52 weeks - week four.

jesse5856, originally uploaded by melaniegodecki.

this week's photo is a slight departure from the hearts and vintage dresses you might be used to seeing from me, but this is my friend jesse, a writer, in my housemate's bathroom...
trying to add a little bit of variety to the mix :) 

30 days of getting to know me. day eight, nine & ten.

day 8 - a picture that makes you laugh.
day 9 - a picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.
day 10 - a picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

 i am going to say this picture is the answer to all of the above.  this picture of steve makes me laugh.  it's from the day that we made our christmas card in cannes.

it's funny because he looks like a little munchkin or something.  so sneaky, and trying to avoid getting sand on his jeans.  hopefully he won't kill me if he sees this here ;)

he's also the person i do the "most messed up" whatever that means things with.  like crazy travel adventures, exploring new cities, or making silly faces.

and out of anyone in my life in the past few years, he's gotten me through the most.  

3 in 1. go steve go.

52 weeks - week three.

jenmurray, originally uploaded by melaniegodecki.

this is week #3 of my 52 week portrait challenge. 
jen as the queen (or princess) of hearts.


 

30 days of getting to know me. day six & seven.

is it terrible that i'm already a little bored of these questions? haha.

i think i'll post them every couple days instead, and bunch them together.

day 6 - a picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.

i don't have any photos of annie liebovitz's photo assistant. 

i would ask so many questions!

day 7 - a picture of your most treasured item. 

this was my grandpa's camera when he moved to canada in the 1940's.

he gave it to me a couple of years ago when i was moving away from my hometown. 

he taught me my love for photography. 

it's bittersweet. 

just as i was finally old enough and would have loved to go on photo expeditions with him

 his parkinson's disease had taken over his body so much that he could no longer operate a camera.  i would load his camera with film for him, but he'd struggle so too much to be able to focus and push the shutter.  it would break my heart. 

he still appreciates photography, and i know he's proud of my work, but i would give almost anything to be able to go on a photo walk with him. 

30 days of getting to know me. day five.

day 5 - a picture of your favorite memory.

 this picture is one of my favourite ever.  it captures a truly great evening perfectly.  the event was the wedding of our friends ryan and jasmine.
we were in Toronto for the last time before moving to France for the year, some friends were in from out of town, and we had an incredible send-off with these hilarious and ridiculously good looking people.
and a great hair day ;)

and! i have so many favourite memories that are not photographed.

sitting on my grandma's lap at her sewing machine, as we turned peach baskets into beds for my dolls.

screaming "go lisa go!" at my sister in the one second of silence before her dance performance and getting to see her whole body laugh from my view in the balcony.

playing lego with my brother.  flying kites with my dad.  baking cookies with my mom.  watching the magical model trains of my grandpa. and that's just before i turned 5. 
the list could go on and on - i am blessed with wonderful people in my life!

30 days of getting to know me. day four.

day 4 - a picture of a habit you wish you didn't have.

this is a tough one for me.  

i don't have any bad habits that i can recall.

i suppose i have a habit of not-going-to-the-gym-enough, but that's tricky to photograph. 

so my habit -which i certainly enjoy - but probably should grow out of - is bargain shopping.

 i can often get caught in the trap of buying something just because it's on sale.  

i don't need it.  i wouldn't buy it if it was regular price, but tell me it's 75% off and i'm all over it! lol

i am trying to get better at this.  the goal is to buy more 'perfect pieces' for my wardrobe.

quality over quantity.  

but who am i kidding - how can i turn down the navy blue silk/cashmere v-neck sweater at banana republic that is now $12?!! 

it's a tough habit to crack :)

52 weeks - week two.

claire5463, originally uploaded by melaniegodecki.

Claire, an actress and co-worker of mine.  

H&M dress, hat and gloves from my collection ;) 

30 days of getting to know me. day three.

day 3 - a picture of the cast from your favorite show.

it is totally and completely, hands down a win for mad men. 

i am telling all of my toronto friends to catch up already so i can throw a party for the next season premiere in july.  

oh joan is my favourite.  

this makes for a short post.  so here are other shows i am watching. 

 glee i like to stream online.  that way i can skip through the ballads.  hate the ballads.  

i also *gasp* hope it ends soon, it's already losing its coolness.

 bored to death from hbo.  this trio of actors is hilarious together.

 pushing daisies is already long dead and canceled, but sometimes it's nice to watch a show where you don't have to wait a week for a new episode.  the styling on this show is divine.  

very inspired by amelie.

and our canadian contender - being erica. 

she's a 30 year old gal feeling lost in life, but she gets to go back in time and relive all those moments she regrets, in the hopes of change.  (via a strange therapist)

hmmm my description sounds sappy, but i can identify all too well with her sometimes, so its worth the watch for sure.

30 days of getting to know me. day two.

day 2 - a picture of you and the person you have been close with for awhile.

Meet my great, kind, wonderful, talented friend Cindy. 

Here's a pic of what facebook has to say about us.

We have been friends for over a decade.   We first met at our elementary school, she was in class with my brother, I was in class with hers.   We re-met later through a mutual friend Meg, at a murder mystery birthday party, I believe.  We were acquaintances for a while, and then laughed to find out that we were in the same film production program in college.  From there, it's only gotten better. 

After graduation, Cindy moved to Toronto, and I took about 4 more years to follow.  I moved into a shared house with her brother, then a room opened and I moved in with Cindy.  

We've had, bake-a-thons, Sex and the City marathons, dance-offs in the kitchen, Christmas decorating parties and loads and loads of laughs.  She is truly like a sister to me. 

In the newest development, Cindy and her boyfriend Francesco got engaged, and asked me to be in the wedding party.  Whoo hoo! I get to help my best friend plan a beautiful day.  

oh! and Cindy's dad also figured out that we are, on far-reaching branches of the family tree, related.  She is family after all.

30 days of getting to know me. day one.

I am going to join Minnesota Girl in her 30 days quiz. 
Day 1.  A picture of you and 15 random facts about yourself.

C'est moi:

me0509, originally uploaded by melaniegodecki.

and the randomness:
1. My most favourite colour hair dye has been discontinued. 
I am constantly on the search for a great red.  
2. My favourite food is pineapple, the fresher the better.
3. I am amassing a collection of vintage hats that I love. 
4. Dresses with pockets are the best invention ever.
5.  I have a younger brother and younger sister.
6.  I find it hard to buy books.  I am a library  gal through and through.
7. Yesterday I bought a book on food styling for photographers.
8.  I recently won first place in a football pool. $282 in winnings.  All flukes!
9. I could eat breakfast foods for dinner for the rest of my life.  yum.
10. I am a little bit messy.  Especially with laundry. 
11. I will never get tired of the smell of coconut.
12. I wish I lived near the beach again.
13.  My dream job is to be the on staff photographer for a magazine.
14. My 2011 calendar is black and whites of Paris. 
15. I procrastinate but am never late.  
Take right now, when I should be in the shower getting ready for work.  lol. 

Let me know if you do this silly quiz too - it'd be nice to get to know you better :) 

tweet tweet.

i have just joined twitter. 

my name is: melaniegodecki

if you are on it, let me know :)

oh and because i hate posting without a pic - here's an outtake from the shoot last week, as steve hopped in before i took the set apart.  

silly guy.  love him.

his birthday is on wednesday.  

tomorrow i'll be baking chocolate chip cookies, he wants them instead of cake.

52 weeks - week one.

amy5356, originally uploaded by melaniegodecki.

it is really difficult to find b&w newspapers...

my fave way to arrange flowers. cheap, inexpensive, recycled arrangement.

The weather in toronto last week was strangely warm.  

All of the snow melted, and it felt like spring was here.  

It's still the first week of January, and we have new snow now, but mentally i have moved on.  

So i treated myself to a $4 bouquet of white chrysanthemums. (mums for short)

 I rummaged around my apartment for all of the glass containers I could find.  They include a wine carafe, pop bottle, homemade pickle jar, spice jars and vintage vases & perfume bottles.

 After filling all the jars with water, I began by placing flowers into the smaller jars first.  I wasn't sure if I would use all of the vases, so I started with my favourites. 

 After making sure all the vases had flowers, I set them on the table - beginning with the largest ones, then fanning out with the smaller ones.

 Play with the arrangement of vases until you are pleased with it. 

 And voila! your table looks pretty and ready for spring.

Random tips:

Mums like to be broken with a tear, rather than slicing the bottom like you would a rose.

If your florist doesn't give you any "flower food" you can add a little sugar to the water in the vase.

Remove any leaves that would be below the surface of the water - they will rot very quickly.

Bunch flowers together with an elastic near the bottom - they will spread more evenly.

Variations:

Different sizes of tin cans

Wrapping coloured ribbon on the vases

Mixing different types of flowers would be really pretty

Add food colouring to the water - the jars will have more colour, and eventually the white flowers will drink the coloured water and change the flower heads.  Beautiful and fun for kids to learn about plants.

Have fun!

2010 portfolio & 2011 plan

 my new years resolution/goal this year is to make a photo a week.  

ideally they will be creatively and technically challenging - no snapshots allowed.  

sometimes portraits, sometimes still life, but once a week i have to produce something that i'm proud of. (my standards are getting higher for myself)

i'm excited for how much it will help me grow as a photographer. 

if there's anything you'd like to see, or if you have a challenge for me, please share.

and hey - it means you'll get at least a blog post a week from me! ;)

here are the best of 2010:

do you have any goals this year?

  happy 2011!