iphone California (& a little Nevada) ...

So i haven't blogged ... because well i have been in oh so sunny California visiting with family & friends & enjoying a world wind month long adventure with Jacob. Unfortunately the hubby wasn't able to join us but we made the most of it still. So i am knee deep in editing & whilst i have masses of photos to blog about my brain is kind of mushy right now & i have no clue where to start. So with that in mind, this week's blog is going to be all iPhone ... my favorites from the trip, all over the place, lots of random & of course many many Jacob in there. I have steadily fallen more & more in love with my iPhone & the spontaneous moments it captures. All these were edited using instagram & if you are so inclined you can find me on there @oohprettyshiny. Oh & don't forget to make your way around the sisterhood circle checking out the talents of Karrie first. Happy hump day everyone! 

the beginning of our big adventure ... 

... random bakersfield ...

... adventures up in bodfish ...

... red rock canyon ...

... off the 178 ...

... vegas baby ... 

... death valley ...

... bad water basin ...

... firefighter in training ...

... i will not have my picture taken for daddy ...

... santa monica ...

... Lake Tahoe ...

... off the 395 ...

... la la land ...

... san diego ... 

... random jacob ... 

... the end!

Lake Isabella ...

I think we all have a place where we can find peace, a place that we can sit & watch & dream. I have a few of those spots but one of them is on the shores of Lake Isabella. Up in the Sierra Nevadas of California it's a huge man made lake, a damn protecting Isabella & Bakersfield from it. The Kern River flows into it, & it's rounded by dirt & mountains & rocks & everything England isn't. I first met the Lake in 2007 when my then boyfriend took me to see it, since then I have been back to see it 3 times & have simple grown to love it more. This time we were in for a shock as the drought that has hit the area means the Lake is drying up, all those trees you see in this pictures sticking out the water weren't there in 2011 when i saw it last. My favorite spot to go & stand is now dirt, the water hundreds of meters from it's edge. It makes me sad to see it disappear. But i set out to photography it, something i have never managed to do justice too, & i have to admit it took me about 4 tries before i got the images you see here. The problem (& yes it was a problem) were the blue blue skies, too much contrast. It's January, mid winter & barely a sign of a cloud in the sky (the opposite of winter in England) but finally the week before we left we had some hazy days, i jumped on this & found the peace I feel there in person in my work. 

Don't forget to check out the rest of the sisterhood stories ... follow the blog circle from start to finish beginning with the words & pictures of Karrie Drake. 

a little lensbaby love ...

Ok ok i know i am bad at blogging ... what can i say, i distract easily ... I keep having good intentions but then they fail. So it's been a few weeks, but i will allow for the fact i was on vacation. But now i'm back & it's time for a few pretties & you chance to enjoy the inspirations of the sisterhood stories. 

So i wanted to share some of my favorites from our month in California (& Vegas) ... & as it turns out they were all shot with my beloved Lensbaby. I admit i do have some favorites that weren't shot with said Lensbaby but i swear this lens was designed for California, it just suited the "vibe" of well everything. I love how it used the pretty light so well & the tones were beautiful, & then Vegas a city i have never been able to shoot well it captured it perfectly for me. So enough talk it's picture time ... & when you're done here be sure to head on round the rest of the sisterhood stories circle & check out their musing, words & inspirational pictures starting with Karrie. 

If you want to purchase one of these or to view more of my lens baby work you can head on over to my etsy shop sweet dreams & honey ... Happy wednesday!