photography – The Big Hair Diaries

I Love You a Latte, Nature

Published on September 30, 2018 by hellosamanthadear8 Comments

E2705CBE-3633-48AC-86A8-CB06DEF4D52A

Hello hello! Like my socks? 🙂

Fall is for SOCKS. All kinds! For me personally, I really love over-the-knee socks. They add such a fun look to an outfit.

The temperature is dropping quite fast, and by next week, there is rain expected (yessss!). I’m really looking forward to the upcoming fall weather. ♥♥♥

I tried a dusty ol’ vintage look with my camera today. 😀

CA97B636-D99F-4243-98B3-37FBD47150CD

591C62EE-640A-4EBF-928C-3DC4BEC3C699

E5C2FBAF-2AE3-4FD9-9918-979A9154873F

6881579C-C463-4FFA-8BA5-A606CB8022C0

E6A7B21E-3A63-46C7-AD68-B6864BF6C6C7

Bring out the fun cardigans and socks! Love it. I was so torn as to what kind of shoes to wear with this…I ended up choosing right, though.

What I learned today: socks with sandals are a-okay! 😀

You know what else is a-okay are Maple Pecan Lattes…

With the sprinkles…oh my gosssssssssshhhhhhhhh. They are MORE than just a-okay. I will probably get one of these again sometime. This is from Starbucks and it’s a new drink that just made its debut a few days ago. I had to give it a try! 🙂

So this evening, I took myself on a nature date! I went for the sole purpose of fully appreciating the transition into fall around me, and taking photographs of it all. I highly recommend trying this sometime, to anyone reading! Bring a camera and snap away. It’s refreshing and inspires you to get creative, in my opinion.

I feel such a deep joy when I listen to the silence of nature. There’s nothing quite like it! Also, when you’re out in nature, do you ever feel like it’s all so alive around you? I really felt that way this evening. ♥

‘Til Next Time!

pink-heart-hi

Take a Picture

Published on July 10, 2018 by hellosamanthadear6 Comments

“Awake on my airplaaaane, awake on my airplaaaane…”

Welcome back to the 90’s! My blog post title is very fitting for two reasons:

1) “Take a Picture” by Filter is a 90’s tune (one of my top favorite 90’s songs), and my outfit today was very 90’s!

2) I’m quite literally going to discuss pictures. My last blog post featured my favorite paintings that have always stuck with me; today I’ll feature my favorite photographs taken throughout history! ♥

Let’s get started!

The skirt is a hand-me-down, and it was purchased in the 90’s (maybe early 90’s, I’d guess?) I paired it with a striped shirt for some daring pattern-mixing!!! Kinda Saved By the Bell-ish…

I made the belt!

The headband is the new yellow rose one I made! Agggggghhhhhh, I love this outfit SO MUCH. The pattern-mixing was a bold move but hey! I loved it, and if we love what we wear, that’s all that matters! I felt super happy and confident in this ensemble today. 😀 ♥

“Could you take my picture…’cause I won’t remember…”

Now, under the umbrella of art, I really appreciate photography. It speaks volumes without a word needed to be said! It’s something I’ve always admired, and like artwork, photographs speak to me just as much.

I took a photography class in college…I was okay at it! It wasn’t my strongest skill, but I liked to admire other people’s photography.

These are my top favorite photography stills of all time! Unfortunately, I have no idea who took any of these photos, even after research.

Afghanistan

Ohhh boy, this photo has always stuck with me. The striking contrast of pure joy on the young girl’s face amidst the crowd of women is powerful. If I had to guess, I’d think this is one of Steve McCurry’s work (who is famous for taking photographs in Afghanistan, and most notably his portrait of ‘Afghan Girl’).

tumblr_mu27u9WbXZ1r2u8sso1_r1_540

An East German soldier passing a flower through the Berlin Wall before it was torn down, 1989.

This photo is actually hanging on my wall in my room! I love the feeling of peace and unity that it evokes, in my opinion. ♥

marine-in-da-nang-vietnam

A young private waits on the beach during the Marine landing at Da Nang, 1965.

A photo that really sticks out to me from the Vietnam War.

02972f40c11efdd0aa5ee7544d26be6b

Titanic Disaster – Newspaper boy, 1912.

This was the first picture that made me interested in photography as a child. I read everything about the Titanic when I was a kid and I’ve always remembered this photo. ♥

Yeeeeeah! This wraps up my featured ‘favorite art/photography’ series, I guess! Haha, it was fun to share! 😀 Hope you enjoyed.

See you next time!

The Fool on the Hill

Published on November 20, 2017 by hellosamanthadear8 Comments

What a nice weekend it was!! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well. ❤

I took some nice snapshots from a long walk I took Sunday evening. It was COLD, but ultimately worth it. Or, perhaps I just need to dress warmer, which would be the more logical approach.

autumn-leaves

barren-land

Where would I be without self-timers? I brought my mini-tripod that is flexible enough to fit in my purse, and I sat it on a nearby fence. Totally looks like someone took the picture for me, right?

I wasn’t too shy about taking photos because hardly anyone is around in this particular area of the park. Plus, I walk out here so often that I’m sure by now I’ve earned the reputation as the woman with big hair and a flower crown who wanders around and takes photos of stuff.

^ Another cool thing about self-timers are the unexpected facial expressions you get when you’re not quite ready for the camera, or a blurry hand, in this case. ^

sunset-2

I had my music on of course, and I was listening to the Beatles. The right scenery can easily make me gravitate toward a specific band or genre.

sunset-november

But the fool on the hill, sees the sun going down, and the eyes in his head, see the world spinning round.

See you next time! ❤

Some Velvet Morning

Published on November 18, 2017 by hellosamanthadear1 Comment

white-dress

Hello, hello! ❤

Do you ever just get lost in music? I sure do. With how crazy and nonsensical the world can be at times, I find it easy to retreat into a musical daydream when I submerge myself in a song. It’s like an instant vacation!

At work this past week, I’ve discovered some lovely 60’s gems via Spotify I’ve never even heard of before!! One of them being a charming, blissfully vague psychedelic tune by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood called Some Velvet Morning, which apparently came out in late 1967.

maxresdefault-1

maxresdefault

Listening to dreamy, psychedelic music inspired a very dreamy photoshoot this morning before my routine coffee stop and work route. It was super cold, super windy, and we had a heavy rainstorm around 4 a.m.!

There is something I really love about wearing all white…it’s a powerful color, to me. The look of a white dress in my opinion is very two-sided; it can look beautifully pure and innocent, or it can look incredibly eerie, ghostly and somewhat cult-like.

white-dress-2

Flowers are the things we know, secrets are the things we grow
Learn from us very much, look at us but do not touch

Stay inspired; inspiration is everywhere! Have a good weekend!

Monterey, CA

Published on November 12, 2017 by hellosamanthadear4 Comments

Hello everyone! I went to the coast yesterday and wanted to share some photos I took along the way! I have a lot of photos to share, so sit back and enjoy. 🙂

Casa de Fruta

casa-de-fruta-sign

Casa de Fruta is a cute place nestled in Hollister, CA that largely sells fresh fruit and vegetables, and also lots of delicious candy to choose from (primarily chocolates). 🙂

casa-de-fruta

dried-fruit

I bought these things to eat, which look really weird but they were soooooo good!! These were mashed up peach, mango, and lemon (the long one) coated with coconut.

monterey-wharf

Monterey

Next stop was fisherman’s wharf in Monterey! I really love it here because the buildings are bright-colored and cute, with lots of restaurants to choose from.

clam-chowder

Anytime I go to the coast, clam chowder is what I always gravitate to. 😉 This, and a side order of bread smeared with cheese and roasted garlic. Super delicious!

Dog in a Dress

dog-in-a-dress

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Look at it’s little face!!! jfieowjfndkvmkdmvladjfifwfmkf

Secret Garden

I always tend to veer off the main path of the tourist sections and wander into the little hidden areas. Next to the busy walking/biking path that runs along the ocean were some small office buildings, and to my surprise, hidden gardens. ❤

peace-rose

garden

Monterey is such a beautiful little city with lots of Spanish villa style buildings (my favorite style of building, next to Tudor), and beautiful, lush plant life. One moment you’re on the city street, and one turn can take you into a beautiful garden.

I hope you enjoyed the photos. 🙂 Have a great start of the week!

Manhattan Beach

Published on September 17, 2017 by hellosamanthadear4 Comments

manhattan-beach2

Hello everyone! So happy to write a post about my day trip to Manhattan Beach, CA. ❤

My friend and I left early this morning, and like I always do when I go to Southern California, I had to stop by my favorite little coffee shop gem: It’s a Grind, located in Castaic, CA.

cafe

I seriously love this place, because how could you not?! Look at those comfy chairs! And of course, the artsy vibe going on (that’s a painting of the lovely Josephine Baker in the background behind my shoulder). Their coffee is delicious to boot; that’s a Mocha Rush, with chocolate chips mixed in. Yum!

manhattan-beach

Southern California never ceases to take my breath away. I have always romanticized the area in general, and I blame watching Clueless and She’s All That a trillion times growing up and seeing so many iconic shots of the L.A. area.

For a late lunch, we went to an Indian restaurant in Hawthorne. It was soooo good! Indian cuisine is one of my top favorites, so naturally I loved the food. I was amazed by the beautiful artwork they had in the restaurant…

indian-art

So gorgeous. ❤ It was such a great day! It’s always refreshing to get out of town and see the sights elsewhere.

I hope you all are having a fantastic weekend! 🙂

Garden Party

Published on August 2, 2017 by hellosamanthadear1 Comment

I had time to kill this evening and I figured – what better way to spend it than by frolicking around my backyard, taking pictures of brightly-colored pinwheels and a few outfit shots?

The dress is very old; I bought it years and years ago. The black bow is handmade by me.

This was just a whimsical, last-minute, amateur photography idea. Enjoy!

hands