By
Em O
5:46 PM
2014,
emabroad,
England,
Harry Potter,
Harry Potter Studio Tour,
London,
photography,
photos,
sisters,
summer,
travel
Our big thing we did while in London this past summer was book a tour at the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio. If you're a HP fan, its a MUST. Original sets, costumes, drawings, models etc from the movies. Totally wonderful and geeky.
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We visited Christ Church Cathedral... mainly just posing with the outside structure since we didn't feel like paying to enter a building. (Europe is expensive man.)
Such a gorgeous day- only one tiny cloud in the sky!
Temple Bar is the "thing" in Dublin, so we popped by to nab some photos, but it was too crowded to bother trying to get a Guinness.
We visited a different, less crowded pub for Guinness and traditional pub fair. Thick, hearty soups, bread and fish and chips. It was a good call all around, because we were seriously HANGRY at this point. Pretty much the only time we all almost started fighting the entire trip. After we got some food in our bellies we were able to enjoy the live music and atmosphere and, you know, the fact that it was our last full day in IRELAND.
...and yes. This photo shows that I don't really like Guinness. I pretty much stuck to ciders the whole trip. They were delightful. Don't judge me.
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Sometimes... sometimes you just have to go somewhere sort of new. A new headspace. New scenes. New air... something like that anyway. I drove up to Columbus to spend the day with my sister and we had lunch together and visited The Book Loft in the German Village (we found a copy of
Rachael's book,
Crochet Boutique: Hats- which I photographed and styled and my sister modeled for, so we were happy and took a couple photos. Because we're silly and excited like that.) I had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte, and it was too sweet... I guess I'm really a coffee person now.
Lately its been a bit hard to be... here. Because I'm not exactly sure what "here" even is. Most of my friends and family know that this period of time has been difficult for me. After being so busy and living near a big city in a foreign country, living in community with other people constantly... being home at my parents, unemployed and single has been a challenge. I'll admit I'm chomping at the bit for the next phase of life (whatever that is) to begin, ready for some new challenges and hopefully some answers to prayers I've been praying for a long time... but until then, in this interim, I'm glad to finally have a few things to look forward to. Working with my best friend on an upcoming wedding as Paper&Velvet, second shooting some weddings and writing/photographing for
Apex Anthologies... all good things.
Hopefully, some other things will come through soon.
My friend Hannah sent me this quote the other day... and it pretty much sums up my life at the moment:
"When we make a change, it’s so easy to interpret our unsettledness as unhappiness, and our unhappiness as the result of having made the wrong decision. Our mental and emotional states fluctuate madly when we make big changes in our lives, and some days we could tight-rope across Manhattan, and other days we are too weary to clean our teeth. This is normal. This is natural. This is change."
-Jeanette Winterson
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As a photographer, I'm sure its not very surprising to hear that I'm not particularly comfortable on the other side of the camera. (shocker, right?) Honestly, photography is so perfect for my personality. I'm introverted by nature (yes. I am. That doesn't mean I'm not friendly and that I don't know how to communicate. Please, its not a disability, its a personality trait.) But every now and again, I know I need to force myself to have my portrait taken. To have someone else try and capture a tiny piece of who I am... and then, to actually PUT IT OUT THERE. How awkward is it to post all these photos of myself? Let me tell you... awkward.
It may or may not surprise you to discover that as well as naturally being an introvert, I have also always battled with self-confidence. Some people find these things surprising to hear, since I can be extremely outgoing (now) and because I've always dressed kinda crazy. In the past few years, I've finally started to come into my own in a LOT of ways. But especially in knowing the difference between egotistic pride and confident pride. To take ownership of the gifts and talents I have been given and to be PROUD of them. To be able to agree with people when they comment on my photography being good. To charge what I'm worth when it comes to sessions and photo shoots. I have been able to see myself grow so much in that way... but still I struggle when someone comments on how pretty I am. Or if they like my style. Or honestly, if they make any comment on my physical appearance. Weird, right? Most people would never guess. But I'm here to say that it is something I struggle with constantly. I do my best to keep my identity firmly rooted in Christ and in my heart, but I would be lying if I stood here (in these photos) and told you I don't look in the mirror, or sit in my room regularly and battle with myself.
But as I find myself trying to invest in other young women and I see them battling with the same things, it both breaks my heart and also challenges me to be open and honest. And to stop being so critical. I love photography because I see beauty everywhere. I see people and I see beauty. I see joy, I see stories and emotions and I see creation. So why is it so hard to see that in myself?
I want the young women I am around to see their value and beauty, to grasp their true identity, so I am working hard at embracing my own.
We are all created in the image of an amazing creator... mistakes are not possible.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." -Genesis 1:27
(Photos by my friend Johanna)
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