Happy Halloween, friends!
xo,
Author: oursweetsomewhere
This Week in New York City
If I haven’t said it before, never in my life did I imagine New York City to be on the map of “places I’ve lived”, but it indeed happened, and I’ve been making the most out of it since my husband and I moved here unexpectedly over a year ago! Although the city can be very busy, loud, and quite overwhelming for me at times, I have been trying to embrace this change by using my camera (or I should say more recently my phone camera) as much as I can to capture the things that make it so great.
While there are those iconic shots that first come to mind like the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, or even one of my favorites, the expansive skyline as seen from the DUMBO waterfront; I have found that what has captivated me most in the short time I’ve called myself a New York transplant, is the simple moments of beauty that stand out in the hustle and bustle of my daily life. Whether it be on a quick walk to the Union Square Greenmarket during my lunch break, from my ride home on the Q train, or on my evening walk with the pup; I have been challenging myself to step out of my day-to-day routine to capture moments that inspire me and that I otherwise take for granted.
Similar to Kate’s recent post on finding a #quietmomentinrome, I will be sharing a series of simple and inspiring moments from my daily life as a New York City resident. Here’s a look into what inspired me this past week:
Chinatown at sunset as seen passing by from the Q Train.
Baby heirloom tomatoes from Cortelyou Greenmarket in Brooklyn.
This girl walked by me on 3rd Avenue while on my way to work one morning. I really loved her style.
Cotton candy skies from an evening walk with the pup in our Brooklyn neighborhood.
#Strangersinmyfeed while waiting for the train at Cortelyou Rd.
xo,
Jamie
Traveling through Europe in Photos
I spent two weeks this summer traipsing around Europe. From Italy, we visited Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. What a whirlwind!
We chose to travel by bus and train only, (with the exception of one ferry ride to Croatia) because it would allow us to chat with people and see the countryside go by. We met some interesting people along the way, a German PhD candidate studying dams and waterways in Amsterdam, a Frenchman who used to work on movie sets in Hollywood, and an Austrian brandy maker in traditional lederhosen, just to name a few.
Right before the trip, Anthony surprised me with an early birthday gift. A Polaroid Instax Mini 8 to use on our adventure. It was such a sweet and thoughtful gift and we defiantly got good use out of it during the two weeks on the road.
I also brought along my Cannon and switched between that and my phone to snap some photos along the way.
These pictures are just from my Cannon, though. I’d like to post some phone shots later.
Sunsets in Zadar, Croatia are the best.
How we spent our 5th wedding anniversary.
Swimming under waterfalls in Krka National Park.
Enjoying Salzburg, Austria. We constantly had a pretzel or sausage in hand the entire time.
Notre Dame in Paris.
French kids.
Eating a Nutella crepe in front of Notre Dame and a Paris ferris wheel.
Brussels buildings.
The French countryside.
A few things I noticed after coming home and looking through my photos:
1.I really would like to improve in my street photography skills. I find myself feeling embarrassed or a little slow when snapping the one in a million moment of a stranger. Does anyone else get self conscious when they try to take on street photography?
2. I need more candid photos of Anthony. He turns completely goofy whenever he notices the camera pointed on him. I love that, but often I want to catch the sweet or serious or amusing moment right before. I should work on my quick draw camera skills.
3. I’m much more comfortable with my phone. It’s much easier to pull out my pocket, less bulky, and less noticeable. When I do take a good shot with my camera, it surpasses the quality of my phone photos. Still, the sheer number of phone shots I took this trip doubled my camera. I want to be more comfortable and quick with my camera.
Does anyone else feel this way when taking photos? Any advice?
xoxo,
Kate
Honeymooning in Northern Michigan
Spending our honeymoon in northern Michigan this past summer was such a great decision that it became almost hard for us to leave when we had to head back home to the Big Apple. Not only is it always a joy for us to be able to swim in a lake that’s like the ocean (unsalted), but this particular area of Michigan holds so many of our cherished memories as Scott’s family has owned a cottage up there for over thirty years!
Because it had already been 6 years since our last trip to the cottage, we made sure to soak up every second of our time back up North. I’ll be real and tell you that we spent the majority of it either at the lake or a local brewery, but then again, what are vacations for if they don’t also involve some form of leisure activity for an extended period of time? ;) To give you an idea of what our week was like, here are some of my favorite memories from our time up North:
Petoskey Stone
Scott wandering around some sand dunes in Petoskey State Park
Private beach by the Cottage
Locals enjoying the last bit of summer from Petoskey Pierhead Lighthouse
Views of Walloon Lake from lunch at Barrel Back
Michigan Beach Park in Charlevoix
Sunset view from Bay Shore Michigan
To sum it all up, our honeymoon was nothing short of amazing and we are already waiting for the next opportunity we get to head back. Also, just a quick shout out to my mother-in-law for creating this sweet surprise (pictured above); she even included some goodies for our dog, Baxley!
xo,
Jamie
Hashtag Project in Rome
It seems everybody has a signature hashtag. Entire cities have a go-to hashtag that can be used with your Instagram photo when you visit. OSS has used the hashtag #adventuresomewhere for past adventures and meet-ups and #30photosaseason to push us and others creatively to step outside our photographic boundaries.
Since moving to the Eternal City my life has turned into one big whirlwind. Like any big city, there is rarely a down moment or a place of stillness in the hustle and bustle.
I started searching for the fleeting #quietmomentinrome as I explored my new surroundings to remind myself that beyond the Colosseum and the tables littered in wine bottles, people live here permanently and are able to find a place of solitude in the city that hasn’t slept in over 2,000 years.
Help me find a #quietmomentinrome on your next visit. I’d love to see what you come up with.
xoxo,
Kate
Our Sweet Somewhere 