My Best Photo's of 2012

I have decided to look back at last year and choose my best ten* pictures of 2012. On each photo I have wrote why I chose them and why I took them.

1. Moon

One day last summer when I was back home, I used my dad's new telescope to test it out and get a chance to look at the moon. When we finally got the moon into the viewfinder I decided to try and capture it with my camera phone. I didn't expect much as I didn't think my phone would focus but after a couple of tries this was the result. I could have changed the composition of the moon but after much hassle finding it I didn't want to move the telescope. I am very pleased with this photo as my hopes weren't high.

2. Painting of a Flower

On a sunny May day I met up with my Dad and decided to go to some local gardens. After a while the heat got to me so I was just pointing my camera and shooting blind. It didn't help with the sun blinding my camera screen so I couldn't see what I was taking until I was home. When I came across this photo it struck me on how much the flower head looks like a painting. I am also pleased on how the pink flower contrasts the dark background giving the photo more depth.

 3. Wax Iris 

This was taken on the same day as the above photo. I choose this photo as you can see the waxiness of the petals on the iris head. I also loved the yellow and dark purple colours as I would have never put them together in any of my design work but after seeing this flower I started to experiment more with colours.

4. Metallic Mallard

I choose this picture purely as I like how the Mallard duck head looks as if it was metallic showing lovely green colours. I took this photo on the same day as photos 2 and 3. However I took this at the start when there was some shade so I could see what I was taking. I tried to align the head more to the left however as it kept moving it seemed that it was always centre.

5. St Michael's Sunset

This photo was taken on one of my favourite evenings of last year. I stayed with my Dad and Grandparents at the start of October for a week in Cornwall, I decided to go on a walk by myself to the beach when the sun was setting. I can literally say it blew my mind and I got some clarity. I wish I could go back to that evening when I was sitting on the wall watching the sea go in and out, the wind surfers reflecting the last sun rays of the day and the sun slowly disappearing behind the headland. This photo instantly brings back the memories of that night. I love the darkness of the mount and the sun hitting the harbour with the gradient blue sky behind.

6. Jersey Cow

This photo was taken on the first day of my holiday in Cornwall. After staying up 27 hours I was quite tired and got bored as my Dad kept making me wait whilst he took photos. During one of these times I was waiting, I decided to try my macro setting on my camera. I like this photo as it is natural and as the cow was sitting down it gave me time to set up the shot.

7. Sea King

Again this photo was captured on the first day of my holiday in Cornwall. I was purely testing out my cameras zoom and didn't expect to capture such as clear shot of a Sea King. I love the stillness of the helicopter as it really does capture a minute in time. I am pleased that the sky was blue that day as it makes the red stand out better than if it was a grey day.

8. Shapes

This photo was taken when I was on a bus tour around Barcelona. I chose this photo as it was simple yet eye catching due to the different shape in the image. I also like the sphere balancing on the edge of this building.

9. 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'

I saw this when I was visiting a cornish mine on a bleak grey day. Not only was the position of the quote perfect (on a wall that was half demolished) but it got me thinking wether it was true or not. I came to the conclusion that it was partly true. Sometimes when you love something so much it can overshadow your instincts and make little things 10x more worse than they really are.

10. Behind Enemy Lines

I took this photo on the last day of my holiday in Cornwall. This photo was taken at RNAS Culdrose in the afternoon where I got to see a lot of flying action. I like this photo as the colours are bleak just like a war zone and the barbed wire in the foreground to show the harshness. Seeing as I was in competition with my dad for the best photo of the helicopter I think I won hands done as this photo has emotion of a war.

11. Casa Soldiers 

This photo was taken when I went to Barcelona with my Gran last year. I chose this photo as it is one of the best memories of last year. I enjoyed it so much that I keep thinking back to it and I am tempted to book another weekend break away with my Gran this year. I love these soldiers head sculptures by Gaudi as I felt that they look abstract but you can still tell what they are meant to be. As well the view from Casa Mila overlooking Barcelona was amazing. 

*have added an extra photo that was featured in a previous blog about my time in Barcelona.

2013 Goals

Resolution is a term that I am not keen on. In previous years I have had new years resolutions, that I had hoped that I would stick to, however I always seemed to lose interest. I feel that is partly due to the fact of the pressure and that in the middle of January there is always a new report saying that most people have given up on their own resolutions, so I start to think what is the point. Instead this year I have changed the word to goals as I feel this sounds more achievable and not so scary. I have tried not to have goals that I knew that I wouldn't achieve. I have made my personal goals quite easy to help improve my design work and my life. I have chosen ten goals although I feel that I won't complete all of them but if I have at least accomplished three of them, then I will know that 2013 will have been a success.

1. Life after University

As I start my final year of my course this year I feel that it is time to start thinking about what I want to do after university. There are already two ideas of what I could do, these are either stay on and complete a MA in Digital Design or go into the industry. If I was going to go into the industry I feel that I should start brainstorming ideas of what area I want to go in. I feel that I have been putting off my decision as I felt it was still too early, however the rest of my housemates already know what job they want and how they will get there.

2. Take a photo everyday

Last year I created a bucket list of 100 things I want to do before I die. All of these tasks were to make sure I live a full life. One of the tasks on the list is to take a photo everyday for a year, I felt this would challenge me with a chance of some photo's to go into my portfolio. The photo's will be random with one day it featuring a landscape image and the next something that I had done during the day. This is a chance for me to take more photo's and show off my skills. If you want to follow my progress I have set up a Flickr account Photo of the Day 2013.

New Dawn, New Start- Day 1

3. Get a work placement

For the final year of my course it is advised that I get a work placement from a local firm. I feel that loads of students will start applying March time so I need to start now if I want a place. I feel that I will get many benefits from the placement, not only will it look good on my CV but I will get experience on how a design company runs. I have learnt at university how the design process works and was able to put it into practice last semester with a live client however I feel that seeing it done in real life will be different. I feel that a placement might help me decide where I want to work in a design company.

4. Achieve grade 2:1 in Year 2

I want to graduate my course with a First degree however at the end of this year my aim is to get a 2:1. Last semester I spent most my time doing university work and making sure I was ahead of my classmates as if I had down anything wrong I could go back and redo it. I want nothing less than a 2:1 as I feel it will show me it was worth the time spent and that I could go on and get a First.

5. Maintain my fitness

At the end of summer last year I suddenly became very health conscious resulting in some changes in my life. After a while the effects began to show which made me feel brilliant. During the christmas period I have still tried to be healthy but allowed myself some slack as it was the holidays. I am now ready to get back into the lifestyle I had at the end of last year.

6. Do a 5K charity race in less than 45 mins

This year I want to do the 5k run Race for Life as it is a charity close to home. I previously did it in 2010 with my finishing time of 58 minutes with no truing before hand, I also applied to do it last year but sprained my ankle the day before the race meaning I had to pull out whilst my friend ran by herself. This year I want to do it again but beat my previous time by 13 minutes. I shall start training early February for the race which is normally in July. The training will also help me with number 5 of my goals.

7. Learn to drive

I started to learn to drive when I just turned 17 but that was over 2 years ago now and I wished that I stuck with it. I have some money saved up so I can learn to drive over the summer and hopefully be ready for a driving test near the time I go back to uni. Seeing as when I am home I live in the middle of nowhere relying on my dad and friends for lifts I feel that I should become independent.

8. Do more designs

I want to create at least one design a month with some mock designs each week. I wanted this on my goals as I feel it will benefit me as I can add all the work into my portfolio and will help showcase my work at the End of Year show in March.

9. At least one blog post a month

Last semester I was very lazy with my blog. Seeing as I had a lot of work given to me I kept putting of posting on my blog with the excuse that I would do it next week. I felt that if I had this as one of my goals I would make my blog look relevant and up-to-date not abandoned like it has done.

10. Go on holiday

When I went to Barcelona last year I seemed to realise what I was missing. This was going abroad, I loved the different culture around me from the trip last year I was left motivated to do more design work and take photographs where as before I had to force myself.

48 Hours in Barcelona part 3

42-48 Hours

Back Street

After another peaceful night sleep gran and I decided to go on the other bus route which took us to the to the west side of Barcelona. We choose to spend our last morning in Barcelona going around the back streets of the city followed by having lunch back at Attic with the afternoon set for the sightseeing tour.

Balconies

As the restaurant doesn't open until 1pm we had four hours to explore the centre of the city. After we followed one of the back streets we found ourselves outside the cathedral. On a whim we went inside and found not only was it nice to be shaded from the sun but the interior was breath taking with displays made out of gold.

Cathedral

 Seeing as it was free entry we decided to go up in the lift to the roof for a couple of euros. When we got out of the lift you could see Barcelona around you with great photo opportunities to take close ups of the spirals.

Spiral

After the cathedral we went to a little cafe to have an ice cold drink. When we were refreshed we set off some other streets that would lead us back to the Rambla in time of our lunch.

Street Sign

After lunch we headed back up the Rambla to Catalunya square were we caught the orange bus route. The tour soon took us to the harbour again however this time we were heading west where we got to see the Columbus Monument which was erected in 1888 for the world exhibition. 

Cable Cart- Port Veil

 Near the monument was one of the many sculptures on this route. This sculpture was metal arches in different positions which was said to look like waves. Another sculpture along this route that has stuck in my mind was by the Olympic stadium which was suppose to look like a olympian bending forward to collect his medal.

Waves

After the harbour we started to climb the mountain of Montjuïc. Here we got to see all of Barcelona though this time from a different perspective. When we were climbing the mountain we passed the first set of cable carts that went from the mountain to Port Veil.

Cable Cart

Down the road there is another lot of cable carts that took you to the top of the mountain. Me and gran decided to go up there to see the views. However when we got to the top we choose to come right back down again as we didn't have much time left.

View of Barcelona

Whilst waiting for the bus there was a little cafe that was shaded from the trees though you could see parts of Barcelona through the branches.

Through the trees

When we got back on the bus we agreed that, that would be our last stop. Whilst still in mountains the tour took us outside the Olympic Arena where you could see the torch for the Barcelona 1992 games were held. After this we saw the magic fountains of montjuïc, old bull ring now turned shopping centre and the Barcelona football ground. Soon after the ground we headed to Avinguda Diagonal to take us back to Catalunya square.

When we were back in the square we went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and then headed to the airport.

Apartments

After all that we were both very tired though next time I hope to stay for week even though the 48 hours felt like a long time. I would also like to learn some local language so I didn't feel too much of a tourist. I know it is corny but I fell in love and hope to be back very soon.

48 Hours in Barcelona Part 2

18-32 Hours

Hotel Arts

After being woken up by the sun entering our room, Gran and I went to get a two day pass with the Barcelona City Tour seeing as we wanted to cover most of Barcelona in our day and half left. With the tickets we got a map and a pair of headphones each which we got to keep. After looking at the map we could see that east/green route had more to offer in a day. This bus route takes 2 hours and 15 mins however if you manage to get off the bus at certain stops you can easily make the journey last 5 hours. The bus starts and ends at Catalunya square. Gran and I were lucky as we were the first people on the bus meaning we got a pick of seats on the upper deck. This route starts by taking you along the four beaches of Barcelona. If we had more time I would have defiantly had gone on the beach with an hour for sunbathing. After viewing the beaches from the road we then saw some of the buildings that we had seen yesterday with the tour giving us information about them. The two buildings that have stuck in my mind was the Hotel Arts and Barcelona Biomedical Research Park which looked like a curved building however when you got to the middle you could see that part of it was hollowed out. Near these two buildings are two sculptures one that represents a fish that is made out of stone, steel and glass which was created by Frank O. Gehry in 1992 for the Olympics. The other sculpture is a building that has a stone ball balancing on the edge with a glass pyramid behind it.

Geometry

After we left the seafront and started to head more inland by using Avinguda Diagonal which a road that goes from the west to centre to the east of barcelona. It is one of Barcelona biggest roads that cuts the city into two. On this road there is lots of shops from high street to designer. There is also a tram service that covers most of the street. Along Avinguda Diagonal is the Torre Agbar which is 38 story skyscraper which is cigar shaped with it being lit up at night by 4,500 LED lights.

Torre Agbar

After a short journey we were at the Sagrada Familia, which is a church that is still being built and is predicted to take 30 years to finish. Work started in 1882 and was designed by Antoni Gaudi who has other buildings in the city. His style stands out from other buildings with it being said he was inspired from ordinary objects such as fruit which you can see on the outside of the Sagrada. Although I wanted to go in and see what it was like on the inside, the queue was too long with it taking up to 2 hours before we got through the doors. We felt we wanted to see the rest of the city with the time remaining.

Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia

When we got back on the bus we choose to get off at stop 13 which was Park Guell which was another work by Gaudi. This park is a photographers paradise with the different types of stone used throughout, a mosaic dragon and seats, it has a lot to offer. At the top you can see a panoramic view of Barcelona.

Park Guell

The next place of interest was Casa Mila or La Pedrera as it is commonly known was also created by Gaudi. This is the most famous house that he created. The balconies on the outside of the building we said to be inspired by seaweed and the sculptures on the roof to look like helmeted soldiers. In Casa Mila you got to go on the roof were you could see Barcelona all around you as well as this you got to see his work in miniature in the attic of the building and an apartment that was built for Roser Segimon and Pere Mila.

Helmeted Solider- Casa Mila

Seaweed Balconies- Casa Mila

When the tour finished we decided to go on the Rambla again but this time visit the Mercat De Sant Josep which sold fresh meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, smoothies, nut, spices and much more. Everything the market sold looked so appealing that you wanted to buy everything that they had to offer. It has been said that not only do housewives shop there but the city's top chefs do too.

Mercat De Sant Josep

For dinner both Gran and I agreed that we didn't want to eat on the Rambla after a disappointing meal the day before. However after walking down one side of the Rambla we both saw a restaurant called the Attic which you had the choose to eat indoors or on the terrace overlooking the Rambla. After looking at the menu we both decided to give it a try. It was one of the best restaurants I ever been to with tasteful meals and creative deserts such as red fruit foam. When we finished the meal we went back to our hotel via the metro to go on the Terrace Bar again as this would be our last night up there.

Attic

48 Hours in Barcelona Part 1

A fortnight ago I was lucky enough to be treated for my birthday to a 48 hour stay in Barcelona. Since I was 14 I have wanted to go to Barcelona partially because there was a trip to the city if I choose GCSE geography, which turned out was canceled for my year meaning I never got to go. So this was my first time visiting Barcelona with 4 years of expectations I was kind of worried it wouldn't live up to them. As well as this everyone I met had said that they fell in love with the city. It turned out that I needn't have worried cause it took me less than 24 hours to fall in love with Barcelona, I don't know when it happened but I knew that this wasn't going to be my only visit to the city. Thanks to Barcelona I am now not only inspired but motivated in my work with both design and photography.

Due to Gran and I only have 48 hours to cover such a large space of area we deiced that we needed to see it all, this meant travelling on most transports availble. Not only did we see most of the tourist attractions we also had time to walk down some quite backstreets.

Here is what we experienced in our time.

1-8 Hours

Our flight was in the morning, meaning when we landed in Barcelona we had a afternoon to start and explore the city.

View from Barcelona Airport

Though first thing on our list to do was check in to our hotel. I must admit I did checkout the hotel before I went as I was very curious where we were staying. After I looked online I thought I might have made a mistake but to my surprise I did look at the right hotel. Now with most things in life when you see something in the pictures it isn't always as good as it looks. Though this hotel managed deliver what it looked like online. After we checked in we managed to go on the metro which was near the hotel we were staying Villa Emila.

Metro stops

 There where only three stops from Rocafort to Catalunya and took less that 10 minutes. For anyone who has used the London Underground more than once the metro is quite easy to work out. Not only are the metro stations very clean but the trains have air con which is very refreshing after a day of sightseeing.

When we arrived at Catalunya square we headed straight for the Rambla which is 1 km long street with different stalls either side. These stalls seemed to be arranged in catoriogies with sourvienior, flowers, artist, food and much more. As well as guys trying to sell gizmos such as squeaky voice changers, not going to lie I was tempted to buy one but I thought I would probably choke on it. In my tourist book it said that the Rambla was a hotspot for pickpockets but there was police patrolling the street keeping it safe from thief's.

Columbus Monument

 At the other end of the Rambla stands a monument of Columbus which was erected in 1888, beyond that is Port Vell. After exploring the Rambla, Nan and I were feeling that we could do with a rest so we went on a hour and a half boat trip where we got to see the beaches and buildings from afar. On this trip they didn't tell you what the buildings were they just let you marvel the city from the sea. That trip was very refreshing seeing as we both weren't use to the heat!

View of the city from sea

After the boat trip we had dinner on the Rambla which was much over priced and not to our liking however after we went for a drink on the terrace bar of our hotel where we manage to unwind from the day. The bar's atmosphere was relaxing with the faint noise of the bustling city below and the soothing music from the speakers it made it a lovely last couple of hours of the day.

Terrace Bar

Card Design

Tester and Cards

Recently I have sent two Thank You cards to both my grandparents. I came up with the idea to make my own using just plain cream card with the use of watercolour for the card design. Both of these card have a similar design but have a different range in colours. I tried to incorporate there favourite colours with the card being both professional and aesthetically pleasing.

Tester for Walk in a Field

The first card is called Clevedon Sunset which features the colours red, orange and yellow. It is influenced from my stay in Clevedon where I witnessed many sunsets. It is one of the best places in the UK to take a picture of last rays of the sun. This makes the seaside town perfect for any photographer wanting to capture a stunning sunset.

Clevedon Sunset

The second card is called Walk in a Field and is influenced by some fields by my house on a nice sunny day with no clouds in the sky. I chose to have a two toned blue sky with a green field in the foreground. I chose this design as the recipient of the card is into gardening. I thought the image on the card was very relaxing unlike Clevedon Sunset which has more energy. I am pleased with both designs as they are simple yet very sophicated.

Walk in a Field

Summer Bucket List

Due to me feeling a little bit homesick and not wanting to waste my summer I have come up with 20 things for me to do during the holidays.

1. Sort out my laptop

Due to my first year at uni, I have been quite overwhelmed with the whole experience. This leading to me not filing my documents properly. At the moment finding something on my Mac is like finding a pin in a hay stack. Although I have a feeling that I will be putting this task off for as long as possible due the time it will take me to sort it all out and with it being a boring task.

2. List stuff needed for my new house

Since I am moving into my new house soon with my nearly all new housemates I feel I need to write a list of stuff that I need to buy or pack. Although before I write a list, I need to view the property due to me not remembering exactly what my room looks like!

3. Create 5 pieces either in Photoshop or Illustrator

I want to create new pieces of work so that I can put them in my portfolio. Also this gives me a great chance to learn new skills and show off the ones I learnt this year.

4. Do 10 drawings

I would like to try different things to draw as I find it quite challenging as I am a perfectionist so I easily get annoyed when a piece isn't going my way. I feel that if I can do 10 drawings that I would be proud to put in my portfolio it will be very worthwhile and I might pick up new techniques.

5. Sort out my music on iTunes

Whenever I am in the mood for certain music and put my iPhone on shuffle it always seems to pick the wrong choice of songs so to stop this, I hope to get rid of some songs and create multiple playlists for different moods.

6. Be able to run for 10 minutes without stopping

It would be my dream if I could run half marathons in the near future so I feel I need to start somewhere by training myself to run for a simple 10 minutes. Seeing as I have never run before I would feel very pleased with myself I could accomplish this goal.

7. Make a uni year book

To help with me feeling homesick of my uni lifestyle I plan to create a book with all the pictures of my first year in so I can look back any time. I hope to do this after every year.

8. Create at least 7 posts for the blog

To keep me busy I would like to write a blog every week on a Thursday. I have planned out on my calendar what the subjects the following week post is about. This will give myself a week to research and plan my blog. Wether I stick to it we shall soon see….

9. Write some resolutions for my next year at uni

To become a better student and live my life full as a student I would like to write some resolutions that keep me on track for the year. This hopeing in a end result of good grades and some memories.

10. Start to fill my design inspiration book

Yesterday I brought a plain book so that I could fill it in with inspiration of designers and their work. I hope by the time september comes it has some content in there. I feel this will help whenever I feel unmotivated or am stuck with ideas on a project.

Book of Inspiration

11. Fill my recipe book

Seeing as I am just starting to fill in my Recipe book that I got from Christmas I have decided to look for some simple and cheap recipes that i can cook when I am back at uni.

12. Have a face mask once a week

Due to me not having any me time lately to myself I feel that I need to get back into the routine of having an hour where I can relax and have a face mask.

13. Do at least 4 posts on my blog about design

Seeing as I am going to go type up my notes that I made in the first year I feel that I might adapt to them and make some more posts about design. This will give me a perfect excuse to do some more research on the topics covered in semester 1 and 2. As well as this it means that I can delete them off my computer but still have a copy.

14. Complete a  charity race

This year i am doing a 5k Race for Life with my best friend. We are both doing it in memory of my Mum who passed away two years ago after a short battle. http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/kathys-angels0 Please read our story and spread the word about raising money for cancer research.

15. See the Olympic Torch

As the Olympic torch is being ran past my hometown I feel that I should go and see it as it is a once in a lifetime experience. I hope to post some photos of the torch on here, just hope someone tall doesn't stand in front of me.

16.  Go out for a day trip with the Grandparents

Due to a couple of health scares with my granddad I hope to have a couple of day trips with them so I can make the most of them whilst they are still here.

17. See all my family

Seeing as I don't see my family for months on end I hope to have a gathering which will probably be at a pub. Though when I say family I only mean my dads side as I am not close to my mum side who I rarely see.

18. Sort out my 2nd wardrobe

Due to me having enough time off and having more than enough clothes that I don't wear I feel that I might sell them so I have extra money to buy things for the new house and some friends birthday presents.

19. Go to the beach at least once

As it is called a summer break I hope to visit the beach at least once where I can dip my toes in the sea even if it is in the rain.

20. Read some designs books

So I am ready for my second year at uni I want to swot up on design books so I can use some of there techniques in my pieces.