I had forgotten how lovely it is to wake up early in the morning to the sound of birds singing. This, amongst other simple spring-time pleasures always brings me out of the cold and lethargic slump of Winter. Despite the cold temps and flurries we've seen over the last few days, I can feel the renewal of my spirit and a little spark coming back to my mind. Lately, I've been focused on creating music and less focused on making photos (I will share more about that another day). I expect that to change with the warmer weather.

Last week, I received the scans from film shot throughout the winter. I love looking at my photos and seeing the ordinary moments of everyday life amidst the extraordinary. Looking back, it all seemed to have gone by so very fast. I'm dreaming of the day I can get back to New Zealand because 10 days was not nearly enough time. I often felt torn between taking in the experience and enjoying it with the people I was with vs. photographing it. Photographing with film forces me to be patient, to take in my surroundings and slow down. It was refreshing to photograph on film while traveling and in spite of the short time and the jet lag, it totally felt like a holiday! I didn't really take that many photos, but I'm quite happy with the ones I did make. Within a week we covered quite a bit of ground; crashing in Hahei for the first 3 days (so hot) and then heading to Taupo for the wedding. On our way back to Auckland we stopped in Roturua and on our last full day and night we stayed on Waiheke Island visiting vineyards and olive groves in the pouring rain. I had run out of film by then which is so sad, but... that's what iPhones are for, right?

Here is a little summary starting with my trip to New Zealand back in February until the most recent roll which was finished in early April. For film nerds out there, these photos were taken on 120mm and shot with Ektar 100 and Portra 160.