Janice Yi Photography
Lisa and I used to work together. She also designed my original logo. So I was thrilled when she contacted me about photographing her bump! Lisa and Dave met back in high school, so for this session we went back to where it all started: Appleby college.
Congratulations you two! I can’t wait to meet your little one!
The Cinque Terre is a series of five villages perched on the Italian riviera coastline southeast of Genoa. The villages are, for the most part, only accessible by boat/ferry or the regional trains that run through them, connected from Pisa to Genoa. The first time I heard about them was reading a Rick Steve’s guide book on Italy. We visited in 2012 as part of our Italy trip. After spending a few days in the beautiful Tuscany countryside, we realized we missed seeing the ocean.
The train ride to CT was an adventure. The high speed trains in Italy and across Europe are fast and efficient. But the slower, local trains are so interesting. Perhaps because they provide a taste for slow travel and what feels like a more authentic experience, traveling almost like a local. We caught a train from Siena that was destined for La Spezia with a switch at Empoli. Once in La Spezia, we needed to catch a local train for CT. A map here if you are interested. On the Empoli to La Spezia leg, we stopped at Pisa station for a very long time. At first I didn’t notice because I was enthralled by my book of choice for that trip: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. But then Mike pointed out we’d been sitting there for 20 minutes. There hadn’t been any announcements, not even in Italian. No train conductors appeared to tell us what was going on. A few minutes after, some of the locals started to get off. I asked one person if he knew what was happening, and he said no one knows. Then I saw across the platform, there was a train coming into the station in 5 minutes that was headed to La Spezia. I told Mike we should just get off our train and hop on that one since our ticket brings us to the same destination. When the new train arrived, our original train was still sitting there. That experience reminded me a lot of taking the trains in China as a child. The disorganized nature and lack of information.
So, a note about taking regional trains in Italy, if your train stops for a long time for no reason, don’t panic! The CT train from La Spezia spent much of its first 5 minutes passing through mountain tunnels, then suddenly, we are out of it, and you just see emerald green and blue waters of the Ligurian sea, it was a sight that caused the whole train to go “wow!”
Favourite things about the Cinque Terre:
– The natural stunning scenery
– You get a bit of both: mountains & ocean
– Hiking between the villages: though when were there in 2012, a couple of them were still closed as a result of the landslides that happened in fall of 2011.
– The amazing seafood in the area
– Amazing gelato! (although really, gelato is amazing everywhere in Italy I’m sure)
– The indescribable old-world charm of the villages. You know the saying about a slower paced life in more remote areas of the world, and here, even though it’s not that remote, you feel it. Even as travellers, you feel more relaxed
– How despite the increasing crowds visiting the region, it still retains its charm and authenticity. At night, when the day trippers have gone, the streets are filled with mostly locals (lots of Nonna’s) and it feels like time has not touched this place much in the past fifty years.
There is a tunnel on the walkway from Riomaggiore to Manarola (affectionately dubbed as Via dell’Amore, or Lover’s Walk), and it is filled with graffiti and writings.
Train station with a view :)
Vernazza. It’s the favourite village of a lot of people. We bought pizza from a pizza place just up the street from the harbour.
We sat down by the seawall, in the shade, ate delicious pizza (probably one of the best I’ve ever had);
drank Italian lemon soda (my fave!);
watched the comings and goings at the harbour and in the square;
And then sat on the rocks and watched the sun dip below the next town and the curve in the landscape.
It was one of my favourite days from that trip.
(Sorry, no photo of the pizza, you’ll just have to take my word for it).
This last photo makes me think of Old Man and the Sea.
Except it’s more like Old Men here…although they were kind of far, so not sure if they are even old! :D
Where to stay:
Aria di Mare in Manarola – lovely place, definitely rooms with a view
Where to eat:
Trattoria dal Billy (Manarola) – awesome view, amazing seafood!
Il Porticciolo (Manarola) – yummy seafood pasta
Gelato (anywhere!)
Meet Stephanie and Matt. Stephanie loves Matt’s laugh. Matt still finds her to be the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.
They’ve known each other since high school and 11 years later, still deeply in love, and getting married soon in sunny Cabo San Lucas.
A lot of the times we think that when two people finally find each other later in life, it’s that much more special. Not to say it isn’t necessarily. But I think it’s equally special when two people find each other early on in life but have stayed together. It’s not easy, being high school sweethearts. Not that it’s ever easy in any relationship per se, but there seems to be a little extra difficulty with young relationships because we are at a stage where we are still learning and growing so much, and changing so much. It’s incredibly easy to grow apart. These guys have stuck together, they’ve grown together, and I’m sure, will enjoy many more happy years together.
I can’t wait to be a part of their wedding next week.
What to say about Santorini?! Other than that it’s heaven-on-earth? granted, crowded heaven-on-earth (from June to August)…but still, there is simply no place quite like it. It’s the sheer cliffs (caused by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago) on one side of the island, the impossibly blue ocean, the iconic Greek isles architecture with white walls and blue domed churches, and of course, the sunsets, where people erupt into cheers and clap at the end (I am serious).
Usually I find myself going on and on about a place, but strangely this time, I have very few words. So I will just let the photos do the talking.
Warning, I’m generally more of a dog person, but you might see quite a few cats in this post.
Sunrise from up in the air.
It was worth the overnight at Athens airport haha.
Atlantis Books. Officially my favourite bookstore in the world.
If you are a book lover, how amazing would it be to get married here?!
A sense of humour and/or silliness is almost a prerequisite in my clients in order for us to work really well together. And Martin and Amy have plenty of both. They both have such a dry sense of humour, but that’s why they get each other. They also make each other laugh a lot, as you will see in the following photos from their Document Love session from the Fall. I think it’s super important that your other half gets your sense of humour because, can you imagine? You tell a joke or say something that you think is funny, and they just look at you with a blank face? No, I think life is too short not to have fun and laugh often, especially with someone you love.
Here are some favourites from hanging out and laughing with Martin and Amy on a crisp Fall afternoon.
I can’t believe it’s been more than a month already! In the beginning of March, I had the opportunity to travel alone for the first time. I had a workshop planned with two photographers whose work I had quietly admired from afar for a few years: Nordica Photography. I was incredibly excited to meet them and go on an adventure on my own since Mike couldn’t take the time off. Then as the trip neared, I felt anxious and apprenhensive. How would it be to travel by myself? I especially hate eating by myself. Would I get lost? Run into any trouble? Would it be lonely? And, not to mention, meeting two of my favourite photographers. It was a little nerve-wracking.
I asked my good friend Jess for advice about solo travel. She confirmed that while traveling alone can be so fun, it can also be quite lonely. She said there were times when she just didn’t want to go outside and explore. But she said to push through those feelings and go out and explore anyway. As for safety for a solo female traveler, she suggested that I should always look confident even if I don’t know where I’m going; be organized about my plans and know where I’m going ahead of time. That last part didn’t work out too well for me. After I got off the airport shuttle at Stockholm central station, I decided to walk to my hostel in Gamla Stan (Old Town). I could have taken the metro but I had checked Google maps before my trip and it was only about a 20-minute walk. I was tired so I thought the fresh air would help. With nothing but a free map I got from the airport and a relatively good sense of directions (thanks Mom!), I walked out into the city. And I almost got lost. Luckily I managed to navigate by landmark and arrived at my hostel after about half an hour.
In addition to the workshop, I had planned couples sessions for this trip so in a way, they helped to motivate me to get out and explore. It was really lovely to meet new people and get to know them a little. It was an opportunity to connect with locals in a way that I hadn’t had the chance to before.
And eating by myself? It wasn’t that bad I guess. A lot of places have bar seats so you don’t have to look at your neighbours uncomfortably or anything haha. While I still felt a bit self-conscious, I’m sure it was mostly in my head.
And the loneliness? It was tough the first couple of days but then I got used to it. It was nice to spend some quality time alone. And yea the freedom to do whatever you want, when you want can be fun. For example, I could just pick up my camera and run out the door and wander around Gamla Stan by myself at night. I did have my heavy tripod, which was probably more of a weapon than a piece of photography equipment anyway. So, solo traveling? Definitely an experience to be had at least once. But, I feel like the world is a lovelier place when you can share it with those you love.
Below are some personal photos from Stockholm, as well as a few from the amazing two-on-one workshop I did with the Nordica dudes.
Stockholm reminded me of a mixture of Paris and Amsterdam. Beautiful architecture and lots of history, canals and islands.
The people are friendly.
But the things that struck me the most were their clean drinking water (straight from the tap! also, you can fish from the water surrounding the city, that’s how clean they are);
and how nice the drivers are! A lot of pedestrian crossings don’t have lights, just zebra stripes and a sign to remind the drivers.
Yet, no one tries to rush you or run you over.
I’ve been trying to work out all that I’ve learned from Cole and Jakob ever since the workshop. There was a lot of information, and even now I’m frequently going back to my notebook and going through my notes. I loved learning the business side of things, because they are clearly really good at it. I’ve always admired the way they see light, so it was awesome to learn about what they look for or keep in mind when taking a photo. There were also a lot of practical tips and suggestions which were super helpful since they answered my specific questions. They shared the Nordica story with me, including some tidbits that I hadn’t known before which really surprised and humbled me, such as how they did 300 sessions in their first year. Talk about hustling. The best part was how real they were; real down to earth and approachable guys who are also hilarious.
I left feeling really inspired, and motivated. As the weeks passed though, I’ll be honest, I felt a little depressed. I started wondering about how I can become as successful as they are. I realized that there is no set formula to do this, I can’t replicate their experiences, and boom. I knew this lesson already, but it’s one of those things that you have to work at everyday.
This was both sad and kind of liberating. My experiences will never be the same as theirs (or anyone else’s) because we are not the same people. My path will only ever be mine. It doesn’t seem like there’s much point in chasing after another person’s version of success, at least, not without really sitting down and evaluating what it is that I want to do.
So thank you Cole and Jakob, for a great day of laughs and inspiration. But most of all, for inspiring me to continue to follow my dreams, and find my own way.
Somehow Cole always ends up holding purses at workshops :)
The Vasa! The only (almost) fully intact 17th century ship ever salvaged.
The sheer size of this ship was very impressive. Note tiny people near the bottom for scale.
