Goodbye 2016... Hello 2017👋🏻 | NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Another year for new beginnings.

The pictures you see above are ones that my friend Connie and I actually took on January 1st, 2017. We've made it a small tradition to go out, in the freezing cold may I add, and take pictures. Afterwards, we'd grab bubble tea from our favourite bubble tea place and talk for a bit.

So sorry, I forgot to make a post saying Merry Christmas to all of you!!! I hope you guys had an amazing time with friends and family over the holidays! But, I did post a video on What I Got For Christmas 2016! Check it out😊

I know that a lot of people have said that 2016 was a bad year, me included. For the most part, 2016 was filled with bad experiences and memories that I wish I could let go of. But I also had my highs, like turning 16, and winning regionals with my swim team for the second year in a row! I won't be able to forget what happened last year, but I want to look forward to what's in store for the new year. We've said our goodbyes to 2016, and welcomed 2017! Which means... new year's resolutions!

MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS for 2017:

• Get in the habit of sleeping earlier and waking up on time!
• Go for my G1/driver's license
• Get a boyfriend? (we'll see...😏)
• Read more
• Discover my passion for the future... meaning, narrow down what I want to study in post-secondary education! 
• Grow as a photographer by trying out new shooting techniques, going to new locations
• Be creative, don't do what everyone else is doing!
• Be a better listener, and try to see things from others' perspectives
• Take time to myself, relax and just step away from the chaos, even if it's just for a minute
• Avoid distractions and focus on getting work done (go to the library to study, etc.)
• Work out when I'm supposed to! 
• Take time to show my appreciation for friends or family
• Blog more!!! Document and share my experiences!

Those are just a few of my new year's resolutions. Of course there's a lot more, but those are the only ones that I can think of right now. I want to stick to these goals and I'm going to look back on this post as a constant reminder of my progress!

PHOTOGRAPHY | Nature Park Shoot

Out of pure spontaneity, my friend Connie and I decided to go out and shoot. Here are a few of my favourite pictures from today.

Downtown Shoot w/ Tammy & Connie!

Went on a spontaneous shoot with my two friends, Tammy and Connie. And here are some of the shots we took! This post is long overdue.

^ my two favourite shots of the day! Not gonna lie, I've recreated some pictures I've seen on Instagram. But for this shoot, I wanted to be original, rather than doing the same thing. I decided to go to a bridge that I saw a picture of on Instagram. We also shot at locations close to the bridge which is where we found the pretty patch of flowers. I love how that shot turned out. I had to bend down pretty low to get the CN tower in it, but I managed to do so!

We also saw this cool red structure, so we took pictures under it. Again, having to bend down really low to get the structure in it. I was using my 50mm 1.8, if you were wondering. What's great is that there were buildings in the background and it just set up the scene perfectly.

We risked our lives for this photo haha. We ran into the middle of the road during a red light and snapped the picture.

Don't my friends look like models?!

Snapped this gorgeous candid of my friend Connie!

Film Day // Spring Photoshoot

Today I went out with my friend Tammy to film a video! Why? I HAVEN'T FILMED/UPLOADED IN FOREVER! Okay, well it's been a month. But that's a long time!! I filmed some clips for a spring look book! Anyways, I'm writing this post because I want to show you guys the photos we took while filming!

^ Tammy took some photos of me and I edited some of the few that were actually in focus!

 

A Big Change in my Life.

Goodbye Odyssey 2000-2016. Thank you for your 16 years of service. 

 

Today, my family got a new car, van to be exact. It was so sad this morning, having one last ride in our old car, reminiscing on the fond memories we've created in/with that car. We previously owned a Honda Odyssey, and today, we got the newest model of the Odyssey. The reason we got another Odyssey was mainly for my grandparents, but we are just leasing it for now. Our old Odyssey has been with us since I was born. My family bought it in 2000, my birth year, because I was going to be the new addition to the family. It's 2016. So, now that it has been around for 16 years, it's starting to wear out. Our car has been having several problems and it even makes a weird sound while we're driving (you can't even imagine the looks we get as we drive by pedestrians). 

 

You may be wondering why I am making a post dedicated to our old car, I mean, it's just a car right? But this car has been around for ALL MY LIFE. It's sad to say goodbye to a car that has been around during my most memorable moments. Driving to graduation, road trips to Pennsylvania, going camping, traveling to the airport... it's sentimental to me. 16 YEARS. Can you believe it? I'll never forget the naps I've had in that car, for me, it was probably the best time I've had in that car.

 

Here's our new Odyssey: 

My parents decided to get the same colour as our old van. Really, it's not that big of a change, but a larger change in the meaning of it. 

 

Change is CONSTANT. 

 

People move on, time flies... it's going to happen. We can't stop time. Time is precious, so use it wisely, and cherish the moments you have. 

 

On the subject of change being constant, it's always great to learn new things. My family and I are going to have to adapt to the changes of this new model. We're only used to the our old car, which was a really old model of the Odyssey. But now, we have to get with the times, and the new technology. 

 

Be open to change. I'm not gonna lie, this car is sentimental to me, so I wasn't too happy about the idea of getting a new car. But I know it's necessary in this case, and change isn't always good, understand that. But we should be open to the idea because it's going to happen, this is life, and we may not accept change for what it is, but we should make the most of it. 

I took some pictures on our last ride in the old car and our first ride in the brand new car! Here are the pictures:

 

 

DAILY INSPIRATION | Discovering New Locations & Empowering Others

Yesterday, I went back into the city with my friend Rachel to take photos, yet again. We went back to a few places I had visited previously, the day before. But we ended up discovering a few new locations we had been meaning to go to. For example, the photo above was taken in an area with a large platform surrounded by tall buildings. It made for a really cool shot.


When I met up with Rachel, she ended up being 47 minutes late, but that's okay. But when we were chatting whilst eating lunch, she told me that my photos are bad, or at least not very good. And I'm not sure if she was being sarcastic or joking about it, but I found it kind of offensive. With that being said, I didn't say anything back that was rude like calling her pictures terrible. I don't have any hatred or grudge towards her, because that's her opinion, and I'll respect that. But I do want to spread awareness of this: One reason I love photography is that it captures beautiful moments that people would want to keep. For me, the photographs I take are moments I want to remember. And photography isn't about getting the right focus (although, that is important) or who has the best editing. It's all creativity. Everyone has different creative perspectives on how they want to capture a certain object and my photos reflect my style and the way I want the message to be portrayed. The point of this isn't to bash on other people's work, it's to motivate them to be better and to uplift others. But not by saying things such as "your photos are bad".


I just wanted to touch upon this topic because this morning when I woke up, I checked on my YouTube subscriptions and found a video by the Mom's View. In this video, Colette (from the SHAYTARDS), Kayli and Carlie talk about the importance of women empowering other women. This was the first video I watched today and it definitely gave me a better outlook on our community, especially since it was such a motivating message to help me start the day. You all should watch the video, whether you're a girl or a boy, because this applies to everyone in the world. It's more common with girls than boys, but there are males out there that feel the same. I hope you guys will share this message and the video with your friends. Just remember that in this world, people will judge, and that's okay. All of this can be taken as motivation. But also remember that there are people that care for you, and it's important to recognize those who do.


XOXO Alli

Exploring the City | PHOTOGRAPHY

Today, I spent my whole day with my friend Tammy and we decided to explore different parts of the city that we haven't seen. I took her to a few places I've been wanting to visit and we had a mini (not planned) photoshoot because I had my Canon camera with me to take pictures of the city. First we went to the mall to have lunch, then we made our way down this street where we stopped by a juicery and this alley with graffiti walls. We then headed to this popular location where we live to have our photoshoot and afterwards we enjoyed some ice cream from this popular ice cream bar. The line was so long, I'm pretty sure we waited 20 minutes just to order. But it was a really fun day today, and Tammy even said that we walked 7 miles (according to her phone which tracks the number of steps you take)!!


Tammy used to (or maybe she still does) take gymnastics, therefore she is much more flexible than I am, so she was my model. I'm really happy with how the pictures turned out, especially after editing. My favourite filter is the basic B&W because it adds a dramatic effect to the photograph. Here are some of the pictures I took of her:


 

 

 

 

                                                                                ^ this was a picture she took of me