Mocking Bird » Hawaii http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:30:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Summer Dreaming http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/30/summer-dreaming/ http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/30/summer-dreaming/#comments Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:40:26 +0000 Amanda http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/?p=1090

A little sunshine for a dreary winter weekend. I have never been so ready for summer in my life. I hope you’re enjoying it, Aussies!

These shots were taken with my Nikon FM3a film camera. I used Kodak Portra160NC (my usual sunny film of choice). The 2 square shots on the bottom right were taken with a Polaroid SLR680. Yes, that’s me and the Canadian all sun kissed and happy.

I’ve got a few exciting things to share next week. Ooh, I bet the suspense is killing you. Hell, they are exciting for me and what good is a blog if I can’t share happy moments with friends? Have a great weekend all.

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  1. The Things We Do For Those We Love

]]> http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/30/summer-dreaming/feed/ 12 Just Be http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/22/just-be/ http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/22/just-be/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:52:13 +0000 Amanda http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/?p=1037

While it swelters at 36 degrees back home in Sydney, I am trying to hold on to the last of the sunshine and warmth that I tried to capture in all my pores on our little trip away.

It’s funny how a week in a completely different mindset can alter everything you were thinking and planning before you left. I feel like I’m floating through space right now and that’s OK because sometimes you just have to let yourself deal with the situation of your present. You have to allow your present to be your real place and stop planning, planning, planning because more times than not, things are never as you plan them to be.

In the meantime, I am excited about:

  • The Canadian’s birthday.
  • Gearing up for the final Lost by watching Season 5 again. Feb 2!
  • Lots more fabulous “What’s in Your Kit?” interviews starting next week!
  • The 2010 Olympics- even if the rest of Vancouver are not.

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]]> http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/22/just-be/feed/ 9 Why I Love Hawaii http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/19/why-i-love-hawaii/ http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/19/why-i-love-hawaii/#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:32:55 +0000 Amanda http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/?p=1015

Oahu is always jam packed with tourists, always busy and always ready to put on a show. Lots of people may hate this about Hawaii but for me the islands are about so much more. My family has a long history with Hawaii with my grandparents leading the pack on something like 14 separate occasions spent in the land of the lei.

I first visited Oahu with my family as a 7 year old and have made other trips back since. It was on this trip that I actually took my first photograph, a shot of my parents and brother outside the International Market Place. Sean and I have not so fond memories of lay overs in Honolulu Airport on trips back and forth between Australia and Canada but it will always have a special place in my heart because of the trips my grandparents made. They would tell us stories of the dolphins that swam about “The Kahala” and bring us back gifts, my favourites always being the Hula girl dolls and grass skirts.

Hawaii also makes me think of my late father who was obsessed with the place. I think in his mind, he imagined himself and my mum living there someday, in a warm, tropical paradise. His University of Hawaii baseball cap is still one of my favourite reminders of him.

I love the passion of the people, the beauty of their dance, the softness of the breeze off the ocean and the feelings of familiarity I get when I’m there. It always feels like home and now that I know how easy it is to get there from Vancouver, it may be more of a home than I ever imagined.

Related posts:

  1. New Prints Available and Hawaii Bound
  2. Aloha

]]> http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/19/why-i-love-hawaii/feed/ 5 Aloha http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/17/aloha/ http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/17/aloha/#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:00:06 +0000 Amanda http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/?p=1000

Oh, what a week I had on gorgeous Oahu. It all went too quickly and I already want to go back. Before I say too much about it, here are a small selection of the Polaroids I took while I was away. I hope you had a great week. I’ll be back with more Hawaii pictures and polaroids.

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  1. New Prints Available and Hawaii Bound
  2. Roid Week Starts Today!
  3. Print Store Opening Next Week

]]> http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/17/aloha/feed/ 13 New Prints Available and Hawaii Bound http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/03/new-prints-available-and-hawaii-bound/ http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/03/new-prints-available-and-hawaii-bound/#comments Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:52:57 +0000 Amanda http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/?p=940

These non filmy shots are now available as prints in my Print Store.

I hope you are all enjoying your beginning to 2010. I am currently planning for our little getaway to Oahu. Currently I have packed:

  • 3 packs of Polaroid 779 (plus 5 shots left in the camera)
  • 2 rolls of Portra 160NC and 2 rolls of Portra 400NC
  • 2 rolls of Kodak Tri X
  • Polaroid SX70
  • Polaroid SLR680
  • Nikon FM3A
  • Holga

I am now trying to decide whether or not to lug the DSLR. I’d rather just pick up this baby and take it instead. All I can think about is the sunshine on my back, fresh salty air, Havaianas and the Ala Moana Centre (J Crew, Neiman Marcus, Kate Spade and Nordstrom here I come).

I cannot wait to get over there with my Polaroids and shoot, shoot, shoot!

p.s. The Canadian got a Wii for Christmas and I’m already addicted to Mario Kart even though I suck at it. I made a The Edge Mii- so sad!

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  1. Abby Try Again Prints On Sale

]]> http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2010/01/03/new-prints-available-and-hawaii-bound/feed/ 9 The Thing About The Northern Hemisphere… http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2009/11/27/the-thing-about-the-northern-hemisphere/ http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/2009/11/27/the-thing-about-the-northern-hemisphere/#comments Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:08:09 +0000 Amanda http://www.mocking-bird.org/blog/?p=791 vintagehawaii

I s that travel is so accessible and easy. Most of you Northern Hemispherians would not realise what kind of ridiculous ordeal it is to get on a plane and go anywhere from Australia. Try 26 hours to Dublin from Sydney.

Living in Australia or New Zealand means a life devoted to travel needs to be sporadic and worthwhile. We don’t just fly to New York for the weekend, we don’t do a few days in Paris, we don’t even do a week. For us, travel is a big thing, full of as many country stamps in our passports as possible and 18 month hauls in Europe.

In Australia it can take us 2 days to drive to the nearest major city and there isn’t much to see along the way. We are surrounded by sea and even though it’s massive, I call an island my home.

So for me, having a border to another country just 5 minutes down the road BAFFLES my mind. The fact that I can drive on a road that is Canada on one side and America on the other does my head in.

Imagine not being able to talk to your neighbours because they live in another country? Search lights will beam down when your tennis ball goes into someone’s yard. Border guards will shoot you down if you try to take some chocolate chip muffins across the street. How does the Christmas street party work? Do they throw sausages and beer to each other across the border? Do they use megaphones to swap eggnog recipes?

As an Australian who loves to travel, having all these fabulous travel destinations so close by is too tempting. I have about 6 different trips planned already, none of which are likely to happen until I get a real job. The dream list is as follows:

  • Seattle for lots of shopping and catching up with friends.
  • Christmas in New York (swing by relatives in Boston)
  • Paris in the summer with a dash of Spain, Italy and maybe Switzerland.
  • Japan, oh Japan.
  • Banff
  • San Francisco
  • Edmonton for my birthday with a road trip through The Rockies.
  • Montreal
  • UK and Ireland

Instead of always dreaming, we just booked the cheapest flights to Honolulu for January! It will be my 4th real trip to Hawaii and I am beaming at the thought of sunshine and POG juice, plumerias and Maui chips.

What are your travel dreams?

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