31st July 2016


150. Go to Yosemite


I honestly don't think I've seen anything so beautiful in my life. I wasn't prepared for how breathtaking this place was. When we drove though, I was in awe at how big the mountains were. After about 30 minutes of me pressing my face against the car window to try and take everything in, we stopped by Tuolumne Meadows, a large area of grass, wild flowers and, of course, large redwood trees.

After parking our rented car by the campsite, we headed over the road and strolled down the side of a bridge which the Tuolumne river ran under.
After walking down, making sure not to trip on any tree roots or rocks, we arrived in this amazing place right next to the river.






I sat on a large rock which stretched to the middle of the river. This was my favourite place I went in Yosemite because for a small moment, I couldn't hear the sound of cars, or people talking. It was just me and the surrounding nature. I can only hope I feel that at peace again, because It's not been almost a year since I was there, and I haven't felt that way since.
We spent about an hour there, and then drove down to our hotel. Sadly, unlike the rest of the park, our hotel was not as amazing.

There was nothing we could eat, as vegetarians, the air con didn't really work, the beds were uncomfortable and the TV only had a couple of channels that weren't full static.
Nevertheless, we made the most out of it and managed to watch Harry Potter.

As we were only there for the 2 days, after waking up we drove through down to Yosemite falls, the highest waterfall in the park. It was so beautiful. Even now, I can't think of the words to describe the place, and how I felt for the short time I was there.

Here's a short playlist of songs that I listened to when in Yosemite:

-Vampire Banquet // Fox Academy
-Young Folks // Peter Bjorn and John
-Spanish Sahara // Foals
-Savana Sabertooth //OH!hello
-Bridge Burn //Little Comets
-Anything // Rusty Clanton
-Even if it's a lie // Matt Maltese
-Open Season // High Highs
-Stay with me (live from Berlin) // Angus and Julia Stone
-Terrified // Isaac Gracie
-Obstacles // SYD Matters
-Santa Monica Dream // Angus and Julia Stone
-Mt. Washington // Local Natives
-Novels // Rusty Clanton

I'm already planning to go again, for longer so I can see more of this gorgeous place.

Thanks,

Amy.

29th June 2016 + 19th March 2017


40. See Dodie live



Since I made this bucket list, I've seen Dodie live twice! Because I didn't take many photos at the first one, I thought I should include the second time I saw her too. Plus the first time I actually met her!

I've been watching Dodie for a couple years now. I remember the first song of hers I heard was 'She' and as soon as I heard the first strum of her guitar, I fell in love. Because I related so much to that song and the meaning behind the lyrics, I wanted to hear more songs of hers and so to this day, she is my favourite musician.
Dodie has influenced many things in my life, for example to learn how to play the ukulele - and there's not a week when I don't play it. She has also inspired me to start writing music again (not that it's actually any good). I really can't imagine my life without Dodie and her music.


When I found out she was doing a small gig to an audience of about 30 people in a small cafe in London, I had to go! The cafe itself was probably one of the most instagrammable places I've ever been. It's called the 'Cereal Killer' cafe (and I highly suggest you take a trip there - www.cerealkillercafe.co.uk ). The show was actually amazing and as I stood to grab my things and leave, Dodie walked right past me and towards the counter. It was then I realised that people were actually queuing up to meet her and Hedy, her sister. I was obviously shook that I finally had the opportunity to meet one of my favourite people on this planet.

During this time I was going through my GCSE's and so it was a nice break to go to London for the evening and see her. When I met her I wanted to get a selfie as well as a Polaroid so I got my mum to take the Polaroid whilst Dodie held my phone. I left with the biggest smile on my face.


When I went to the second gig, it was at a smallish venue in Bournemouth. Myself and a friend queued for about 2 hours and then got a good space in the middle. I was so shook when I found out Rusty Clanton was opening for her as I love his music too. The concert was so good! Better than the first one was, if that was even possible. I didn't meet her at the end of it, but I didn't need to because it felt like I was on that stage with her.
To make things even better, at the start of her song 'Absolutely Smitten' she threw out small instruments to the audience. I managed to catch one of them. It was a row of bells on a piece of material which you could Velcro round your wrist and shake. So, I played along during the song. I was so happy that I managed to catch something, and when I looked down I found that it was signed!
It was such a good night, and it wouldn't be a surprise if I went to see Dodie again.

If you're a fan of Dodie, I highly recommend you go to see her because she is so amazing live. She's just as lovely and beautiful as she is in her videos.

Thanks,

Amy.


10th April 2017



155. Become a 'Dancing Queen' (17) 


I'm sure everyone dreams of the day when they turn 17 just so they can apply to the iconic song 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA.

Just me?

Well, I am now officially a dancing queen! I wanted to do something pretty chill this year for my birthday, so instead of having of having a party, I just went up to London for the day with my parents. I also went to Brighton a few days later with my cousin.

Because I don't live really far away from London, I've been there many times in my life. I never really liked London, purely because of how busy it is. But I'm learning to get past that and concentrate on the beautiful parts of London such as the unique architecture, rows of expensive shops and aesthetically pleasing cafes.

Luckily on my trip to London this time, I didn't run into any really rude people and I knew where I was going. I wanted to go to Tate Britain as I hadn't gone in years and I love Tate Modern. I was taken aback by the amount of inspiring, lively and expressive paintings which were presented before me.

Personally, I prefer abstract art but the amount of time and effort put into those paintings just shook me.

After this I made my way over to Madame Tussauds, getting ready to become a proper tourist. I think I was most excited to stand next to the wax figure of Van Gogh. It really was an arty day.

Onto Brighton
Brighton is basically my second home as I go there so often. I just can't get enough of the place! The pier is my favourite place to go as I love the rides (although the first time I went on them I thought I was going to fall off into the sea) and I also have a love for the rubbish 2p machines in the arcade.

The lanes also have their own beauty. I think the north laine is my favourite part as an amazing second hand shop called 'Snoopers Paradise' allows you to loose yourself through old black and white photographs of different families, old vinyl and weird trinkets (I'm not a fan of the boxes of china doll parts though). They also have a quality old photomatic which I have to go to every time I'm in Brighton.

Not to mention the AMAZING vegan restaurants/cafe's which are scattered round every corner. There's also this great bubble tea place where I like to sit and people watch, cause Brighton is just so full of beautiful people with beautiful clothes and beautiful personalities.
There are photo opportunities everywhere! Whether it's on the beach by the old burnt down pier or against the graffiti covered walls, my Instagram gets a spam of photos.
I don't think I'll ever stop loving Brighton. It's not the first time I've spent my birthday in Brighton, and it definitely won't be the last. I plan to live there someday which is basically impossible as a nice sized flat costs about £1 million, but hey a girl can dream.

I think being 16 was one of the worst years of my life, mainly cause of the whole being forced to decide my future when I don't even know what I want to do.
I'm planning on making 17 one of the best years of my life.
I hope it's the same for you.


Thanks,

Amy.



14th June 2017


77. Do a photo shoot for fun


Okay.. So technically this shoot was for my photography project, however I took far more photos of things irrelevant to my theme. I asked my friend if she could model a skirt that I had embroidered a response to a sexist comment into. She said yes, and so we ventured down to the woods which surround our estate.
Another friend of ours tagged along and brought his speaker, from which we played a mixture of 90's songs, Les Miserable and S club 7.

Usually I find taking photos for photography to be a chore, which is why I wanted to fill two needs with one deed. As soon as I took the first photo which would not be included in my coursework, I knew this was going to be an ongoing shoot aiming to capture teen years and all the stuff that goes with it.

We walked up to my favourite place in the forest: a large hill with tall pine trees scattered along it. It really is beautiful when you look up and see the sun spying through the gaps between leaves and pine needles. I would occasionally take photos of the skirt in different lighting but I eventually began to focus more of enjoying myself and taking photos of my friends having fun.

Just from this simple shoot, it's inspired me to start going out of my way and taking my camera around with me so I don't have to worry about missing a moment. I'm one of those people who see a photo opportunity everywhere, so actually having my camera on me when I spot one would be very handy!

I think I love these photos because they're so raw. There's not really any posing or editing. The emotions on my friend's faces are real and I've captured them. For this shoot I just wanted them to be themselves, and that's exactly what they did and so the outcome is real and personal.

This was a good idea and I will do this again.


Thanks,

Amy.