Mocking Bird l Vancouver Film Photographer » Travel

Banff Road Trip

Amanda — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:00:17 +0000

I always imagined that I would get to visit beautiful places on planned vacations. On planned vacations that take me 2o plus hours of plane travel to arrive at. This little trip came out of the blue on a dark, winter’s day when the possibility of a family reunion taking place in Edmonton was announced. Sean suggested we make it into a road trip so I could see the Rockies and experience the awesomeness that is Canada.

I never imagined that this little road trip would change my life the way it has. I have always been a traveller and a lover of seeing the world. It’s something we Australians do, we travel, we see the world, we leave our homeland to go exploring. I think it comes from being so isolated from the rest of the world. We have to go out there and make sure it really does exist.

So it changed my life, how? I had the most amazing experiences with nature that I never dreamed could happen. I literally had a close encounter with a deer as tall as the car as she peered into my window, our eyes locked and I was transfixed by her beautiful, honey coloured fur. I was gob-smacked at how calm she was, at how beautiful her eyes were…and then she was gone.

And I think the gob-smackedness comes from that thing about Australians being so isolated from the rest of the world. We hear about these creatures in fairy tales and books like Wind in the Willows and because of that they seem mystical and surreal. Stumbling across elk one morning gave me the same feelings I felt when I saw Bjork on stage. She was as much an enigma to me as these majestic creatures were with their velvety antlers and prancing through the forest. Yes, I did just compare Bjork to elk.

I still peer into the trees and bushes whilst driving along the highway into Vancouver hoping for the slimmest chance that I will spot some wildlife. My animal spotting obsession is now with me for life but that’s OK. While many road trippers were sleeping through their drive, I spotted over 30 animals in their natural habitat. I think that’s pretty damn awesome.

Photographs taken with a Nikon FM3A 35 mm SLR using Kodak Portra 400NC film.

Elk and Moose and Bears, Oh My!

Amanda — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:50:12 +0000

The weary travellers have returned and I have so much to tell you about our little Canadian road trip. Before I do, I wanted to share some Polaroids from one of the most amazing weeks I’ve had in a long time. I feel one with nature like I never have before.

Letters To Lovers: France

Amanda — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:02:04 +0000

We have not yet met, but I know that once we do, our hearts will be joined forever. I’ve heard you’re very beautiful and full of that magic light that I chase. I dream of sitting in your cafes watching the world go by and walking your hilly, Montmartre streets with camera in hand. I think we could be good friends. Shall I come over some time?

Love Amanda xx

p.s. I hope I can take some Polaroids in a one of your cafes. This one is one of your Australian cousins sharing your Frenchiness with the people of Sydney.

Letters To Lovers: Italia

Amanda — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 03:22:09 +0000

Hello, old friend. Remember me? You flirted with me at the top of the Spanish Steps and gave me a kiss at Fontana di Trevi. We held hands in sunny Tuscan fields and danced to O sole mio. I long for your poplars and olive trees. I miss your jolly, fat smiles and creamy gelato so dearly. I really hope I get to shoot some Polaroid with you. Maybe we can hang out again soon.

Love Amanda xx

And Back Again

Amanda — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 23:32:00 +0000

Across the seas and land I go…

Next week I will be blogging from the homeland as I am off on an adventure to Australia for a few weeks. I am off to get some happy soul family time with the mumma and siblings and to reconnect with my long lost summer wardrobe.

As much as I will miss my Canadian, with us being our all too familiar 12522 miles apart, I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with my family and friends again. 7 months is a really long time to go without giving your Mum a hug.

I’m super excited to go home and see all the people in my life again but it’s a strange feeling to be leaving my love behind. He had to do this a few times when we were living in Sydney and I was on the other end, watching him leave while I stayed behind and was left alone. So to now be the one doing the leaving feels almost bittersweet.

I’m planning on lots of photography and photo shoots when I’m home in Sydney and will hopefully get to the beach and to wander around the markets that I miss. I’d like to do a few “Wandering Neighbourhoods” from Sydney as that was something I never really did at home.

I’ve also got some happy photography news coming which I was hoping to share with you this week but it hasn’t arrived yet, so that may have to wait!

See you on the other side, unless of course my news arrives. Wink, wink.

Whistler and the Magical Gondola Ride

Amanda — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:30:56 +0000

One of the best things about living in Vancouver is being so close to mountains and snow fields. My Canadian has grown up with a world class ski resort in his backyard and I often ask him if he knows how lucky he is to have had his own ski village and mountains at the doorstep. In the same way that I am very lucky to have grown up in a city full of gorgeous beaches and beautiful ocean views, I guess we often don’t appreciate what we have until we leave it behind.

Being in Whistler for me is like being in a movie or stepping into a picture that seems so distant from my own Australian life. Michael J. Fox is right, British Columbia is BIG. Everything is so majestic and it feels like you are walking around with a postcard in front of your face all day long.

Because I don’t snowboard or ski, I spent a lot of our mini trip in Whistler village, while Sean was on the mountain. We decided to meet for lunch on Whistler Mountain which meant I had to overcome a little hurdle. You see, I’m not the best when it comes to heights and I panicked a little on the Capilano Suspension Bridge and the gondola up to Grouse Mountain. However, both times I was with Sean. I had to ride the Whistler gondola alone and I will admit, I was a little freaked out.

The gondola is not that high off the ground but it’s LONG and it climbs and climbs for what seems an eternity to someone who really doesn’t want to be on it in the first place. My freak out had to be contained to my inside voice because there were four very experienced looking ski bunnies on it with me and I didn’t need their goggled eyes peering at me, the novice in my expensive, hardly ever to be worn snowboard pants. Yes, I own snowboard pants and a snowboard jacket. For I fear my death will come in the way of some hellish side of a mountain stranding where I am eventually mauled by eagles and bears. At least I won’t be cold.

The whole trip up to the top consisted of me looking below to figure out if I could survive from that height and scouring the mountains for bears who, if I did fall, would come and eventually eat me. As you can imagine, I was delighted to finally be at the top and to be out of the swinging box in the sky. I was a rush of energy and adrenaline to see the mountain peaks and feel the snow falling on my face. That lasted about 30 seconds until I comprehended that I was going to have to climb back into the death cabin to get back down again.

I am always impressed by my clever Canadian and his snowboarding moves, even though I never actually get to see him do much more than ride away into the distance before he disappears again off the side of a FREAKING HUGE MOUNTAIN.

I won’t bore you with anymore details other than to tell you that my ride back down the mountain was nowhere near as scary. I remembered to breathe and listened to my ipod which helped me to realise that I was lucky enough to be up there in the snow and trees and the mountains which is some of the most beautiful scenery you could ever see. There I was humming along to a little Chris Martin when I realised what an idiot I had been before. I was in a place that was so breathtaking and so magical and yet I had allowed myself to be frightened of it.

I now know, it’s not scary at all.

I made this video mostly for my mum, but you can watch it too if you like. Please excuse the crappy filming. I need a good HD video camera!

p.s. A very late Happy St Patrick’s Day! ☘ ☘

New Prints Available and Hawaii Bound

Amanda — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:52:57 +0000

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!

The Thing About The Northern Hemisphere…

Amanda — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:08:09 +0000

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?