PLAYFULNESS + CURIOSITY Page 16 of 22

Roadtrip #8: Niagara Falls

Posted on 2011-09-03 at 1:38 pm.

As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Niagara Falls is indeed stunning, but I was shocked to see how it has been completely ruined by the ugliness of the city built around it to capitalise on the visiting tourists. Concrete everywhere, huge casinos and hotels and very little else. I had heard a whisper that it was like that, but wasn’t really expecting that people could actually build in such an unsympathetic way next to somewhere so naturally beautiful.

On my travels I have had the good fortune to see the Iguacu Falls in Brazil/Argentina, and the Victoria Falls in Zambia (where I took a helicopter ride over it to see how the falls are really just a huge gash in the landscape – breathtaking). In both cases visitor numbers are high but the locals have realised the value of the natural wonder they have been blessed with and have sensitively preserved it. What a pity the same hasn’t been done at Niagara.

Mother Nature triumphed in the end though – as we were leaving (and as most of the other visitors were arriving), a beautiful rainbow appeared and stretched up into the sky right in front of our eyes. Magic.

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More roadtrip posts here: #1 For the love of travel; #2 Sharks and jellyfish; #3 Boston and Harvard; #4 A fairytale wedding; #5 On top of the world; #6 To Canada, in search of stationery; #7 Japanese paper and pattern inspiration

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“Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative“ – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

The Do What You Love e-course is open for registration now and places are limited so book now to secure your place. This is the last time it will run this year.

This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life…

Join now!

Roadtrip #7: Japanese paper and pattern inspiration

Posted on 2011-09-02 at 11:02 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Found in this little slice of heaven in Montreal…

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Other roadtrip posts: #1 For the love of travel; #2 Sharks and jellyfish; #3 Boston and Harvard; #4 A fairytale wedding; #5 On top of the world; #6 To Canada, in search of stationery

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“Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative“ – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

The Do What You Love e-course is open for registration now. Places are limited so book now to secure your place. This is the last time it will run this year.

This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life… Join now!

Roadtrip #3: Boston & Harvard

Posted on 2011-08-26 at 9:34 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

I normally steer clear of tours, but I couldn’t resist the tour around in Cambridge. Led by a current student, we were given a glimpse into life at one of the world’s most famous colleges.

It is a beautiful campus which undoubtedly inspires academic curiosity. It was fascinating to hear stories of former students – Al Gore, Matt Damon, Mark Zuckerberg and others – and to be treated to stories about the traditions and superstitions.

While we were there a reunion picnic was going on. The average age of participants was over 70, and I only just resisted eacesdropping on their conversations – imagine the lives and experiences of the gathered group of nonegenerians! There is something very special about places like Harvard, which make you want to keep on learning.

We only had a couple of days in Boston at the beginning of the trip.

Unsurprisingly we were drawn to the harbour, and sat happily listening to the tinkling of the yacht masts and the calls of seagulls.

The weather was glorious so we headed out into the Bay in search of whales.

We didn’t find any, but it was peaceful out on the water, and some welcome respite from the steaming concrete.

It was lovely to meet up with Jess Greene of Seek Your Course for an afternoon. We sat at a cafe on Newbury Street, watching the world go by and eating the largest pizza I have ever seen!

The man and I returned to Boston at the end of the trip and explored further – more on that later!

Next stop Concord… for a wedding!

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“Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative“ – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

The Do What You Love e-course is open for registration now. This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life… Join now!

Roadtrip #2: Sharks and jellyfish

Posted on 2011-08-25 at 7:01 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

I have always loved the ocean. I grew up by the sea, and I find aquariums a kind of blissful escape from the city. While on our recent roadtrip around the US we visited the big aquarium in Boston. It drew us in with its huge central tank that runs over several floors (full of all sorts of ominous creatures – see above!) and its shark and ray touch pool (the rays felt kind of slimy if you are interested!)

But what surprised me was the slightly odd obsession I developed with the ‘moonjellies’.

Glowing an eerie blue colour, they pulsated in the dark waters. Silent, peaceful, squidgily beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

I also loved these graceful jellyfish, dawdling along trailing their stings like ink drips.

And of course the penguins are always delightful, although having sat among several thousand on an Antarctic island I would much prefer that they were in their natural habitat…

More tomorrow!

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“Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative“ – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

The Do What You Love e-course is open for registration now. The adventure begins on September 26 but places are limited so book now to secure your place. This is the last time it will run this year.

This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life… Join now!

Roadtrip #1: For the love of travel

Posted on 2011-08-23 at 10:31 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Love the ‘beware of moose’ sign at the side of the road – we don’t get those in England!

For the past 2-3 weeks I have been on the road around the Eastern part of the US and up into Canada with my man. We travelled 1800 km (a third of the flying distance from here in Yorkshire to Boston!) exploring cities and small towns, mountains and forests, national parks and water parks! We delved a little into history, and delved a lot into the local cuisine. We sang along to road trip tunes, watched out for bears and became experts at identifying good service stations. We were surprised and delighted, afraid and exhilarated. But most of all, we had fun!

We went out for a friend’s wedding and decided to make a trip of it. Not knowing much about the region, and not doing a lot of planning ahead, we just bought a map, drew some lines on it and followed them! Sometimes we deviated, sometimes we changed our course, but generally we plodded along, enjoying the view and soaking up New England, Quebec and New York State in the summer.

Over the next week or so I am going to share some stories from the road – we saw so much and brought back many memories to treasure. Some time back I wrote a guest post on Crescendoh.com about travel being a form of beauty gathering. This time I definitely came back with a suitcase full of colour and inspiration, and I can’t wait to spill out the contents and share them with you!

Have you been travelling lately?

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PS I discovered this very cool website where you can map your journeys, add images and video and then share them on Facebook: https://www.travellerspoint.com/

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Are you ready for your own adventure?

“Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative“ – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life… Join now!

Photography Fortnight roundup

Posted on 2011-08-19 at 12:48 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Thank you for joining me for Photography Fortnight, and for sharing your own thoughts and tips. If you missed any of the posts, here are the links…

Tips for taking better photos

Tip 1: Rule of Thirds (the classic!)

Tip 2: Take part

Tip 3: Seek out colours you dislike

Tip 4: Look up

Tip 5: Look down

Tip 6: Rock the diagonal

Tip 7: Shapes

Tip 8: Up close and personal

Tip 9: Colour in shadows

Tip 10: Experiment

PLUS:

Interview with photographers Christine Boyd and Xander Neal of Navy Blur

Interview with photographer and conflict management professional Roxanne Krystalli

Photographers I love

Shared Story from photographers Catherine Just

Happy snapping!

PS If you want to get more adventurous with your camera why not join the Do What You Love e-course? There are a number of photography exercises featured in the course to help you identify your passion and do what you love, for life. More info below…

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“Life-changing”, “Revolutionary”, “Awe-inspiring”, “Transformative“ – just a few of the ways former participants have described the Do What You Love e-course.

Do you fancy some of that in your life? Do you want to get closer to identifying your true passion and finding a way to do what you love, for life? Then this is for you!

This is your chance to join a global tribe of like-minded people who will support and encourage you to find your way.

It could be the most influential six weeks of your life…

Join now!

Photography Fortnight: Photographers I love

Posted on 2011-08-17 at 11:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Before I wrap up Photography Fortnight I wanted to share links to a few of my favourite photographers. Flickr is an endless source of inspiration and a brilliant way to discover new talent – and get noticed yourself. Use Flickr’s powerful search tool and you are likely to fall down the rabbit hole into a warren of fascinating images…

Specific photographic crushes of mine (some professional photographers, some not) include:

Pia Jane Bijkerk

Jen Altman (Nectar and Light)

DJ Pettit

Beatrice Peltre (La Tartine Gourmande)

Andrea Jenkins (Hula Seventy)

Denise Andrade (Boho Girl)

Christina Rosalie

Vivienne McMaster

Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman)

Susannah Conway

& My Dad!

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So that’s it for Photography Fortnight! Hope it has helped inspire you to go out and take more photos!

Photography Tip #10: Experiment

Posted on 2011-08-16 at 11:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Trying new things is the best way to get better! New subjects, new places, at different times of day, or even with a different camera. I absolutely love the Hipstamatic app for the iPhone – it is only £1.99 and can produce stunning photos. Look what it did with this dripping water (above)! Due it being made to replicate the feel of the old Hipstamatic, the viewfinder does not actually show you exactly what comes out in the picture, so there is always an element of guesswork – which can lead to interesting surprises… Why not try something new with your camera – or try a new type of camera today?

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So that’s all my top ten tips. What is your best tip for taking better photographs? Please feel free to share in the comments below.

Tomorrow I will share links to some of the photographers who inspire me. It will be the last post in Photography Fortnight – hope you have enjoyed it!

Photography Fortnight Tip #9: Colour in shadows

Posted on 2011-08-14 at 11:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

By ‘colour in shadows’ I mean capturing how the contrast of bright light and shadows can project many shades of a colour onto and around an object. Shades of grey can be good!

How closely have you examined the shadows around you?

Come back tomorrow when photographer Catherine Just shares her story, and then on Monday for the final tip of Photography Fortnight.

Photography Fortnight Tip #8: Up close and personal

Posted on 2011-08-13 at 11:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

This is the one drummed into me by my Dad, and oh so important.

However close you are, you could probably be closer.

Look at the difference between these shots – closest doesn’t always mean best, but it is always good to try it out:

How close do you dare to go?

Come back tomorrow for more tips!