Moving, moving, moving...

So, I move on friday. I am scared and I don't know whether or not to be excited. Everything is super busy and I just got a job and I have a million things to do at a school and blah, blah, blah. Here's my scheduele for the next little while.

May 28: Tourism Test
May 29: Chemistry Quiz and Work
May 30: Old school track and field volunteer and school dance.
June 1: MOVING DAY
June 2: Cut-a-thon (I'm official photographer)
June 3: Tourism Hotel design due.
June 5: TA summative due.
June 7: Tourism Summative due.
June 12: Macbeth essay and Journals due.

SO MUCH GOING ON.

Here's one photo, because I banned myself from my camera for the next week or so.

Spring to life.

I love it when spring finally arrives, even if it was a little bit late this year. May has come and we have the sun, April has gone away with all the horrible snow and rain. I can't wait till summer, like pretty much every teenager on the planet, but till I can get away to my friends cottage and away to New Brunswick, I need to endure the spring. With better weather comes better photos (my new favourite saying) and I can't wait to share many more with you in the near future. Remember to check out my Flickr Page and here are some of the photos I have taken that are the most spring from this year.

HERE IS MY AMAZING SPRING VIDEO.

We are PARAMORE.

On May 13, 2013, I embarked on the concert of a lifetime. I headed to Toronto to the Sound Academy on the Polson Peer to hear my favourite band of all time. Unfortunately no DSLR camera's were allowed inside unless you were VIP, which I was not, so I have only cellphone pictures. Hayley said that she felt like she was transported back to 2006 with the crowd of people. It was so amazing to see a bunch of people who love my favourite band just as much as I do. Here's a few pictures and a list of the songs I remember hearing last night in no particular order. 

Moving On Interlude
Ain't It Fun
Anklebiters
Still Into You
That's What You Get
The Only Exception
Let The Flames Begin
Here We Go Again
Renegade
Decode
Misery Business
Pressure
Brick By Boring Brick
Looking Up
For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
Proof
Fast In My Car
Now
Whoa

Empire State of Mind.

On May 9th, 2013, me and a bunch of my classmates embarked on the journey of dreams to the jungle made of concrete that we all call New York City. We took a ten hour bus ride to get down there and all got to know each other really well over the experience.

We arrived at around six in the evening in Time Square. It was incredible to see all the people and the buildings around us for the first time. We were set free by our teachers to explore and have dinner and meet back at time square in just over an hour. My friends and I ventured around and took so many pictures of the experience there. We had a great piece of pizza from a pizza place that our teacher recommended to us. We headed back to Time Square and just looked at the buildings and absorbed the feeling of what New York City really is. As we headed back to the bus we couldn't wait to come back and see the city the next day.

As we headed into the city for the second day, we had many fears about being robbed and being yelled at by people who thought we were just "stupid tourists." We were surprised by the hospitality of the people there, and how many of them really didn't care that we were there, they just wanted to stay out of our groups way. We started down by Battery Park, and headed up towards the bull. Everyone was taking pictures and I wanted to wander off, but I couldn't leave the group. We walked toward the sight where the twin towers fell back on 9/11 in 2001. We got into the memorial and there were people reading in the small park and a lot of people looking for lost relatives names around the giant reflection pools. After we left the reflection pools, we headed towards China Town and Little Italy over to Canal St. We had lunch in China Town and Little Italy, and then we got lots of time to go around and Barter with all the little shop owners and find all kinds of deals on awesome New York souvenirs. We walked around the small park in China Town that was full of Chinese people. It was like you were walking through the country of China. We then headed towards Wall Street to check out the stock exchange and see all of the business people going to work and doing their jobs. After that fabulous adventure, we went off to see the Intrepid, which was actually really boring, but me and Keturah and Mariah got an amazing 'vadering' photo, because we are hipsters. Later we headed back to Time Square and were set free to have some amazing dinner. My friends, Mariah and Keturah, had some Mediterranean food that was to die for. Couldn't have has a better meal.

As we went into the next day, I couldn't even contain my excitement. Today was the day that I would be seeing Central Park and be walking through it with my own feet. First we had to pick up another tour guide. We headed to Grand Central Station and took a short tour of what was there. The architecture was amazing to walk through and see. The station looked like all the movies it had ever shown it to be. Now was the point where we stepped off the bus to go and see central park. I didn't know what toe expect, because I had dreamed about this park since I started to be interested in photography. I got my camera out and started to snap everything I could find. I wanted to document the moment and make sure that I never forgot the time I got to spend in Central Park with all of my friends and the nature around. I only hope that all of the world realizes how important nature is in general so that we can enjoy it everywhere in the world for the rest of time. Unfortunately we had to leave Central Park after only being in it for an hour, but I knew that someday I would return to get lost under it canopy of leaves once again. Lunch in Harlem and a visit to a small African market and then off to the MET and the beginning of the end of my composure. My friends are the funniest people I have ever met and we had a great time imitating the statues in the MET. After the MET, we were all getting antsy that it may begin to rain and our chance of going up the Empire State building would wither away into nothingness. We headed to 5th Ave so that everyone could see the Rockefeller Centre and go shopping if you had enough money to try and do it. It began to pour after we got inside, and it just dashed all of our hopes. Thankfully the rain let up after we stayed inside an hour and enjoyed a Happy Hour Frappachino at Starbucks. Then we headed up the Empire State Building. My camera had pretty much ran out of battery at this part, so I got a few pictures and then just enjoyed the view. I wish we could have stayed up there forever to look at the skyline at night, but alas, our dumb tour guide told us we had to go back to the hotel and he cut off all of our free time.

In the end, the trip I took to New York City with my school was an experience I will never forget, and I hope that New York will never forget us either. Here are a few of my pictures that I got. Enjoy.

Danielle.

Wall Street.

One on every corner.

we don't plank, we vader.

Grand Central Station outside.

central park.

central park.

my best friend, Shannon, in Central Park.

Myself in Central Park.

central park.

we don't plank, we vader. IN CENTRAL PARK.

inversion.

MET.

MET.

empire state of mind.

empire state of mind.

Forest Dweller.

Recently I have found a strong fascination with the forest that is around my house. The trees are growing leaves now that spring is here, and I am thrilled with it all. I am just trying to find inspiration for some nature and biological themed shoots that I want to get into for the next little while. I hope this small blog post balances out my last long one. Here are a few of my favourite forest photos.

 

Jamaica, mon.

I know that this is kind of a reflection post, but I really wanted to be able to write about the experience that I had while I was in Jamaica over march break, and show you guy some more photos that were not posted on flickr, if there really were that many that weren't posted.

When I took off from Toronto, I was so happy to be travelling again. It is one of the things that I really want to do with my life. I want to be able to experience new things and meet new people. I always crave that feeling of stepping onto an airplane and then stepping off in a completely different place from where you started. It's what makes me want to travel, it is what makes me crave adventure. 

When I landed in Jamaica, I didn't know what to expect really. I knew that it was going to be very hot and humid, and that I would want to strip out of my jeans right away. I stepped out of the airport into the night air and me and my dad were whisked away by a driver named Dave. He took us to our resort where there was a wonderful party going on. We got up to our room, got changed, and headed downstairs to have some fun with the rest of the people staying at the resort. After all the music and the dancing, sleep seemed like the best option after such a long flight.

Waking up the next day to the blue ocean and green mountains off our balcony made me think that life couldn't get any better than this. All I needed now was a tan, my camera and something to take pictures of and I was set for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I only had a week, so I had to get busy. Downstairs I went, sunscreen, hat, towel and bathing suit. I found so many interesting flowers to take pictures of, but you know that feeling when people are watching you and judging you when you take photos in public? I'm still trying to get over that little fear, so I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked to. 

I started with the thought that I wanted to make a video of my experience in Jamaica. I wanted to be able to show people the things that I was seeing for real, because video can translate motion and feelings better than just a still life sometimes. I took videos of the taking off from Toronto, the beach at my resort, the first night sunset, which was the most beautiful sunset that I have ever seen, the rain up in the mainland mountains, the hummingbirds up at Bob Marley's house in Nine Mile, the Jamaican singers at Bob's and finally the takeoff from Jamaica to go back home.

I also did so many cool things while I was there, because I'm not a total beach bum. The first thing that we did was take an hour and a half bus ride through the narrowest and most winding roads that I have ever been on to go to where Bob Marley was born and raised as a kid. The ride was fabulous through the mountains. We arrived to people smoking and celebrating the life of Bob Marley. We had a great time learning about Bob's life. The only thing that made me sad was seeing all the little kids that were begging for money, and I wish I could help them all so much. I really want to be able to go somewhere later in life where I can help people and give back to the human race in one way or another. 

Second thing that we did while I was in Jamaica was go ziplining. Up into the gorges that overlooked the ocean and the beautiful canopy, we soared across the lines, and dropped down repel lines through a fabulous few hours that I will never forget. The tour guides were unbelievable good looking, and I couldn't help but smile when they caught me at the end of every zipline, ahha. We also met some very funny people that rode the bus to and from the zipline with us from the United States. They were so friendly and outgoing and I was so happy to have met them while we were there. It made the experience a huge amount more enjoyable.

Last notable thing that I did was I went parasailing out of our resort. There was a boat that sat at the shore every day and went in and out with people who got to fly alongside the birds. I knew that I wanted to do it, so off we went. As soon as I was up in the air, my heart just lifted up and away. I felt like I was floating on a cloud and I never wanted to come down. The airy lightness brought me to a place that I will probably seek to find again for the rest of my life. But it wasn't a rush, like dropping off a bridge and bungy jumping or skydiving. It was almost the feeling of complete nothingness, and it was incredible. 

So all in all, my trip to Jamaica was the best. The food at the resory was fabulous, the people that we met were the nicest people ever, and I can't wait to travel there again. I wrote a poem while I was there, and it's about the ocean. I hope that you guys enjoyed hearing about my trip, and I will talk to you all again soon.

Love, Danielle


Jump Into Bliss, by Danielle van Werkhoven

   A cool breeze tickles my skin,

   smooth and soft like a feather.

   A silence so light you could hear a pin,

   the type of feeling that nothing could sever.

   Clear blue waters are what lie ahead,

   a mystery that begs to be solved.

   Close your mind and clear your head

   and every doubt will be resolved.

   Over your shoulder you cast a sidelong glance,

   the palm trees smiling in the midday sun.

   Your eyes catch the leaves in dance,

   and you know the adventure has already begun.

   With no time to wonder what may have been,

   you jump into the warm blue water, and embrace darkness within.

The plane ride going to Jamaica.

My new friend Greg the Gecko. Best little friend ever.

The sunset on after our first real day in Jamaica. Explored on Flickr.

The palm trees on the beach had the perfect amount of shade to still get a tan under.

The rain at Bob Marley's house was wonderful.

Unreal plant life up in Nine Miles. Explored on Flickr.

More wonderful flower in Nine Miles.

My dad sitting on Bob Marley's thinking stone. (He really just smoked here...)

The hummingbirds that sat in the trees for me at Bob's.

The hummingbirds that sat in the trees for me at Bob's.

My new Jamaican friend, Jeremy. We was hitting on me, completely.

Bob is watching you.

The slums in Nine Miles. I wish I could help all of these people.

The sunset sinking into the water on the second night.

One of my really hot ziplining guide.s 

Canopy Dreams. My favourite part of my trip.

Parasailing on my last day in Jamaica.