Henley on Thames, UK

On my daily commute to work the other day I picked up a copy of the Metro newspaper, which I read from time to time but not everyday. This particular day had a feature about a guy called Alastair Humphreys and his concept of micro adventures; mini adventures that everyday people can do in their everyday lives. I was intrigued to say the least and as I read more about the micro adventures that Alastair had completed I wanted to try one for myself. However sleeping on a hilltop or camping in the middle of nowhere is still a faraway concept for me so I started small and booked a train out of London to the countryside, for the following day. This place was Henley-on-Thames, about an hour away from London by train. I took the route following the canal into Remenham Wood, unknowingly I had to do some hiking as well which is all good by me but wish I was better prepared as my face was burning and I kept thinking that a psycho or rapist was going to pop out of the woods at any given time. It is definitely a better idea to go with a friend but if you do not have friends with the same interests then bring something that would make you feel safe.

[Review] Imsmistyle

I found out about Imsmistyle through Instagram, I saw a picture of the cutest watch ever! Upon browsing the store I found other watches that I just had to get and they also have free international shipping for orders over $100 (which includes a tracking number). I ordered 3 watches and a midi ring which came up to $104 (about £65). However I also had to pay a custom charge which always, always ruins the excitement of receiving a new package and distils regret as to why you purchased it in the first place. Damn you VAT. These turned out to be much more expensive costume watches than I had originally planned but on the upside I do like them and cannot wait to pair them up with my outfits!

Futureversity - Photography Course

About 3 weeks ago I received an email from Futureversity, an organisation which offers free courses to people aged 11-25 years old. It wouldn't hurt to look I thought and as I browsed through the vast diversity of the courses I ended up with at least 5-6 courses that I was interested in, however they were all in the same week so I had to choose one; that one being 'Introduction to Photography'. I have always had an interest in photography but only as a hobby. It was only last year that I had seriously thought about purchasing an SLR camera but even if I had bought one, would I even be able to use all the functions. To someone who is oblivious to professional photography I would probably use about 20% of the camera functions and that is by winging it so instead I got a Canon G15 when I was in Korea. It is still a digital camera but with more features. I love that camera seriously, but now.. I actually regret it. After doing this course I need an SLR in my life. 

The course was a week long 1-3:30pm, my tutor was Amrita Chandradas who is a very down to earth and young photographer who had just finished her MA at LCC University. She was so friendly and helpful, always making sure that we were okay with the content and if we had any questions. The first day we went through the basics of photography, the second day we had to pair up and take portrait photos of each other using the different white balance and experimenting with aperture and shutter speed, the third day we edited our pictures in Photoshop and may I say now how much I hate Photoshop! All the nightmares and frustration from college came screaming back at me. Curse you Photoshop and your damn layers. Fourth day we had a critic session of our edited images and on the last day we were suppose to go to the nearby market to take more photos (but I did not make it in as I had to go work). The cameras we used were the Canon 1100d, there were 6 of these to share between the 12 of us. 

Bearing in mind that we had only known each other for a day before we had to get up close and personal taking each others' portraits. I hate posing as it is but coupled with a stranger. Although that is not to say that my partner wasn't a sweet person, she was adorable and a good photographer! All the photos above of me are credits to Rachel (whom you can see in the picture below, I won't post the others as she may feel uncomfortable with it). The first day as you can imagine was very awkward and I immediately noticed how young everyone was, even the volunteers there. Okay I know it is a youth program but I thought there would at least be a fair number of over 20's. There were quite a few eccentric personalities in the class but I probably have not laughed as much as I did in that short period for awhile now. I had my doubts at first about the course but now I am so happy I went as I learnt a lot more about photography and now have a new passion for it, which I hope I can translate to something more. I met a number of talented people and was inspired by the different takes of what makes photography in other's eyes, opposed to just my own.