End of Exams, Lots of Books and Fun :)

Crazy title...I know, but I think it's called for. =) And pretty crazy few days, have I had! Apologies also for the crazy, crazy, crazy blog look at the moment; I tried (unsuccessfully) to switch over to the New Blogger Template and found myself Utterly Confused And Wracked With Discomfort at the thought of those difficult widgets and all my links being erased!! =) So I tried to switch back, again without success, so am left with a blank blog without links and a header or anything. I'm working on it though.

As I had my last examination on Monday (joy to the world!), my friend M came around to my house yesterday and we went round all the charity shops in town (that would be a measly TWO) ... I think you call them thrift stores in America ... and picked out books we liked and bought them. I can't wait to read them. I bought six, yes six, for just £3.25. That's a huge great whopping $6.49. If I'd bought them new in the shops, they would have cost about £35 altogether. What a steal! =P

And so to celebrate (although pre-planned) our Great Big Book Bargain (M bought seven for £3.50) and the end of examinations, we went to a play on the Southbank. That's not far from where I live, in central London, right on the river. The play was A Rose Tattoo, by Tennessee Williams, and it was wonderful! The cast were brilliant and so was the music. Afterwards we went out onto the balcony to see London all lit up by night and I took a few pictures. I am just loving my 35mm f2.0 lens...it's so sharp and so lightweight and so great for general purpose shooting. Here's just one. Oops, it didn't upload. Next time!

Have a great day! love, L. (Oh, and you can click to see the photo bigger, sorry they're so tiny but otherwise it makes my blog even more funky that it already is)!

Bad Blogger. Bad Blogger.

Be honest, how bad a Blogger have I been? I haven't posted, haven't commented, haven't anything and I send my sincerest apologies to each and every one of you. =) But summer starts tomorrow at 10am, after my last exam. I can't believe these exams, GCSEs, are finally over after so so long! We've worked laboriously towards them for two years and I cannot wait to finally be free of their shadow. =) In brief revision breaks, I've been experimenting with film as well as with my newly repaired and sharp-as-tack 35mm f2.0 which finally arrived [love it!] so I think I'll share my film shots tomorrow, I'll be back free of study for 10 weeks and full of zealousness and zest for blog commenting and posting. I promise!

Digital ISO 400, f/2.0

Thanks for all your sweet comments on the last post. Love y'all!

Just popping in.

To say thank you for all the support you have given me in the last 4 months of this blog. I love reading your comments and words, it really motivates me..so thanks. =) I know I haven't been posting as regularly as usual but exams are almost over...18 down and 4 to go! So I'll be back soon, exam-freeeeee and ready to snap! Just pulled one off the cards from the last week...hope you like it. =)

L. x

Overdue.

I sincerely didn't realise I hadn't written since Tuesday! Life has been a wonderful chaos of studying, exams and in-between relaxing with little time for photographs or much else. Yet, when I snuggle down under the covers in my cosy bed by the window, I look out at the fading daylight..excited about what tomorrow will bring and I think of all the things I will do in 9 days...when exams are over and I have 60 days of peace and solitude and fun and giggles to myself! I want to read lots of biographies, a new one of Bobby Kennedy I haven't read and a couple of others and, oh, I just can't wait!

I am already making a reading list, planning to join the new library round the corner, to visit the secondhand book store and pick up as many 20p paperbacks as possible, to paint the antique desk in pyschadelic shades that sits forlornly on our bonfire, to plant some half-hardy perennials, to finish my book and write more in my diary. Oh, it shall just be pure bliss after two years of a voice in the back of mind nagging at me "You must study now, Lu!"...much as I love it! About 2/3 of our year group, that's Year 11, finished exams yesterday but because I take Religious Studies and Higher Level Bio, Chem and Physics I finish on the 25th. But as much as I am excited about the holidays and the summer, I don't want school to end. I do love it so...the people, the ethos, the girls, the teachers, the grounds and most of all the learning. I think if there is one thing I love, it is to learn. About anything! That's why I like photography, reading books, school...I just love to educate myself and to learn more about the wonderful and diverse and utterly beautiful planet and its people. =)

As for photographs, still no sign of my 35mm. I sent it almost two weeks ago First Class so it should have arrived at the photographic company HQ by now but they say they still haven't received it. What a nightmare. I'm thinking I might just buy another 50mm to save myself the trouble, but certainly not from there!! Anyway, here's two from recently...you just gotta love cheesecake and strawberries!

I'll be back later with some more photographs, no exams until Wednesday so I have some free time to do my thing. =) Love you all. Be good.

L.

Bellis Perennis

“If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies.” ~ Nadine Stair

Daisies [bellis perennis], to me, are hope, joy and love wrapped up into one. They've always symbolised that to me, ever since I made my first daisy chain on a warm August night in 1998. I've loved them ever since.

Who Do You Admire?

One of the first things I ask someone in life, when I meet a them or speak to them on the telephone, is "Who is your hero? Who do you admire?" ... I believe that from their role model, their inspiration, you can tell a lot about that person - their character, their interests, who they are and who they would like to become. So I'd love to hear who you admire - anyone, family, friends, a politician, a celebrity...whoever it is. I'd love to hear who and why and how it came to be, whether on your blog or in a comment.

I have a lot of idols. Well, I don't like to call them idols...more admirables, role models....my grandfathers, my grandmothers, my parents, Martin Luther King, Anne Frank, Harper Lee. But the one that always stands out, the one that always comes back to me, the one I can relate to most of all is Robert F. Kennedy. Ever since I watched a documentary on him a long while back I have admired his triumph through adversity, his devotion to his family, his courage and bravery, and his gentle nature, his belief in his duty to do right. There is something in his spirit and his policies that kindled a fire inside me, that made me want to change this world, to bring goodness and happiness to all. Whilst his brother took the fame and glory, he stood on the sidelines and worked harder than ever yet still managed a smile. His message was one of hope and of truth and of love. His idealism and views speak to me beyond words. I think he would've won, had he have lived. He would have won.

So, let me know, who do you admire?

L. x

Chaotic.

That's how I would describe my life right now. Chaotic, but fun and engaging and interesting and terribly detailed and busy as banana jam. But fun. I guess that's what it's all about, being swept along for the ride and making the most of it, enjoying it in your own special way. Thankfully life is not so chaotic that I haven't had time to take a few pictures here and there. Most of what i have been doing is detailed in the next photo...it's me, my life right now. Not technically perfect but fun all the same! Yep, you win, revision, revision and yet more revision. But it's all fun.

I had Biology [difficult but doable] and Latin [easy!] yesterday and German today. I adore German so much..the way it flows, the culture, the literature but it was really ziemlich schwierig today. But my German teacher is utterly lovely and I know she'll be proud of us all whatever we achieve. She's nice like that.

It was lovely this morning, all of us German students studying together before the exam. Laughing and joking and practising our phrases. Do you ever have moments like this? Where you just marvel at the beauty of life and friendship and wonder why some people resort to violence and war? We were sitting in the big hall and as our voices echoed around the room, you could hear the soft tinkling of a grand piano in the background...from downstairs in the assembly hall. I wished I had my camera but there's a quote I read once, about how you shouldn't be bitter that you didn't have the chance to capture it...you should just soak up the moment and I did. I just smiled. As two girls [ballet fans...] pirouetted in time to our chanting of sein and haben, the sounds echoing around the room and the morning sunlight spilling through the window, I felt that moment of happiness. A moment of stillness and beauty and truth and life. I love moments like that. =)

And now, sorry for that little diversion...I just had to write it and etch it in time, some completely unrelated pictures from the last few days. I still don't have my 35mm back but I'm finding the kit lens quite fun (ssssshhhhh!).

Have a fab evening, I have to go study the Cold War! Love, Miss L.

Signature shot.

This is fast becoming my signature shot...the experimental self-portrait at 18mm, looking down. I don't know why, but I always thought you could tell so much about a person from their shoes so this kind of portrait is so me. And, yes, all three of my recent 'signature shots' have been of me. =)

Other news? Well, I have Biology, Latin, History and German exams starting on Wednesday...but I'm okay. I need to go study the Cold War any minute now so this will be short..yep, hearing the shouts of glee and delight already!! =) I waited for a whole 18 minutes and 3 seconds in the queue in the postal office in the village this afternoon to mail my 35mm off...it's funny, I noticed all you have to do is go to a Post Office and you get a whole cross-section of the population waiting in line! Young, old, tall, short, black, white and every shade in between...it's beautiful and wonderful to understand the diversity of the place in which we live. So now I truly AM left with just the kit lens which I am loving more each day! Surprisingly enough. I plan to sell my 35mm when it gets back and purchase a 50mm 1.4 or a mid range zoom...we shall see. The world's my oyster...;) Sharing just another shot from yesterday... our lovely washing line...that's my dress, my sister's vest, and our pyjamas you can see! =) Enjoy!

Love, L. x

Funky distortion~

Those of you who have a Flickr account, did you know about the blogging feature? It's so easy and so much fun! It feels like Christmas, in fact. =) It even allows you to title your photographs for your blog...oh, so much fun! I needed a bit of good news besides. My 50mm 1.8, my beloved, broke yesterday...just snapped in two...so all I have left if my 18-55 with which I uphold a love/hate relationship. What do I detest most in the world? Variable apertures! But what do I love most? 18mm focal length. So it's good and bad. But I'm sending off my 35mm lens for fixing so hopefully that'll be back soon. And, hey, maybe it's a good excuse to purchase the 1.4!!

And now, the news of the century!!

My little sister Elle, who is really not so little anymore [she'll be thirteen at the end of this month...oh, gosh, I still see her as an 8-year-old =P], decided that she'd be nice and let me snap a few of her. These are nothing special to most people but I love them! The distortion [yet again!], the conversions [yep, my first b/w's in absolutely forever] and the feel. They convey her life right now and I love all the little details...the pinboard, the cuddly toys, her faces...so yep, these are SO me...so HER and sooooo lovely I think!! We'll have to see if you agree.

Life of a 12-year-old..., originally uploaded by Lulu ♥

Thanks for reading! ~L.

Light.

Light is like a language. An ancient, beautiful, unknown language. But when you are fluent, if only for a moment, you feel as if you possess the world's sweetest secret...the world's biggest treasure. Light is perpetually important...it gives us health, and happiness, it gives us strength and hope. Light was there in the beginning and it has never left us. Light is part of nature, part of ourselves and part of each person's soul. Light makes me think of a quote I love.

“There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle.” ~ Robert Alden

I like to think that's true. Light, like truth and life, gives us hope. Hope to go on, to strive for better and to appreciate what we have. In so many cultures it has such intrinsic value, it's something special. I am starting to see its beauty, to discover the light in each and every being, the light behind a smile...to sculpt it with my camera and to appreciate its enchanting and magical way.