Canon 35mm 1.4

May

26

The Coming Storm

Clouds are amazing. They are so stunningly beautiful sometimes that I literally stop walking, or reading, or working at the computer, and just look up. But I’ve always found it really hard to capture them in photographs. (At least to my personal satisfaction.) But I think maybe that’s because they are so quickly swelling and shrinking watching is really the only way to feel their magnificence. The storm clouds that rolled in the other night were so breathtaking in their ominous presence that I just had to try.

After The Storm

Final photo taken by Tom.

May

25

Take A Drive With Me On A Rainy Night

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / everyday life Posted by Sara / 6 comments

Those of you who missed yesterday’s post, this is the matching set. The mirroring photos of Tom are my favorites, but I think it’s not the same unless you have the whole set. Yesterday was sunny and warm but today it’s back to being gloomy. I don’t mind the gloomy days so much as long as there’s a sunny day here and there.

May

24

Take A Drive With Me On A Rainy Day

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / everyday life Posted by Sara / 2 comments

I mentioned before that it’s been raining non-stop for a while, and of course as soon as I decide to post about it the sun is out and it looks like a different world outside! But I wanted to share you some photographs I took last week sometime anyway. When it gets rainy I tend to think that my options for photographing interesting things have gone right out the window, but last week I realized that a rainy day can be just as interesting as a sunny day. So here are some photographs of a rainy day drive. (I have a matching night time set to share too.) I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend, and sorry I didn’t post yesterday but us Canadians (and this poser American here) were celebrating a certain Queen’s birthday.

May

20

Bronwyn’s Birthday Tea

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / friends Posted by Sara / 9 comments

After Fresh we went back to B&B’s new apartment for tea, gift opening, Cider and Alice snuggling, and some good old Mario Kart! Since then we had Jim’s birthday, a Forks Over Knives screening, I wrapped up three portfolios for fellow photographers, and this weekend we get to see Tom’s great Aunt Valerie here visiting from Ireland! Busy, busy, busy- but I have some good news! The sun is out today! It’s literally been raining every single day for the weeks (I am not exaggerating) and it’s been killer on the photo opportunities (and the mood). But a few hours ago it suddenly became super bright in my office and I squinted, genuinely not knowing what was going on at first before I realized- OH, THE SUN! There you are!

I hope it stays for the weekend!

May

18

A Fresh Birthday

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / dining out / friends Posted by Sara / 17 comments

Last weekend Tom and I had a chance to see Bronwyn for her birthday. We braved the pouring rain and cold winds and utterly drenched, we squeezed into to a packed vegetarian cafe called Fresh. Unfortunately the lighting, while cozy, wasn’t the best for us- and there was only one set of windows in the whole restaurant and they were all the way at the other end! I am spoiled by natural light. Then again, it was gloomy and pouring outside so who knows if it would have helped any. (Learning photographers, it would have, I’m just being a grump about the weather!) But despite all that we really had a fabulous time and I enjoyed the meal and even more so the company. Bronwyn has posted about it on her blog, so be sure to hop over there to see more photos. I don’t think I have ever been on the other side of a blogger’s post like this before- it’s very strange! (In a cool way, of course.)

Happy Birthday, B.

May

15

The Cat Whisperer

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / the cats Posted by Sara / 10 comments

I’m sorry I missed Caturday yesterday! (I can’t expect Morn to save my butt every time.) Yesterday was Bronwyn’s birthday and we spent the day downtown, despite the rain, doing celebratory things (which I shall post about soon, of course) but I wanted to make up for missing yesterday by posting some of these photos of fabulous Alice along with a little story!

No doubt as you may have noticed, Morn has taken a special liking to Tom, and that’s putting it lightly. He will meow at the door if it’s time for afternoon cuddles and Tom’s not around, he loves Tom’s lap, and he follows him around sometimes just to see what he’s up too. Don’t get me wrong, he’s cuddly with me too, especially at night- but man there is something about Tom he really likes. And Tom’s dad is the same way! Both our cats will come and greet us at the door when we come home, but they greet Jim at the door too! Conclusion? Well, the only logical one of course: there is Cat Whisperer in their blood.

After today my suspicions have only become stronger. Normally shy and very timid with people, especially men, Alice hopped right up on Tom’s lap as soon as he sat down and began a cuddle fest. Much like Morn does. I’m telling you. Cat Whisperer.

(For you learning photographers- these pictures would have you believing that it was sunny and the sunlight was pouring through the windows. This is trickery! Do not be fooled! They were taken with the 35mm at 1.4 and an ISO Speed of 3200 at 7pm! Trust me, it was dark- pretty neat, huh?)

May

12

A Home For Bruno

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / everyday life Posted by Sara / 8 comments

I brought home a strawberry plant, named it Bruno, and have been keeping it on top of our dresser while we sleep so the cats can’t get to it (though they seem pretty uninterested, honestly) and have been bringing it out to sit next next to me in during the day so it can soak up sun rays. We are becoming fast friends and I eagerly await any signs of one of my favorite summer fruits.

A few days ago Tom came home with two shelves that match our cherry red/brown furniture and asked me where I’d like “Bruno’s house” to be, and that there’s space for my “soon to be herb garden”. Pumpkin, who likes to be involved in anything interesting, helped him put it up. (In case you couldn’t tell what he was doing.)

May

07

An Almost Home Movie Caturday

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / the cats Posted by Sara / 11 comments

Well, I figured I’d try something new today! I know this is a photoblog but I’ve been meaning to go back to the days when I used to make home movies. These are just clips I took from yesterday, which is a start. And, of course, I can’t go a post without at least ONE photo. Have a great weekend everyone, and happy Mother’s day to all my mommy (and soon to be mommy) readers.

May

04

Moving Day Dinner

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / everyday life Posted by Sara / 8 comments

Allow me to just say right now that those Vegetable Straws are unbelievably delicious. We don’t usually have chips or whatever in the house but we’re totally going to grab these next time we’re at the store. I mean, “each straw is made from real potatoes, tomatoes, and spinach so they are the perfect snack for one name Sara Paige”. No really, the package says that. Okay, well, it should. After moving all day Bronwyn’s mom dropped off some grocery store goodies for us to ~~eat~~ devour before our drive home. Vegetable sushi from the grocery store never tasted so good.

May

03

Moving To The City

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / everyday life Posted by Sara / 7 comments

As Morn mentioned, on Saturday we helped our friends Bronwyn and her boyfriend Brendan (Tom and I affectionately call them B&B) move to Toronto. I didn’t take a lot of photos, because we were literally moving from 9:30am (which has us up at 6:30 to get there!) until 7:00pm (YIKES) and I was pretty tired afterward. I was so zapped that I didn’t really take any photos aside from a few people and pets upon arrival to the new apartment and then I took the celebratory first meal photos. Cider made herself right at home as you can see in the last photo, and the three of us were crammed in the bathroom because my prompt for the day was “bathroom”. We were lucky though, because it rained all week before the move and has been raining since, but as you can see there wasn’t a cloud in the sky on Saturday.

Apr

26

Our Simple Black Bean Burgers

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / recipes Posted by Sara / 13 comments

Wow, these photos are so bright your eyeballs might explode. Sorry about that, I’m still getting used to my new lens and how it reacts to certain settings. Believe it or not, I just started snapping without looking, confident that I knew my kitchen window well enough to know what settings to use. Whoops! Seems like this lens is a taaad more sensitive. Anyway, per request, here is the black bean burger recipe Tom and I use (a lot), but before I go: Don’t mind my pajamas, I think it’s only fair that I’m allowed to refuse to get dressed on Sundays. And this is silly but I feel badly because I’m always posting photos of Tom in his tan sweater and I just want to mention he throws it on over everything and he does in fact own more clothes than just this sweater. AND people have asked me before what the garlic or ginger puree looks like, so here’s a photo of the jar we buy. All right, I think that’s it, so ENJOY!

What You Need

☑ 1 19oz/540ml can of organic black beans
☑ 1 teaspoon ginger puree
☑ 3 teaspoons garlic puree (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
☑ 1 teaspoon onion powder
☑ 1 teaspoon parsley
☑ 1 – 1 1/2 cups panko, bread crumbs, or crushed Vegetable Thins (or crushed gluten free crackers for you GFers!)

What You Do

1. Drain the can of beans and pour them and all other ingredients except the panko/breadcrumbs into a blender/food processor (or Magic Bullet) and mix until a slightly chunky puree is achieved.
2. Move the mixture to a bowl and hand stir in the Panko until the puree becomes dry and can easily make patties. You don’t want it to be too wet or it won’t stick together. Add more as needed, but don’t get carried away!
3. Use your hands to make burger sized patties. (It’s really a lot easier than I thought, they don’t fall apart hardly at all!)
4. Put some oil or in your pan and cook those suckers on medium heat for 3-4 minutes each side, or until medium to dark brown. (Time may vary depending on the thickness of your patties. Just go with your gut, you don’t have to worry about under cooking them and killing anyone by mistake. I’ve found 3-4 minutes to be perfect.)
Add whatever toppings (spinach!) & condiments you want and ENJOY!

Apr

25

A Celebratory Dinner

Canon 35mm 1.4 / Canon EOS 7D / dining out / family Posted by Sara / 9 comments

So our Easter was pretty swell. We made black bean burgers (so I can post the recipe on Wednesday), stayed in our pajamas all day, and you know, enjoyed each other’s company. We’d just gone out on Friday for a fancy and celebratory dinner with Jim and Sandy, and I even dressed up (please excuse the goofy cellphone pic, I was talking and didn’t realize Tom was photo-taking!), and had an Earth Day baking extravaganza, so all our festive energy was pretty much zapped. But of course I took photos of Friday’s fabulous dinner, so here we go! Tom was in charge of picking the restaurant, and he chose an award winning new-to-us place specializing in Asian food. And I mean really specializing! The menu was practically eight pages long full of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese entrées and even had a few Thai dishes and soups! It’s kind of crazy how much our family loves Asian food, especially Tom. (What’s that you say, we “were meant to be”? Funny you should say that, I was just thinking the same.) I hope you all had a fabulous holiday weekend, enjoyed some time off, and didn’t overdose from too much chocolate or other sweet assortments!