“Burano” – The island near Venice, famous for its brightly-painted houses.

“Remember Venice” – Gondolas on the Grand Canal.

“Meet Me At Como” – A cafe on the shores of Lake Como.

“Switzerland” – Somewhere near Interlaken.

The best part of these photographs is that while the first picture, “Burano”, was taken with my old Canon Digital Rebel/kit lens, the last three were taken with my old Canon Powershot SD400…and that last shot in Switzerland was out of a moving bus window!  It’s looking back on photos like these, when I was still very new to the art of photography and had the most basic of equipment, that remind me I can be more than my equipment.  There have been many times where I have taken a photo, and people’s only comment is “Wow, you are  so lucky you have such a nice camera!”, without any credit given to me as the eye behind the lens.  A few of my photographer peers have had similar experiences, so I know I’m not alone in noticing this.

In other news, there’s apparently a Wildlife Photography Contest going on over at deviantART, and it’s the first photography contest in ages that has interested me.  Luckily, zoo photography is allowed, so maybe I’ll be able to figure something out before December 15th.  Of course, it’d be much more impressive to go back to Maui’s rainforest looking for honeycreepers, but if I do that I’ll be wanting to rent a super-telephoto from Hawaii Photo Rental, and didn’t I just say I want to be more than my equipment?  Plus, I’m a very small girl, and hiking one of those monster lenses into a rainforest is rather daunting.  Where’s my entourage when I need one?

I also might be posting more fashion-related entries as time goes on and my interest in fashion grows.  Check out this shot of Sarah Jessica Parker from Elle:

I’m in love with the styling here! (Matte jersey crepe top with cage shoulder, $295, leather vest, $1,190, both, Alexander Wang, at Barneys New York. Cotton tank top, Michael Stars, $38. Stretch briefs, Chanel, $900. Leather boots, Bess, $385.)

Finally, I wanted to promote my dear friend and travel partner,  Cameron, and her new blog, Eyes on Etsy!

As a huge Etsy fan, like myself, Cameron puts together awesome themed collections made up of the best handmade and vintage items she finds!  In her own words:

Etsy is a magical, bountiful land of online creativity and commerce, specializing in handmade and vintage goods. I discovered it one day while wandering along (virtually), and fell head-over-heels in love. Now, just like any realistic love interest, Etsy is not 100% awesome 100% of the time. However, with a little patience, you can find some true gems… and I have.

So, seeing as I spend at least some part of every day browsing Etsy – and seeing as my list of Favorite items is approaching 300 – I thought I’d share my finds with the world. Maybe you can afford to actually purchase something…

Happy browsing,
Cameron

So there you have it! You can follow her on Twitter too, for all the great finds she doesn’t post on her blog!

There, I’ve been a good blogger now.  May I have a cookie?

Happy birthday to my dear friend, who helped code this site, Kaeo Kepani!