Five Favourite Snaps From The Trip That Was : People

When we travel, sometimes we pretend we do it for history or art or culture, or simply relaxation. But really - if we're honest - we travel for food. And my goodness we had some good food on our European adventure. The greatest bolognaise of my life in Bologna; the best fluffy yet chewy pizza in the dodgiest of Italian port cities; the herby pot of sausages and lentils in Nice; the baguettes in every tiny French town we drove through; the roquefort in - yep - Roquefort; the olives and cured pig in Cadiz; the gelato everywhere... 

But, strangely, I rarely take photos of my food when I'm travelling (or when I'm not travelling, for that matter). This is for three main reasons: 

1) Everything looks so damn tasty and I'm pretty much permanently hungry so half the dish is normally inhaled before I even think about taking a snap.

2) I'm normally travelling with my anti-social media, anti-camera, pro-living in the moment husband who would mock me mercilessly if I pulled out my camera at the start of every meal. 

3) I'd mock myself mercilessly too if I pulled out my camera at the start of every meal. Basically - I'm too self-conscious and too afraid of being a cliche. Sad and somewhat shallow but true.

All of which is a long winded way of explaining why this is five favourite snaps of people, not food. And I'm quite happy that it is about people. Holiday snaps without people - without action and movement and life - can get a bit soulless after awhile, I think.

Lecce, Italy. This one fits with my 'the prettiest places don't always make for the best travel photos' theory. We spent three nights in Lecce, in a grand old hotel, and it was nice. It was a typical Italian city with a lovely centro storico, lots of alleyways and piazzas. And it had it's fair share of grime and graffiti too. Pretty and gritty in equal measure. But, packed with families and holiday makers, it was full of life. (And gelato - oh man! The gelato in Lecce was both plentiful and delicious!). 

I love this shot. I love how the strong afternoon sun brings out the colours and frames the family, the tweety bird balloon providing a focal point. I love the contrast between the extended family out for a stroll and the graffiti covered wall. I love the guy on the bike, so Italian in his polo shirt and sunglasses, about to disappear into the shadow. 

Lecce, Italy. There's the graffiti and the bin and the dirt of the street. But there's also family good times, gelato in the shade, relaxed holiday vibes. And now I want gelato. Damn.

Lisbon, Portugal. There is a lot of snobbery about cruising. Unwarranted, I think. One day I'll write a post about all the reasons we love to cruise, and I swear it'll make you go out and book one right away. But for now I'll just tell you that leaving port on a giant boat is a wonderful thing. The views you get as you slowly pull away- such a different perspective on a city. 

I love all the traditions around leaving port too. It's normally perfectly timed for aperitivo hour, so everyone gathers on deck, drink in one hand, camera in the other. They play Con te Partiró over the loud speakers, followed by Somewhere Over the Rainbow (the ukele version, of course). It may just be because I'm getting old and sentimental but it always, always brings a little tear to my eye. Which is a bit ridiculous, but also kind of great.

Leaving Lisbon was fantastic, you really got a sense of how impressive the city was, how it stretched down the harbour. You could picture all those explorers sailing out to discover the world, way back when. 

Civitavecchia, Italy. Now this was cool! When we were leaving Civitavecchia there was a maritime pilot who stayed on board the cruise ship, guiding the boat safely out of port. All good, right? But how does he then get off the cruise ship? Apparently, he does it James Bond style! 

Directly beneath our cabin I watched as the pilot inched down a dangling rope ladder, dwarfed by the enormous cruise ship. He clung there, waiting for the right moment, and then leapt on to the speed boat below. Impressive! This shot captures him in mid jump. 

It's one of those times when you think - how lucky that this just happened to take place right here, and how lucky that I just happened to be faffing about on our cabin balcony at the time.

Conques, France. I could tell you all the things that could be better in this shot. I could lament the fact that I rushed it, out of fear and that feeling of intruding (we were in a church!). I could mourn the image that could have been, that should have been.

But I won't. 

Instead I'll just enjoy the gorgeous tones of the old cathedral, the light streaming in from above. The beautiful french woman, the joyous flowers, the pink and the purple and that perfect red jug. Oh! And those glorious gold moccasins! It may not be the perfect image and yet - there is still so much to be happy about here.

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Over to you - do you think the prettiest places make for the best pictures? Or do you prefer a bit of grit? Do you go for pristine, people-less shots when you travel? Have you got an 'almost but not quite perfect' image that you just wish you'd got right? Do you take photos of your food? Do you like to cruise? Do you want some gelato?

As Seen In Asia : My Other (New!) Blog!

Finally! After dreaming about it for years I've hit publish on my street style blog. It's called asia* and you can find it at asseeninasia.blogspot.com (get it? get it?). 

As you may be aware I'm not an especially fashionable lass but I do love a good frock, a quirky detail, and those people who just look put together. I envy them, actually. This new blog is about capturing a little slice of that as I roam the streets of Asia (and yes, for the purposes of this blog Australia most definitely counts as part of Asia!). 

At the moment they are all sneaky shots, but I'm hoping to do some 'proper' stranger danger photos once I work up the courage to actually stop people in the street (just the thought makes me a bit weak at the knees!). I'll be posting three times a week over there (and hopefully three times a week over here too!). 

I'm really excited about this new project, I hope you're a little bit excited too!

Seoul Walking : Street Food

Rain, hail, snow or shine you can always find something to eat on Seoul's street corners. In Winter there's freshly roasted chestnuts and in Summer there's delicious juicy slabs of watermelon. And all year round there's sausages, fried potato, chicken and fish cakes (all on sticks); toasties featuring an assorted mix of plastic cheese, spam and egg; peanut butter flavoured dried squid (seriously); dumplings; egg cake (like a steamed vanilla pudding with an egg whacked on the top); braised silk worm; 'gold fish' bread; and all kinds of hot pockets and fritters and things stuffed inside other things (did you know it was possible to fill a cocktail wiener with cheese?). Korea's street vendors are nothing if not inventive. 

Not being a fan of squid, fish cakes, insects or deep fried sausages, most of this street buffet is off limits for me. But I have found a few tasty things for snacking on the go. I love the Summer fruit stalls, and the dumplings. And I'm quite partial to the egg cakes (they are so moist and vanillary, and they warm you up in the cold of Winter), although I tend to take the egg part of it home for the dogs. But my favourite is '호떤' ('hodok' or 'hotteok') which is a shallow fried rice flour pancake with stuff in the middle. You can get a sweet version, but I love the savoury one with glass noodles and a little veg (see below). 

Everyone who visits Seoul always asks - is it safe to eat? I think yes, especially if you go to the busy stalls in high traffic areas. As for taste, it's all so cheap you might as well give it a try - you'll only waste a dollar or two if you don't like it. And it'll give you the chance to admire the simple ingenuity of these street cooks and their portable kitchens. Oh, and a word of warning, if it looks like it's something delicious stuffed with chocolate it's probably not - red bean paste looks deceptively like Nutella...

Seoul Walking : Summer Umbrellas

It's summertime in Seoul, hot and humid. And that means it's umbrella time. Which also means that for me it's chasing-elderly-ladies-down-the-street-with-my-camera time. I've been a bit obsessed with capturing the passing parade of umbrellas...

There's something about a brolly that makes one look just a little more lady-like isn't there? Especially when it's one of these gorgeous floral ones that the ladies of Seoul seem to favour.

(Okay so no umbrella in that last one, but she is rocking the floral, so...)

Good Things...

Kicking off another batch of good things with the heart-stoppingly awesome Uniqlo x mt collaboration. Uniqlo is a prolific collaborator, and they tend to find some pretty great companies and people to work with, but I think this kicks it to a whole new level. Look at those prints! Look at those colours! 

Unsurprisingly I've been a little swamped with t-shirt requests from my Australian friends and family, but I'm only too happy to oblige - got to make the most of Asian shopping while we're here! (Oh, and if you're buying these in Japan apparently each tee comes with a roll of tape!)

Next up is the fabulously inspiring book Street Photography Now. I've been increasingly obsessed with street photography over the past year or so, and have recently even plucked up the nerve to try my hand at it. Street Photography Now offers a great introduction to some of the best photographers working the streets right now, as well as a bit of an overview as to how the art has evolved over the years. Not only is it chock full of witty, poignant, beautiful street scenes but it also contains a number of essays which I'm loving reading. 

The first essay 'Stare, Pry, Listen, Eavesdrop' discusses the legal and moral issues of the art, and provides some insight in to the mind of a street photographer - it's reassuring to read that most practitioners feel some degree of nervousness about shooting strangers. I also liked that Nils Jorgensen often won't 'look at my street photographs for many months after taking them - years even - only coming back to them when I want to and feel its right'. Hey, if it works for him... 

(There has been some angst around how sources are cited in this book - it does have a list of further reading/blogs at the back but doesn't directly cite sources for quotes - but I get SO excited about all the creative possibilities every time I look at it, I'm kind of turning a blind eye to that...)

Then we have the artistic stylings of Lena Wolff - an 'interdisciplinary' artist whose influences include folk art, American craft traditions and the natural world. She works largely with paper, but often treats it in the manner of fabric, with references to textile art and quilt making in her work. All of which adds up to awesome. The work above ('Night Flowering Tree') is a paper collage, and the one below ('Mariner's Compass') is a piece of precisely drilled wood over a light box filled with hundreds of tiny light bulbs - amazing huh?

It's been out for awhile but Jon Klassen's kids book 'I want my hat back' is so very good it has to be a part of this post. It's not just his fabulous, personality packed illustrations - it's one of the funniest picture books I've ever seen (possibly even surpassing 'The Happy Hocky Family' in sly hilarity). And no, I do not have young children (and the dogs don't read), but this doesn't stop me from enjoying books for young children (or movies, for that matter). Also, in other Jon Klassen news, he's done the cover for the current issue of UPPERCASE. Nice one.

And lastly, a little dose of blatant self promotion - after a hiatus of several months Jorpins Handmade on etsy is re-open! Hurrah! The card above is one of the new range of photo note cards that I'll be listing over the coming days. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out - what do you think? There's also note books and gift / party favour tags (more tags in new colours coming next week!), and some push pins, magnets and more in the works... Exciting times!

Seoul Walking : Fast Fashion in Myeongdong

I was thinking that my blog has been lacking a bit of Seoul* of late.  Experiencing this super sized city is a pretty big part of my life, but aside from the odd post here and there it hasn't really been a big part of my blog.  

I spend a surprising (frightening?) amount of time just wandering the streets of Seoul, soaking in the sights and sounds, reveling in all things intriguing and inspiring and, well, Korean.  I pop out for a loaf of bread and don't come back for hours because I get so distracted by it all.  And maybe you would like to be distracted by it all too?

Welcome to 'Seoul Walking' - an ongoing series of image heavy posts, each focussing on a different suburb or aspect of Seoul life.

Myeongdong (명동) is right on our door step and is possibly one of my most favourite places to be.  It's an almost always busy hub of K-pop, cheap fashion and pretty young things.  There's dog cafes, evangelists, fashionistas and tourists galore.  There's 10 dollar shoe stalls, two H&Ms, MMMG (my favourite Korean stationery brand), a four story Uniqlo (actually there's two of those as well!), three SSFW's (great for bags and accessories), A Land, American Apparel and so much more...

*I promise that I will absolutely stop making Seoul/soul puns soon.  Maybe.