Mocking Bird » Vancouver

Finch’s Tea and Coffee House, Vancouver

Amanda — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:30:34 +0000

Finch’s Tea and Coffee House, Vancouver

Epic sandwiches served in brown paper, tables placed in raised window displays, ivy growing up the walls, mismatched furniture, and Horlicks served in mugs. Charm exuding from every nook and cranny.

Find The Beauty

Amanda — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:00:58 +0000

And a ho! ho! ho! to you…

Here’s something a little different for me. I’ve been teaching my Shoot By Design course participants to step out of their comfort zones and I really should practise what I preach, right? So here I am with some darker images with no natural light in sight. I didn’t completely step away from my usual thing but just took one element that is stylistically me and did the opposite. Do you step out of your photography comfort zone often?

Winter 2011 is the year that I embrace rather than retreat. For the past 2 years I’ve whined and grimaced at the darkness of the winter months here in Canada. I’ve spent every wet and miserable day pining for the light from my homeland and I finally came to the realisation that it was a really stupid choice to make. I can sit and wallow and be depressed for 7 months or I can embrace it and find the beauty in the situation. Being that I grew up in a land where the light was never an issue and sunshine was always around the corner, moving to Vancouver (where it is literally one of the greyest places on earth) took a lot of getting used to. I had no idea how much it would affect me and last year was particularly tough. I knew that I couldn’t let it beat me this year, so I’m trying my hardest to embrace it with open arms and find the beauty.

And it’s amazing…ever since I made the decision to adapt, I’ve actually been enjoying it! I’m seeing the fog and the mist as an atmospheric canvas, I’m taking long walks in the forest, I’m seeing a new beauty in the murky light, I’m delighting in wearing boots and scarves and coats, and I’m carving out a new way to take photographs. I’m even shooting a personal project which kind of has me giddy. More on that one soon.

Embracing, yo! <— Jesse Pinkman has a lot to answer for.

Cafe Days

Amanda — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:27:59 +0000

Wandering Neighbourhoods: Main St

Amanda — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:00:16 +0000

Ah Main St, such a fun place to spend an afternoon.

OK, before I go on Vancouverites, I know…the Sylvia Hotel is not on Main St but it was part of my Vancouver wander in the last month and I wanted to share. It’s such an awesome looking building.

The rest of these were taken on Main St which is a funky area filled with cute shops for you to aimlessly browse in and adorable cafes that beckon you to stop in for a latte. Despite me not needing a bridal gown, I couldn’t help myself and ducked into Frocks for a peek. It’s such a beautiful store filled with bridesmaids’ gowns and gorgeous fancy shmancy jewellery. I, of course paid a visit to one of my favourite Main St stores, The Regional Assembly of Text and discovered Front & Company, a quirky clothing/consignment/accessories store.

With all the wedding mayhem I’ve been involved with in the last month, I missed out on spending some time with these awesome ladies who were in town last weekend. I’ve been loving their blog posts and instagram shots from their trip. Hopefully we can meet up when I’m in Seattle/Portland next, ladies!

Vancouver is pretty awesome.

Reasons I Love Record Stores

Amanda — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:00:45 +0000

Reasons I love record stores:

The endless possibilities of new music to discover.
There’s something special about loving a record that has already been loved and shared with others before you.
The anticipation of stumbling upon that longed for 7 inch vinyl that you’ve scoured many record stores for. There’s always the chance that this could be the day.
The people who work in them actually know about music. Unlike the majority of people who work in places like HMV and Sanity (insert local big brand chain music store).
Music and concert picks hand written on cards on the walls. I love the intimate nature of the way the information is displayed. It’s like a hand written letter from a friend telling you to check out their new favourite band.
The one dude that lives and breathes music. There’s always one older guy working in these stores who is passionate about music and knows a ton about music. The Barry of your Championship Vinyl. Not that Barry was older, but you know what I mean.

Awesome record stores:

Zulu Records, 4th Ave, Vancouver
Easy St Records in Seattle
Amoeba Music in Los Angeles
Red Eye Records, King St, Sydney
That one awesome little whole in the wall store in Temple Bar, Dublin. I don’t remember the name but they sold way more U2 vinyl than I’d ever seen in my life.
Championship Vinyl- ok, so it’s fictional but you know it’s awesome. TRAX can therefore also be included.

And yes, I smacked the hell out of shooting wide open in those photographs.

Taken with Fuji Natura Colour 1600 film from Japan.

Anthropologie Opens Its Doors in Vancouver

Amanda — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:00:59 +0000

I was very lucky to be invited to attend the Opening Night of the brand new Vancouver Anthropologie store last night. I have had a love affair with Anthro since I first discovered it in Seattle back in 2005 and have longed for a store to open in Vancouver since I arrived here. I didn’t have to wait too long and now I live in an Anthropologie city and that makes me ridiculously happy.

The store is not as large as stores in the States but is actually bigger than I imagined it would be after seeing the Edmonton store last year. It boasts 2 floors and the design fits in with the Canadian West Coast beautifully with its reclaimed wood finishes and flooring. I love the wood on the outside of the store. Very understated and beautiful.

I was surprised how many of the products I have been coveting were available in the store and of course there are some bonus art pieces by local Vancouver designers. The pieces that stood out to me were those gorgeous wooden hand mirrors by local artist Alex Henderson. I was also happy to see that the prices didn’t seem to be higher than the US prices. Woop to that!

The night was so lovely with champagne, fancy shmancy hors d’oeuvres and a table full of fruit and yummy treats from Butter Baked Goods which is another gorgeous Vancouver talent (and store I’d love to shoot on film). I was actually quite overwhelmed with all the prettiness, people, food and trying to shoot some shots for the blog and therefore came home empty handed. I am already planning a trip back when the store opens tomorrow. I have my eye on several dishes, a couple of tops and those gorgeous hand mirrors. Anthropologie, you are going to be the death of me!

Thank you to Amanda in the NY office for putting me on the door! I had a lovely evening in Anthropologie land. Vancouver people, get thee to the store as soon as you can. It won’t disappoint.

You can see a full gallery on my facebook page and more of my images featured on Decor8!

p.s. There wasn’t a lot of natural light so I had to work with what I had and shot digital! Gasp!

Vancouver And The Cherry Blossoms

Amanda — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:00:55 +0000

I cannot help myself. Will I ever tire of shooting them? Probably not. I made a comment on twitter about how ridiculous it was that I took 14 photos of cherry blossoms on one roll of film. According to a lot of my twitter followers, I have nothing to worry about and shooting bloom after bloom this time of year is A-OK.

And with these I bid you farewell for another year, beautiful sakura.

Taken with a Yashica FX3 on Kodak Portra 400.

A Seaside Wander

Amanda — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:28:41 +0000

These are scenes that I will never get used to. Coming from a place where the ocean is often blue and the sand white, walking along beaches like this truly makes me realise how incredibly different our big world is. We took a rather large staircase to wind our way down to Wreck Beach. It is famous for its unclothed patrons and amazing sunsets. Thankfully, it was still pretty cold and there were no nakedly ones frolicking in the water that day- just a few wanderers off in the distance, a lone heron and some hippies playing guitar. The beach was ours alone.

Photographs taken with a Yashica FX3 using the new Kodak Portra 400 film.

Wandering Neighbourhoods: Gastown

Amanda — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:00:59 +0000

Wandering around Gastown is the closest you’ll get to old Vancouver. I absolutely adore this part of town with its red brick buildings, characteristic restaurants, hole in the wall pubs and brick-paved streets. If you ever tour around Vancouver, this is one place I recommend you visit with your camera and an empty belly. Being the tourist spot that it is, Gastown has its fair share of tacky tourist shops but you’ll also find some gorgeous clothing, furniture and homeware stores here. One of my favourite Vancouver stores is Orling and Wu which you will find on Water St. It is beautifully furnished with homeware pieces and items from all over Europe. I’ve had my eye on the lamp in the window (in black and white) for some time now.

Gastown is a photographer’s dream but I also love it because it reminds me of The Rocks back home in Sydney. I hope to shoot there more this coming summer! Wouldn’t you like to come join us for a drink?

She Comes

Amanda — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:59:58 +0000

Spring feels like it’s finally here in Vancouver. Oh, yeah! I see ranunculus and tulips at every flower stall in town and the cherry blossoms have arrived. Oh, the blossoms! 16th Ave and I have a date next week. It’s lined with sakura and I can’t wait to see her in full bloom. The magnolias are starting to bud and I am so giddy about all the little street gardens that are going to appear so very soon. Vancouver has amazing gardens in Spring and Summer. The gardens and blooms are one of my favourite things about this town. I plan on shooting lots of them this year, so be prepared to be bloomed.

Have a great weekend!

Taken at Wreck Beach and around Kitsilano with a Fuji Instax Mini.