My Samsung Welcome - West Coast, South Island

This year, I was presented with the honour of joining the Samsung New Zealand family. I had heard all about their famous new Galaxy S9 PRO+ camera settings through the media and the king of froth Mr Logan Dodds. I was on the fence for a while whether or not to switch from ye ol iPhone to a Samsung. I had been attracted to the idea of a smaller camera I could easily take anywhere for a while. For those that know me well, you will know that I'm actually a bit of a lazy photographer at times. In the sense that I find it a bit of a drag taking my camera with me everywhere, but then I HATE missing moments - especially a sunset. The idea that I could add a small tool to my kit that could capture professional quality imagery anywhere and anytime was a really exciting concept to me. So with the launch of their Galaxy S9+ and a push from seasoned Samsung user Logan, my decision to jump ship was too easy.

One of my main concerns with switching was that I would lose everything off my old phone. I had heard Logan talk about "Smart Switch" now and again but didn't realise how "smart" and easy it was going to be. I was actually very surprised I could literally plug in my old phone into my new Samsung and transfer everything over within minutes. Niffttyyy as.

Once I was all set up, Logan and I knew the best place for me to test out my new toy was no other than the South Island of New Zealand. A place both of us can't get enough of. The GS9+ has an incredible low light capability, so I immediately thought of Fox Glacier on the West Coast. I've always wanted to explore and capture ice caves, so I was keen to see how the GS9+ would handle the darker caves and winter light. And hot dang did it handle it or what! I was so so impressed. I even managed to capture one of my favourite images to date on my new phone!

Basically, the Galaxy S9+ has something called Dual Aperture that boasts two aperture modes; f/1.5 and f/2.4. The f/2.4 mode is used mostly for your daylight shots. Then when the sun has dipped a bit low, chucking it into f/1.5 lets in a huge amount of extra light. This aperture setting doesn't have an effect on your depth of field for landscape shots - it's more about additional light. In addition to this feature, you can have control over ISO (again for more or less light), shutter speed, white balance and focus! It's insanity that we can have this kind of control and quality in a phone! Me likey.

So I chucked my new phone in with my kit, plonked Logan and Jordan onto a plane at 7am on a Saturday, and we set out on a road trip from Christchurch to Franz Josef. Four fun days saw us frolicking in frosts, skimming rocks along perfectly still lakes, flying around in helicopters, exploring an ancient glacier, staring in awe at snow-capped mountains, losing our minds over perfect sunsets and eating too many pies. All imagery in this blog is an even mixture of shots taken with my DSLR and my new fave gadget: The Galaxy S9+. Blown away...

How do you end an insane day of natural splendour? MORE NATURAL SPLENDOUR. Lake Matheson round 2 people. Great success. This place is even more beautiful in real life. No photo’s I’ve ever seen have done it justice. We met some cool tourists on the jetty and I confused them by dipping my Galaxy into the lake to get some fresh perspective shots. As Mount Cook and Mount Tasman reflected a perfect sunset orange on the water, I took the opportunity to have a fiddle with all the white balance to help intensify the warm tones I was witnessing in real life. I found that setting it to 6500K (cloudy) helped bring out the sunset colours better. Stunneerrrr. One of the best sunset experiences I’ve had.

After that spectacular day of spleendoouurrr, it was time to head back to Christchurch. So strap in for a foggy start at Lake Mapourika, a little taste of the Hokitika Gorge, a fresh stop at Arthurs Pass and heap of “out the windscreen road” shots. All topped off with a river bed sunset surrounded by mountains. What.is.life.

That my friends, was our little journey to the West Coast of the South Island. As per usual, New Zealand, take a bow. Galaxy S9+, also take a bow. Thanks, Samsung for the opportunity and for becoming an exciting addition to my photography kit. Also churrs to Logan for taking me under his wing and showing me how to get the most out of the phone! Excited for the next adventure! Ta ta for now.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Back in March of this year, I had the most amazing honour of travelling to Nepal to watch two of my very good friends tie the knot. Full Nepali styles. This involved lots of dumplings and a 4 day wedding celebration!

I really challenged myself on this trip to try to capture the locals. While I have a passion for nature, I love people. But I've always been too afraid to capture strangers. I always feel too intrusive and like I'm taking advantage of them. Thankfully with the help of our personal guide (AKA the bride: Ayesha Giri), I was able to get heeaapps of practice in. So the below might not be what you're used to from me, but some of the included portraits are my most favourite images I've ever taken.

The end of two long-haul flights saw us flying pretty much parallel to the Himalayan Mountains. They are scary big. This turned out to be one of the handful of times we actually got to see them during our stay - #thankssmog. I had no idea what to expect here. I assumed it would be busy, but not on the level of chaos we were met with when we arrived. Bustling, dusty, smoggy and colourful. A complete cultural smack to the face the second we got off the plane. A fun game of bag Tetris in a tiny taxi at the airport was then followed by speeding, dodging and weaving through the bustling streets of Kathmandu. Imagine instant dust to the back of your throat, dust in your eyes, cars, motorbikes and people everywhere. Tangles of power cables, rubble covered streets, toppled buildings, tiny ramshackle shops, cooking in the streets, and in the middle of it all; random cows dotted throughout the chaos. Just chillin' on the road. As with Indian culture, they are sacred in Nepal. So sacred in fact, it's considered rude to shoo them. So they literally just go where they please and the world just whizzes around them.

We were stationed in Thamel during our time in Kathmandu, which is known as the most popular tourist area. As a result, the whole suburb is a car-free zone and very clean in comparison to the rest of the city. Lots of shops and lots of good food. Hit up BK's for the best fries and momo's (Nepali dumplings). I was amazed at how safe I felt in Kathmandu. You trust the people and I never felt uncomfortable once. In a country where they really believe in karma, crime is unsurprisingly quite low!

During our stay here we were super lucky to be part of the Holi Festival. The streets get filled with people throwing brightly coloured powder and water bombs on you every 2 steps. If you don't want to get colour on you, you just don't leave the house. The Nepali believe it to be good luck to put powder on fair skin, so fair to say (lel) we got nailed. Definitely a highlight of my life so far.

The wedding was made up of several days, with the main wedding day being the biggest of them all. My beautiful friend Ayesha (the bride) is a twin and her and her sister were married off on the same day. As a result, there were hundreds of people in attendance. The ceremony itself went on for hours, so you just kind of eat and drink all day while the bride and groom do their thing. Then suddenly they are married and they leave in a horse & carriage. It was a whirlwind of colour and a multitude of traditions that had to be done in an exact order and way. So that was really fun watching my kiwi mate Jack stumble through a few of those while a Nepali priest yelled at him in an ancient language he didn't understand.

Highlights of the wedding included: my mum teaching our Kiwi group how to do the 'bus stop' (an old-school line dance from the 70's) then proceed to perform said dance to "Slice Of Heaven" to a crowd of bewildered Nepali.

"Where do I go from here? I think I may have peaked. Does it get any better than doing The Bus Stop to Slice of Heaven in Kathmandu at a traditional Nepal wedding? I think not!" - My mum.

We also had to also play a sort of crazy rugby game with Jacks wedding shoes. Tradition calls for the grooms' shoes to be stolen by the brides family and stolen back by the grooms family. A hilarious game of this shoe rugby erupted in the middle of the wedding. Needless to say, the kiwi boys nailed this part of the celebrations!

The next series of images are from an ancient city called Bhaktapur. The delicate brickwork of this historic city suffered mercilessly to the earthquakes in April 2015.  Effects of this damage are still very apparent, but a lot of rebuilding and repair has gone on in the past 3 years. This was my favourite place to photograph the people. They are so kind and open. I was really fascinated with their day to day lives and loved capturing it all.

DISCLAIMER: There are graphic images below of a goat being BBQ'd with a blowtorch in a town square. Sorry in advance if you find this offensive.

Then back to Kathmandu for the wedding reception! We had handmade saris to wear which we had to get help putting on because they are so complicated. Then to top off Kathmandu, we visited a couple more stupas including The Monkey Temple - the most ancient religious site in Nepal. True to its name, there were monkeys everywhere!

Again, congrats for getting through another long one! Stay tuned for part 2 of my Nepal trip when we head to Chitwan and Pokhara!

Queenstown Birthday

Jord and I have made it a bit of a tradition to go snowboarding for my birthday every year (bar last year because we had just got back from Europe and were knackered. JK, had no money left.) We hadn't had a good shred in the South Island for a good few years so reckoned it was about time to frolick down for a play. I always froth on the flight down so I made sure I had my camera on me this time...

We arrived in Queenstown first thing on Saturday morning so it was straight to Cardrona for a shred. (That's a lie, we got an Arrowtown bakery pie first). This was probably one of the most fun days I've ever had on my board. I've finally found my holy grail snowboard and I was fizzing all day trying to beat my personal speed records and learning to butter around in the forgiving spring snow.

Ain't no trip to Queenstown complete without a prospect and a Ferg. This was the day NZ was hit with a slight heat wave so it was a perfect 20 degrees for our search for some paydirt with a cold beer in hand (kept chilly by the Shotover River!)

Now, this next part of the trip I was sooo fricken excited for. Shacking up at The Spire Hotel was the best decision to add to the birthday celebrations. Of course, you know I love the adventures where we sleep in the roof tent or under the stars, but every once and a while I think we all deserve some luxury (espesh on ya birthday). This place was SO nice. Just walking through the door you understand why it's earned an epic 5 stars.

Even though my heart lies in the outdoors, one of my favourite things to do on holiday at the end of the day is to watch a movie in bed. And what a bloody bed it was. I thought getting out of bed before was hard, then this comfy ass dream bed came waltzing into my life all like "you didn't know you needed me, but ya do". The kind of bed that it doesn't matter what you endured that day, you get in and it whispers "I gotchu boo." And you just melt into it and become one with the mattress then have one of those dead limp stone sleeps where you don't move AT ALL. That's because you actually temporarily died and went to heaven. Not to mention there was a fricken PILLOW MENU. For those that know me well, know I am all.about.the pillows. The staff were out of this world amazing and the room was perfection. Can I please come live there foreva gaiz?

After a quick relax and reset, I dragged Jord out for a hike up Queenstown Hill! Joookkeess, he dragged me.

Yes, those are little fudgies they put in our room for our return. Can someone just do this for me every day plz? #ahemjordan.

Is it even your birthday if you don’t have breakfast in bed? The weather wasn’t looking so great for sunrise so we had a nice lazy morning in bed and ordered room service from No5 Church Lane downstairs. I’m calling it, this was the best french toast I’ve ever had. It’s set the standard for all other french toast and now all other french toast is RUINED. Upsetting yes, but at least I know where to find the best french toast now. (Please if you can help me reset my french toast expectations here in Auckland, slide into my DM’s and direct me to the noms). There really is something about getting food delivered to you that brings me eternal joy. When it happens while you’re wearing a luxe az robe in your comfy ass bed with the sun streaming in, WAWAWEEWA. I love it.

For the afternoon we took another trip over the Crown Range to visit my mates at CrossFire Wanaka. I visited Criffel Station back in May when they were still in the process of revamping the whole set up so I was awesome to come back and see it all finished. Jord and I were pretty lucky to head up the hill to have a go at the newly launched clay bird shooting. With the best views in Wanaka, we had way too much fun blasting clay birds out of the sky with the incredible backdrop of Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea (seriously you can see everything! – One of the only spots in Wanaka you can see both lakes.)

The legend Adam then took us for a quick tour around the rest of the farm to feed some animals and check out their incredible and super unique Wool Shed wedding venue! (Hollah if you’re getting married there and need a photographer – so keen to see it all in action!)

You would have caught on by now that I’m massively obsessed with food, so to keep with the “it don’t count when it’s your birthday” vibe, it was time for some more deliciousness.

The Grille. Come at me.

For those of you that know about The Grille already, it’s pretty much the crème de la crème of dining in Queenstown. It’s right on the waterfront so you get amaaazing views of the lake and surrounding mountains (and of selfie sessions and seagulls attacking drones, A++ dinner entertainment, would dine again). I’ll let the photo’s do most of the talking, but for those that are interested: DEFINITELY order the Charcuterie Board to share & the garlic crumbed oysters. For main, I went for the Crispy Havoc Pork Belly served with scallops. Now, I’m a huge snob when it comes to crackling. Do it right or don’t do it at all, ya know. They absolutely nailed it. Like, outstanding shit people. Jord indulged in the Beef Short Rib (which he wouldn’t let me taste at first because he got all “man” protective over it). The service is second to none and everything came out piping hot. Beeeauuttiiffuul. I approve The Grille. I approve.

On our last day the weather was looking good for another shred up on The Remarkables, so like any responsible adult, we gave ourselves a nutritious breakfast from Eichardt’s Bar. This cozy little spot is also right on the waterfront right next to The Grille, and they do amazing coffee (so says Jordan as I’m a tea drinker myself). After a good few days of heavy eating, I reckoned it was about time for some muesli. How these guys managed to make the simplest of breakfasts incredible, I’ll never know. In saying that, I did have a taste of Jord’s mushroom hollandaise and got instant food envy #THEWOORSSSTTWHHYYY!

Bye bye The Spire Hotel :'(

For any of you headed to The Remarkables Skifield next year for a play, make sure you hit up the lookout above the top of the Shadow Basin chairlift. Providing some of the best views you can get without a heli ride, it is most definitely a #NZMustDo. Best snack stop in the entire world. I mean, just look for yourself…

I honestly think Spring is the best time to visit Queenstown. With the sunny warm weather, cherry blossoms everywhere and the fact that it’s soo much quieter (no lines for the lifts whoop!) makes it such a beautiful and relaxing time to go!

Huge thanks to Air New Zealand for getting us there, LOWA for keeping our feetsies protected and RPM for the threads!

Greece

In June 2017 we set off on our big O.E and Greece was first on the list. Often hailed as the cradle of Western civilisation, this place is so rich in history - something a little ol Kiwi found hard to comprehend considering New Zealand is still so young in comparison. It's hundreds of Islands are filled with charming little towns, alleyways that you won't mind getting lost in and they have GYROS #angelssing - that alone makes it one of my favourite places in the world. For a cheeky €2, you can be indulging on a meat, salad and HOT CHIP (ya, need I say more?) filled flat bread. Euro-bod was going strong after 2-3 of these a day. We spent about a week Island hopping. Santorini, Naxos & Mykonos being the Islands of choice. It was pretty windy when we were on the Islands, which turned out to be a total blessing in disguise due to how fricken hot it was. The following adventures ensued:

SANTORINI

The first stop on our Europe adventure was Santorini. And boy we were not disappointed. We had heard a lot of mixed reviews about this place - a lot of our people we spoke to hadn't really enjoyed it that much due to "too many tourists". I always find this line ironic (ya even when I say it) because we are no different to everyone else visiting, but you still find yourself like "omg fucking tourists"... BITCH, YOU ONE OF THEM. And you damn travelling Europe. They are everywhere. It's madness I tell you.

I honestly think what made this trip so worth it to us, was that we actually stayed on the other side of the island - away from the madness. We rented quad bikes for the time that we were there and had waaaay too much fun blatting over the hill to go do our sight seeing - not to mention there was plenty of that going on along the way too. It took us about 20-30 minutes each way but it was legit our favourite thing to do. One day we drove around the entire island visiting little beaches and screaming "whoooo" a lot. lewl.

Our accommodation was right next to Karami Beach - one of the very few actual beaches on the island... well their version of a beach is made up of lava pebbles, but still, luffly for a sunrise swim nonetheless. It was then off to explore Oia. To say we were absolutely fizzing would be an understatement. We were so excited and blown away. It lived up to all the photos I had ever seen. Well except for the CHAOS that was an Oia sunset. When people said to nab a spot at 3pm and just wait, I didn't understand why. But holy gahd damn there were a lot of people there when we arrived. Still loved it. Didn't love everyone clapping when the sun when it dipped below the horizon line. WHY PEOPLE WHY. (This ended up being a bit of a theme throughout Europe... are people from other countries not used to seeing the sun go down? It wasn't even a real gangster sunset. Pretty as, but not epic by NZ standards! #sorrynotsorry)

After a day of exploring up on the cliffs of Santorini, we made our way down the 200 stairs to Amoudi Bay for a delicious lunch and an afternoon of cliff jumping. (These are the stairs that you may have seen photos of people being carried back up by Donkeys. I personally vetoed this as I think it is so cruel. The poor donkeys are in the sun all day and look seriously depressed. Avoid this unnecessary tourist novelty and just use ya damn legs you egg.)

The bay is tucked underneath Oia, so the heat + stair combo keeps away the massive crowds. If you make your way to the left of all the restaurants, you’ll find a little pathway that leads you to a little hidden paradise. Swim your little adrenaline filled body across to that big old rock you can see and weirdly enough you’ll find a little church on it (known as Ekklisia Agios Nikolaos). Climb up. Jump off. Bruise your tail bone. Laugh. Repeat.

Whilst jumping we met the kool kids from Where It’s ATT – travelling DJ brothers who invited us back to their siiick accomo for water, m&m’s and lols.

NAXOS

Next, we hopped on a ferry and found ourselves on an Island with wonderful people, epic food and ridiculous beaches. We arrived hungus as, so walked two steps out of our Air BnB to be met by a smiling face insisting we come and try the food at his Mummas restaurant. A voice in the back of my head was like “nah gee he gun’ rip you off” but then the other voice was like “FOOOOOD”, so I listened to the second one. Turns out hungry Lola knows best, because WOW. Food dreams. Our waiter was hilarious, ordered the most incredible food for us and brought out traditional Greek treats – on the house! We were happy little travellers that night.

The next day, it was time to adventure to a beach I had heard about; Aliko Bay. Only a 30-minute bus right saw us relaxing in an absolute paradise for the day. We went for a little explore up over the rocks and found ourselves a private sheltered bay to get our tan on. As with many spots in the Mediterranean, you’ve got to be super careful not to stand on sea urchins. Their delicate spikes break off into your feet like nobodies business and it’s pretty tricky to get them out. We all copped it once or twice!

It was then time to head back to the main town for an explore and a sunset at the Temple of Apollo. As you will see, there was a lot of cat and bougainvillea appreciation going on.

MYKONOS

No pictures here as we only hit it for the night, got wasted and danced on tables. Weeewwww.

ATHENS

Athens Athens Athens. I’m finding it hard to know where to start describing this city as it was a bit of a mixed bag experience. Athens does have a lot to offer, but perhaps we just got off on the wrong foot. I’ll give you a quick run down of that shitty shitty foot:

• Just had the most incredible time in Mykonos

• 3 – 4-hour delay on our Ferry

• Had a fight with my sister over Eye-Spy during said delay (heat, hunger & a hangover will do that to you)

• Arrived late afternoon to discover there was a train strike

• Because there was a train strike the whole damn city was catching buses

• Fast forward after a very sweaty, squished stressful public transport experience (have to say here though that the locals were so nice helping us get to where we needed to be) we made it to our Air BnB

• By now it was dark and we figured out we weren’t in the safest part of town pretty quickly

• No power at Air BnB

• No food

• Exhausted

Fuck you wrong foot.

First impressions were set in pretty quickly with yells and screams being heard right outside Air BnB and I was told I would be a target carrying around my big camera. Coooooool, massively on edge.

Grew tired pretty quickly of men trying to put bracelets on my wrists – for those of you that haven’t experienced this, they attempt to tie it on as quickly as possible and then demand money for it. Anything you take offered to you (yes even just holding it), you will suddenly own. All attempts to give it back will be refused and you will be followed and harassed until you pay them. Athens #1 salesmen rule: disregard the basic human right of choice. It might feel stink, but just ignore everyone that approaches you. Even a flat “no” somehow ends up opening the lines of communication for them. #relleeennttlleeessss

Now there is obviously an undeniable history here and it really was something amazing staring up at craftsmanship still standing at hundreds of thousands of years old. But it’s really hard to have that connection with it all when tourists are literally so frantic to get a selfie (like rushing, pushing, shaking, frustrated frantic) with the added bonus that it’s 32°C. Calm.your.tits.please.I’mdrowninginmyownsweathere.

What really saved this city from being an absolute phuckup, was our amazing Air BnB host Stelios. Had we just visited this place without the help of a local, I don’t think I would ever spend longer than necessary in Athens ever again. Stelios took us to an amazing local restaurant and ordered us all the traditional dishes that he loved, told us what it was like to live in Athens and laughed at our kiwi slang. He then took us to a popular local spot to watch the sunset over the entire city. We all kind of just looked at each other and were like “yep this made Athens worth it”. So thank you to Stelios if you somehow end up reading this!

Congrats you made it to the bottom. Questions, comments, hate mail? – hello@lolaphotography.co.nz. ANTIO SAS.

Samoa

So that dude you see in most of my photos reckoned he was turning 30 this year. Gross. So I figured I'd take him far far away to distract him from his sprouting grey hair and wrinkles. I quickly decided this kid needed to be surfing his way out of his 20's. So after an old (yes Simon you're old) work mate of mine sung high praises of Samoa and a quick google image search, I locked everything in - completely without 29 year old Jordan's knowledge... #lovesasurprise. While I'm a firm believer in every birthday being epic, the big 30 is a little more special, so I set about planning my surprise. Do you know how fucking hard it is to book a tropical holiday for your favourite person and not be able to tell them for monthhhsss!? Turned out to be quite fun. Even when he was being hangry and I'm like "oooo boy if only you knew..." So I chucked together the below package and left it on our bed one day and just about cracked when it took him hours to go into our room. *GOO IINN TTHHEEERREE RRAAAHHH!!!* When he finally discovered it he was pretty confused and asked if I was serious like 20 times. Such fun.

Samoa is by far my favourite tropical island I’ve visited to date. Over the years I’ve checked out Rarotonga, Fiji, and Hawaii. While I loved the time I spent in each & they are all special in their own way, there is something so untouched and raw about Samoa that the other locations just didn’t seem to have. I suppose it really depends on your own personal experience and where you stay, but during our trip we were so amazed at the presence of their culture. Most of the population live in traditional fale’s (A Samoan house with open sides and a thatched roof) and their village/family way of life meant we always felt super safe where ever we went. Samoa is still working on drumming up their tourism after the 2009 Tsunami, so as a result it’s relatively quiet on the traveller front. More often that not, we had surf breaks, waterfalls and beaches all to ourselves.

Leading up to our trip, I was a little gutted to see the forecast promised us thunder storms every single day we were there. Turns out there’s no proper weather station on the island, so it’s just a calculated guess. Instead we were spoilt with hot sunny weather every day, and if it ever rained, it would either be at night or a 30 second passing down pour. So don’t let the weather forecast put you off this visiting this incredible place! (We travelled end of May/early June).

Our driver Tao picked us up from a very hot and crowded airport. Our flight was full with Samoans that had been fruit picking in New Zealand for 7 months and couldn’t wait to get back to their families, so you know how it goes: locals first = long ass wait for bags on one tiny conveyer belt. The ride to our resort ended up being a free tour of the island from the Tao (the man). He was delighted to learn that my Great Great Great Grandfather Leon Götz lived in Samoa managing a rubber farm after the First World War and even knew the family name! I then impressed him with the fact I have 7 siblings (he himself has 15 children) and my added ability to smash a tray of mean road side Samoan BBQ. “You just like Samoan woman!” followed by a classic Samoan crack up. The thing that we learned from Tao that I found the most astounding was how much the Samoans spend on their churches. No word of a lie, these buildings can cost them upwards of $12 million dollars!

After farewelling our new friend, it was onto the first order of business; surf. (Actually had a beer first.) With our new Aussie mates (the cuzzies are fricken everywhere we travel) we jumped on a boat out to Nuusafee island, also known as Devils Island – where I got dropped off to enjoy it’s shores alone. Or so I thought. I think it should be renamed to Hermit Island. Literally yelled “holy fuck” out loud when I noticed the thousands of shells moving across the beach. And climbing trees. Who would have thought.

Next surf spot was Salani right. A fun right hander that works on all tides directly out the front of our resort.

Back to Nuusafee Island for the arvo wave!

Then for a quick visit to Lalomanu Beach for a sunset snorkel and happy hour!

Then foNo trip to Samoa is complete without staying a night at the famous Lalomanu Beach – voted as one of the top  5 “Best Beaches” in the South Pacific, and it’s not hard to see why. We stayed in a cute little closed fale at the Taufua Beach Fales and were stoked to learn our breakfast and lunch were also included in the already super affordable price. A ridiculously stunning and relaxing place to spend a couple of days.

After our stay at Lalomanu, it was time to indulge in our beautiful beach front villa at Saletoga Sands Resort. But just had to take Jord back to Salani for a dawny surf on his birthday first! Huge thanks to Adam & Bj for making Jord’s birthday so epic! #faglegs

So you basically can’t Google Samoa without images of their beautiful Tu Sua Ocean Trench popping up. It is outrageously beautiful, and if you catch it on a good day, it looks exactly like the photos. This magical swimming hole sits on someones land, so it’s $20 tala (approx $10NZD) to enter the grounds and is well worth it. Formed by volcanic activity, the ground collapsed leaving behind this 30 meter deep hole which connects with the ocean through underground canals. You can swim out to the ocean through these passages if you’re game enough. I chose not to because: claustrophobia. Also take it easy on the ladder – it can get a little slippery!

Fuipisia Waterfall – again this is on someones land so it’s $10 tala to go and visit. A beautiful little family greets you and a woman sells beautiful hand printed lavalava’s to all their visitors. Such a cool way to support the locals and leave with a little keepsake.

On our last night we were treated to one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen. Jord and I just floated around laughing the whole time.

A huge shout out to Nikon New Zealand for the lens I took all the surfing shots with. Also to Tigerlily for the beautiful clothing and swimwear! See you again soon Samoa!

Milford Sound, Fiordland

Back in March we made the spontaneous decision to rock down to Fiordland to finally visit Milford Sound. But in a slightly different way to how most would experience it. With hunting permits to our names and hiking boots on our feet, we went full bush for the weekend. Milford Sound is more well known for tourists on big boats & scenic flights, but this place is well worth a nudge on foot/boat. With an incredible underwater world filled with seals, dolphins and the biggest crayfish you’ll ever lay eyes on, this area is well worth a hearty mission.

Exploring this phenomenal Sound by sea or air will have your eyes popping straight out of your head. I was a little concerned that I would be completely desensitised to it's beauty due to all the stunning photographs I had seen and day dreamed about over the years, but I quickly came to realise not a single image I've ever seen compares to how magnificent it is in real life. As the Māori legend goes, Fiordland was carved out by the demi-god, Tū Te Rakiwhānoa, Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) being his final and most spectacular creation. If you're a kiwi and lived here your whole life and still haven't been to see this ridiculous place, you should probably look at changing that very soon. Italy can wait. Check out your own backyard first. It's actually insane.

Setting up camp in Harrisons Cove, the below adventure ensued. For a place that rains for nearly 200 days of the year, we some how nailed a few days of baller sunshine. We had the fuggggeeenn bessst Paua and Cray I've ever had in my life on this trip. It really makes you appreciate this country when all you need is an ocean/briny deep, some kaimoana and butter & garlic for feed of a life time. I'll never forget eating Paua out of a shell-bowl, surrounded by native NZ bush while laughing away with two of the biggest bitch boys I know. Hollah to the Kiwi-Austrian Fisty, couldn't have done it without ya.

Shout out to these fellas from Real Journeys for the muffins #salty

Aqua Frizzante Exhibition

On the 24th April 2017, I opened the doors to my first ever solo exhibition. A dream I have had ever since I was a teenager. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel massive amounts of pride when I stood in that room alone with huge pieces of my work surrounding me. So I want to thank everyone that helped make it possible one last time. Allpress Espresso for the amazing studio space. It's exactly what I had always imagined and it was such a pleasure to work with you all! Queensberry for the out of this world amazing printing. I was so impressed they quite literally brought a tear to my eye to be able to view my work in the flesh instead of on a tiny screen. The cool kids at BurgerFuel and Long White Vodka for filling everyone's gobs at the opening evening. To Nikon for providing the gear that allows me to do what I do and love every second of it.

Thank you to everyone that came in to see the show and chew the fat with me. I loved meeting every last one of you. Lastly thank you so much to everyone who purchased a piece. It really is so flattering that you guys want to put my work on the walls of your homes. Originally when I set out to putting the exhibition together, I only had a vision of all my friends and family standing in the room with my photographs on the wall. I couldn't give a care if I sold anything. So it really blew me away that so many of you wanted to keep them forever.

Big churrs to my beautiful sister Katherine who wrote the poem on the programme that completely describes through and through how I feel about the ocean:

"The ocean is blue so it takes away mine

Washing away all the troubles that weigh on my mind

When I go to the ocean I dip in both feet

An action I will throughout my life repeat

But each time is different, I sometimes go in all the way

Depends on the weather and how I'm feeling that day

One thing that is certain is that it makes me feel right

To rinse, wash and cleanse all the things from my daily life

How does it have such mystical powers?

In its comforting embrace, I could float for hours

Once I have been I'll always come back

It is my ritual and keeps my soul intact.”

For those of you that didn't make it in, do not fret. You can view all the pieces below and a handful of pics from the opening evening by the talented Brijana Cato Photography & a few memories of my own. For all pricing and purchase enquiries please email me on hello@lolaphotography.co.nz with details of which photograph you are interested in.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

01 Motion Texture - Open Edition

02 Chaplong - Open Edition | 03 Obsidian - Open Edition

04 Wet Aqua - Limited Edition 1/5 (3 available)

05 Float Culture - Limited Edition 1/5 (4 available)

06 Gossamer - Limited Edition 1/5 (2 available)

07 Miss West - Limited Edition 1/5 (4 available)

08 What We Live For - Limited Edition 1/5 (5 available)

09 Wairua - Limited Edition 1/5 (5 available)

10 Lull - Limited Edition 1/5 (4 available) | 14 Kōura - Limited Edition 1/3 (2 available)

11 Glass Walls - Limited Edition 1/5 (4 available)

12 Therapy - Limited Edition 1/3 (2 available)

13 Morning Glow - Limited Edition 1/3 (1 available)

15 Always Here - Limited Edition 1/1 (SOLD OUT)

16 Effervescence - Limited Edition 1/1 (SOLD OUT)

OPENING EVENING

LOLA'S MEMORIES:

Our Retreat with Kathmandu

So I made it a bit of a goal this summer to go and visit some epic little spots within an hour of Auckland. With the help of Kathmandu, we found ourselves in a couple of prime beach front locations. I think people forget that it's not hard to pop off on an epic little mission. I often get asked how we manage to get out and do "cool shit" all the time, and I can honestly say it's just what you make of your days. If you want to get out there an live it up in this beautiful country of ours. Do it. Finish work at 5, to the beach by 6, surf, home by 10. Don't wait for the weekend yo, or you'll be waiting your whole damn life.

Our first spot was Pakiri. One of my fave summer spots for a wave and all sorts of summer goodness #somuchroomforactivities. The beach is covered with fine white sand and lined with huge mature Pohutakawa trees; literally perfection to chuck up a hammock and watch the surfers as the sun goes down. This Kathmandu travel hammock has fast become one of my favourite adventure essentials. Always got to double check it's in the back of the truck before we head off somewhere. There is something so relaxing about lightly swinging in a hammock with the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. Legit chill goals (seriously check out the photos below to see what I mean. I could sleep in that thing). A feed and a snooze was then followed by one of the craziest sunrises I've ever seen! Clearly one of the benefits of sleeping right by the beach is you don't have to go far to get views like the below! Then we squeezed in a quick surf and toddled off home in time for work!

Then of course a week later we decided the adventure tank was getting a bit low, so piled into the Landy for a mission to Tapapakanga. I used to visit here a bit when I was a kid, so it was so rad to get back there again! This is the spot they completely transform into Splore in February each year! Absolute beach front and straight chilled out bliss. You can book this spot through the Auckland Council website and you honestly feel like you have your own secret retreat down there. It really blows my mind that there are spots this epic so close to home. And thank the lord that tents have come as far as they have. Kathmandu hooked us up with their Retreat 80 tent that has only like 5 bits to pop it together in less than 5 minutes. I remember ye old camping times with heavy canvas tents and massive wooden poles that would take hours putting together in the hot sun and turned into a total bitch if it rained. This one is so super light and compact that we also just keep it in the back of the truck just incase a spontaneous mission pops up. It also states it's a 3 person tent, but I'm fairly certain you could fit in 4 if you didn't mind getting cosy!

Stoked on New Zealand and the inspiration from Kathmandu to get out there and literally "open your world". Any suggestions of your favourite spots close to Auckland, get inside my inbox: hello@lolaphotography.co.nz.

Yes all the above photos were taken within the Auckland region. We're not all flat white drinking, city dwelling whingers up here! Holla if you have any questions about the gear used (listed below!) Or just if you would like to join in on the next one, get at me!

- Retreat 80 3 Person Tent

- Travel Hammock (my personal fave)

- Roamer Chair

All available from http://www.kathmandu.co.nz/ 👌

Venture Taranaki

Today I bring to you; Taranaki. A mad cool region in the North Island of New Zealand that has just been ranked #2 in Lonely Planet's top 10 regions to visit in 2017! And rightly so! For a limited time you can actually view me on Lonely Planet's global Snapchat story "5 Places You Never Knew You Wanted to Visit." #mummawemadeit. Pity no one actually knows it's me. lel. (I'm the one with the long hair and the face.) So a huge congrats to The Naki. #hardcore!

Believe it or not, but during my 27 years on this planet, living in this beautiful country of ours, I had never visited this beautiful place. Until last week. I really can’t think of any good reasons why I hadn’t before. I came away a bit like, “whhaaatttt have I been DOING all this TIME!?” WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT THIS PLACE BEFORE. MUM!? THE HELL!? Waaahhhhyyyy? I’m upset I didn’t get to experience this region in all its nature glory sooner. Why is it heaps cool I hear you ask? Do you like surfing? Yas. Do you like mountains? Yas. Do you like great walks? Yas. Do you like snowboarding? Yaaaassss. Do you like waterfalls? YAS. Do you like stunning sunsets? YAAASSS!! It’s pretty much the best natural adventure playground ever in the history of natural adventure playgrounds.

My frothy froth king mate Logan Dodds and I were lucky enough to be able to explore Taranaki and all it’s epicness for two days last week (not enough time p.s). We were easily able to bust out a section of Pouakai Walkway, Dawson Falls and a bomb ass sunset on the Tongaporutu Coast all in one day. Check it:

Day two we indulged in a hearty dose of NZ art culture at the Len Lye Centre. I’ve got to admit, I actually didn’t know who Len Lye was before I visited The Naki. Now I suddenly have quite the obsession going on. I would actually travel back to New Plymouth just for this exhibition. Which speaks volumes for me because I’m usually all about nature and the outdoors. This place is definitely worth a visit even if you aren’t usually into this type of art. Read about his life and work here: http://www.govettbrewster.com/len-lye/centre. Entry is completely free. And not to mention even just the outside of the gallery is epically cool.

To top off our trip we met up with our mate Talman to road trip along the Surf Highway. Mount Taranaki is visible from every angle around the peninsula, so there are photo ops around every corner. This whole coast line gets heavily stacked with some of the best surf in New Zealand. There is got to be something seriously magic about surfing with a giant volcano as your view.

Cheers Taranaki & 100% Pure New Zealand for hosting us. Can't wait to head back already!

MedSailors Croatia

Well I can't begin to tell you the pain I felt selecting these photo's for today's blog. I had to keep taking breaks whenever the urge to completely go "f*ck it I'm going back right now" reared it's ugly head. MedSailors was undoubtedly one of our absolute favourite weeks out of 3 months of travel. If you are going to Croatia you honestly need to do a sail. It is the best way to see a large chunk of the Croatian Islands and make amazing new friends.

MedSailors was the absolute bomb (whaaaaat I haven't used that as an adjective since I was like 12 but I'm rolling with it.) What I wouldn't give to be back on our boat Spinoza with our skipper Mike sailing the clear warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Now I'm certainly not here to bag on any of the other sails around Croatia because you would undoubtedly have an amazing time on anything you choose in this beautiful country. But if you're a little like me and want your trip to be more chilled and personal, MedSailors is for you. We had the perfect balance of chilling and partying without being 'far out I can't human anymore' hung over. Seriously, who the shit wants to be hung over on a fricken boat?! Other sailing companies, that's who.  Whilst I can see the allure of a party boat, I can see that it would get old very quickly. Much like my Australian pillow carrying friend I met on the way to the beach in Hvar, who was desperately looking for some shade and quiet to get some sleep away from her cray cray boat. Poor wee dot. Omg do I sound old? Wow I read this back and I sound really old. What happened to meeeeeeeeeeee. Ha who am I kidding. I'm sitting here in my track pants with a glass of wine writing this. Being an adult rules.

We had a total of 8 people on our boat, learnt the basics of sailing and pretty much got to choose what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go each day. It meant that we spent our breakfasts & lunch times sitting in private bays without another boat in sight. I mean who doesn't want a whole lot of this to themselves on a Wednesday morning?

We were then free to explore each town every evening to sample local cuisine, hit the bars and talk shit with our new mates. So without further adieu, please enjoy this visual journey of one of the best weeks of my life, topped off with a traditional Croatian feed at the Hora vineyard in Stari Grad. Wine, amazing food and a whole bunch of farm animals in a warm golden sunset. Dreamy. It's another typically long one from me I'm afraid, so put the kettle on and get settled in.

Victoria, Australia

Earlier this month I was lucky enough to be invited as an influencer as part of Tourism Victorias newest campaign promoting the beautiful Victoria Region in Australia. Having never visited before, I was pretty damn excited! Our trip started in the city of Melbourne - an incredibly vibrant city full of culture, passion and AMAZING food. It's not hard to see why it's been voted one of the world's most liveable cities. Just to wander through the labyrinth of graffiti filled laneways and find tucked away secret cafes, quirky bars and designer shops was such a rad time. I was really blown away by the diversity and openness of Melbourne's people; I felt like the city possesses such a energetic yet quiet confidence that leaves it's residents totally free to express themselves without judgement. The cafes, restaurants, bars and galleries are a total feast for the senses and all so easy to access with their impeccable public transport (some may argue with my choice of words here, but if you ever grew up in Auckland you will understand having a long standing love hate relationship with the buses here.)

I'd like to take a moment to now remember all the food I thought was good before. RIP food. Because Melbourne blew that shit out of the water. We had some ridiculous eats during our time there. *Momentary switch from photography blog to food blog*

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. Oh.my.lanta. I don't think I've ever been somewhere sah fancyyy! The very modern, award winning menu takes inspiration from 14th Century cook books. Every dish on the menu has the corresponding date from when it originated. Eg: Meat Fruit (c.1500) - an out of this world chicken liver parfait that is shaped to look like a small mandarin. Visually confusing, but proper delicious.

I also had the following:

• Frumenty (c.1390) - Grilled octopus, spelt, pickled red moss, chervil emulsion & smoked sea broth

• Powdered Duck Breast (c.1670) - Cooked with Ale and artichokes *cries*

• Sambocade (c.1390) - Goats milk cheese cake, elderflower & apple, perry poached pear & smoked candied walnuts *cries harder*

I was blown away by the coupling of flavours and textures which resulted in losing my eyes in the back of my head a lot and concerning the other diners by exclaiming "AHMAHGAHD" with most mouth fulls.

That was the first night and I could have toddled back to NZ a changed woman. But Tourism Victoria had other plans for my newly awakened taste buds: Melbourne Food & Wine Festival - World's Longest Lunch. A magic 3 course meal put together by Guy Grossi enjoyed with 1,600 other guests on the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix track at one long ass table! Yet another occasion where I didn't eat until I was comfortably full, instead eating until I hated myself "whhhhyyy neevveerrr agaaiinnn" (Cheers for the extra puddings guys.)

The day was then followed by a Cocktail & Bar Tour hosted by Melbourne Food Experiences with Cocktail Specialist Sebastian Raeburn where we visited Union Electric, Bar Ampere, Heartbreaker and the Boiler Maker House. Union Electric was a real stand out for me, not only did the bar look rad (Bill Murray tributes whhaaatt!) but they served us a supperrr yum cocktail called "The Lola." Chuuurrrr Aussie cuzzies! It was also most enjoyable having Absinthe the correct way at Bar Ampere instead of sipping straight Austrian Mata Hari out of a bottle on a Thursday night and hitting Takapuna with your equally legless mate (hollah to 21 year old Lola and Starsh for that diabolical night. Jeans.)

I will now give you a brief summary of my thoughts on the rest of my actives in Melbourne because I want to get to the Phillip Island and Gippsland part ASAP. Cos FUN. Just coaching you through this part because I know this is long and if you have a short attention span like me and as soon as you see lot's of words, it's like "ugh no." So I'm hoping my photos will keep you captivated in this epic tale. *ahem*

Hidden Secrets Tour of Melbourne: Raddest. Exploring Laneways & discovering all the quirk they have to offer. Thanks so much to Shaun Layh for a wicked morning!

Andy Warhol / Ai Wei Wei Exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria: So so so good. Honoured to have been able to see some of Andy Warhol's work in the flesh and Ai Wei Wei is my spirit animal.

Press Club Projects dinner: Food geeks unite! A 6 course degustation created in front of us in the experimental kitchen of Chef George Calombaris & Chef Reuben Davis to which I can only describe as a flavour and texture adventure. And I love a good adventure. The whole thing is essentially a fun lab for the chefs who use the space to be a creative as they want and you can watch the whole process from prep to plate while they explain all the steps and ingredients as they go! Thanks for having us and putting up with my loud laugh in such a small space.

Crown Metropol: Also worth mentioning here our absolutely insane accommodation! Veddy nice veddy handsome I like it. #softestpillowseva

After that blurr of art, culture, bread, cheese and booze, I was off on my own to Phillip Island and Gippsland! Before this trip, I had never heard of either of these places let alone consider them as a holiday destination, but I'm already planning my return.

Phillip Island brings a multitude of activities and wild life. After a morning of freaking out at the koalas cuteness (and how much they poo. Like wow, so much poop why.) I enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Cape Kitchen with uninterrupted views of the Bass Straight. Followed by an explore of the cliffs to help digest my veggies. The afternoon was then filled with seals (aka water dogs, I luff yew) and an evening at the Penguin Parade. Now the penguins really did blow my mind - literally thousands. THOUSAAAAAAAAAANDS (I put more A's in there to help with the scale of how many I actually mean) of penguins all waddling up out of the water and up the beach at dusk. Unfortunately strictly no photography here, but I can give you a visual: it was my fave when the fat ones fell over because their bellies had absorbed their legs. Legit running full tit up the beach and then like BAM. Penguin down. For animals that spend a lot of their time on the land, they are so very un-agile. I was then lucky enough to have my time end with a scenic helicopter flight around the island which was really the cherry on top of my time on Phillip Island. It was such a buzz to see the entire island I had just explored from above.

Gippsland Gippsland Gippsland. I have this new found love for a place I never knew existed. The only problem I had with this place was I didn't have enough time there! Sitting at the very southern tip of the Australian mainland this place is a lush and vast playground. The rural farm land and a lot of the bush actually reminded me of New Zealand. Highlights of this area had to be lunch and 4WD off roading with Jenny from Gippsland Food Adventures, meeting Spud the farm dog, staying with the beautiful Mary and Peter Riedel at the Church House (a brand new Bed & Breakfast built from a 1887 Anglican church featured on the first episode of Grand Designs Australia!) and of course Tidal River in Wilsons Promontory. My jaw was on the floor the whole drive. Incredible landscapes, white sandy beaches and turquoise water. I really was itching to have more time here as there was so much to explore and unfavourable weather conditions meant I couldn't hike to the summit of Mount Oberon, weehhh. So I will definitely be back to conquer that one! And I'm determined to see a Tiger snake in the bush - plenty of those out there.

To top off all the incredible things I had seen and done during my time in the Victoria Region, we were treated to a VIP evening at the Melbourne Fashion Festival. I have never been the biggest fan of fashion shows, but this one really swayed me. The awesome combination of front row seats, loud music and visually seeing the intricate craftsmanship that goes into the garments was really amazing to see. Not to mention the fab unseasonal heatwave with a comfortable 39 degrees in an old historic building with no air con. Delish.

We did so much in the space of 6 days yet there is still so much more to see. A maaaassive shout out to all of the amazing people that hosted me and welcomed me into their homes and to my new mates Julia & Libby, Art & Matilda, Delaney, Megan and Aimee! Y'all are hilarious and very talented!

If you are after any more info on my trip (as if I didn't give you enough geez.) drop me an email at hello@lolaphotography.co.nz!

Kthnxbi.

Japan

In February and March earlier this year, my adventure time bud and I went on our most epic adventure yet. Japan - land of pow. To say we fucking loved this country would be an gross understatement. From the food, to the snow, to the people, we were the frothiest of froths.

We hit Tokyo first, with our teenie tiny accommodation in Shinjuku (the red light district of Tokyo.) The city is mental. A constant bombardment of lights, smells and noise to the senses. Every shop and restaurant is covered in bright flashing lights, music blares from the doorways and you can buy almost anything from a vending machine on every corner. The streets are crowded with a constant flow of people, but despite this, the streets are incredibly clean. We loved the Japanese people - they are kind, patient and intelligent and holy shit they know how to eat well. English isn't very widely spoken and all the restaurant signs and menus are in Japanese, so Jord and I would just walk the streets and pick places to eat at random and we were never disappointed! Japanese BBQ's being the token fave of the trip!

We were lucky enough to have our friend Tomomi train up from Kyoto to meet us in Tokyo and show us around. We ticked off a huge number of spots around the city in just a day of hanging with her! If we didn't have her, I don't know how we would have coped with the trains. The subway is this insane spiderweb of destinations, everything is in Japanese and you have to buy your tickets from little machines (no english options here either) so we were pretty stoked to have her with us! (We miss you Tomomi!)

After a jam packed 4 days in Tokyo full of sightseeing, trains, walking (so much walking), DISNEYLAND!, Mr. Donuts (like errday), Harajuku Girls, pretty gardens, cat cafes and HEAPS of food it was time to fly up to Hokkaido for POW TIME! After a few hours on a bus to Niseko, we were treated to some the best snow in the world. White room magic every damn day. It would bucket with snow every night, and we trumped it with a handful of bluebird days. Niseko is so rad. It's like mini Australian settlement, which has its pro's and cons (dat accent uugghh (sorry, not sorry.) But means that most people speak english and the drinking/party culture is exactly what you'd expect. Chuurrr.

Fast forward through going super large on our last night in Niseko and having a hungover spew on a luxury Japanese bus, we arrived in Furano. Being a little further north and having just had a huge dump of fresh snow, we were in pow heaven once again. Furano has stupid fun terrain and sick back country riding. 3 weeks riding in Japan is easily the equivalent to 2 whole seasons in NZ (eff you Mt Ruapehu you moody icy bitch.) (jk luv u.)

Japan was the raddest 3 weeks and boarding Ruapehu riding will never be the same again. Ugh, why did I blog about this.

Take me back.

Fiji

This July I was fortunate enough to go on another overseas adventure with the amazing Chris McLennan. We were there to shoot a number of hotels and resorts in the Mamanuca Islands. Chris has been to Fiji more times than he can count over the past 20 years, so knows how to play it cool. Me on the other hand; I was an over excited child losing my shit at the warm waters and balmy nights.

During our 2 week stay in Fiji, New Zealand had some redic cold weather, some of which made its merry way up to the Islands. Their idea of jeans and hoodie weather is a sweet 18 degrees at night. So while the Fijians were losing their minds at how cold they thought it was, I was frolicking around in shorts and t-shirt being all like "lol it's so hot."

Working along side Chris is always such a privilege; he is always sharing great advice, amazing photos, hilarious stories and travel tips for everywhere in the world. On this trip I also got to see his drone in action which aids Chris in producing such incredible shots and angles you just cannot achieve in a chopper - check out his Facebook page to see his drone shots here!

I developed an unhealthy obsession with geckos during my time in Denarau. I find them ridiculously adorable and I like their skin. Not weird. I almost caught a really big one. I named him Gareth. 

Shoot locations: Denarau, Matamanoa Island, Tokoriki Island. Incredible food from Flying Fish Resturaunt at Sheraton Tokoriki! #drrooooolll

Huge thanks to Billabong New Zealand for some sweet gears that served me proper well in this amazing tropical playground. Also shout out to the boat I fell off trying to get onto the beach on Tokoriki. RIP iPhone 5s. If it wasn't for my Dakine camera bag, it would have been game over for my Nikon too! I'm not proud to admit agility levels were at an all time low that day.

Hope you enjoyed heaps of photos of my feet. I need adventure friends to maintain the standard of my fotofoto. Otherwise it's just like... what can I point my camera at when I'm alone? Feet. Because they are in front of me when I'm sitting down. And it's totes Instagram to have pics of your feet in cool places. Also managed the odd water celfie. But let's be real, that shit ain't easy with a chunky DSLR.

I also got to be a water sports model. Check out some wicked cool shots by Chris below. Rad being the subject in some cool pics for once. A++ would model again.

Oh yeah, and I got married. Love you Renie.

Beijing, China

*conundrum

Last July I travelled to Beijing with the great Chris McLennan Photography. Chris has been an idol of mine since I studied photography years ago, so to be able to work along side him was such an amazing opportunity. To say I picked up tips and tricks from one of the best photographers in the world is such a buzz! So a huge thank you to Chris and his beautiful wife Cat for being a couple of cool kids and making this happen!

This collection of images is all I managed to bring home from 2 weeks in Beijing shooting some very fancy hotels. In between working, trying to function in the heat, and just overall being in absolute awe of my surroundings, this is all I managed to rustle up to show you fellas!

The highlight of the trip of course being our trip to The Great Wall of China. We didn't want to go to the real touristy spots of the wall - not only are these hugely crowded in summer with souvenir stalls everywhere, they are also mostly restored. Although it would have still been incredibly cool, it's not the best for photo photo. So Chris being the magical worker he is managed to wrangle us a private guide to reach a completely unrestored and rugged part of the wall. I knew it was going to be a decent hike - a couple of hours I was told. Hah, poor naive past Lola. I wish I could tell her she is about to be broken.

After about an hour in the car, we pulled into a tiny little village at the base of the mountain. I kept trying to spot out the window how we could possibly be getting to the wall - I could see the teeny tiny towers sitting ontop of the spine of the mountain, but could never trace out a path to get to it. I remember telling myself "Chill mate, it will all make sense when we start walking."

So we met our guide - a photographer himself. He spoke no english, but we had two Chinese locals with us from the hotel that could translate for us. We were invited into his house where he then showed us his own photographs. Pretty impressive stuff. A couple of them were shot in winter, covered in snow (see shot he is standing next to, photo 21 in post) - how he climbs that mountain in the snow I'll never know. Mind you, he did the pending hike like it was a casual walk to the dairy for him.

Once everyone was introduced and after we shared some pointing, smiling and thumbs-upping we set out. The start of the hike began through some of his apricot orchids. He just plucked fruit off the trees and threw them at us to eat - ah.ma.zing. After about an hour of walking/stumbling on loose rock, getting tiny cuts from SHITTY grass, saying wassup to some wild goats, getting bitten by a bug of some description, bleeding from said bite and worrying I'll die from said bite, we reached the "half way point" (psshht. Not even.)

So remember the part of my story when I said the path of how we were getting to the top of the mountain would become obvious? Yeah, nah, still not obvious. So this is when I lose faith in the universe showing me the way and get all like "uumm how are we getting up there?" (Heli plz.) Nina our translator is also curious about this, so asks our guide. He just kind of looks at me and points to the mountain, points to me and makes climbing guestures while saying something in mandarin. I look at him and then at Nina and then at the mountain and awkwardly laugh. Nina says "We climb." Um... ok... wow. I'd also like to mention it's 36 DEGREES CELCIUS. And I'm slowly dieing from a bug bite. And dehydration. Chris is just like, 'lol I do this kind of shit every week.'

At this point I would like to refer you to the 23rd photo of this post (*conundrum) - see the squarer looking tower in the middle, and then the dip to the right of it. Mmmhmm, we climbed up there. And yes I wore my Nikes. I'm an athlete ok.

Long story short, after a lot of stopping, slipping, almost falling to death-ing, we made it. And holy.moly it was worth it. I have no words to describe to you the extensive views and rediculous layers of mountain ranges which just continued to get better and better as the sun went down. It blew my mind. I got to learn some great stuff from Chris, lunge ontop of tower #15, eat a danish and fall down The Great Wall of China (there was loose rubble ok, I'm claiming it as an achievement. None of you have fallen down The Great Wall of China. Maybe, quite possibly, most likely something to do with my Nikes.)

After watching the sunset and the moon rise, we ate snacks under the stars and made our descent at about 11pm. I thought the hike up was hard. Climbing down a mountain with messed up legs in the dark was a whole different story. One which I will tell you if I ever meet you and you ask. It will go something like "it was reeaaal hard." I then had room service hot chips at like 2 in the morning. Best chips I've ever had.

Thanks for reading my blabble. Surprised to see how many of you got through all that. Like, chill Lola, only your mum cares.

Any questions? Hit me up on the comments section of my Facebook or Instagram. Toodles.

*Pic of me lunging on tower by Chris McLennan. Check out his Facebook page for more amazing work!