quick Yes. I only got to spend 24 hours there but it was magic. She swept me off my feet, as I know she has done many. She is quite the looker and quite the charmer. I'll be back, New York, don't worry about it.
Hey, world! It's been a while, huh. I am fully aware. Life has been a whirlwind of everything wonderful and this space took a backseat in the meantime. With a little more time on my hands now, the plan is to swing some attention and love back this way. So to begin with, here is a sneak peek of my trip to Northern Ireland in February this year.
I am a city girl at heart. I've grown up in them all my life. But I won't lie, as little of an outdoors enthusiast I am, there is something incredibly refreshing and restful about the peaceful quiet of a mountain top (that you climbed in a car, not on foot) in the evening. Lucky for me, Shara and Danny chose this exact special spot for their engagement shoot.
It was a special celebration of their upcoming nuptials made even more memorable by the appearance of two deer who snuck out from the bordering wooded areas (is that even the right terminology?) for a moment in the spotlight.
Shara and Danny are both passionate individuals with great flair for creativity. They are visionaries with far-reaching dreams who no doubt will see them ticked off one by one as their many years together unfold. Congratulations on your beautiful engagement, Shara and Danny! What a celebration your wedding will be.
The funny thing about living away from Auckland for the better part of two years is that I've lost count of the number of times my introducing myself as a Kiwi has lead to a conversation about the breathtaking beauty of this land, The Lord of the Rings, coffee and the hugely disproportionate human to sheep ratio.
This trip back I've found myself with fresh, wide-eyed wonder for the places I've seen a thousand times over. Having sheep at the park five minutes up the road from home is now all at once ridiculous, funny and so quintessentially Kiwi all over again. I'm a tourist back in my own city, armed with my camera and trigger-happy finger.
I first met Robbie and Emma at a missions team meeting early in the planning stages of our trip to Scotland. I don't remember much about that first meeting apart from being completely enamoured with their Scottish accents and by the fact that Emma is an actress who has appeared on Call The Midwife, which I had started watching not long before.
Their love story is one of the most hilarious, fantastic, non-conventional I've heard - thank goodness for technology for making long-distance relationships possible. These two were with us the entirety of our two weeks in Scotland and are two of the most visionary, powerful and genuine - the only way I could think of thanking them was to do a shoot with them.
Our schedule was pretty hectic which meant the shoot kept getting postponed and as it turns out, what a good thing that was.
While on the Isle of Lewis, we scheduled in a quick interview slot with Robbie and Emma for the documentary. They were staying in a host home further out in the countryside of the tiny island and the plan was to film in their room. But when we got there, we discovered it was going to be a tight squeeze and our producer had to make a quick call to explore other options.
Let's just say that back door opened and we fell in love. A cold Scottish morning and a greenhouse in the country? Documentary and photography heaven.
Love you, Robbie and Emma! xx
Having my lips chapped, fingers frozen and hair blown in a thousand directions up on the summit of One Tree Hill was worth it for this view. More to come.
