A Continuing Connection...

As you have no doubt gathered from this blog I have two main passions. Literature and Photography.

I LOVE my Nikon D5000 DSLR! There are so many fantastic cameras out there but I adore mine simply for the fact that it's a Nikon. I'm not talking about better brands or if Nikon is better than Canon. I love my NIKON for the enduring reminder and connection that it has afforded me...

In case you weren't aware my dad died when I was in my pre-teens. I miss him and still love him dearly. He was a fantastic father. When dad was alive he enjoyed dabbling in photography. He wasn't a professional just a keen hobbyist. I actually have a couple of his old cameras displayed in my living room...


Lo and behold DAD USED NIKON!!! I took this photo with my Nikon... I like the continuity of it.

I must have gotten my passion for photography from somewhere and dad's looking like the culprit. I know it probably doesn't make a difference or make a whole lot of sense but I love it that I'm passionate about the same hobby as my dad. There's a connection, be it ever so tenuous. When I hold my camera I like it that it's roughly the same size and shape as dad's.

It also really demonstrates the passage of time and amazing advances (both technologically and personally). Dad's cameras are film (shock, horror)!! Sometimes if feels like my camera is more in control than I am! After all I'm still learning...

My dad and I - we are hobby buddies... Separated by time, space and circumstances beyond our control. But still it's there. And as I go on in life where memories become fuzzy, corroded by time there is something tangible in my life that can serve as a reminder that I had a fantastic father who loved me dearly and sort to live with integrity.

And that just makes my adventures into the world of photography even more special.

And so whenever I take out my beautiful Nikon D5000 a little part of me will always wonder what tips dad might have given me to get a better picture... And I like that little reminderAll images taken by Tafline Hoey

Spreading the love...

You wanna know what? It's been a trying few weeks... BUT instead of focusing on the negative and spreading the negativity around I thought I'd share somethings that make me happy... Well a Top 5 list anyway.

1. A site that I'm loving at the moment. We heart it! An absolutely fantastic site. You can find so many wonderful images and works of poetry. I've been spending hours (hours that should probably have been spent of my university homework) trawling through this site finding some beautiful images. Here are a few I've stumbled across:








2. This fantastically funny TV show I found on iTunes. Bored to Death. I love it! I love it! I love it! It's something completely unique and utterly entertaining. Anything I write about it would quite possibly misrepresent it so just look at this clip (or better yet download an episode!):

3. My gorgeous new DSLR camera! I've named it Shayla and she is just perfect. Using her makes me feel SO HAPPY! She's has so many menus and functions - I'm on a steep learning curve. She (in concert with me) can take such beautiful pictures. Every time I pick her up I just get the biggest smile on my face. I always find I'm happiest when I'm creating - be that writing, painting, taking photos or just attacking random objects with my hot glue gun. Here's a photo of my number one girl:

4. The full-stop amazing band of City and Colour! I own and listen to a myriad of music on my iTouch but the best playlists always have lots of City and Colour songs. I just love the simplicity of the music and Dallas Green's voice can just transport me to another place. So whenever I'm having a truly horrifying day I just crank up the volume and just let my troubles float away on the acoustic guitar lick. Check out this clip of two of my favorite songs (and while you're at it check out his tats - beautiful!) :

5. Words of poetry which sing to me, inspire me and comfort me. I lie back into the cushiony softness of words and I am restored. With all the exceptional poems out there it's hard to settle on one... But the one that sings loudest to me in my current hour of need are the overwhelming words of Wordworth. And so I give you...

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on a high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way.
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in a sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee;
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company;
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is that bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
~ William Wordsworth

And I leave this post happier than when I begun...