Pokemon Go Snapshot

Thursday 27 June 2019

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I was a photographer. Sort of. I loved it, I was OK at it. I mostly did fashion photography and it was my favourite hobby. I loved creating art and I made amazing friends doing it. I liked feeling like I had created something tangible I could be proud of. And then carpal tunnel hit. And despite surgeries, I can still only handle holding my camera for short lengths of time. Being unable to hold my camera for longer periods means unfortunately no more photoshoots, no more creative outlet.

It's been gutting to say the least. I really miss it. Now my only real hobby is Pokemon Go. I play every day and I love it. So when they released the 'Go Snapshot' mode, incorporating AR photography into Pokemon Go. I was hooked.

 

Because it involves using my phone, I can take photos for a lot longer with Pokemon Go without my hands hurting. It also combines my two great loves, photography and Pokemon! Anytime I go somewhere pretty I think about the Pokemon that I could photograph there, what colours work together, what types of Pokemon work in that setting, and I inevitably end up slinking off to take photos when I get the chance. 




There's actually a whole amazing community of Pokemon Go AR photographers, and I follow a whole bunch of them on twitter. I have my own dedicated Pokemon instagram @kittypokemonsalot





When I see interesting graffiti, I immediately think of a Pokemon that might match well with it. I find that I'm forever photographing bug type Pokemon and trying to learn new tricks and techniques to manipulate the Go Snapshot mode.



I see a sunset, I put a Pokemon in front of it. I appreciate Pokemon I previously thought were kinda 'eh' because now I see the different environments that they can be photographed in and how they can fit into the 'real' world via AR.



Do I get some funny looks taking photos of invisible creatures using my phone in public? Sure. But I already got those looks because I'm also a tall fat 31 year old woman who is obviously playing Pokemon Go, probably wearing a dress covered in zombies or Pokemon pins or something else equally garish, so why would I care? I love it, and that's what matters. It's so nice to be able to create some form of photography again, I thought I wouldn't be able to do it again in any way.

If you play Pokemon Go, drop your friend code below so I can add you!

Much love,
Kitty xxxx

Pokemon Go Snapshot

Thursday 27 June 2019

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I was a photographer. Sort of. I loved it, I was OK at it. I mostly did fashion photography and it was my favourite hobby. I loved creating art and I made amazing friends doing it. I liked feeling like I had created something tangible I could be proud of. And then carpal tunnel hit. And despite surgeries, I can still only handle holding my camera for short lengths of time. Being unable to hold my camera for longer periods means unfortunately no more photoshoots, no more creative outlet.

It's been gutting to say the least. I really miss it. Now my only real hobby is Pokemon Go. I play every day and I love it. So when they released the 'Go Snapshot' mode, incorporating AR photography into Pokemon Go. I was hooked.

 

Because it involves using my phone, I can take photos for a lot longer with Pokemon Go without my hands hurting. It also combines my two great loves, photography and Pokemon! Anytime I go somewhere pretty I think about the Pokemon that I could photograph there, what colours work together, what types of Pokemon work in that setting, and I inevitably end up slinking off to take photos when I get the chance. 




There's actually a whole amazing community of Pokemon Go AR photographers, and I follow a whole bunch of them on twitter. I have my own dedicated Pokemon instagram @kittypokemonsalot





When I see interesting graffiti, I immediately think of a Pokemon that might match well with it. I find that I'm forever photographing bug type Pokemon and trying to learn new tricks and techniques to manipulate the Go Snapshot mode.



I see a sunset, I put a Pokemon in front of it. I appreciate Pokemon I previously thought were kinda 'eh' because now I see the different environments that they can be photographed in and how they can fit into the 'real' world via AR.



Do I get some funny looks taking photos of invisible creatures using my phone in public? Sure. But I already got those looks because I'm also a tall fat 31 year old woman who is obviously playing Pokemon Go, probably wearing a dress covered in zombies or Pokemon pins or something else equally garish, so why would I care? I love it, and that's what matters. It's so nice to be able to create some form of photography again, I thought I wouldn't be able to do it again in any way.

If you play Pokemon Go, drop your friend code below so I can add you!

Much love,
Kitty xxxx

Black Heart Creatives Earrings

Tuesday 25 June 2019

Last year I took my plugs out of my stretched ears to wash my hair and just sort of forgot to ever put them back in. They've shrunk back up but aren't like a normal ear piercings, but what they are perfect for is hoops and dangly earrings. I haven't owned any earrings in over 10 years, so when I saw Black Heart Creatives run their recent sale, I couldn't resist grabbing myself a few pairs!
 


My first choice was easy. I'd had my eye on these for ages. These Cheese Plant Hoops were an absolute bargain at £15 in my opinion. When I say these are a statement piece, they really are huge hoops! I love cheese plants but they are toxic to cats unfortunately, so no cheese plants for us, so instead, adorable cheese plant earrings. Winner!


These Statement Vine Earrings are available in gold or silver findings, and are only £10. I opted for silver which is always my preference in jewellery. These are also absolutely huge, and I love the way the chains attach to the hooks for your ears. I love plants and plants for my ears make me happy.



And the last pair I got were Custom Drippy Heart Earrings that say 'CREEP' in the middle. I picked the iridescent acrylic because I love the way it shines and picks up on other colours. At £13 these could not be resisted. I chose to have 'CREEP' written on them in a nod to one of my favourite horror films, Creep (1 & 2, the sequel is amazing too!). It's an awesome found footage horror film and the third part is in development. I was tempted to get 'Peachfuzz' on them but figured that would raise a lot more questions than 'Creep' would!

Supporting indie businesses is so important and I really recommend Black Heart Creatives. I bought these just after they'd gone viral on twitter meaning  a real spike in sales for them, and they sent out an email unprompted to let me know their turnaround time would be a bit longer than usual as a result. I never mind waiting longer for an order from an indie business and BHC are a one person team so I was so excited for them to be doing well. They have a whole range of plant inspired jewellery that I am very tempted by, because I always need more plants in my life!

Much love,
Kitty xxx

PS. Shout out to my Mum for the excellent hand modelling, because holding earrings and taking photos of them is basically impossible!

Black Heart Creatives Earrings

Tuesday 25 June 2019

Last year I took my plugs out of my stretched ears to wash my hair and just sort of forgot to ever put them back in. They've shrunk back up but aren't like a normal ear piercings, but what they are perfect for is hoops and dangly earrings. I haven't owned any earrings in over 10 years, so when I saw Black Heart Creatives run their recent sale, I couldn't resist grabbing myself a few pairs!
 


My first choice was easy. I'd had my eye on these for ages. These Cheese Plant Hoops were an absolute bargain at £15 in my opinion. When I say these are a statement piece, they really are huge hoops! I love cheese plants but they are toxic to cats unfortunately, so no cheese plants for us, so instead, adorable cheese plant earrings. Winner!


These Statement Vine Earrings are available in gold or silver findings, and are only £10. I opted for silver which is always my preference in jewellery. These are also absolutely huge, and I love the way the chains attach to the hooks for your ears. I love plants and plants for my ears make me happy.



And the last pair I got were Custom Drippy Heart Earrings that say 'CREEP' in the middle. I picked the iridescent acrylic because I love the way it shines and picks up on other colours. At £13 these could not be resisted. I chose to have 'CREEP' written on them in a nod to one of my favourite horror films, Creep (1 & 2, the sequel is amazing too!). It's an awesome found footage horror film and the third part is in development. I was tempted to get 'Peachfuzz' on them but figured that would raise a lot more questions than 'Creep' would!

Supporting indie businesses is so important and I really recommend Black Heart Creatives. I bought these just after they'd gone viral on twitter meaning  a real spike in sales for them, and they sent out an email unprompted to let me know their turnaround time would be a bit longer than usual as a result. I never mind waiting longer for an order from an indie business and BHC are a one person team so I was so excited for them to be doing well. They have a whole range of plant inspired jewellery that I am very tempted by, because I always need more plants in my life!

Much love,
Kitty xxx

PS. Shout out to my Mum for the excellent hand modelling, because holding earrings and taking photos of them is basically impossible!

Green Fingers and Comfort

Thursday 20 June 2019

Sometimes it's the little things in life that bring you comfort. I've barely blogged this year, it's been rough to say the least, but in the darkest of times, you have to look for the little things that bring you happiness. And for me, one of those things is plants, succulents specifically.



 My husband Stu likes to surprise me with plants. He comes home from work, or a trip to town, and he'll come home with a plant for me, hidden behind his back. He tries to find breeds I don't have, varieties I haven't seen before, something new. He never buys me flowers. Always plants, so I can keep them and nurture them. Every window sill in our house is covered. When they get big enough I move them into bigger pots, some go outside that are strong enough. Our garden is a sun trap and some thrive in it's light. These are all recent new additions to my ever expanding collection. I'm running out of room and I don't care. There's always space for more plants.




These succulents are all memories of loved ones, growing in my parent's greenhouse till they are ready to be re-potted and shared amongst our family. For both my Grandad G's funeral flowers, and my Grandma's funeral flowers, I asked to include small succulents in them. When the flowers began to wilt, we took the succulents from them, planting them, splitting them leaf by leaf so we could grow more from them. That is the beauty of succulents, all you need is a single leaf, and it can root and grow. These all came from single leaves, or tiny succulents. It gives us all great comfort to see them, something tangible from such awful days, something beautiful growing from it.


And these? These are even older. Three years old to be specific. Grown from the button holes Stu and I had for our wedding back in 2016. They inspired the tattoo on my leg, and our desire to have succulents form a part of the important times in our lives. These particular succulents live in my parent's garden, they've taken countless babies from them to propagate more again from them. They've become a beautiful symbol of our wedding day and one of the first things I do every time we visit my parent's house is go and see all the succulents and see how they are growing.

I know people think of plants and succulents as a 'millennial' trend, the media says we get houseplants because we are avoiding responsibility, or that we can't afford to have children and pets so we get plants instead. I have plants that I've had since the week we moved into our house 6 years ago, still growing, taller than ever. I've never wanted children and I have a house full of cats and one giant dog, so it's not that either. It's something else. Something about being surrounded by nature even inside that is so comforting. Something about being able to care for something that wants for very little. Succulents are cute, they don't take up much room, they're not like anything we normally grow in our gardens in the UK, and they don't mind being slightly neglected.



When I send people gifts I often send succulents. I don't send flowers. I like knowing they too can keep their gift and think of us. It makes me smile when people often their gift before their card, and know instantly who sent them it.

Succulents have become a way my family remembers moments. We care for them and they whisper to us of weddings and lost loved ones. We help them grow and they bring us memories, they bring us comfort. I look at my window sill as I sit on the sofa and type this and I smile. I know when I got each plant, what they mean to me, and what event they grew from. They are our comfort. Our families desire to heal. Our message of love.

Much love,
Kitty xxxx

Green Fingers and Comfort

Thursday 20 June 2019

Sometimes it's the little things in life that bring you comfort. I've barely blogged this year, it's been rough to say the least, but in the darkest of times, you have to look for the little things that bring you happiness. And for me, one of those things is plants, succulents specifically.



 My husband Stu likes to surprise me with plants. He comes home from work, or a trip to town, and he'll come home with a plant for me, hidden behind his back. He tries to find breeds I don't have, varieties I haven't seen before, something new. He never buys me flowers. Always plants, so I can keep them and nurture them. Every window sill in our house is covered. When they get big enough I move them into bigger pots, some go outside that are strong enough. Our garden is a sun trap and some thrive in it's light. These are all recent new additions to my ever expanding collection. I'm running out of room and I don't care. There's always space for more plants.




These succulents are all memories of loved ones, growing in my parent's greenhouse till they are ready to be re-potted and shared amongst our family. For both my Grandad G's funeral flowers, and my Grandma's funeral flowers, I asked to include small succulents in them. When the flowers began to wilt, we took the succulents from them, planting them, splitting them leaf by leaf so we could grow more from them. That is the beauty of succulents, all you need is a single leaf, and it can root and grow. These all came from single leaves, or tiny succulents. It gives us all great comfort to see them, something tangible from such awful days, something beautiful growing from it.


And these? These are even older. Three years old to be specific. Grown from the button holes Stu and I had for our wedding back in 2016. They inspired the tattoo on my leg, and our desire to have succulents form a part of the important times in our lives. These particular succulents live in my parent's garden, they've taken countless babies from them to propagate more again from them. They've become a beautiful symbol of our wedding day and one of the first things I do every time we visit my parent's house is go and see all the succulents and see how they are growing.

I know people think of plants and succulents as a 'millennial' trend, the media says we get houseplants because we are avoiding responsibility, or that we can't afford to have children and pets so we get plants instead. I have plants that I've had since the week we moved into our house 6 years ago, still growing, taller than ever. I've never wanted children and I have a house full of cats and one giant dog, so it's not that either. It's something else. Something about being surrounded by nature even inside that is so comforting. Something about being able to care for something that wants for very little. Succulents are cute, they don't take up much room, they're not like anything we normally grow in our gardens in the UK, and they don't mind being slightly neglected.



When I send people gifts I often send succulents. I don't send flowers. I like knowing they too can keep their gift and think of us. It makes me smile when people often their gift before their card, and know instantly who sent them it.

Succulents have become a way my family remembers moments. We care for them and they whisper to us of weddings and lost loved ones. We help them grow and they bring us memories, they bring us comfort. I look at my window sill as I sit on the sofa and type this and I smile. I know when I got each plant, what they mean to me, and what event they grew from. They are our comfort. Our families desire to heal. Our message of love.

Much love,
Kitty xxxx