Summer's Disposable Photos

There's something about the images you get from those cheap disposable cameras. Perhaps it's the soft colours or the wonky angles that you get from squinting through the view finder. Maybe it's knowing you can't take 800 photos and pick the best one's later.

So it's become a bit of a ritual every summer to buy one of these disposables from Boots and use it up over the summer months. Come September I can't wait to get them developed and relive all those forgotten moments.

Georgina 

Looking For A Short Read?

Recently I’ve read some cracking little novels that really got me thinking. These two I’m about to list really stuck out as something pretty much anyone can enjoy. 

All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman 

This is a weird one; hugely fascinating and scarily accurate. The book focuses on this one normal man, who (surprise surprise) is only friends with superheroes. The book flicks between the past six months of this guy’s life and the present, where he is sat on a plane with his wife.. who has been hypnotised and hasn’t been able to see him for the past sixth months. This guy has to somehow convince his wife he hasn’t disappeared from her life, but is in fact sitting right next to her. Random right? Jam packed full of clever comments on people in today’s society, it’s well worth a read. 

Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry 

I picked this one up on a whim at the book store; it looked interesting and the cover’s pretty. I was gripped the whole way through, and wanted it to be longer. The book is split into four or five main sections, each answering important questions on the contemporary art world and it’s role in our society. It sounds a little pretentious but don’t write it off! This book really made me think about the role of contemporary art & artists in todays world. 

That’s it, 

Happy reading!

Georgina 

Three Podcasts Worth A Listen

If your new to podcasts and want to give them a try or your looking for something fresh, these might be just the thing. You’ll find the one’s I’ve picked are centred around interviews with successful creatives/entrepreneurs and how they got to where they are today. 

Ear Biscuits 

Hosted by two guys Rhett and Link who have a pretty popular YouTube channel, they’ve interviewed so many of the big names on YouTube and a few other creatives. Each episode is at least an hour long and so they take the time to really go into detail with each guest. Sadly they’ve stopped making episodes but there’s such a big selection on iTunes it’ll keep you going for sometime! 

The Lively Show 

A weekly podcast that discusses every aspect of lifestyle from career, relationships to personal habits. Blogging is a running theme throughout each episode, looking at the future of it as well as interviewing some current successful bloggers and entrepreneurs. Episodes range from 20mins to 1hour so perfect for a long listening sesh’ or a quick tune in.

Filler: A Creative Industries Podcast 

My favourite one on this list. The two guys that run it are creators themselves, and the shows got such a good vibe. Mostly held in a coffee shop in central London, they get a lot of photographers, entrepreneurs, video makers and even community architects (who knew that last job role even existed!). I always come away from each episode feeling like my mind has been opened to new ways of thinking and being, definitely worth a listen.

One to look out for: One Piece Of Advice 

Yes I can count, but this is a little extra one! Only one episode has been released from this last piece which is why I don’t think it truly counts. But after listening to a bit of the first episode, they seem to be on the right track. Another podcast looking at creatives in the industry. This podcast seems less chatty than the ones above, with talking purely from the creative featured.

Happy listening!

Georgina 

Looking... Really Looking

For my photography project I needed to look at crowds, strangers and big cities. So off I went to Waterloo station where I wandered around and snapped away, hoping no one would ask me to turn the camera off! My goal was to experiment with capturing the journeys strangers were experiencing around me, I thought I’d share my outcome.

I love this long exposure effect you can create using a really slow shutter speed, it seems to capture the movement and flow of the train station so well. 

I decided to make everything black and white partly because of the photographer that inspired this shoot, but also because it appears to remove some of the clutter that colour can bring to a photo. It lets the eye focus on lines and angles that make a photo. 

Looking back at the photos it amazes me how little I'd paid attention to the station when visiting previously; the clash of old architecture next to shiny new flat screens. 
Even the shot above seems to have something interesting about it. The sign is nothing special and yet it's signs & directions like this that are a crucial part of the journey through Waterloo station and beyond. 
Since this photography project is all about 'the journey', these thoughts should all hopefully lead somewhere. But outside of course work I'm going to try and appreciate the smaller details around me when I'm out and about. It might make unexciting travel that little more exciting. 

 Georgina 

Consuming and Creating

Getting that balance between consuming creative things and then creating yourself is pretty tricky huh. 

It’s so easy to soak up all of those creative juices from other people - perhaps from the artwork you saw, or a video that got you thinking, or just something someone said that stuck with you. But it’s what to do with all those ideas that’s the problem. It's so easy to let them sort of wash over you.

I watched this video recently (link to her channel here), and in it she mentions that to really process anything she's seen, she needs to create something. I'd never thought of the creative process like this before, I think she's completely right. 
It's pretty similar to the idea that to stay inspired you just need to create, to experiment without any fear of doing something wrong. 

Even writing this post has started something off. It’s made me sit down and think about what I want to write. I may have re-writen sentences a fair bit, and it took me a bit of time to get going. Still, it’s forced me to put something down and out of my head. It should help me to gain more of a balance between consuming and creating. 

What do you think? I'd love to hear.

Georgina 

A Change Of Scenery

Change is not always something I'm that great at welcoming. Although I love switching up the small things like my phone case or nail varnish, bigger changes are something I'm trying to embrace more.

On that note I’ve been having some thoughts about changing up this blog; making some major adjustments as well as just freshening it up a bit.

I must admit some of my plans are a little 'cray' considering I’m going to do all this revamping myself, but we’ll see. I’m arming myself with all the ‘how-to’ sites I can get my hands on! 

Most importantly I’m changing this blog's name, *drum roll please* to Wanders & Wonders. I felt this title was snappier and a little less moody. The name popped into my head a few months back out of nowhere, I instantly loved the way it encompasses a mind that's always thinking and a lover of travel.

The URL is also going to be changing, so the best place to find this blog whilst it’s making the change-over is on Bloglovin’.

For now be prepared for a lot of gradual changes as well as me occasionally taking the site down to make some bigger adjustments. Now all I have to do is sit down and get coding - lucky me. 

Georgina 

On Contentment

I'm currently reading "Quiet" by Susan Cain, a book looking at the power and importance of introverts in a culture where extroverts are the favoured personality type. There was a section looking at how introverts tend to be more sensitive to big events and new experiences, explaining why they can happily have a quiet evening at home and not feel ‘under stimulated’ - as this book calls it.

When my friend Darcey casually stated that she feels completely content with staying at home with tea, the TV and a blanket it really struck me. Because although that doesn’t sound like a bad idea, it’s not something that would ever spring to mind. So what does make me feel really content? And when I say content I mean the I-wouldn’t-want-to-be-doing-anything-else-right-now kind of feeling. 

After much deliberation, I came up with two situations that really struck me as utter contentment: 

01  Being at a (rock) concert, seeing a band you lurve. That awesome feeling of being completely wrapped up in the loud music and the people on stage and the crowd around you. The most effective path to having some mind-numbing (and deafening) fun. 

02  Having a really deep conversation with someone. And I mean scraping the bottom, drowning in the deepness, deep. It’s the way you connect with someone on such a genuine and honest level . Thinking up new ideas, new ways of seeing things and sharing thoughts that you can explore. 

There were lots of things that came close to this list. I always think good people and good food is another one. But I think what I was aiming for here was situations where you are completely lost in the moment, not worrying about what you just said, or what you should eat, or what’s happening tomorrow. 

Perhaps this got you thinking? If so, I’d love to hear. 

Georgina  

A Mindset For 2016

So we’ve all said our farewells to 2015 and now it comes the time of year when we all sit down and ponder our goals and bucket lists for the next twelve months. I’m all for this new-found motivation, but I sometimes think our attitudes for how to achieve these goals are a little askew. Perhaps just listing what we want to do and expecting to make the time for it doesn’t work?

This year I thought I’d put this idea to the test. I’m going to not really mention what I want to do this year, but instead how I should be thinking to achieve it. The idea is that if you get yourself into the right mindset, all your goals can follow right behind. 

Stop Waiting For 'Better Things' In The Future. It’s so easy to wish away the present because we know in a week, a month, a year things will be better. I want to make a habit of pointing out what’s good about right now instead of what I won’t miss.

Exercise Benefits You Mentally As Well As Physically. The idea of a run first thing in the morning can sound like the worst idea, but it doesn't feel that way once it’s done and dusted. 

I’m A Morning Person, Make The Most Of It. Having a lie-in from time to time can be a small luxury, but getting up and starting the day early is what makes me feel motivated. 

Don’t Overthink Things! It’s sometimes best to go with the flow, thinking things over and over won’t change anything. 

Long lists always look intimidating so short and sweet it is. What are your new year’s resolutions? I’d love to hear.

Happy new year 

Georgina