2 more

More from the shoot with my friends:

Photo shoot with best friends

So I finally learned how to use Photoshop (WHOOHOO!) and here are a few of the pictures from the shoot I did 2 weeks ago with my best friends:

As I said – these are my 1st tries. I’m still playing around with the colour etc so… Expect better soon :)

Stamp collecting

Just a quick post before I leave for the weekend – going away for a friends wedding, CAN’T WAIT!

 

When my mom was little she started a stamp collection which my gran took over when mom moved out. I wouldn’t say she’s an avid collector since she only shoves the stamps into envelopes and never really get’s round to sorting them properly but still, she has had them for many years and has quite and extensive collection.

 

A few years back she asked all her grandchildren if they would be interested in taking over her collection. At that stage I was less than interested but I found the collection again the other day and asked her if I could have it. After a little hesitation, she said I could. So I am now a stamp collector :)

It’s really very interesting to see the stamps from different parts of the world and from as far back as the 1800’s!

My mother planted roses at the beginning of the year and they are looking so beautiful that I just thought to include a picture of them… Don’t they just make you want to sit outside?

Have a great weekend!

Chanique

xxx

Horse riding

My fiancé's sister asked me a while back if I could perhaps take a few photos of her riding horse and doing a few jumps, so last weekend I finally got the time. Here’s some of the pictures:

 

 

 

Learning a lot about my camera and had a photo shoot today with my friends – will post some photos ASAP.

 

xxx

Chanique

Tag! You're it!

How to play the game:
1. Sit down.
2. Take a picture of yourself right now. Don't even look in a mirror! Just take it!
3. Upload it.
4. Tag 3 people to do the same.
That's all!

Here's mine:

I definately prefer not taking my own foto!! :$

So I tag BOTH my followers (HAHA!)

Tagged!

Monique tagged me in her post 10 things so here goes...

1. I figure things out on my own. Many people think I'm very clever because I can get things done on my own - the only reason is that if I don't know how to do something, I look it up. The internet is a great teacher :)
   
   
2. My cheerleading team won nationals back in 2000 - I'm very proud of that and desperately wish I had a video to show my kids one day!
   
   
3. I have a wallet addiction. Use to own more than 20 but I've thrown some of them out now.
   
   
4. I can twist my tongue so that the left side touches my right cheek and the other way around.
   
   
5. I have never broken a bone in my body.
   
   
6. My fiance's aunt was my Gr1 teacher!
   
   
7. I used to write poems.
   
   
8. Mieke and I have been best friends for more than 16 years.
   
   
9. I hate talking to people on the phone.
   
   
10. I wear the same size shoe as my cousin who's 8 years younger than me :$
    

Discoveries & catching up

My geeky side decided to subscribe to the National Geographic newsletter a while back. I love finding out what's new and exciting in the world of discoveries! Here's what they had this week...

This fish has a transparent head! Since 1939 the only evidence they had of it were dead specimens found in fish nets - that is of course until recently... The fish lives 600m below the oceans surface!
Here is the link if you'd like to read more.

This is a photo of the largest found to date. It measures 2m wide by 2.1m long! If it's tail was still attached it would be over 5m! Zeb Hogan is one of the people who has dedicated his life to finding freshwater giants! Most of those have been found in in the deep rivers of Thailand .

But enough with the geekyness :)
My sister's home for the weekend and we will be spending the day in the shops! We will be catching up on what has happened over the last 6 weeks and I have no doubt that we will have a FANTASTIC time!

Hope you have and amazing weekend!
Cheerio!

P.S. Watched 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' last night... Very good movie and makes you appreciate the time you have on this earth!

Tests, competitions & sleepless nights

Today I was going to post about the things that make my room special (the little paraphernalia that have sentimental value) but then I had to write my 1st photography test last night and then I fell asleep on the couch :$ So no photos were taken of my room but at least I finished my test.

I did not think that photography would be so hard! What makes it hard is that there's not really only one right answer! Just a better answer and a not-so-good one. So hopefully all my answers were the on the better side...

A while back I registered on Inspi.re where you can take part in competitions (almost daily) and I'm proud to say that 2 of my 4 photos have placed so far! It's not anything amazing but in my little world at least I'm getting noticed :)

Here are my pictures that I've entered so far:

This one entered in My Own Backyard placed 71st out of 104.

This one entered in Washed Ashore placed 11th out of 30.

This competition is still open for voting.

This competition is still open for voting.

My photos have also been added to favourites 3 times! YEAH! Hehe

This weekend my sister is coming home and hopefully I'll have lots of pretty family photos to share next week!

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!
xxx

My little piece of Paris

So Monique and I have decided to post about our bedrooms...

My bedroom is a pink & black Paris theme since I ADORE Paris! Since it's probably the last time I'll ever get to do my room the way I like, I wanted it to be girly yet punkish. It came out just like I had hoped (the interior decorating skills are coming in handy, haha)

So first off here is the overall view of my room from the window side:

My bed:


(I love my mosquito net - makes me feel like a princess :D)

What Paris room would be complete without a Paris photo collage??

My antique house collection displayed on my windowsill along with little pots of pink flowers:

My dressing table:

My book-shelf/cupboard with inspirational quotes & photos (it's not quite finished yet):

And (this one's especially for you, Monique) lastly - my fairylights:

I also plan to make a photo collage on my cupboard doors but I'm saving up to have all the photos printed.

This is my little haven at home. Living with my parents leads me to NEED my own space where I can relax and do my own thing.

So... That's my room! :)
Let me know what you think...

Under Construction

Just an FYI that I will be changing my blog layout a lot during the next few days - I'm trying to find the right "look" :)

Enjoy your day!

What a great day!

Firstly I'd like to say a big thank you to my friend Monique for mentioning me on her blog!

Monique also put pictures up today of the house where she will be doing a couples shoot of me and my fiance! So that made my day even better because now I have an idea of what the place looks like! Thank you Monique! :)

Today my gran (who is one of the most unorganized people I know) decided to clean out her cupboards and throw away her unwanted stuff!! I was given the option to take what I want and have acquired a few priceless gems! One of my favourite pieces was this Kodak Brownie

as well as a European bell I've had my eye on for quite a while! Now all I need is a home to put it all in!

Here's a pic I took this weekend in Rustenburg while spending some time with the bees :P
Hope your day is just as good as mine so far!
xxx

The start of something new!

So it has taken me about 3 days to wonder how I'm going to start my blog, and finally, this is what I decided...

Hi!
My name is Chanique but most people know me as Chani. I am an outgoing person who loves people (especially children) and am doing my best to live a Godly life.


I'm 20 years old and have a younger brother (Dante - 14) and sister (Bianca - 18)


I am engaged to a wonderful guy (Wihan - 22). We have been together for just over 4 years, of which we have been engaged for 2. He truly completes me (no matter how cliche that might sound) and supports me in everything I do.


My best friend (Mieke - 22) and I have known each other for more than 16 years! We've fought, laughed, cried and been crazy together since I was in preschool.


These are just some of the important people in my life that have had a hand in making me who I am and bringing me where I am now.

In 2007 I bought my first camera (Sony DSC-W55) when I received my first paycheck, but it wasn't until later that year that I started realizing my passion for photography.
I always wanted to be creative and felt I had so much talent hidden inside me but never knew how to show it. I couldn't draw like my sister and best friend, I could dance but never had a passion driving me to keep doing it, and then I discovered photography and something inside me awoke! I just wanted to capture the world around me as accurately as possible. I started taking pictures (most of them not very good) of EVERYTHING - from the smallest seed to the tallest tree!

Near the end of last year I got myself a DSLR (Sony A200). What a dream come true! Since then I believe my photography has gotten better but is nowhere NEAR where I want it to be!

So here I am. Ready to learn and share what little I know...
Welcome!... To my little webspace :)