New Zealand Chapter 1 ~ April 7-21, 2009 ~ Personal

The last month has been such a whirlwind. I feel like I have been on a plane more than on the ground and I am not sure which time zone to follow. It may be tough to sleep upright, but the sacrifice has been well worth it.

In between packing our temporary home in Singapore and moving to Cambridge, England, Brian and I managed to skip away to the illustrious South Island of New Zealand. It has been on our list of places to visit for ages and finally it was our turn to see it's magnificence.

I am deathly afraid of heights so climbing the Franz Joesph Glacier was a heart-pounding experience. But heights were the least of my thoughts. Deep crevasses, melting ice and near vertical slopes conquered my every thought as I continued to climb. "Why did I elect to hike on a glacier? Were pictures worth the risk of falling into a crevasse? Would I survive if I fell into a crevasse? Wow, the ice seems to be melting awfully fast! Maybe I can turn around and wait for everyone at the bottom."

At the end of the climb my fears became triumphs and I walked back to the bus with a myriad of stunning pictures. Now, there was only one fear left to defeat: bungee jumping.

Owen Family~March 14, 2009

First of all I have to thank Facebook and my friend KC for this photo shoot. Without either of them I wouldn't have been graced by the Owen family's cheer.

It was a treat for me to photograph them in London. It's such a beautiful, historic city full of amazing architecture, culture, innovation, art and fashion! What more could a girl ask for? The only downside is when it's blowing its tits off outside, in other words; it's windy. But that is a small price to pay for such a great city.

Today was more special than any other day because Grace was going to celebrate her fourth birthday. She was ecstatic and couldn't wait for me to be done taking pictures so she could get to her birthday party. Eventually the photography had to come to an end, but not without a shot of Grace in a red telephone box. It's a shame they are being phased out.