Hello Midsummer!

‘Do what you can, with what you have, where you are’

Happy Summer or should I say Glad Midsommar with today being the official Midsummer date!

It’s hard to believe that it’s that time of year again! Though the travel industry may be at an all time low with the horrible cancellation of Summer holidays and putting most of us off planning anything at all, I am excited to see what this Summer has in store! I am so ready to chase those Summer sunsets wherever they may be and to create a new series of work!

Coral Nights, Carnlough Northern Ireland

If you follow my Instagram account you might have seen an exciting new product launch last week; Lavender Line Photography Phone Wallpapers! We decorate our homes, our workspaces and even our planners with pretty pictures and words of inspiration, so it seemed only natural that we give our phones that same treatment too. After all, it’s the one thing we look at umpteen times a day whether we like to admit it or not!

Stay Wild Ocean Child, Whitepark Bay Northern Ireland

For a while I found it difficult to want to change my phone screen wallpaper as I had put a special photograph in place back in July 2019 when I lost my Little Miss of almost 17 years.  It wasn’t until a phone upgrade in February 2022 that I felt it ok to change to something new, and so ‘Coral Nights’ was used to bring a touch of that golden hour vitamin sea to my lock screen.  It got me thinking about our phone screens and how we use certain photographs to get through certain times, a small comfort that is always at hand. 

So I decided to create a wallpaper series to bring a mini escape to those day to day routines of ours!  

Find Me Where The Waves Are

Escape The Ordinary

Good Vibes Only

And Breathe

Which wallpaper sums you up best?

• And Breathe

• Escape The Ordinary

• Find Me Where The Waves Are

• Good Vibes Only

• Stay Wild Ocean Child

I will be continually adding to the wallpaper collection to bring new quotes and images, but if there is quote or image that you would like to see then please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

A Drop In The Ocean

'The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul’ - Robert Wyland

Wednesday 8th June marked World Oceans Day, a day when the importance of the ocean is brought to our attention with the hard hitting facts of climate change, pollution and its devastating impact.  This year I wanted to promote the campaign 30x30, a campaign designed to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.  By signing up and supporting this movement it is helping to bring forward the issues of climate change and how protecting just 30% of our oceans can help lead to a healthier support system.  After all, in a world that is built up of 71% water where would we be without it?!

‘For her the ocean was more than a dream, it was a place she needed to visit to find herself’ - Jose Chaves

As someone who has a real love for the ocean and whose work is heavily inspired by it, it is important to me that I help in any way that I can.  Though I am just one person, if I can inspire someone to change their way of thinking with a post or a photograph then I know that I have done my job right!  That is the beauty of social media, how people are made aware of current issues and how it enables them to help in their own unique way.

It is my goal this Summer to create a special ocean print that when purchased its proceeds can be donated to World Oceans Day, a beautiful touch of vitamin sea that people will have displayed proudly in their home knowing that they have helped protect the ocean.

I also wanted to give a quick shoutout to Balscadden Bay Baths (Howth) and their very simple, yet effective beach cleaning scheme. They have supplied bags and ask that each visitor collect 3 items of rubbish before leaving the beach on the climb back up. It is little acts like this that create a positive impact and one that I would like to see more beaches doing in a way to tackle pollution.  I had thought that I had taken a photograph of their system, but unfortunately not… next time though!

Balscadden Bay Baths, Howth

Love From Stockholm

It seemed only right that after an unforgettable trip to the beautiful city of Stockholm that I create an exciting new photography series based on some of my favourite Stockholm scenes! From Gamla Stan to Sodermalm, first morning light to colourful night and many cobbled streets and lakes along the way… there is a little something for everyone!

Introducing the newest city print to the Travelling Squares Series; Hello Stockholm!

Love From Stockholm : Sodermalm Moments

Love From Stockholm : Stockholm Nights

Do you have a favourite print or would you like to see a certain scene added to Love From Stockholm series? These are just some of the prints available to purchase for your home decor or to gift that someone special with a real love for this beautiful city! Be sure to check Love From Stockholm on Etsy to see more!

Love From Stockholm : Stockholm Pinks

Hello Again Travel, Hello Stockholm!

Lagom : not too much, not too little, just right

After almost three years with no foreign travel I was finally able to tick the beautiful city of Stockholm off my bucket list!  I don’t know if it was due to my love of ABBA or that simple Scandinavian lifestyle that I’m drawn to, but something about Stockholm was calling out, and what better to have kickstarted travelling again with somewhere completely new!

A city filled with colourful and characteristic architecture, cobbled streets leading from island to island, a culture that encourages you to find life’s balance and that all important tradition of Fika! Stockholm is a city that everyone needs to visit at least once in their lifetime to experience that high vibing energy.  Although a second Winter had hit during my April visit with temperatures dropping to -6 (I’m sure nothing compared to their actual winter temperatures) I couldn’t help but notice how re-energised I felt.  It was so easy to switch off from the real world and focus completely on the surroundings of this beautiful new city and dreamy islands. I don’t think I’ve ever come away from somewhere feeling so happy and so sad all at the same time because I did not want to leave its way of life!  There is something to be said for just how special a place is when you feel like you have left a piece of your heart there and turns out that Stockholm is that special place for me.  I can now see why so many decide to up and relocate there after their trips!

Postcard stories from beautiful Stockholm

Although I did not get to experience a proper Stockholm sunset, I did get to see it blanketed in a light (and unexpected) covering of snow, making my trip even more special and giving me a reason to visit again!  I would love nothing more than to explore more of its hidden gems and more of Sweden itself, maybe rent out one of those cute little red houses to watch a sunrise / sunset on one of those many lakes…

Now to visualise… and for Belfast to start a direct route!

Ticked off my list:

ABBA Museum ✓

Vasa Museum ✓

Fotografiska ✓

Gamla Stan ✓

Djurgarden ✓

Royal Palace ✓

Stockholm City Hall ✓

Still to tick off :

Sunset at Skinnarviksparken

Stockholm Archipelago Cruise

#IWD2022

Happy International Women’s Day! Here is to ALWAYS dreaming, believing and achieving! #IWD2022

Escape The Ordinary

Hello November!  

Two weeks ago saw the return of my first official post-covid craft fair in the exciting new Banana Block Belfast with East Block Bazaar!  It felt so good to be out there again and interacting with people, something that I have really missed during this pandemic.  I have always really enjoyed talking to people about my work and the memories that it brings forward for them of a certain time / location.  I have also found that craft fairs are a great way to plan ahead for future print series and learning exactly what it is that people want to see in print.

The support for Banana Block and our first craft fair was incredible, it felt like life was somewhat normal again with the hustle and bustle.  The sun was shining, the music (curtsey of @SoundAdviceBelfast) playing and the excitement everyone had made it a craft fair to remember!  A huge thank you to everyone who decided to spend their Saturday with us at East Block Bazaar and to those who made Lavender Line Photography purchases,  each and every sale really does mean so much and is so appreciated.  

If you have made a Lavender Line purchase then please feel free to share it in its new home with hashtag #LavenderLineHomeDecor, I would love to see!

As Free As The Ocean

Goodbye September, Hello October! A new month, a new season and a new photography series. When I first started planning Dreamscape I knew that I wanted to create something special with the ocean and sunset in mind.  I also wanted to experiment with ICM and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get myself out there and play around with my camera in my favourite beach settings.  It has been such a difficult year and a half for all of us that I felt it important to give something with a sense of escape.  As each country has gone into lockdown and people have been denied those all-important trips home, I noticed that more and more of my clients were purchasing prints to give them that much needed escape and fix of home.  It was this that brought Dreamscape to life along with José Chaves’ famous quote :

‘For her the ocean was more than a dream, it was a place she needed to visit to find herself’

Lavender Sunrise : A perfect touch of those pastel morning skies!

Coral Nights : Why not bring a touch of orange sky to your home decor!

I wanted Dreamscape to have something for everyone; from golden hour to blue hour, sunrise to sunset, dreaminess to daze and a moment of moody black and white.  It is a series that I hope you can find your sense of escape with.  After all, who doesn’t enjoy a hit of vitamin sea or feel most at home when watching those waves rolling in!

Midsummer Waves : A perfect touch of monochrome to appreciate those beautiful wave formations even more!

Seas the day with Dreamscape!

Great Things Never Came From Comfort Zones

‘Great things never came from comfort zones’

It has been an exciting week here at Lavender Line Photography with the installation of Miss Golightly, the newest member of Team LLP.  If you follow along on my Instagram stories you will know exactly what/who I am talking about, if not, then fear not as you will soon be introduced!

I have lost count of the number of days/weeks/months/years I have spent researching photography printers (and papers) and reading each and every review to try and help with the big decision of purchasing and running my own printer. I mean if there is one piece of equipment that truly tests our patience then the printer has to win that race hands down!  I knew that this would be a big investment within my business and something that I did not want to rush into and later regret. 

Welcome to Team LLP, Miss Golightly!

So, after almost a year and a half of researching and a comment from the crazy talented Ryan Pernofski (‘I didn’t want to have to chase admin within my own business’) I finally decided to treat LLP to a Canon Professional Photo Printer. 

Secret Waters : Golightly’s first in-house test print!

It has only been a week and a half and already I can tell that this has been worth every hour and every penny spent.  I would be lying if I said that the thought of being in complete control of my own prints was not daunting, but the ease of setting up (a big thank you to Graham from Graham Crichton Photography for helping), the smoothness of its running and the overall quality of prints has really blown me away.  It feels good to know that coming into the crazy Christmas period I will not have to depend on others to get my prints back to me and on to their new owners all within a strained timeframe.  It is exciting to know that from now on all Lavender Line Photography prints (well, up to A2 size) will be printed in-house and that it will be me in charge of every aspect from photographing to editing to printing!  Here is to stepping out of those comfort zones and pushing ourselves into the new, and of course to Miss Golightly, Head of Printing!

Dreamscape Series

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Anyone else a Breakfast At Tiffany’s fan? I am a huge fan of Audrey Hepburn and love the free spirit of Holly Golightly, so it seemed a perfect name and fit for a printer!

Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961) and my favourite photograph of Audrey Hepburn as the famous Holly Golightly

A Dream Within A Dream

‘I hope you find time to remind yourself that you are where you need to be and you will get to where you want to be’ - Jacqueline Whitney

It has been a busy and productive week here at Lavender Line Photography.  This week’s mini Indian Summer gave me the opportunity to put together the finishing touches to my Dreamscape series which I am really excited about.  So far it consists of 10 dreamy seascape prints, but I am tempted to add another 2 to the collection to make it a series of 12, which will then be released on the 21st September!  The best way to mark the end of Summer 2021 if you ask me!  

I will talk more about Dreamscape on my September 23rd Lavender Thursday newsletter, but to see this series come to life has been a dream come true! It is a series that I have visualised and wanted to create for so long, but found it hard to push myself to leave that comfort zone of controlled settings.  So to think that in less that two weeks it will be out there in the world is really exciting…. and even more so as this will be the first series that I will be in-house printing here at LLP HQ!  

A Dreamscape Sneak Peek

I will be introducing you to the newest member of the team in next week’s Newsletter, but if you have been following along with my Instagram Stories you will have caught a sneak peek on Monday!

Until then…. Golightly!

P.S. I couldn’t finish last Thursday’s newsletter without mentioning the exciting news from Thursday 2nd September…. the reunion of ABBA! Anyone who knows me knows I love a bit of ABBA, so needless to say I have had their new song ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’ on repeat since the announcement and snapped up tickets to their Voyage show next year. What better than some ABBA meets London for 2022?!

Goodbye August, Hello September!

‘And the sun took a step back, the leaves lulled themselves to sleep and autumn was awakened’ - Raquel Franco

Goodbye August, Hello September!

I can’t quite believe we are at the beginning of a new month and a new season already! Where did Summer 2021 go?!  I don’t know about you, but at times it feels like we are still in that crazy non-existent March 2020 timezone!  It’s funny how a lack of travel and holidaying somewhere foreign throws you off a sense of time like that.  I can’t wait for that first proper getaway and ticking off those months / seasons the right way…. maybe then I will get used to the fact that we are in Autumn 2021 and not Spring 2020!

Autumn is a favourite season of mine, I always look forward to getting out and about to capture those changing colours and cosy scenes.  There is no better feeling than that first walk with crisp air and rustling leaves.  I’ve made it a goal of mine to visit somewhere new and exciting each year and although last year’s Autumn was basically spent in lockdown, I was finally able to tick Stormont off my list.  This year I am hoping for the Mournes! It’s one that has been on my list for a while now, so what better than an autumn adventure to kick it off!

‘Chasing Gold’ - Stormont October 2020. Don’t forget that you can add a touch of Autumn to your home decor by checking out my Etsy Print Shop (click above image)

Do you have a favourite place you like to visit during Autumn or do you like to change it up each year? I would love to hear about your favourite locations or places you would recommend visiting!