HELLO SUNSHINE

The sun has finally decided to grace us with its presence here in the little FrenchVille, which always makes life a tad less depressing (I say this in jest, before anyone decides to call a help line). Especially as I feel that a little extra light (but very few extra degrees) justifies dusting off my teeny denim cut-off shorts. How's your week going so far?

If you're ever bored, do check out my inspiration tumblr: TIGERHEART DREAMS

And (repeating myself, sorry) if you're following me on GFC pretty pretty please could you follow me on BLOGLOVIN' instead? Merci beaucouuuup and much love =)

A SWEET MINUTE

Just an afternoon break amongst friends and cakes. How very Marie Antoinette...

The lovely Marina has interviewed me about photography on her blog Biskvittka - thank you so much Marina! Do check out her blog too, if you please, she has some great fashion and DIY posts, as well as other interviews.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend!

DISCOVERING ILLUSTRATOR

Given that I consider myself relatively proficient in Photoshop, my experience with Adobe Illustrator is somewhat non-existent. Fear not, however - I fully plan to remedy this gross deficiency in due course. To that end, I present you with my very first graphic "illustration", of which I am disproportionately proud considering the fact that it's closer to early Microsoft clip art than art. But hey, you've gotta start somewhere, right? I drew (is it still called drawing on a computer?) this whilst designing logos for a project I'm starting with my loverboi (more on this soooon!).

If this has sparked any unrequited desires to learn how to tackle Adobe Illustrator then I recommend requiting them with this free 30 day online "course", which actually takes about a couple of hours to complete. It's super simple and beginner-friendly=)

In other news, I'm happier with the look / layout of my blog now, after hours of fiddling with it, although I've still got a few bots to figure out. What do you wildcats think?

P.S If you are following me with GFC or are interested in being a new follower, could you pretty please consider following with BLOGLOVIN' instead. As many of you have heard, Google Reader is shutting down and GFC is likely to go with it. Merci beaucoup =)

JUST SOME THOUGHTS

H&M sheer shirt, Topshop bralet, Zara jeans, Michael Kors watch

I've recently discovered a wealth of beautiful and inspiring blogs (which are actually quite well-known, I'm just a bit slow to catch on) and I've been going through their content obsessively (somebody please get me off my computer). Finding beautiful content has the effect of a self-help book on me, and I'm suddenly inspired to change and improve. In terms of my blog, this means:

one. making an editorial calendar
two. sticking to it *cough*
three. taking more photos. of everything. and everyone (please refrain from questioning how I could possibly take even more photos if you know me, thank you=P)
four. change the tigerheart blog layout (it currently looks like a construction site - which it basically is, my apologies)
five. plough on with an extremely exciting creative project, which I shall let you all know about very soon!

I could go on, but that would significantly decrease the likelihood of me actually sticking to any of this. I'm sure you all know the drill with resolutions =).

DREAMING OF...

I realise this has been happening to most of central / northern Europe this week, but I still had a major WTF moment when the snow cloud hit us bang in the middle of a sunny (if freezing) walk. I'm stuck with a stuffy cold, can't move for the number of jumpers I'm wearing and all I can think of is running around barefoot on some distant summer beach... Flipping through my photos from Vietnam didn't help either, but as misery loves company, I'm going to share these with all you lucky wildcats. And I realise my face is an odd colour in that, I may have been a little sunburnt.

On a slightly similar but entirely different note, I have an overwhelming bank of inspiration images and photographs that I'm sure are contributing to the increasingly sluggish pace of my beloved laptop. I've therefore decided to start a tumblr for my collection of inspiration, which begins with something sunny... find it here:

TIGERHEART DREAMS // TUMBLR

tigerheartdreams.tumblr.com

p.s. You may have noticed the change in layout - I'm still playing around with bits and bobs, so please excuse the unfinished look =)

ON PHOTOGRAPHY

When Nikon released its first truly amateur-accessible entry-level DSLR camera, the D40 in 2006, photography became an overnight hit. All of a sudden every teenage girl with generous parents was calling herself a photographer and "real" photographers were fuming. I got this camera almost by accident - my knowledge of photo technology was minimal, but my point-and-shoot Olympus was basically on its deathbed and I was suffering through a summer in the epitomically picturesque South of France with no means to actually take any pictures.

The D40 ended up being a present for my 16th birthday, but my story with photography started about 10 years earlier, on film with blurry smudges and light streaks for images. Somewhere in that time I found my love of images, fashion, art and all things visual and my sweet sixteen brought on the desire to learn everything there was to learn about digital imagery.

Today I shoot with a D7000 and I'm still learning. But now my hands feel empty without the weight of my Nikon's magnesium alloy body, flicking through its functions has become second nature, the soft click of that shutter plays a comforting, ever present rhythm. My memories are broken into stills and my stills melt together into memories.

Sometimes it feels strange to be paid to photograph, to be rewarded for doing something so natural. Is that what it is to be "a photographer"? I dare only use that word lightly, but to me it's not a crown to wear only once you've reached some undefined level of seniority. I love photography. I've studied it, explored it, worked hard at it, failed at it, succeeded at it. And even though I'm headed down a dramatically different career path, I will say that I am a photographer at heart with quiet confidence.

LIGHTS & PATTERNS

Selfies taken on a rare warm February day in Cambridge, these photos just make me think how ideal it would be to lead a cat-like existence. Eat. Sleep. Bathe in sunlight... On a less random note, I acquired these H&M leggings only a few days ago and they're already becoming a staple. They're warm, cartwheel-friendly and my boyfriend only gave them a 2 on the 1-10 hate scale - what's not to love? Hope you've all had a lovely February♥