I’m not a photographer, nor do I have fancy equipment; I admire those that have a great eye for it! I occasionally post content I’m proud of over on my instagram.
Advertisements
Within the last week, I whipped out an old camera of mine. I wanted to see if myself and my instagram followers could even tell the difference between my Iphone camera quality and my camera. Spoiler alert, they could tell.
I also don’t really use any equipment other than my tripod (which I 10/10 recommend as it comes with the bluetooth remote & also an attachment to use for your Iphone).
It’s super easy to use and it was super reasonable. Anyway, other than that I don’t use any equipment as I’m just starting to figure it all out.
Any tips? Lets chat!
Mainly, what prompted this, was wanting to create better quality photos for brands and other products that I love. For example, this post where I talk about my favorites, I hope in the future to provide better quality photos to go along with it. What’s funny is when I first started this blog over two years ago, from the start I chose to use my camera to get better quality photos. For example, this post where I talk about some of my travel packing essentials.
Advertisements
Anyway, kind of a mini blog post here. Get excited for the better quality content to come.
As always, thanks for reading. I’ve been appreciating all the support so much.
Recently some youtubers I watch (Carly & Erin) did a video on a quarantine tag, so I thought it could be kinda cool! Also this is a mini get to know me better.
Advertisements
Let’s do this:
how are you attempting to maintain sanity – by trying to take things one day at a time!!
are you quarantining with anyone – yes my family (parents and younger brother)
show & tell: show off anything and everything you’ve made/accomplished during quarantine – lots of puzzles, banana bread, a couple tie dye diys
favorite quarantine meme – the marine biologist in me is cackling
last person you texted – my boyfriend, I said “hiiiii”
last person who texted you – a friend of mine from college, she said “Yes!”
who is the last person you video called with – my boyfriend! we played a ticket to ride (the board game) online together
what are you most excited to do when it’s all over – go to workout classes again (specifically indoor cycling) & coffee shops!!
do you have any quarantine goals – to prioritize my mental health, wherever that takes me
most consumed snack or food – Trader Joes chili lime tortilla roll chips or cookies I’ve baked
what substances are you using/abusing? lots and lots of coffee
what has been the worst part of quarantine? feeling stuck and trapped, and losing a sense of daily purpose
what has been the best part of quarantine? quality family time, and more time to work on my online brand presence
Advertisements
what is the meaning of life – WOW ok. Um.. at this moment, just to keep breathing.. and I think I can handle that.
if you could go anywhere right now where would you go? – New York City! I’d love to just walk around.
what is your daily average screen time – eee I’m scared….
last thing you purchased – lots of lululemon! If you saw this post my contract with them expires soon so I need to stock up with my employee discount!
what are your most used apps & websites?Instagram most definitely
Advertisements
last song you listened to? the new song by PVRIS “Gimme a Minute”
best movie or tv show you watched recently – I’m terrible and don’t have the attention span to watch movies or get into tv shoes. I really just watch youtube
whats the last game you played – Nintendogs on my DS (as you saw in my quarantine favorites post) & more recently the app Bakery Story. It used to be my life back in high school.
last google search – something about instagram planning tools (I found an adorable one on etsy if you’re interested)!
last youtube video you watched? – By Carly & Erin their quarantine tag that this post is based off of
what do you miss most about life before the pandemic? – not being scared or turned off by getting physically closed to people, them thinking and treating you like you have a disease
what is something new you’ve tried or done during this time? – yoga, breath-work & meditation and its been so worth it
are you reading anything good? – sadly no, but i should
what are you grateful for today? my family’s health
where was the last place you’ve gone to that isn’t home? – Trader Joes! I only had to wait in line to get in for 30 minutes so that’s a win.
Advertisements
what is something new you’ve learned during quarantine? that it’s completely okay to slow down & take time for yourself.
most absurd/ridiculous thing you’ve done during quarantine?
a fear? not having exact updates regarding my masters program
a wish? to let myself live in the present
does anyone you know have/had the virus? – thankfully no
aaaaaand that’s the tag! If you do something similar tag me!
I mentioned the other day in my first post in two years… oops… that I was going to put together some sort of life update. So, here is that.
I graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in Marine Biology back in May 2019 (can i just say I’m so sorry for all the seniors this year, I can’t even imagine). I plan to go to the University of Tasmania this coming July for research in Marine and Antarctic Science.
After I graduated, I moved back home to NJ from Maine to live with my parents. Long story short, I have been in NJ ever since.
Advertisements
I started at a new full time job very shortly after moving back home at a coffee shop. I worked there full-time from May 2019-January of this year. To say the least, I started out lovinggg the job. It was not my first “barista-type” position. But over time, I out grew the position and the company and we parted ways early this year (if anyone is interested in a post on overcoming the loss of a job, or something like that let me know)!
Simultaneously, while working at that coffee job, for the holiday season I picked up a second job at Lululemon. I adore my job and currently still work there part time. The best way I can compare the two jobs is night and day. The coffee job felt like high school and at Lululemon everyone handles things so much more maturely. My team at Lulu really supports me and the company is built off of connection and feedback (which I love!).
But I knew I couldn’t live off a part time job so I went on the search for a second job. Not long after (about February) I got a position at my local indoor cycling studio (which I already go to a lot anyway) to work front desk. Thankfully, the two jobs pair really well together and up until this pandemic it was going swimmingly.
I really wanted to use the word “swimmingly”.
Advertisements
Also in my free time I have really been enjoying upping my instagram game here! Some brands have reached out and some people actually care about what I post, which is really humbling. I’m really grateful.
So Tasmania, why there? How did that come about?
I’m thinking of doing a post similar to this one where I talked about why I chose New Zealand as a place to study abroad. I’m really open to suggestions as I’m just getting back into this so pleas reach out and let me know!!!
I feel so fancy using a word like “hiatus“; it makes me sound important! Clearly I have gotten off the blogging game (on here) BUT i taken my outlet elsewhere. I have an instagram where I’ve been posting about my continuous love for coffee and mini life updates over the last year and a half.
It’s going to take time to get back into this and find a balance with everything but with this extra time stuck inside I guess this is a productive thing to do?
Just a short mini intro from me for now but I would love for you to stick around and follow me for some more in-depth updates to come. I would love to talk more about mental health and anxiety during this crisis.
A little bit about me:
My name is Ashleigh (or Ash for short)
Im from the Northeast USA (New Jersey to get specific)
I’m 23 years old
I graduated with a marine science degree last May from the University of Maine
This coming July I will hopefully be continuing on with my education to get my masters in Marine & Antarctic research in Tasmania, Australia
If you go back into some of my older posts (pretty much all of them), you will see that I studied abroad in New Zealand. I met my current boyfriend of over two years while I was over there 🙂 We’ve been doing long distance ever since!
I’d love to get to know you more, whether it’s from this blog or from my instagram, so leave a comment below.
