This year has been an exciting one! Had a couple small trips to NY, and big trips to California and Thailand. Started a new job and worked with some really great brands like HTC, Canon, and Ted Baker via my blog. Closer to New Years I’ll round up some of my most fav moments but Facebook does a handy job of rounding them for you. See my Year in Review by clicking this link facebook.com/yearinreview/casiestewart or check out your own by visiting the same link from your profile.
Last night I had dinner with the other 4 Canadian Canon Blogtography Ambassadors and some great people involved in the program from Edelman Toronto and Canon Canada. We arrived at The Drake Hotel not knowing what they had planned for us. Each of the Canon sessions we’ve attended over the past six months has had a different theme where we learned tips and tricks from professionals similar to what video production companies austin texas employ in their work to try with our cameras.
Over the last six months I’ve really learned how to take photos. I mean, I’ve been using a camera as long as I can remember but snapping shots is different than knowing how to use a camera outside of the auto. I took that photo above.
We were on the trolly in High Park this summer and Emily had just gotten this massive ice cream with sprinkles, it was hot and about to drip everywhere. I cropped it and used one of the filters in my Canon Rebel SL1 then sent it off to Canon as part of my 20 favorite photos. Last night they gave each of us one of our prints, blown up and in a frame. The image was printed using a Canon printer which, in true Oprah style, we each got one. (Imagine “You get a printer and you get a printer”, it was kinda like that.) We were all amazed by the high quality, shocked by the generosity, and extremely grateful. As you already know, Canon is very famous and has been loved by many people over the years. You can look for Canon printer cartridges compatibility online at stores such as Toner City so that you are never without cartridges to print off all your amazing pictures.
After almost a decade of blogging, the world of social media has blossomed and I’ve been fortunate to be part of many ambassador programs over the past few years. I’ve carefully only chosen to take part in ones that offer products or services that I honestly like and have purchased or would have given I had the money. This is most certainly the case with Canon (and of course Ted Baker!). Back in 2004 I shipped off to Australia for school, I got my first digital camera ever, a Canon Powershot. I loved that little thing and took it everywhere. I’ve never owned a fancy camera and my Rebel SL1, the worlds smallest, lightest DSLR is my very first. I’ve always wanted one and more than bring an ambassador for a great brand through this program, I got to learn how to shoot.
I’m extremely thankful to have been in unofficial photography school over the past few months. Now that I have a pinter you can expect to see more prints of my photos as I perfect my craft. It’s also what everyone on my list will be getting over the holidaya!
Canon and Edelman, thank you.
Check out my posts from the last few months and feel free to share your photo tips and tricks below. I’m always up for learning and sharing!
Have an awesome day, soak up some of that sunshine. 🙂
<3 CASIE
Been loving my walk to work the last week. It’s great to be in a creative office surrounded by art and internet. Our building is about 10 minutes from my door, major score! Greeted by this sign when I walk in. There’a all kinds of creative, vintagey things around here. Will give you a tour one of these days.
I did not wear the right shoes for snow! Doh. Shoudl really know better.
Yesterday I took my mentee to the AGO for his first visit and to see the Guggenheim exhibit. We walked around and talked about her future eventually coming up with a plan and some actionable items. Vanessa Grillone won the HTC One contest earlier this year and part of the prize was mentorship from me. See her post about winning here and a guest post on my blog here.
I absolutely love the AGo and have been a member for a few years. It’s an amazing place to go and get inspired. Many times I’ve just walked through for 15 minutes and stopped to visit a few favourites. I never miss Andy Warhol or walking through Gallery Italia (above).
Saw this art on my way to work today.
Made this before I left the house 🙂
One of the things I chatted Vanessa about yesterday was stepping out of your comfort zone. That’s where the magic happens guys. This is an excellent time of year to reflect on the year passed and think about where you want to be this time next year. I don’t even know where my comfort zone is anymore I step out and do the unexpected so often! Don’t be afraid to try something new, you’ll most likely be surprised at the opportunity it creates!
(I drew this a couple of years ago!)
Sounds like a bit of tongue twister but trust me it’s cool. My friends from Jet Cooper now Shopify have partnered with BlogTO for a cool pop-up shop that I thing might be the future of retail. Located at 165 Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market the stop is part gallery part shop.
The cool thing about it is you can see and touch all the merch then using Shopify’s payment system on the wall mounted iPads (below) you make a purchase and it’s delivered to your door, before Christmas of course. I think this concept is rad. I love online shopping and this bridges it with retail for a totally new experience. All those asking is Shopify good? Well here’s your answer. They’re innovating and adapting to market trends – and it really shows. I’ve seen a few of these stores online or came across them while doing online shopping since some eCommerce store use companies like Victorious to help with their digital marketing. I know lots of people who use Shopify daily and they love it. It’s cheap, it’s easy to use and it even has a mobile app. Of course, there is always the question of ‘Wix vs Shopify‘ but it’s down to personal preference which platform you prefer. If you own an online store, Shopify could be a great alternative online shopping experience, shipping out your products with custom retail packaging to your customers. For anyone that would be pretty sweet, but having a pop-up shop surrounding it is just plain awesome.
If you’re out and about this weekend check out Popify. More details on the website here.
Next year is my 10th year of blogging and marks 9 years of casiestewart.com. Can you believe it’s been so FREAKING long? It amazes me when I think back to why I started this bloggy blog and where it’s taken me since. THIS IS MY LIFE has been a public diary to keep memories and I’ve travelled round the entire world writing stories about my adventures.
One of my fav trips ever was going to New Zealand for Fashion Week. A contest I knew online told the peeps at NZFW that I was a Kiwi and a Canadian blogger they should have attend. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I get to stick around for an extra week to spend time with my family. I made friends on that trip I’ll have for life.
This is me hanging out w/ top NY celebrity stylist Derek Fabulous and world famous designer Nicole Miller. I blogged heaps that trip and you can creep them posts right hurre.
I did a few interviews on that trip and one earned my first EVER magazine cover. Me, cover! Photo was taken by fashion photog Lynsie Roberts as press shots before I left. Click image to check out her website.
I LOVE the holidays! Nothing like meeting up with friends, letting your hair down with colleagues, boxing day deals, and making memories. In our most recent Canon Blogtography Session at Herman & Audrey, I was pleasantly surprised to see Christmas decorations, a tree, and lights. It may have only been November but there was no stopping me from putting on the Christmas music! You can bet I started with Mariah!
In this session we learned how to take portraits. It was my most favourite session all the ones we’ve had so far. We went over a variety of ways to shoot perfect holiday portraits and what lenses to use. We worked on depth, putting things in focus, and shooting under low light. ex. candle light.
I’ve been taking my own portrait since 2004 when I started this blogging so it was really wonderful to learn how to actually do it right. Our session was lead by top Canadian portrait photographer Steve Carty. He’s taken a few of my portraits before, see here and here for video.
We were encouraged to snap shots of each other. These are a few of my favourite shots from the session. I’ll share some they took of me before Christmas comes!
It definitely helps to have a tripod when you are shooting group shots like this around the table for example. You can pick up a tripod from any camera store. I love to use a tripod and the self-timer for taking self-portraits and making sure I’m included in group shots. Aren’t they cute? 🙂
For more tips and tricks on taking great photos visit canonoutsideofauto.ca and check out Steve Carty’s portraits for creative inspiration.
“People will laugh at you because you’re different. You will laugh at them because they’re all the same.”
I didn’t have far to go this morning so I took my coffee on the road. There’s a story about this sign that I’ll tell you one day soon.
Have made myself a delicious breakfast each day this week and packed healthy snacks. It’s been quite lovely! Purple cabbage was a fav as a kid and I still like it, so it’s replaced chips in my snack routine. I dropped a few LBs in Thailand so I’d like to keep that going, Agency Life added a few unwanted pounds!
Heading to the Ontario Science Centre tonight for a special preview of their newest exhibition, The AstraZeneca Human Edge. Taking lil’ EmBot for a girls night. Should be fun!
Found this blue wall on a walk in my hood today and started singing Blue Christmas. That and Jingle Bell Rock are my fav Christmas songs.
My tan has practically disappeared already. I’m feeling jet lagged like never before and having trouble sleeping. It’s quite strange and I hope it goes away soon! Next week and the one after are full of holiday parties so I really need to be back on my A-Game. We’re doing Christmas w/ Mum this weekend before she heads of to NZ to see the family. It’s so warm there now I wish I was going too!
Club Monaco jacket, Joe Fresh silk, Alice & Olivia vest, essence lips
We went on an afternoon snorkelling cruise with Good Time Adventures around Koh Tao, Thailand. It was absolutely amazing! Our crew was so much fun and we drank, swam, jumped off the boat, and visited beaches. The shot of Jenni above was assisted by our Tour Leader, Luke, way to go!
These photos were taken with my Canon Rebel SL1. To see the group I was travelling search #ContikiThai on Twitter or Instagram and visit this Twitter list.
Thank you to Contiki, Tourism Thailand, and Good Time Adventures for this experience. It was absolutely amazing. I’ve got a few more pic from this cruise on my Instagram here too.
Leah and I were in Thailand together and got along really well, heaps of laughs. She’s a Canadian Country singer and this little tune is a great way to kick off December 2013. Our crew on the trip was anxiously awaiting the release of the ‘We Got Snow’ video after it was stuck in our heads most the trip. I love the kazoo part. It’s perfect timing for the holidays! Get it here on iTunes.
They made this great set in her basement and it was directed by none other than the awesome Tim Deegan, former MUCH VJ.
It’s 5:14Am right now and I arrived in TO last night at 6pm. My BF and the EmBot picked me up from the airport with flowers and I ordered us Swiss Chalet from on the way home from YYZ. Festive Specials of course, quarter chicken white with fries.
My last two weeks in Thailand have been the trip of a lifetime. Made friends I’ll have forever, memories to keep me warm for years, and experiences I only ever dreamed would happen. I’ll be sharing stories from my adventures over the next few weeks. You can check up on all the peeps I was in tour with via this list. Feel free to creep my Instagram for photos that will warm you up all winter.
I’m going to try and keep the same excitement in photos that I’ve had on the road. There is so much beauty in life to capture. It’s kinda nice to come home with the snow for Christmas. I’m happy to be sitting on my couch right now. Not sure where my next adventure will be just yet but I’ll take you with me, as always.
