fascinators at Ascot

LMJ and Nicky and a bunch of their friends (for they actually have a real life in the real world) went to Royal Ascot. For those of you wondering, it is a posh event that has been posher and has horses racing at specific points. One could say one is there for the races and betting, but one is there for the wonderful opportunity it offers for people watching and fashion commenting. My goal this year was to be brave enough to ask people to photograph their fascinators. And I was. LMJ scores! Yay!

Are you prepared for LMJ's collection of fascinators? Sit back and enjoy!

How pretty is she? And this fascinator? So bold and... stunning, yes, that's it.

Her Mum made this fascinator especially for her. Superb! It was so beautiful and artistic and special!

Really liked the different style of this one, very traditionally and slightly 1950s. Her cheeky smile made my day!

Another stunner. What a face, I tell you. Again, a very bold fascinator giving such depth to the whole look... beautiful!

Daring, to say the least. Really brings out the dark dress with the unusual shape and bright pink!

The loveliest "me? oh yes, thank you" I've had all day. Love the sweet look and the really fashionable fascinator. Class, people, class!

This lady was adorable and bubbly and wore pink like no other. The fascinator is ever so flashy but it really suited her style. You go, girl!

Another bright colour bringing out a dark outfit. You know what? It works! Have you seen the cheekbones? Hollywood, please.

hold my hand

*SPOILER - vague writing about nothing below. Service will resume with the next post*

If you were to hold my hand, would you do it in Oxford? I wander around the city and imagine your touch and how the world spins a little bit faster with the thought, but not. If you were to hold my hand in Oxford, the memory of us would be a little piece of nothing, just as it is now. I like that. The memory of us lost in a city of memories never to be found again. If we existed to be lost in the first place. Or our memory. I look up between the buildings for a minute. Just a minute, to know I'm real and the thought of you is real and your hand in mine when the ground disappears beneath my feet is real. If you were to hold my hand, would you do it in Oxford? I could forget you then.   

::inspiring Mondays::

I had a lovely weekend and there was a heat wave on Sunday. British style heat wave, but nonetheless it was pue bliss. The arrival of Monday reminded me of how much I love weekends and that's always a good reminder. Thank you Monday, for that privilege!

I love cows. They are such cuties with their gentle ways and big sweet eyes. I also love penguins and elephants, the two cutest animals with the two cutest babies ever. And cats, of course. And dogs. Right, I am an animal person, but this is the post where I reveal I love cows. When we were little my brother and I planned to live on a farm so we could have a brown cow. And several cats. And dogs. And a few sheep and chickens and ducks. And whatever else we could get our little kiddy hands on.

:: feeling alive. and kicking.

:: knitting club. you couldn't get 6 women more different to one another if they tried harder and I love it.

:: green cardigan progressing well.

:: catching up with friends.

:: watching a friend's dance performance. T rules and I love him to bits.

:: heat wave. yay!

:: wearing flip flops and not feeling cold. joy!

:: sunshine.

:: BBQ.

:: running with my boys. I have the best running buddies ever! mine! all mine!

:: picnic lunch in work. best work team is also mine. score LMJ!

:: cinema tonight. X-Men here I come.

Still sunny. Oh my, gotta love hot sunny Mondays!

S. João no Porto

Some days Little Miss Joey misses home more than others. 

Tomorrow, is S. João and tonight the celebrations will last all night long.

From the UK, LMJ watches people getting ready on facebook and waving goodbye before they go out. Secretly, she feels very jealous. Ok, maybe not so secretly. 

Next year!

Note to self: photograph the next S. João so it can illustrate this post.

Oxford Blackwell's

Do you like books? Or do you *love* books? LMJ *loves* books. I love reading, but my love of books is greater than that. I love looking at bookshelves filled with books. That alone can make me smile. I can spend quite a long time just looking at them. In my bedroom at my parents' house, I have the shelves organised according to my favourites. I can lay in bed and remember the stories, when I read each book, what it made me feel. I love looking at my growing collection and knowing these books are all mine, mine! With me, they have found a safe place and we shall never part. Maybe I will never read them all, but who cares, that's not important. Their existence makes me happy and I like whatever makes me happy. LMJ is quite simple, really.

Oxford has bookshops. Loads of bookshops! Blackwell is to me the most iconic. I love everything about it, from its size and cosy feel with books everywhere, to the building. Buildings are important. A bit like the cover of a book. I could tell you all about the history of Oxford's Blackwell. I could, but my friend Nicky could do it so much better than I could, that I think we should ask him. Pretty please, Nicky. Ta. From Joey and her readers *insert adorable smile here*

Little note 1: Can you tell I love windows? Clever you!

Little note 2: If you love books, you should definitely read The Shadow of the Wind. What a superbly written book!

::inspiring Mondays::

Having Monday morning off is a great start to the week. Even if it is just delaying the inevitable and means you stay in work a wee bit late. I thoroughly recommend it!

I am having a hard time coming up with little facts to share about myself whilst staying true to the nature of this feature ie producing pretty useless pieces of information about moi même while making it sound very interesting (or not, to be discussed!). And I'm pretty sure that counts as a fact. If that still isn't enough for LMJ fans out there, I can also say she'd like a little cartoon version of herself to resemble Mafalda but with blue eyes and brown hair. Hihihi... the thought is enough to make me giggle!

:: my visitors, M and MJ. it was wonderful to see them both and chat and eat good food and chat some more.

:: Ascot poshness. great day out. I love fascinators.

:: Ascot photos. cute!

:: wandering around Oxford. pretty.

:: lemon drizzle cake.

:: Sunday roast.

:: yellow.

:: navy blue.

:: curry.

:: slow Mondays.

The end of June is upon us. Blimey, this year is flying past! Hope you've all had a great Monday :)

Fisheye adventure...

... or the characters of a house sitting story.

As promised, photos from the little pet gang I house sitted with a few weeks back.

From left to right. Boris, the old Labrador who thinks he's a puppy at the sweet age of 12 and wants to take you for long walks he really cannot do. Meghan, the lady of the trio who thinks you exist to be her sofa and refused to put her tongue out when asked. And Samson, the happy ginger tom without a tail (lost in battle!) but with an amazingly soft fur who sleeps on top of the fridge to meow at you when you go past.

Gang, meet the readers. Readers, meet the gang!


Little note: Photos taken on the iPod Touch using the Fisheye Kit application. 

::inspiring Mondays::

I had an amazing weekend in Bristol. I was myself and a bit of a new me who can wear red lipstick and have fun with it. I laughed and chatted and knitted and barely did any photography but that was ok too. I had a lovely lunch at Harvey Nichols and curry and pizza and mojitos and white wine, not all in one go. I watched the Grand Prix and could not believe how exciting it finally got! It was about time F1 people! Indeed I had an amazing weekend and coming back to the real world this Monday was not a problem because of that. And because Ascot is this weekend and I have lovely visitors.

I want to sew a red and white quilt. I already have most of the fabric and one day I will do it. And love it. This reminds me I am still crocheting a blanket and have been for the last 4 years...hum... yes... There is no hurry, it's the beauty of it! On the topic of handmade, I have finished this red hat... see above!

:: girly weekend in Bristol. thanks Julie and Leanne ♥

:: mojitos ♥ 

:: cats. even if other people's cats.

:: water. blimey it is good!

:: cardigan knitting. pure lush.

:: on time trains.

:: no rain today. well, just a bit, early.

:: Ascot!

:: M is visiting. yay!

:: cousin is visiting. yay!

:: red lipstick. it actually looks good. it does!

Hope you're having an amazing beginning of the weekend. The weekend is almost here :)

::when I grow up I want to photograph like...::

You Can’t Be Serious

Yes, I am serious. I definitely want to photograph like You Can’t Be Serious when I grow up.

I first came across You Can't Be Serious via their 365 Grateful website. It was such a beautiful and inspiring project that I wanted to learn more about them, so ended up on their blog absorbing the light in their pictures like a little flower doing photosynthesis.

Before you start wondering about their cool name and who they are, let me tell you about them. You Can't Be Serious is a husband & wife project; Hailey and Andrew Bartholomew work together on their fun photographic adventure/business in Brisbane Australia. They have two daughters and the cutest Great Dane ever.

You Can't Be Serious really make me want to improve my people photos, dare to be different and not really care, because that's not why you do it anyway. Their photography is almost a life lesson on top of photographic inspiration. In their work, I like the name ::yes, laugh away, most things are not that important::, the concept ::light and smiles and pure joie de vivre::, their side projects ::we need several reminders of how lucky we are so we get on with things and enjoy life a bit more:: and how ultimately their photography makes me smile the happy smile of good fun.

I'm getting better at asking people, since last time, I think. This time, I commented on a blog post; the photos demanded that of me. I received a personalised email reply. I did. And I loved it. I plucked up the courage to attach my request to my own reply… {insert suspense here while we wait for the reply}… Hailey said yes. And I thought to myself "wow, this blogging photographic community is indeed swell".

Hailey, from You Can't Be Serious in her own words, for she can write too!

* 

My photography is part play! I love to play with photography. Thinking up fun ideas and generally having a good time!! Not everyone wants to pay me for that type of work but I have found a way to do a little bit of 'me' and a little bit of 'work'.  

I am not the most technical of photographers... I know enough to get by but I am inspired by people... all sorts of people especially people having fun or delighting in life. I love capturing real or true moments of laughter or fun or tears too. I don't do a lot of photoshopping people I like people to look real and be real and maybe inspire others to be the same! 

I started liking photography many years ago when I was about 15yrs old. But I did not really get into it properly till my kids were born and were little. They were my first and most inspiring subjects. Around this time I also started doing assisting work for photographers in Melbourne. They were mostly commercial photographers and were amazing inspiring, kind people who took me under their wing and encouraged me lots in the early days. I am very grateful for the people I have met along the way. I used to take my work to them and ask them to critique it. It was the BEST way to learn!! 

My husband and I now run a little company, we work together and are delighted to be able to have our own business. We have been going full time for 2.5 years. We photograph anything with people! ;) 

* 

In addition to their business and the 365 Grateful, You Can’t Be Serious have yet another worthy project – I like to be me. This could be a story about Little Miss Joey, actually but it isn’t; I like to be me is about Ruby Who?. Teachers, schools and parents are finding that it’s very difficult to explain to kids about good body image and how to be happy with what and who they are. Ruby Who? is a short film that tackles these issues and is available with a set of other useful resources.

Do you feel inspired by You Can't Be Serious? I do! And I’m looking into their 365 Grateful in more detail now… we can all get involved.

Interestingly, I now feel more confident in pursuing my own photographic identity than before. And maybe, just maybe, I just want to photograph like Little Miss Joey… Thank you very much Hailey for being involved and making it such a smooth experience for me.

You Can’t Be Serious in links
:: Website
:: Blog
:: 365 Grateful
:: I Like To Be Me

pink weekend

It's Friday, everyone! Yay! (I'm sure you knew that, but I thought I'd say it anyway!)

I'm off to Bristol for a nice girly weekend with dear friends with whom I used to live. One day I'll tell you our stories. Today is not that day. Today is the day I tell you I've packed more shoes than I'll wear but forgot the contact lenses. Priorities, right? Wrong, LMJ, very wrong! At least my glasses are safely on my little face, allowing me to see the world in focus. I also have an umbrella! This means it will not rain, as I seem to be one of those unfortunate people who carries an umbrella *only* when it does not rain; I've joined more than half the world's population on this one, to be in with the majority.

I am taking my camera and my knitting, the new cardi I've bought wool for a couple of weeks ago. There's only a few rows on the needles yet but it's so soft. Actually, it's soooooooo soft!

My girly weekend is the reason I've chosen a photo with pink. Pink for girls. Even though pink is not up there with my favourite colours. In fact, it's down there with the other pink type colours whose names I can't remember or pronounce or bother to remember or all three. But I like this photo because it's also dreamy and peaceful. And I always feel peaceful when I go to Bristol.

Have a good weekend everyone, pink or otherwise!

street photography now project

Fear not. The photo above does have an explanation. Keep on reading, little impatient you.

By now you and the world (for you are the world! and I'm a poet!) know I'm into street photography and would like to explore it further. I've been an avid little sponge for photos and articles on street photography and the more I see the more interested I become. 

On one of these online searches for inspiration, I came across the project Street Photography Now. You can read all about it here and buy the book on Amazon here. They also have a project which delivers a weekly email with a little prompt to get you going. This week's theme was:

 The distance between yourself and others should not be greater than your arm's length.

- Christophe Agou - 

Hence the photo. My glamorous assistant loved every minute! I pretend to punch, he pretends to fly away with the impact. Neither of us will have a career in acting after this, but such is life; there's always fishing to keep us going... oh wait, not good at that either... 

::inspiring Mondays::

This was one of those Mondays that deserved a "really, already?!?" kind of welcome. The weekend was good and I could have done with a couple more days to delight my sight in good photography and slow knitting. The real world, however, had other plans for me and apparently this Monday had been scheduled to appear for a while now so there was no delaying it. In the end, other than the 30 minutes oversleeping, it was a pretty good day :)

My favourite dish is my Mum's jardineira, a Portuguese type stew. Mum cooks it for me whenever I go home and on request. Mine will never be the same. Ever! My second favourite dish is grilled fish, with boiled potatoes and fresh salad. Oh my! Yummy! Portuguese style, of course. My third favourite is anything Mum cooks. Seriously! 

:: my first film ♥

:: little brother's comment on said film.

:: speaking to Dad about the film.

:: everyone's comments on the film. so sweet and encouraging.

:: realising there's more to life than said film and getting on with it.

:: today's visitors in work.

:: weekend in Bristol. can't wait.

:: housesitting with a cat. I'm putting this on my CV, I tell you.

:: my iPod.

:: knitting.

All in all, not a bad Monday, not a bad Monday at all :)

Hope you've had a nice start to the week... it can only improve from here!

a love story with film

I'm in love. Simple. Just as love should be.

I cannot begin to explain how exciting it was to open the little envelope with the prints from my first film. I paused my fingers on the flap just before opening it, knowing there is no going back on knowledge. I wanted the moment to last a little bit longer. Just a little bit longer. I held my breath as I opened the envelope. And there it was.

My first set of prints from a film with an old camera. Vintage is the word now used, très chic! And it was beautiful and filled with mistakes and they didn't put the white border I had asked for, but oh my, was it love!

That's the thing with love, it doesn't have to be perfect, it does not expect or aims at perfection, it just is and there's a glow and a smile and the whole world spins a good spin. That's not to say we can't improve or work at it... yes, my love of film needs a *lot* of work but oh is it worth it! So very worth it!

There's an incredible feeling in waiting for these images to turn up having no clue what they will look like and knowing they will be a bit more of my view of the world than my digital images. These were straight out of the camera (or SOOC, if you're in the know, which I wasn't up until 5 minutes ago, so there's still hope for you). I now need to work out why some images show a dark cloud (artistic effect not intended) and hope it's not the camera, knowing damn well that if it is I'll continue to use it anyway! Oh yeah!

The full set on Little Miss Joey's Flickr... if you want more... if you can't help but to want more... like with ice cream :D


(So-called) Technical information


Camera: Pentax KX
Film: Ilford FP4 Plus

village life

Village life is very welcoming, I have to tell you. People are friendly and helpful, silence really means no sound, and the air feels much cleaner. I could get use to this! Who would have thought? Not moi!

What I'm most enjoying about village life is the pets though. I know that's not down to village life, but being here reminds me of how much I miss my own pets and having animals in general. To lighten the mood a bit, before Little Miss Joey starts to cry like a little baby, a little promise from moi... photos of the gang! Yes, all three of them, good old Boris, sweet Megan, and adventurous Samson. 

Something else I've been enjoying about village life is the constant walks into simple yet beautiful places a minute from your door which are doing so much for my photography! Considering the commute to work is only 10 minutes from here, the extra free time in the evening is also helping. When will teleport be invented? Seriously, it's way late!

the nap

It is no secret Little Miss Joey has a love for animals. It is also no secret I have several soft spots for cats. What can you do?, the personality draws me in. Like this little fellow. Nap time is when a cat wants, where a cat wants! Enough said!